Iceland Drilling to ship rig for 6 geothermal wells drilling job in New Zealand
Drillmec HH series drilling rig on site in Iceland (source: Drillmec)
Alexander Richter
9 Jan 2018
Geothermal drilling specialist Iceland Drilling expects to ship its HH-220 Drillmec drilling rig to New Zealand to the site of the Ngawha expansion project of Top Energy. The drilling contract was signed between the company and the client Top Energy on December 21, 2017.
Late last year, we reported on the new expansion plans at the Ngawha geothermal pwoer plant of Top Energy in the Northland area of New Zealand.
Ngawha Generation Limited and Iceland Drilling NZ signed a drilling contract for the expansion project just before the holiday period, on 21 December 2017 at Top Energy Ltd offices in Kerikeri.
Top Energy owns the Ngawha geothermal power station, which has been operated since 1998. Ngawha power station which is located 54 km north east of Whangarei currently has the capacity of producing 25 MWe or 70% of all electricity consumed in the Northland area.
The new drilling project involves the drilling of up to 6 wells, which is expected to add another 20-25 MWe to the current capacity. Top Energy have already engaged ORMAT to build the new power plant which is expected to be commissioned in 2021.
Iceland Drilling NZ will transport their HH-220 Drillmec rig to Northland, New Zealand. Spudding is expected to take place April/May 2018.
According to Sigurdur Sigurdsson CEO of Iceland Drilling Company (IDC). We are pleased to sign this contract and are looking forward to using our geothermal expertise together with our client. This is IDC’s seventh drilling contract in New Zealand.
Source: company release
