WorldWide Drilling Resource

21 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® JANUARY 2019 Akiira Geothermal Continues Exploration in Kenya Compiled by Caleb Whitaker, Associate Editor, WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Providing reliable and affordable electric energy is important for the social and economic development of any country. In Kenya, electricity is at the core of Vision 2030 - a development plan, seeking to guide the country toward being a mid-income economy. For Vision 2030 to work, Kenya needs to generate more than 10,000 megawatts (MWs), and a minimum of 5000 MWs are expected to come from geothermal resources. Kenya's geothermal potential is in excess of 7000 MWs, spread across more than 14 locations. This opens new investment opportunities, including exploration for steam, supply of equipment, and construction of power plants. Akiira One is Akiira Geothermal Limited's first geothermal exploration and power plant development project. It is located just south of the Greater Olkaria Geothermal Complex in Naivasha, Kenya. The region is well developed, with a proven geothermal field. The company’s goal is to commence production drilling and power plant construction for the first 70-MW phase in early 2020 and achieve commercial operation in early 2022. Once phase one is complete, the company anticipates it would simultaneously start the exploratory studies and drilling for the second 70-MW phase, aiming to complete it by 2024. In geothermal drilling, there are various stages of well drilling, exploration, and production. During the exploration phase, the objective is to identify resource patterns to aid in pro- duction drilling. For this reason, multiple exploration wells are drilled. In 2015, the company completed drilling two exploration wells and proved the existence of the geothermal resource. How- ever, these wells did not meet overall expectations, so the project will resume drilling with three new exploration wells. If these wells do not lead to productive discharge, the company could ramp up its exploration activities and drill even more wells. Some of these exploration wells will be utilized as reinjection wells. Reinjection wells are an integral part of all modern, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly geothermal projects. They are a means of efficient wastewater disposal and provide additional recharge to geothermal systems. To determine what each well will be used for can only be assessed after a few wells have been drilled. GEO Photos courtesy of Akiira Geothermal Limited.