Western GeoPower Corp.: Drilling Underway at the Geysers
March 11 2008 - 2:41AM
Marketwired
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (FRANKFURT: WE6.F), a renewable
energy development company, today announced the commencement of
drilling at the Western GeoPower Unit 1 project at The Geysers
Geothermal Field in California. Drilling and testing of the first
well is expected to take up to 90 days. The drilling program will
involve the drilling of a minimum of eight production wells and at
least one injector well.
Independent consultant GeothermEx, Inc. of Richmond, California
has designed the drilling program and is providing strategic
management throughout the drilling phase. The wells will be
directionally drilled from existing drill pads to intersect target
zones where commercial steam productivity was encountered by
previous production wells. The average total vertical depth per
well is anticipated to be 8,000 - 9,000 feet (2,500 - 2,800m) with
the maximum total measured depth expected to be approximately
11,000 feet (3,400m).
ThermaSource, Inc. has been engaged as the principal drilling
contractor for the drilling program. In business since 1980,
ThermaSource is a leading geothermal drilling company and project
management consultant, based in Santa Rosa, California. The
ThermaSource management team has over 90 years of combined
geothermal drilling experience, including recent drilling at The
Geysers Field.
Baker Hughes Divisions - INTEQ, Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids and
Hughes Christensen is providing the major drilling services for the
drilling program (including directional drilling equipment and
engineering services; drilling fluids; and drill bits), with
technical support provided by the geothermal group of Baker Hughes.
Western GeoPower previously engaged the Baker Hughes Group to
provide similar services for the drilling program at the South
Meager geothermal project in British Columbia, Canada.
Brelje & Race Consulting Civil Engineers, of Santa Rosa,
California, under the direction of Paula Blaydes, Senior
Environmental & Land Use Planner, is the environmental and
permitting specialist for the project.
"We have assembled a technical team that has considerable
experience with drilling in The Geysers and has a track record of
operating as a cohesive unit throughout all phases of drilling
operations," said Kenneth MacLeod, President and CEO of Western
GeoPower. "Development of the steam field is being structured to
enable the start of commercial operations in early 2010 at the
proposed Western GeoPower Unit 1 power plant."
Western GeoPower's internal project management team is comprised
of Mike Long, MSc, PE, Operations Manager; Randy Fulcher, Drilling
Supervisor; and Tim Smith, Field Coordinator.
Mike Long has extensive Project Management experience, having
served as the Engineering Project Manager for a series of large
geothermal flash plant projects totaling more than 400 MWe in new
capacity worldwide. He spent over 15 years working for POWER
Engineers, Inc., a world leader in the design and engineering of
geothermal energy projects, where he held the position of Manager
of Renewable Energy Projects.
Randy Fulcher has 35 years of geothermal drilling experience
throughout various fields in California (including The Geysers
Field), Southeast Asia and Central America. His expertise includes
well drilling, completion procedures and repair work. For the past
decade, Mr. Fulcher worked as Pacific Area Down-Hole Systems
Manager for Weatherford International, Inc.
Tim Smith has 26 years of experience as a Drilling
Foreman/Superintendent in geothermal and natural gas operations,
including 16 years with Calpine Corporation primarily focused on
The Geysers Field. Mr. Smith has significant experience
coordinating and planning drilling operations as well as drilling
management.
The Geysers geothermal field, located 75 miles north of San
Francisco, California, is the largest producer of geothermal
electricity in the world. Commercial geothermal power has been
generated continuously at The Geysers field since 1960, the present
generation level being about 900 megawatts of clean, baseload
electricity. Western GeoPower's Unit 1 project is situated in the
south-western region of The Geysers field in Sonoma County.
Western GeoPower Corp. is a renewable energy company dedicated
to the development of geothermal energy projects for the delivery
of clean, sustainable, baseload electricity generation. The Company
is developing The Western GeoPower Unit 1 geothermal power plant at
The Geysers Geothermal Field in California, United States. Western
GeoPower is also developing the South Meager Geothermal Project in
British Columbia, Canada.
On behalf of Western GeoPower Corp.
Kenneth MacLeod, President & CEO
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this release that are forward-looking are subject
to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors
identified above that reflect the Company's expectations and
projections about its future results. The Company has tried
whenever possible to identify these forward-looking statements
which include but are not limited to, words such as "anticipates,"
believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "potential,"
and similar expressions. Although the Company believes the
expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based
on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of
future performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Investors
are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and that actual results or developments may differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
The Company disclaims any obligation or intention to update or to
revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Such information contained
herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof
based on information currently available.
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts: Western GeoPower Corp. Investor Relations (604)
662-3338 or US/Canada Toll Free: 1-866-662-3322 (604) 646-6603
(FAX) Email: info@geopower.ca or IR@geopower.ca Website:
www.geopower.ca
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