North America

Leading energy provider Expro has renewed and expanded its agreement with Di Drill Survey Services, a provider of high-end HPHT logging and Gyro survey services for complex abandonment services to both the oil and gas and geothermal sectors.

The strategic partnership agreement strengthens the growing relationship between the two energy service companies who are committed to providing premium well integrity solutions to complex wellbore situations.

Patrick Hanson, Expro’s Senior Geothermal Development Manager, said, “Our ability to partner with such a respected and entrenched company such as Di Drill aligns with our geothermal growth strategy to better serve the industry in regions where we don’t have physical locations or an established well intervention footprint. Di Drill shares the same core principals of safety, quality and integrity as Expro, this partnership was an easy decision.”

Daniel McCall, President of Di Drill Survey Services, commented, “We are honoured to have the ability to continue to grow our relationship with such an esteemed service provider in the energy sector. The ability to extend and offer existing services and additional new technologies to our business partners will allow for seamless operations between multiple services from a single provider. Thank you to the Expro team for trusting us to represent your incredible technology.”

A previous agreement enabled Expro to provide its high temperature Kinley Caliper and downhole camera product lines to Di Drill to service predominantly geothermal operations in western US. The new agreement will also include Expro’s annulus intervention solution, Octopoda, with Di Drill making its gyros available for Expro’s specific call-in work. The agreement also extends joint operations into newer regions such as Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, and across the border into Mexico.

The University of Texas at has received a US$4.9mn grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct research on two potential climate change solutions around the Earth’s subsurface: the storage of carbon dioxide and the generation of energy.

A team of UTEP researchers will lead a multi-institutional team in accelerating climate change solutions. Other contributors will come from Florida State University, the University of Utah, Sandia National Laboratories and Alma Energy LLC. Together, they will target solutions for two DOE objectives, reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and enhancing the effectiveness of geothermal energy capture.

Son-Young Yi, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, is the grant’s Principal Investigator and forms the UTEP contingency of the team alongside Co-PIs James Kubicki, Ph.D., a Professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences and Zhengtao Gan, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering.

The researchers will create computational models, using machine learning algorithms, that can help the clean energy industry reduce carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and create a reliable means of accessing geothermal energy.

“There is a bevy of interactions taking place underground which influence the amount of energy that can be extracted from a particular location and the rate of production that a particular location will offer over time,” Gan said. “Our team will work with an industry partner to create computational models that can mitigate the exploration risks and help players in this industry identify the best areas for geothermal energy extraction.”

According to the team, the increased efficiency may result in greater quantities of energy extracted and sustained rates of production, which will hopefully translate to a more accessible and affordable way for Americans to power their homes.

“This is an exciting opportunity because crossing scales and putting together a picture of geochemical processes is a grand challenge in subsurface applications,” Kubicki said. “The potential to bring geothermal energy to the El Paso region and to help address carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere is a dream come true.”

One method being researched for storing excess carbon dioxide is geologic carbon sequestration, which is the injection of the gas in underground geologic formations, such as saline aquifers – reservoirs of salt water that are located deep beneath layers of rock. A drawback to this approach is the possibility for the gas to seep, or leak, back to the surface and re-enter the atmosphere, Yi said.

“Our computational models will analyze the behavior of carbon dioxide across different scales, from the microscale to the macro scale, so that we can simulate and predict how long carbon dioxide will stay in the underground rock formations,” Yi said. “The work is ambitious as no model exists yet that has been able to link data about carbon dioxide’s behavior across scales, but if we’re successful, our models will help the clean energy industry understand the long-term evolution of the injected carbon dioxide and better identify optimal locations for carbon dioxide injection with respect to minimizing leakage.”

Energy services provider Expro has completed a well cement placement project for a prominent operator from the US, Gulf of Mexico, delivering an inner-string cementing on a subsea well's 22" surface casing in a water depth of approximately 2,000 m in the Mississippi Canyon area

When integrated with Expro’s other well construction technologies, the company’s innovative Cure technology range, including SeaCure, QuikCure, and CoreCure, offers a comprehensive package for ultimate cement placement and provides a complete 'head-to-shoe' solution.

