November 2014 – ARUSHA, TANZANIA – Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the US-East Africa Geothermal Partnership (EAGP) sponsored two pre-conference workshops at the 5^th African Rift Geothermal Conference (ARGeo C-5).  Instructors from the United States, Australia, Iceland, Kenya, Rwanda, and Germany taught two courses, “The Use of Optimized Exploration, Data Management, Conceptual Modeling, and Well Design and Planning to Improve Drilling Successes” and “Financing Geothermal Projects from Exploration through Construction”.  The courses were attended by delegates from Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.  Each workshop was held over the course of two days and featured presentations from industry experts.

ABOUT THE US-EAST AFRICA GEOTHERMAL PARTNERSHIP

The U.S.-East Africa Geothermal Partnership (EAGP) was established in September 2012 to promote the development of geothermal energy resources and projects in East Africa. It also encourages and facilitates the involvement of the U.S. geothermal industry in the region. The EAGP program is a partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA), and is implemented by the U.S. Energy Association (USEA).  EAGP focuses on six priority countries: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Through the EAGP program, the United States Energy Association (USEA) is providing technical and transaction advisory support and capacity building to public organizations and government ministries involved in geothermal development in the region through executive exchanges, workshops and short-term technical assistance assignments to learn about geothermal best practices from their counterparts in the U.S. and third countries.

ABOUT THE AFRICAN RIFT GEOTHERMAL CONFERENCE

The Fifth African Rift Geothermal Conference was held at the Arusha International Convention Center, in Arusha, Tanzania on October 27 -31, 2014 and was hosted by the UNEP ARGeo Geothermal Programme.  The conference consisted of three parallel pre-conference short courses as well as the three-day main conference.  ARGeo-C5 brought together more than 500 national, regional and international delegates from 30 countries that included policy makers, member of parliaments, technical experts, developers and financiers as well as institutions from Africa and across the world. The conference provided a platform to discuss and explore solutions for: (i) Mitigating the risks associated with resource exploration (ii) reducing lead times in developing geothermal projects; (iii) leveraging investment to stimulate the growth of industry; and (iv) effectively developing, constructing, and operating successful geothermal power plants.  Prior to the start of the main conference, the ARGeo Geothermal Inventory Database (AGID) was launched.  AGID will serve as a resource and information sharing platform to enhance cooperation between geothermal stakeholders in East African countries.

SHORT COURSE ON FINANCING GEOTHERMAL PROJECT FROM EXPLORATION THROUGH CONSTRUCTION

This short course was designed to provide insight into the sources of financing for the various phases of exploration, reservoir confirmation drilling, well field development, and power plant design and construction and the requirement of financiers.  Innovative and non-conventional sources of financing, as well as achieving a better understanding of the needs and the objectives of the respective partners who much be involved in power purchase agreement negotiations were also discussed.  Topics covered in this course included:  Developing Geothermal Projects and Financing for Each Phase, The Requirements of Private Sector Project Financing and the Needs of Public Sector Partners, Risk Mitigation, and Financing Mechanisms.  The course was attended by a total of 40 delegates, representing all of the countries in attendance at the conference.   Instructors for this course were Dr. Graeme Beardsmore of Hot Dry Rocks, Dr. R. Gordon Bloomquist, Mr. Richard Campbell, PE, Mr. Markus Christen of MC Capital Partners LLC, Mr. Raihan Elahi of World Bank, Mr. Stephan Jacob of Munich RE, Mr. Kaburu Mwrichia, Mr. Paul Ngugi of GDC, and Mr. Hezy Ram of Ram Energy.  A key takeaway from the participant responses to the post-course survey is that additional trainings in project finance management, procurement practices, and project management would be beneficial to all countries involved. 

 SHORT COURSE ON THE USE OF OPTIMIZED EXPLORATION, DATA MANAGEMENT, CONCEPTUAL MODELING, AND WELL DESIGN AND PLANNING TO IMPROVE DRILLING SUCCESSES

This two day short course was designed to introduce participants to the benefits of adopting and implementing a comprehensive approach to exploration, development and long term productivity of geothermal reservoirs so as to not only minimize drilling risk thought the life of the project, but also to achieve optimal reservoir productivity.  Topics covered in this course included:  Conceptual Modeling, Designing and Implementing an Exploration Program,  Data Acquisition and Management, Development of a Drilling Plan and Budget, and case studies on Ethiopia, Iceland, and Rwanda data activities. The course was attended by a total of 40 delegates, representing all of the countries in attendance at the conference.   Instructors for this course were Mr. Sam Abraham of Baker Hughes, Dr. Graeme Beardsmore of Hot Dry Rocks, Dr. R. Gordon Bloomquist, Ms. Uwera Rutagarama of Energy Development Corporation Ltd, Rwanda Energy Group, Dr. James Stimac, Dr. Benedikt Steingrimsson of ISOR, and Mr. Richard Zehner of Geothermal Development Associates.  A key takeaway from the participant responses to the post-course survey is that additional trainings in data acquisition and management, drilling plan and budget creation, and conceptual modeling would be beneficial to all countries involved.

For additional information, please contact Andrew Palmateer at [email protected].