Petratherm will start drilling at Paralana this week

Alexander Richter 21 Haz 2009

Reported in Australia, Petratherm will start this week one of the largest drilling operations in Australia, at the company’s flagship geothermal Paralana project near Flinders Ranges.

“The three-way joint venture project with partners Beach Petroleum and TRUenergy Geothermal is now fully-funded until the proof of concept stage, Petratherm managing director Terry Kallis said.

`We are entering a most exciting stage of the company’s development. The AU$7 million Federal grant, AU$1.5 million from options exercised and AU$7.3 million raised through an SPP offer and placement and the joint venture deal, has placed us in an excellent financial position,” Mr Kallis said.

The company this week signed a Grant Funding Agreement with the Commonwealth Government Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism for its $7 million Geothermal Drilling Program.
“We will spud the first well (Paralana 2) on site next week,” Mr Kallis said.

It will take about two months to reach the target hot rocks located about four kilometres below the earth’s surface.

The deep injection well, in tandem with a soon-to-be-drilled second well, is expected to establish an underground heat exchanger capable of circulating super-heated water during 2010.

Beach Petroleum will manage the drilling operations.

New site pictures show a 40-bed drilling camp on site along with the 54m-high, Weatherford International-owned 2000HP Le Tourneau Lightning Rig #828, that arrived in Port Pirie from Dubai.”

Source: Adelaide Now