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Preparation for geothermal drilling campaign under way in Ethiopia

Preparation for geothermal drilling campaign under way in Ethiopia Aluto Langano geothermal plant, Ethiopia (source: UNEP, ARGeo)
Alexander Richter 31 Aug 2016

Preparations are underway for a drilling campaign of up to 12 wells at three sites for geothermal projects in Ethiopia, according to the Geological Survey of Ethiopia.

Reported from Addis Ababa today, the Geological Survey of Ethiopia has announced that preparations are underway to begin drilling of 12 geothermal wells at Airobera, Alelobeda and Dubti areas in Afar Regional State.  Tamiru Mersha, Communication Director at GSE, said drilling of the 325MW wells will begin this Ethiopian budget year.

According to him, six wells will be drilled at Airobera and Alelobeda with the financial and technical assistance of Geothermal Risk Management Fund (GRMF) and the government of the Japan. The Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) and the Geological Survey of Ethiopia (GSE) will jointly drill the remaining six wells at Dubti with EUR 16.4 million support obtained from the African Development Bank (AfDB), he added.

The Government of Ethiopia is hosting and organizing the Sixth African Rift Geothermal Conference (ARGeo-C6) in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), African Union Commission (AUC) and IGA East Africa Regional Branch (EARB). The conference is sponsored by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, KfW, BGR, US Power Africa and other support partners. It is being organized under the auspices of the UNEP ARGeo Programme as one of its biennial geothermal conferences. It will take place Nov. 2 to 5, 2016 in Addis Ababa.

Source: Fana Broadcasting