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Ram Power with successful well and flow test at Orita, California

Ram Power with successful well and flow test at Orita, California Drilling Rig at Orita Well #3, California (source: Ram Power)
Alexander Richter 22 Dec 2010

Ram Power Corp announces successful drilling and flow testing at the Orita No. 2 well at its Orita geothermal power project at the Imperial Valley, California.

In a release by the company, “Ram Power, Corp. (TSX: RPG) announced it has successfully drilled and flow tested the Company’s Orita No. 2 well located in the Imperial Valley, California. The well was flow tested with a sustained flow rate of approximately 500,000 pounds per hour at 155 psig with a bottom hole temperature exceeding 570 Deg F. GeothermEx, Inc., the largest, most comprehensive geothermal consulting and services firm in the Western hemisphere, was present at the testing site and confirmed the Company’s flow test results.

Typically wells with a flowing temperature and flow rate as measured at Orita No. 2 are considered very viable for commercial power generation. Management estimates the capacity of the well to be in the 8 – 10MW range. In addition, upon initial chemical inspection, the salinity is in a conventional range so there should be no need to use more expensive casing or complicated power conversion technology to utilize the resource.

The Orita No. 2 well validates Ram Power’s resource thesis in the Imperial Valley, and confirms the existence of a substantial high temperature fluid reservoir previously encountered in the 1980’s with the drilling of the Emanuelli #1 well. In the first quarter of 2011 the Company will continue its Imperial Valley exploration program with the commencement of drilling on a production well at the previously drilled and proven Emanuelli #2 well location.

The Imperial Valley exploration drilling program is initially focused on developing the geothermal resources needed for the development of a 50MW power generation facility. Two subsequent Phases, each of which is planned as a 50MW power generation facility, will follow successful completion of Phase I. The Company holds geothermal energy rights to approximately 7,300 acres in the Imperial Valley. Permits have already been obtained for the Phase II and Phase III project sites which have the potential of 100MW under a power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison. In addition, the New River and Keystone projects, both of which are located in the Imperial Valley, have the potential of an additional 100MW and discussions with local utilities on power purchase agreements are ongoing.

The Imperial Valley, located in Southern California, is potentially the largest geothermal resource in the United States. The first geothermal wells in Imperial Valley were drilled in 1957 and the first power plants constructed in 1979. Current production is approximately 600MW. Total capacity is estimated to be in the 10,000MW range according to the Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative Commission.

Hezy Ram, CEO of Ram Power, stated, “The successful drilling of Orita No. 2 reinforces our belief that the Imperial Valley in Southern California represents one of the most lucrative opportunities to develop hundreds of MW of geothermal generating capacity in the US. Ram’s significant land position provides it with the opportunity to develop several projects in the coming years and make it one of the largest geothermal power producers in North America.”

Source: Company release via Marketwire