Cornish Lithium has awarded Halliburton the contract to provide integrated well services for its Cross Lanes Geothermal Lithium Project in Cornwall in the UK. The project will involve the drilling and testing of two appraisal wells to validate production parameters, both for geothermal heat supply and lithium production.
The data gathered during the testing phase will inform the project’s Final Investment Decision.
“Halliburton brings deep industry expertise and knowledge and will support the drilling and testing phases of our project, from well design to construction. Their team was highly proactive throughout the tender process, demonstrating a clear understanding of our requirements and a strong commitment to supporting the project’s objectives,” said Martin Geissler, VP General Manager for Lithium in Geothermal Waters at Cornish Lithium
The presence of lithium-enriched geothermal brine at the Cross Lanes Geothermal Lithium Project, located near Chacewater, had already been established through successful exploration drilling and testing back in 2023. The project had recently received a £7.2 million grant from the UK Government’s DRIVE35 programme which will partially fund the drilling and testing activities.
Under the contract, Halliburton will provide integrated services including subsurface modeling and well engineering, on top of providing the equipment and services for the drilling and testing of two appraisal wells. This phase of the project will help estimate the amount of lithium contained within the Cornubian Batholith, which lies beneath much of Cornwall and Devon.
The wells will also allow Cornish Lithium to carry out extended testing to validate sustainable production conditions, assess water injection rates, and confirm the company’s preferred Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) at demonstration scale. The company also aims to explore the potential to utilize geothermal heat for supply to local homes and businesses.
“With more than 70 years of geothermal development experience and over a century of well delivery expertise, I expect our teams will execute the drilling programme safely and efficiently to support Cornish Lithium’s technical and operational objectives,” commented Jean-Marc Lopez, Senior Vice President, Europe, Eurasia, and Sub-Saharan Africa region, Halliburton.
Source: Cornish Lithium
