Setting new standards for geothermal drilling and the role of geothermal in Ukraine
"Setting new standards for geothermal drilling and the role of geothermal in Ukraine" - an interview with Kevin Gray and Daria Ivakhnenko of Black Reiver Consulting (inset image c/o Fred Boer / Black Reiver Consulting)
Carlo Cariaga
10 Oct 2024
In this interview, Black Reiver shares their work on improving geothermal drilling standards and the importance of putting geothermal on Ukraine's energy map.
A growing geothermal industry will need more drillers to reach its goals. The discipline of geothermal well construction also needs robust and universal standards, better project management, and technological innovations.
Black Reiver Consulting is one of the companies doing the legwork in geothermal training and consulting. In addition to their work in training, developing standards and advisory worldwide, they recently translated Baseload Capital’s “Our Hidden Powers” children’s book into Ukrainian.
We interviewed Kevin Gray and Daria Ivakhnenko to learn more about Black Reiver’s role in the geothermal industry and their sentiment on Ukraine’s geothermal potential.
Improving the standards of geothermal drilling
Thirteen years ago, Black Reiver was founded to provide petroleum expertise and training. Kevin is approaching 35 years of experience in drilling, while Daria has over 20 years of experience in technical translation, training and standards.
Several years ago, the company expanded into geothermal. The move was motivated by observing poor drilling performance and project management in many geothermal projects. The move will support the global transition to more sustainable energy. The company saw this as an opportunity to bring its bread and butter—improving drilling performance and technologies—into the geothermal sector.
The more the company transitioned to geothermal, the more clients’ needs grew. Black Reiver Consulting gathered a team of experts to meet this demand, partnering with Tony Pink and contracting geoscientists Ben Adams and Lucy Cotton. The company now has a team with a second-to-none technical background, with competencies in seismic interpretation and reservoir modelling complementing their combined drilling expertise.
“What we are doing right now is a lot of due diligence in projects and technologies for potential investors,” said Kevin. The consultancy company gives investors a good understanding of projects’ feasibility using their expertise and in-house software packages for reservoir modelling.
Translation of “Our Hidden Powers”
Black Reiver joined the EGEC at the same time as Baseload Capital. This coincidence allowed the two companies to interact and explore collaboration, eventually paving the way for a Ukrainian translation of the “Our Hidden Powers” children’s book.
A key part of this collaboration was Daria, who specializes in translating and interpreting technical training courses, regulations, and standards and consulting as a linguistic expert for Black Reiver. “It’s not quite my cup of tea, but I have a daughter, so I hope I know how to talk to children,” commented Daria.
Daria emphasized that the geothermal industry in Ukraine is at a very early stage of development. Thus, it is even more important to start educating people about renewable energy to give them an idea about its place in the country’s and the world’s energy structures.
The children’s book may be useful for parents who know little about the energy industry. It is written in simple language and comes with lovely illustrations. With the translation, geothermal energy can become less of a mystery to children and adults in Ukraine.
Supporting energy education in Ukraine is now more important than ever. Just a few weeks ago, the Russians attacked the Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas. Black Reiver was scheduled to deliver a training course there, and the university was also originally the venue of the Ukrainian geothermal conference.
“They want to kill academia and knowledge in the industry, so we have to work to counteract it,” commented Kevin.
Ukraine at an excellent position for geothermal growth
Geothermal in Ukraine, being at an early stage of development, has its advantages. It means that Ukraine has plenty of lessons from projects globally to learn from and plenty of proven technologies to choose from. It also means that they do not have to repeat the mistakes that others have made.
Russian attacks have heavily damaged Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. When the war is over, this infrastructure will have to be rebuilt. Geothermal provides compelling value as an energy installation that will be very difficult to destroy beyond repair, unlike nuclear or coal.
One of Ukraine’s many notable achievements was its ability to sell electricity abroad, even during wartime.
Ukraine also has a large human capital for well construction. The drilling industry in Ukraine dates back to the end of the 19th century. The local drilling industry may not be the most edge-cutting in the world, but plenty of people in Ukraine know how to drill a well.
An existing energy export mechanism, a relatively low-cost base, and a large human capital for drilling make geothermal energy in Ukraine worth investing in.
Establishing new standards in geothermal drilling
Kevin, Daria, and Tony are involved in developing geothermal well classification as part of the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC).
This effort aims to bring some order into geothermal drilling by setting unified definitions and standards to create clear and transparent guidelines that can be used by project developers, investors, shareholders, and regulators worldwide.
The IADC is expected to make presentations and give updates on the progress of its work on establishing these standards.
