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First well successfully drilled for geothermal heat project in Luttelsgeest, Netherlands

First well successfully drilled for geothermal heat project in Luttelsgeest, Netherlands Drilling rig on site in the Netherlands (source: Daldrup & Söhne AG)
Alexander Richter 5 Jun 2020

Drilling has been successfully concluded for the first of three wells of a geothermal heat project in Luttelgeest, Netherlands. The drilling was conducted by German Daldrup & Söhne AG under an EPC contract, including the heat plant.

In a release today, German drilling and geothermal energy group Daldrup & Söhne AG announced having successfully drilled the first well of the triplet for Aardwarmte Combinatie Luttelgeest B.V., Luttelgeest (ACL), Netherlands. The vertical drilling depth of the deviated production well was around 1,800 m. The production volume (bulk density) in the initial tests is well above the expected yield of 100 l/sec. At 76 Celsius, the temperature of the deep water is also slightly above the forecast. For greenhouse operators, this increases the profitability of the heating plant and shortens the payback period.

The production well has been technically complex. Initially, drilling was carried out with a diameter of 28 inches, which was tapered to 11 inches with increasing depth. This Dutch geothermal energy project is the first time that a so-called protective pipe string (“inner string”) has been installed, which ensures the production activity and longevity of the well (well integrity) in the long term. Daldrup & Söhne AG expects this to become the new standard in Dutch geothermal projects.

GERF B.V., a 100 % subsidiary of Daldrup & Söhne AG, will drill the second of a total of three wells ordered from mid-June onwards. The project is expected to be completed in spring 2021 with the completion of the heating system and heat distribution network.

After the successful drilling and installation of the heating plant for the customer Nature’s Heat, ACL is the second customer in the Netherlands for whom the Daldrup Group is constructing a geothermal heating plant on a turnkey basis on the basis of an EPC (Engineering Procurement Construction) contract with integrated coverage of the exploration risks via Daldrup’s own ART (Alternative Risk Transfer) structure. In addition to the standard contract concepts, Daldrup & Söhne AG is striving to further establish the EPC concept with the ART structure in the Dutch market.

Source: Company release