WorldWide Drilling Resource

35 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® APRIL 2018 by Tim Rasmussen The village of Nuevo Santa Elena presented some challenges for drilling. It was hard to find a suitable place. There seemed to be no ideal property available for a well. Finally, some church-owned land was located and made available. The church committed to making the well water available without cost to anyone in need. The drilling site rose steeply from the roadway and while not perfect, it was the only place to be found. Adrian and Seth started the hole and soon reached the limestone beneath the soil. The limestone was fairly soft and drilled easy, but in some areas the stone was very hard and the drilling was slow, just a few feet per day. In the two weeks they had been there for Water For Life (WFL), Seth and Adrian had seen the interest of the villagers grow as the hole got deeper and deeper. More and more people stopped for a few minutes to watch. When he was bailing and a lot of water was coming up, the folks took notice and were excited. Finally it seemed there was a significant amount of water in the hole. He was at about 138 feet down. Seth bailed for some time, removing ten gallons per minute, but the static water did not drop below 118. This was about good enough. He talked to Gary, and he came. A four-inch PVC liner was put in, and a hand pump was set the next day. The locals were very excited and happy as they worked the pump and saw their buckets and jugs fill with clean, safe water for their homes and children. This was so much better than carrying buckets of water from open barrels, and they thanked the WFL crew over and over again. Gary took Seth to the island town of Flores as they waited for the time of Seth’s plane. They walked around the old town for a while, then Gary took him to the airport in Santa Elena. As they parted, Seth thanked Gary for the experience saying, “Having completed that well, I couldn’t be happier. Neither could the villagers.” I later asked Seth if he had a good time. He said, “It was not fun, but rewarding.” I asked him if he would go back again. He replied, “Yes, but next time with a rotary. By the way, I have been thinking that I want to sell this Mayhew drill I have. Would you be interested in it for a good price? We could get a new mud pump for it and then I would come down next year and put it to work. We could get a lot done.” I like it when a volunteer talks about the future and uses the word “We.” Seth is right. With your help, WE could get a lot done. Water For Life is excited to consider the prospects of moving forward with a rotary program to complement the four cable rigs we now have in Guatemala. If you want to make people happy, we have the opportunity. Volunteer to go with us for a season. It will change the lives of people, maybe your own. Contact Gary Bartholomew at 509-466-5075 or 509-939-1941 Tim Tim Rasmussen may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com A Two-Well Project and One Safe Rig Information Provided by Huisman Equipment B.V. Huisman Equipment B.V., a worldwide specialist in lifting, drilling, and subsea solutions, along with construction company Züblin, was awarded a contract from Wayland Energy for the delivery of two geothermal wells in Bergschenhoek, Netherlands. The two wells will be drilled directionally to planned depths of approximately 8200 feet and 9200 feet. The Huisman LOC 400 drilling rig will be used to drill the wells. It is a fully containerized modular rig outfitted with a fully automated pipe handler and rig floor. This will be the sixth project for the LOC 400 in Europe. The drilling process does not require personnel on the rig floor for casing and conventional drilling. This aspect of the project enhances safety for the rig personnel. The pipe handling and making of connections can be controlled from the drill operator’s cabin. The pipe handler can manage pipes without risk of damage to thread, enabling the protectors to be removed and the pipe to be doped while on the horizontal pipe rack. The top drive, stabbing arm, and power tong make connections easy and reliable. In addition, the LOC 400 is easy to transport because 27 ISO containers guarantee fast and cost effective rig moves. This is not Huisman’s first encounter with the geothermal market. A prestigious project in the city of The Hague, Netherlands, previously used the LOC 400. During this project, the rig executed the drilling of two wells in front of a hospital to depths of approximately 7800 feet and 8800 feet. The selection of the LOC 400 for these projects in the Netherlands shows how Huisman’s drilling rig is living up to its expectation of being efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly.