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Kalahari GeoEnergy plans drilling of third well in Zambia

Kalahari GeoEnergy plans drilling of third well in Zambia Early exploration drilling on site in Zambia (source: Kalahari GeoEnergy)
Alexander Richter 14 Feb 2014

Continuing its exploration program, Zambia-based Kalahari GeoEnergy plans to drill its third well by April 2014 in the Kafue Basin in Zambia.

Reported locally, development company Kalahari GeoEnergy has announced it will start drilling a third well at its project site in the Kafue Basin in Zambia.

Peter Vivian-Neal, the CEO of the company said: “We are currently undertaking an analysis and verification of the results from the initial drills and by Easter, we should commence drilling the third well.”

As part of its development activities, the company spudded a second well in its exploration drilling programme near Lochinvar in Monze district in September last year.

To be certain about further development, Kalahari GeoEnergy estimates it would have to drill four additional wells and if those results are positive, it could then look into building a geothermal power plant.

“The basin where Kalahari is drilling its exploration well might have enough resources for as much as 1,000 megawatts, or about half of the southern African nation’s current generation capacity, Mike Krahmer, a geothermal geologist from the USA, said.

Zambia experiences a power deficit of 180 megawatts and electricity outages are common as main suppliers such as Zesco struggle to match the growing demand.

Current electricity supply comes mostly from hydro power, but an increase in demand is forcing Zambia to look at other potential energy sources.

The country hosts a number of geological structures associated with the East African Rift System, together with granites that are recognised as being prospective for geothermal energy.

For Zambia, historic work identified a number of prospective targets and a Zambian-Italian joint venture built a geothermal pilot plant on the Lake Tanganyika Rift structure in the 1980s.

Formed in 2010, Kalahari Energy is a privately owned, Zambian-registered, exploration company focused on geothermal energy.
The management and its’ consultants have wide-ranging experience in exploration, development and energy utilisation.”

Source: Post Zambia