Expro's Cure technologies allowed the operator to overcome ongoing offset well challenges. These included prolonged wait on cement (WOC) periods when transitioning directly from the jet string to the 22" surface casing, and tasks associated with drilling out a 22" shoetrack.

Jeremy Angelle, Expro’s Vice President of Well Construction, commented, “Our integrated cementing solution helped save approximately 18 hours of cement related drill-out, clean-out, and WOC time when compared to offset wells. By using our Cure technologies, we removed the requirement for a shoetrack to be left in the casing string, helping to avoid previously experienced cement sheath-related challenges. In addition, the QuickCure solution reduced WOC time. This latest project highlights Expro’s commitment to provide solutions that empower our clients to overcome operational challenges and achieve excellent results.”

The Cure technology range was added to Expro’s portfolio of cost-effective, innovative solutions within the company’s well construction product line as part of the Company’s acquisition of DeltaTek in February. The DeltaTek range of low-risk open water cementing solutions help increases clients’ operational efficiency, delivers rig time and cost savings, and improves the quality of cementing operations.

Subterra Renewables, one of the leading geothermal utility providers in North America, has announced its expansion into Western Canada and the US following its affiliate companies’ recent acquisition of Earth Drilling Co. Ltd.

One of the west coast’s leading drilling suppliers, the transaction includes the acquisition of Nevada-based Harris Exploration, a high-profile source of drilling and installation services in Nevada, California and Arizona. Earth Drilling and Harris are now part of Subterra’s group of companies that provide coast-to-coast access to geothermal drilling for geo-exchange system installations.

Matthew Tokarik, President of Subterra Renewables, said, “We are thrilled to officially welcome our valued collegaues from Earth Drilling and Harris Explorations to our growing network of experienced talent as we scale up our operations and ramp-up assets to meet the rapidly growing demand for community developments powered by renewable energy.

“Aligning ourselves with seasoned leaders that bring a combined 115 years of geo-drilling and exploration experience across North America provides is with immediate access to best-in-class services as we build out our coast-to-coast business. An opportune time as electrification and renewables take their place in a net-zero world.”

John Paul Wegleitner, CEO of Earth Drilling, commented, “We are excited and proud to be combining our visionary teams and resources as we diversify our geo-drilling operational opportunities to support a rapidly growing renewables industry under the Subterra group of companies.”

Subterra Renewables’ Chief Revenue Officer, Kareem Mirza, concluded, “This is a strategic move to ensure our renewable energy sector’s supply chain is adequately equipped with nation-wide access to expeditious and precision-tested talent and services. We are establishing ourselves as a vertically integrated geothermal utility provider whose reach spans across North America – best suited to meet the fast-growing renewable energy movement as district communities transition to electrification, powered by geothermal exchange systems.”

Federal economic development agency, Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan), announced last week that it would provide CAD$3.6mn in funding to Kitselas Geothermal harness geothermal energy in British Columbia for commercial use.

Kitselas Geothermal aims to decarbonise local industry to provide social, environmental and economic benefits to the traditional territory of Kitselas First Nation. In the first phase of its geothermal project, the ‘Fuel of Recognition’ at the M’Deek Reservoir, it is designed to replace 270,000 gigajoules per year of natural gas, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 13,000 tonnes per year.

With the funding from PacifiCan’s Jobs and Growth Fund, Kitselas Geothermal will drill production wells to harness geothermal energy, with the project expecting to generate 170 jobs for Indigenous workers and furthering the economic benefits for the region. This funding will help Indigenous communities across British Columbia seize new opportunities that power a net-zero future.

