Successful well drilled for Kiejo-Mbaka geothermal project, Tanzania
Tanzania Geothermal Development Company (TGDC) has successfully spud-in the first geothermal well in Tanzania at the Kiejo-Mbaka project.
It is with great enthusiasm that we were notified of the successful spudding-in of the first geothermal well in Tanzania under the state Geothermal Development Company (TGDC). The well KMB-01 was spud-in on 22nd March 2021 at around 11:09 am EAT.
The Kiejo-Mbaka shallow wells drilling project shall not only set a stage for future drilling works but also will go down in the history as a demonstration of TGDC and indeed the dedication of the Government of Tanzania towards accelerating the development of geothermal resources in Tanzania.
The commencement and successful completion of this project will substantially unlock a slice of geo-scientific comprehension of the Kiejo-Mbaka geothermal system, an important attempt towards the entire development of the prospect. Besides, the project will open doors to future possibilities particularly in research, innovation and development endeavors.
The planned work on the project currently consist of drilling of three shallow wells each to a maximum measured depth of 300 meters with a final open hole HQ diameter, and the set up of drilling infrastructure works i.e. access roads, water supply and drill pads.
The objective with the current slim-well drilling program is to precisely locate and verify the existence of geothermal resource, determine reservoir characteristics (temperature, alteration minerals, permeability and fluid chemistry) and estimate the ability of wells to produce geothermal fluids. It is further targeted to define the thermal gradient over the area and establish the configuration of the thermal anomaly and to preliminary test the conceptual model and allows planning of subsequent deep exploratory well slim wells- 1,500m depth with 4½? final diameter and full-size wells 1,800m depth with 7? final diameter.
Upon sufficient discharge of hot waters from the wells, the wells will be prematurely used for direct use projects. The drilled wells shall enable accessing the hot geothermal fluids, then transfer it through pipelines to the various direct use pilot projects, after which the fluids will be returned into the reservoir.
We thank the Project Manager of the project, Eng. Chagaka Kalimbia for sharing these great news.