Icelanders to drill NZ steamfields
Jardboranir lands $32m contract; plans to send its biggest rig to drill in the Ngatamariki geothermal steam field.
Jardboranir says it will send its biggest rig, Tyr, to New Zealand once it signs a three billion Icelandic krona ($NZ32.09 million) contract to drill in the Ngatamariki geothermal steam field.
The field, 17 km northeast of Lake Taupo will supply a new 82 MW electricity plant, the Icelandic Review magazine reported on its website.
"New Zealanders are placing greater emphasis on increasing the proportion of renewable energy they use," said the chief executive of Jardboranir, Bent Einarsson. New Zealand was already one of the global leaders in this field.
Jardboranir’s largest drilling rig will be sent to Taupo with between 30 and 40 experts from Jardboranir for the two-year contract, which is expected to be signed alter this month.
Mighty River Power development general manager Mark Trigg said the Icelandic company had extensive experience of geothermal drilling, and "new generation" equipment that was more automated than the drilling equipment used in New Zealand.
"It represents a significant step forward in drilling technology in New Zealand," he said. The rig was expected to be available for exploratory drilling and for drilling replacement wells in other steam fields.
NZPA
Thu, 16 Jun 2011
Thu, 16 Jun 2011
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Icelanders to drill NZ steamfields
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