Contract Signed for Drilling of 4 Exploration Wells at Ethiopia's Corbetti Geothermal Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 28, the Ethiopia Corbetti Geothermal Project company signed an exploration drilling contract with the UK's Marriott Drilling Group, planning to drill up to 4 geothermal exploration wells at the Corbetti caldera near Shashemene in Oromia State. The project is planned for a total installed capacity of 150 MW, developed in two phases. The first phase involves the construction of a 50 MW geothermal power plant. The current drilling program is scheduled to commence in early 2027, and site preparation work is already underway.

Marriott Drilling Group of the UK will undertake the geothermal resource exploration drilling task, with the drilling results used to confirm the subsurface geothermal resource conditions at the Corbetti caldera. The project company is carrying out the final stage of site preparation, with plans to transport the drilling rig to the site within the coming months and commence drilling operations in early 2027. The exploration results will serve as the basis for the project to proceed to the next phase of development and financial close.

Prior to the signing of this contract, Taranis Operations Ltd had completed the acquisition of a majority stake in the Corbetti project and taken over the next phase of exploration and development work. The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) retains a minority stake of approximately 40% and has injected an additional USD 7.2 million in equity capital through its InfraCo Africa Business Development Limited to support project development jointly with Taranis.

Under the current development plan, the first phase will involve the construction of geothermal production wells, reinjection wells, and a steam field to provide steam resources for a 50 MW geothermal power plant. The second phase is planned to expand by a further 100 MW, bringing the project's total installed capacity to 150 MW. Following the completion of geothermal resource exploration, the project will continue to advance financial close and subsequent power plant construction.

The Corbetti project has previously signed a power purchase agreement with Ethiopian Electric Power. In May 2024, the project company obtained a two-year extension of the power purchase agreement to continue advancing the geothermal resource exploration program. Following the completion of the equity restructuring and the signing of the drilling contract in October 2026, the project has entered a new phase of on-site drilling preparation.