The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for PacifiCan, said, “This announcement on World Geothermal Energy Day reflects the Government of Canada’s commitment to building a net-zero future. By harnessing the power of geothermal energy in Northern B.C., Kitselas Geothermal brings us one step closer to that future. PacifiCan will continue working with Indigenous communities in B.C. to create lasting economic development that advances reconciliation.”

Alison Thompson, Director of Kitselas Geothermal, added, “Development of the ‘Fuel for Reconciliation’ geothermal energy project is a significant step towards Kitselas First Nation’s economic independence. The project also contributes to B.C.’s and Canada’s transition towards clean energy by demonstrating technology, training highly qualified professionals, and providing a proving ground for regulatory reform that will benefit both future project phases and other geothermal projects elsewhere in the country.” 

Ormat Technologies has broken new ground as it has partnered with DEEP Earth Energy to launch Canada’s first 5MW conventional geothermal power plant.

The two companies have signed a Notice to Proceed Agreement, marking the first step in redefining the region’s energy landscape by bringing the green energy source online. The project marks a significant milestone in Canada’s commitment to sustainable energy as the region has long since been established as having vast geothermal potential.

DEEP Earth Energy’s President and CEO, Kirsten Marcia, said, “We are grateful to have such a strong and committed partner as DEEP prepared to become Canada’s first commercial conventional geothermal power producer. Together, we will revolutionise the geothermal power industry, incorporating DEEP’s first-in-the-world horizontal well design and Ormat’s ORC power generation equipment.”

Ran Reshef, Vice President of International Sales for Ormat Technologies, commented, “It is with great honour that we find ourselves at the forefront of this pivotal transformation in the Canadian energy landscape. As we move forward, let it be known that this is just the beginning.”

Seequent, a Bentley Subsurface company, has agreed to acquire Flow State Solutions, a leader in geothermal simulation software, in a bid to cement its position as a comprehensive subsurface provider for the geothermal sector.

Graham Grant, CEO, Seequent, remarked, “Geothermal has the potential to help solve the world’s biggest energy challenges. With this acquisition, Seequent’s best-in-class subsurface analysis software enables a full understanding of geothermal asset performance.”

The geothermal reservoir, wellbore and surface network simulation software of Flow State Solutions helps customers better understand geothermal resources for development and optimisation. As per the agreement, the company’s Volsung portfolio will be combined with Seequent’s capabilities to create a robust end-to-end solution for reservoir analysis. Detailed models of the subsurface built in Leapfrog Energy can be utilised in Flow State Solutions’ simulation environment to build a full picture of a geothermal asset.

Flow State Solutions co-founder, Jonathon Clearwater, who will join Seequent as Technical Domain Expert, Reservoir Engineering, commented, “We are excited to join Seequent’s energy team. By combining Seequent’s expertise and our technical capability in geothermal modeling, we are looking forward to making a significant contribution to the renewable energy transition through improved management of natural resources.”

Simon Webbison, Vice President, Exploration and Resource Management, Ormat Technologies, said, “Ormat Technologies is one of the largest and most active geothermal companies globally, and we are delighted to see the combination of Seequent and Flow State Solutions software capabilities through this acquisition. We already use both companies’ software to better understand our geothermal assets and predict performance, and we are looking forward to working with the joint team to continue driving our success.”

Fervo Energy, a leader in geothermal technology, has marked the start of exploration drilling at its Cape Station, US, with a groundbreaking ceremony.

The next-generation geothermal energy project is expected to deliver 400MW of 24/7 electricity after it reaches full scale production in 2028.

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, Laura Daniel Davis, commented, “At the Interior Department, we have been moving quickly to meet President Biden’s goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. The Cape Station geothermal energy project we are celebrating today is an important milestone in our effort to make that goal a reality.”

The project will likely be the first of many designed to exploit the vast geothermal potential Utah is home to. It is estimated that just the southwest portion of the state contains more than 10GW of high-quality geothermal reserves.

Utah Governor, Spencer Cox, remarked, “Geothermal innovations like those pioneered by Fervo will play a critical role in extending Utah’s energy leadership for generations to come.”