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KSA’s Taqa establishes JV to explore geothermal energy: The Industrialization andEnergy Services Company (Taqa) signed a joint venture agreement with Iceland’s Reykjavik Geothermal (RG) to establish the Taqa Geothermal Energy Company in Riyadh, according to a statement. The new JV will explore sources of geothermal energy in Saudi Arabia to build up a generation capacity of 1 GW of geothermal power, the statement notes.
Taqa’s been interested in geothermal energy for a while: The company has been actively working in the field of geothermal projects for 10 years, with over 266 geothermal wells drilled in Turkey and Eastern Europe, according to a 2021 statement. The company launched the Taqa Geothermal Center of Excellence in Turkey in 2021 to study and share knowledge with global stakeholders on geothermal energy development, according to yesterday’s statement.
The region’s interest in geothermal energy is growing: Saudi Arabia signed an agreement with the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) — a government agency tasked with sourcing and storing geological data — to “explore the sources of geothermal energy in the kingdom” last January. In November, oil giant Schlumberger signed an agreement with Oman to help build its national geothermal energy strategy. As part of the agreement, Schlumberger evaluated data from over 7k oil, gas, and water wells to identify where geothermal processes can be integrated for future installations.
And research points to much untapped potential: Two potential geothermal energy sources in Egypt can alone help mitigate 20 mn tons of CO2 emissions, one study (pdf) finds. Another study (pdf) identified 18 regions in Iran with promising geothermal prospects. The level of enthalpy — a measurement for the total heat content of a system — in geothermal reservoirs across the region are highest in Turkey, Iran, and Yemen, according to an academic review (pdf).
About RG: The company provides services including resource exploration, reservoir assessment, production drilling, design and construction of geothermal power plants, and plant operation management, according to their website.
