Tiwi geothermal area. credits to PGPC
The Philippine Geothermal Production Company, Inc. (PGPC) awarded Tenaris the supply seamless casings needed for its ongoing steam field facilities development project in Tiwi and Malinao, in the Philippines. The project requires pipes with premium connections that can reliably withstand depths of 2,600 meters and temperatures of about 300 degrees Celsius.
Renewable energy is a very important resource in the Philippines, covering around 30% of the national energy requirement of the country. Through the years, the Philippines have significantly increased its geothermal activities for the production of electricity.
Through this project, PGPC intends to increase and improve their wells’ steam flow rate and production capacity. As the maintenance of well integrity is very crucial, it is very important that the 16” seamless casings to be used will be able to bear the structural and mechanical loads previously designed for a 13 3/8” connection. This means that premium connections in the 16” string should meet the same qualifications as the production casing.
“Through our close collaboration with the customer and understanding the drilling challenges for the geothermal well, we have been able to work together and offer an innovative solution,” says Muhammad Hamzah, Technical Sales Regional Senior Manager. “This was a great opportunity for us to analyze the well design as a whole and start exchanging data and documentation with PGPC to evaluate the suitable premium connection.”
PGPC has very stringent requirements for production casing connections, requiring compliance with certain standards and qualifications, specifically the TWCCEP (Thermal Well Casing Connection Evaluation Protocol).
“We analyzed our wide product portfolio to identify a connection with high sealability, to avoid steam leaking, with high clearance, and TWCCEP qualified. After reviewing with Tenaris’s product engineering team, we proposed the TenarisHydril Blue® Max premium connection, designed with Dopeless® technology, which is a threaded and coupled connection with special tight clearance. This technology has a sphere-to-cone seal geometry that provides reliable sealing under extreme loads,” shares Hamzah.
Leveraging Tenaris’s expertise in oil and gas projects allowed the team to provide technically advanced solutions to optimize and increase the productivity of the wells, going beyond standard practices in geothermal operations. This milestone will definitely contribute to the ongoing increase in geothermal energy adoption in the Philippines and beyond.
PGPC is a Filipino corporation owned by the SM Investments Corporation and is the pioneer in geothermal development in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Its Tiwi and Mak-Ban steams fields generate approximately 300 megawatts of electricity combined. PGPC is also in the process of exploring and developing several geothermal prospects in the Philippines, contributing to sustainable renewable energy advancement in the country.
Read more about Tenaris solutions for geothermal projects.
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