WorldWide Drilling Resource

41 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® APRIL 2014 Geothermal Exploration Begins in Sumatra Adapted from Information from PT Supreme Energy PT Supreme Energy Rantau Dedap (SERD) has commenced its geothermal resource exploration on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The first well was spud in the exploration drilling area Rantau Dedap in Muara Enim. The well drilling project RD-B1 is a series of 5-7 exploration wells in the area being used to verify the existence of a geothermal resource sufficient enough to build a geothermal power plant with the capacity of 220 megawatts. The explo- ration drilling project is expected to last 6-12 months. Prior to exploration drilling, PT SERD conducted a preliminary survey, and a very comprehensive study followed. If this exploration drilling project is success- ful, well testing activities and resource confirmation will begin. This information will be placed in a feasibility study used for engineering design and completion of production and injection wells. Before entering the exploration phase, PT SERD met with community Funding Available to Study Mineral Recovery from Geothermal Fluids Adapted from Information by the U.S. Department of Energy The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled "Low-Temperature Mineral Recovery Program" on behalf of the Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO). This FOA focuses on mineral extraction from low-to-moderate-temperature geo- thermal resources. Modern technology has led to a high demand for rare earth and strategic min- erals. Powering everything from electric cars, laptop computers and tablets, to cordless power tools, watches, cell phones, and other portable electronic devices, the demand for lithium alone has skyrocket- ed. In fact, global demand for lithium car- bonate is expected to exceed 250,000 tons by 2017, which is a 60% increase over its current usage. As demand grows, domestic supply becomes a concern. This FOA aims to help alleviate the potential supply bot- tleneck. By collaborating with geothermal and mineral industry stakeholders, the GTO will promote the development of energy production from low-temperature fluids in conjunction with the extraction of valu- able mineral commodities. In a prior funding opportunity, GTO partnered with an awardee to develop technologies to extract strategic mate- rials from geothermal brines at a mining operation - a first-of-its-kind accomplish- ment. With GTO’s support, the company was able to build the first demonstration facility and successfully mine lithium, manganese, and zinc. This could prove to be a potential model for mineral extrac- tion at other sites. It is EERE's intent for this opportuni- ty to lead to commercialized technologies, which will lower the cost of producing geothermal energy while at the same time diversifying and stabilizing the sup- ply of domestic rare earth and strategic minerals. Collaboration among the industry, national laboratories, and academic insti- tutions is highly encouraged. Applicants are also urged to coordinate their activi- ties with the DOE Critical Materials Hub led by Ames laboratory. Selected projects will be expected to incorporate the fol- lowing performance measures: j Clearly defined success-rate met- rics and quantification of the value added to the geothermal production system from an innovative extraction method. j Data gathering on geothermal and mineral resources employing inno- vative techno-economic criteria/mod- eling which has not been previously applied in a geothermal context. j Project-specific feasibility studies demonstrating the techno-economic viability of the technology and the applicability of the site to a number of mutual sites. EERE plans to grant multiple finan- cial assistance awards in the form of coop- erative agreements. The estimated period of performance for each award will be up to two years, with more expedited com- pletion preferred. leaders, village chiefs, as well as the young leader representing the Muara Enim Regency, Lahat Regency, and Pagar Alam City. PT SERD also imple- mented several community development programs for the surrounding project area. Construction is expected to be fin- ished by 2018. 3#-0 $ 0!5&-0$14)**% *-5#%,2%0 *--. .3+. +-$3*%1 !0% !4!)* !"*% &-0 "-2( 0%1)$%,2)!* !,$ #-++%0#)!* '0-3,$ *--. (%!2),' !,$ #--*),' 1712%+1 -+.!2)"*% 5)2( 2(%1% .3+.1 03,$&-1 ) *- *-5#%,2%01 #!, "% #-, &)'30%$ 5)2( -0 .3+. 3,)21 2- +!2#( $)&&%0%,2 *-!$ 0%/3)0%+%,21 0-$3#21 ),#*3$% *-5#%,2%01 %-2(%0+!* *-1%$ --. )22),'1 %.*!#%+%,2 3+.1 -1% )21 !,$ ##%11-0)%1 !0)!"*% .%%$ 3+.1 (-,% !6 Happy Earth Day J from WWDR J April 22, 2014