The Department of Energy is charting the future of drilling research during the next decade. Under the new microhole initiative, it will pursue a major research program in the area of drilling and using smaller diameter wells less than two inches. The cost to drill these wells will be significantly less and the associated waste with such wells will be much less than conventional well drilling. But will the wells be functional and will the industry find they fill a niche requirement? How will the industry best use small diameter wells and what characteristics will make them attractive? These were the questions DOE asked at a meeting held in April 2003, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Industry operators, academia, and the service providers were asked to help the DOE chart the directions and develop the priorities in implementing this initiative. The discussions and the answers to the questions posed are summarized in a new report prepared by Spears & Associates entitled ?Microhole Initiative, Workshop Summary?.