Geothermal Drilling
Geysir's fully owned geothermal drilling contractor, Jardboranir (Iceland Drilling Company) has grown significantly in recent years and is now one the largest specialized geothermal drilling company in the world. Having made significant investments in latest technology drilling rigs in recent years Iceland Drilling (ID) has positioned itself to increase its activities abroad. ID was born out of the Icelandic geothermal industry and maintains long and successful working relationships with all of Iceland's energy companies. The origins of ID date back to 1945 when its predecessor, the State Drilling Contractors, was established to drill for all of the power companies in Iceland. The company was incorporated in 1986 and has since then placed a greater emphasis on exporting the skills accumulated and enhanced in Iceland over the past decades while maintaining its lead position in Iceland.
The company offers geothermal drilling, geothermal drilling consulting, waterwell drilling, exploration drilling, drilling equipment such as casing, valves, and total project contracting. ID is ISO 9001:2000 quality management systems certified.
For the last 10 years, ID has drilled 130 high-temperature geothermal wells and over 200 wells since the 1970s, with a well depth range from 2000 - 3300 meters and a record of over 1000 geothermal wells since its inception. The company has 235 skilled employees and owns and operates 8 specialized high-tech geothermal rigs, capable of drilling up to 5500 meter (18000 ft) deep wells. With these specialized rigs, ID is capable of directional drilling, which allows diagonal wells to be drilled in several directions from the same drillpad. This method significantly increases the chance of success, whilst being much more environmentally-friendly by minimizing disturbance on the surface.
PROJECT CONTRACTS IN 2008 & 2009
Contractor drilling in 2008 by ID in Iceland took place in all the major geothermal sites, including; Hellisheidi, Nesjavellir, Reykjanes, Svartsengi and Krafla. In 2008, the company drilled a total of 33 high-temperature geothermal wells, logging record temperatures of 385°C when drilling into molten rock (magma) below 2800 meters depth in Krafla in northern Iceland. Drilling also started on the Icelandic Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) where ID drilled again into molten rock at 2104 meters depth at Krafla on June 24th 2009.
OPERATIONS OUTSIDE OF ICELAND
ID operates internationally and with the record of drilling over several hundred geothermal wells, ID and its subsidiaries are recognized as the experts in the field of geothermal drilling. Their reputation, experience and heritage derived from their work in the domestic market makes the company highly sought after. The company has at its disposal highly trained and experienced experts: engineers, supervisors, foremen and other technical and administrative personnel.
ID owns the subsidiaries; Iceland Drilling UK Ltd., Iceland Drilling (Azores) Unipessoal Lda. and Hekla Energy GmbH in Germany, which have successfully drilled for projects in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and the Azores.