Fervo Energy has announced the confirmation of a resource temperature of above 555 °F (290 °C) at Project Blanford, a new greenfield geothermal site in Millard County, Utah. This represents the hottest well that the company has drilled to date, thus validating their AI-enabled drilling and exploration technology and further expanding the company’s pipeline of enhanced geothermal projects.
The appraisal results were announced during remarks by Fervo’s Co-Founder and CTO, Dr. Jack Norbeck, at the 51st Stanford Geothermal Workshop.
The validation of the resource comes after an appraisal drilling campaign at the Project Blanford site. The vertical appraisal well was drilled in under 11 days, confirming the resource at a depth of 11200 feet (3412 m).
An independent assessment completed using the appraisal data confirms a multi-gigawatt resource potential at the Blanford site. Additionally, a diagnostic fracture injection test was performed successfully, validating the ability to stimulate the target formation and providing key reservoir data for development planning.
Another unique aspect of the Blanford site is that its resource is hosted in a sedimentary formation (sandstones, claystones, and carbonates), in contrast to previous project that have validated EGS development in metamorphic and igneous formations. This expands Fervo’s geologic footprint and paves the way for EGS development in formations that can be drilled more easily and cost-effectively.
“Fervo’s exploration strategy has always been underpinned by the seamless integration of cutting-edge data acquisition and advanced analytics,” said Norbeck. “This latest ultra-high temperature discovery highlights our team’s ability to detect and develop EGS sweet spots using AI-enhanced geophysical techniques.”
The latest announcement follows Fervo’s unparalleled trajectory in technology innovation across several fronts – EGS development, drilling execution, AI-driven exploration, and high-temperature resource development. The discovery of progressively hotter geothermal resources, from 365 °F (185 °C) at Project Red to 400°F (204 °C) at Cape Station, opens opportunities for exponentially higher productivity in wells, and thus a more commercially viable pathway to scaling up.
Source: Fervo Energy
