New Zealand-based JRG Energy, an engineering and consultancy company providing project management, supervision, technical support, and customized upstream/downstream products and services for the geothermal industry, has proposed a new business concept and has started launching it to geothermal production companies around the world.
JRG offers an all-encompassing range of services from exploration and surveying, to drilling, testing, intervention, and scale removal, as well as downstream project engineering and management. Perhaps of most interest recently, the company is offering a low risk, turn-key production enhancement service for geothermal power developers.
The aim is to share financial risks between production companies and service companies to enhance geothermal production levels in existing fields. This concept entails JRG Energy working alongside both parties to optimize production efforts while minimizing costs.
This service starts with a no obligation and no cost assessment of all problematic wells requiring enhancement efforts. This includes:
- Well data review starting from drilling
- Reservoir analysis for all the wells or fields of interest
- Well services options, expectations and measurement criteria
- Post job evaluation and continuous monitoring/support.
- Reservoir management recommendations/consideration
Once the extensive review has been completed, the JRG Energy team will propose a solution(s) to increase production levels of the well or field in question. The solutions could include a number of different things such as chemical abatement, well intervention using coil tubing, capillary tubing or wireline, scale removal, altering injection schemes, drilling new wells, etc. The plan is put forth to the client by means of a detailed project proposal with technical and financial details included.
A performance factor is defined and used as the means to calculate the final invoiced amount to the client. When the intervention work is successful, meaning some or all of the outputs where achieved, the performance factor is applied so that the client is charged proportionately based on the final results of the intervention work.
If no success is achieved during the operations, then only the bare minimum charges apply. Before commencing operations, a capped charge rate is proposed so that, regardless of environmental and operational conditions, the maximum invoiced amount is known to the client. This assists the client with budgeting and financial risk reviews before any work is done.
Thus, if the job is 100% successful, meaning the JRG team has completed all objectives as per the initial assessment, then the total invoice amount will be the same as the proposed amount. If, on the other hand, the intervention has achieved none of the initial goals, then the client only pays the Min charge rate described in the proposal, resulting in only a minor loss for both parties.
Transparency and collaboration between the client and JRG Energy reservoir/well intervention engineers are paramount to the success of this campaign. JRG Energy is committed to providing a successful and low-risk option to their clients in order to achieve production goals.
“With this offering, we are able to leverage our experience with geothermal production enhancement to make the lives of developers easier at a critical stage of production. We believe this provides the industry value by minimizing a certain financial risk element in performing well enhancement techniques, and eventually, will begin to see a better price point for geothermal power …. “, says John Gilliland, geothermal operations manager of JRG Energy.