Montserrat to recommence work on third well of geothermal project
Drilling site of MON-3 geothermal well in Montserrat, Caribbean (source: Bastien Poux)
Alexander Richter
25 Jan 2018
The UK Department for International Development confirms that drilling work on the third well for the geothermal project on Montserrat, a UK territory in the Caribbean, will recommence in a few weeks time.
As part of continued engagement with interested parties in the geothermal development on Montserrat a British territory in the Caribbean, Hon Minister Lewis reiterated that the Early Market Engagement was the start of the process for moving geothermal energy delivery forward for Montserrat. He also stated that he is committed to bringing geothermal energy on stream for the island, and feels that the potential of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) could be the way forward to make this geothermal energy delivery a reality for the island.
So far two wells have been drilled for the geothermal project, but drilling work on the third well have been stalled for several months due to some internal mud collapse inside the well during the early drilling stages. The UK Department for International Development (DFID) Infrastructure Representative on Montserrat gave assurances that drilling works for continuing Well 3, also known as Mon 3 will recommence in no more than a few weeks time, in order to complete drilling and testing of the sustainable yield from this well. The company working on the drilling was Iceland Drilling, an Icelandic geothermal drilling expert.
The recommencement of drilling in a few weeks is seen as a positive step, and significantly boosts the Early Market Engagement process.
The Power to change – The Montserrat Energy Policy 2016 – 2030 has formalized the Montserrat renewable energy target of 100% renewable energy generation by 2020. Renewable energy, to include both Geothermal and Solar PV energy development is a core part of Montserrat’s Energy Policy, alongside the construction of a new power plant.
It is anticipated that geothermal energy, which has much lower generation costs when constructed, will provide the base load for the island alongside Solar PV, with the diesel providing peak load and back up in the event of geothermal being offline for maintenance or otherwise.
Source: MNI Alive
