Well Completed…resource to be tested
by Bennette Roach
“The well is now fully secured” is the latest exciting news as hopes for the sourcing of geothermal energy became reality and preparations are very much underway for drilling a second Well at the other site nearer to the unoccupied Cork Hill village.
Official reports following our story of April 26, 2013, (http://www.themontserratreporter.com/geothermal-drilling-hoping-for-well-1/ ) which said that “the resource could be close to expectation, or just hope,” now say after tests, “The results were very encouraging and it was unanimously agreed to stop drilling and to line the production area of the well. A 7″ steel, perforated, liner pipe was installed from 1,111M down to the bottom of the well (2,298m).
The April 26 story then, said prior to equipment breakdown, drilling had gone down 2,298 meters with the potential of going to 2,400 meters if required. This was after a 2,000 meter depth had been anticipated. At that level the director said, “if that shows, we have already past the hottest point in the well and start to cool off slightly, then there would be little point drilling down any deeper…”
Senior Geologist Paul Brophy was due on island, bringing “…some very sensitive instruments with them, that can test the pressure and temperatures down the well.”
PWD director, Ron Beardsley now also reports the geothermal Well, references as ‘Mon-01’. He confirms that between last Saturday and Sunday geophysicist Thorstein Egilson using specialist measuring tools surveyed temperature and pressure in the #1 Well. Egilson’s report was studied by GoM Geothermal Adviser Mike Allen, Senior Geologist Paul Brophy, Senior Geophysicist Graham Ryan and Geothermal Drilling Project Manager George Scheid.
To come at the Well is, “testing the capacity of the well to generate geothermal energy.”
Beardsley confirmed to TMR, “We did the testing to temperature and pressure, and based on those results it was agreed that we will line the well as it is, there is no need to try drilling any deeper…” adding, “we now leave it for roughly a month to stabilize …once that time expires we will then do a flow test on the well and that’s really what will tell us what resource we have.”
Mon-01 Well capped
The PWD director also confirmed that the repairs of broken down equipment were completed before the latest tests and that while not getting hot water as desired it was satisfactory with the other signs. “What we’ve always had is decent temperature so we were less concerned about getting a hot well…So at that point, we know we have temperature and we know we have fractures in the rock,…” responding that they had to repair to be able to pull out of the first well.
But there are sceptics, so TMR asked on their behalf, what would happen a month from now “…what happens if your flow test fails, what will happen to the first well?” Beardsley responded: “If we, at the end of one month, we’re not getting the flow through into each of the well that we’d expect, so that we’re not under heavy pressure, then there are things that we can do to stimulate the well and encourage it to start flowing,” adding somewhat dismissively, “But the expectation is that, that will be the case anyway.”
Immediately after the testing had been reported, confirmed and accepted, the Iceland Drilling Company (IDC) who is executing the drilling work since February 2013, began the dismantling of the site and moved everything to the second well referenced “Mon-02″ in preparation for drilling. As of today (May 17), our pics show the Well head at the now almost vacated first site and final clearings being carried out, along with the rig being set up at the #2 site.
