Fracking geothermal

GEOTHERMAL

Fervo Energy announces successful geothermal pilot

• Fervo Energy announces successful completion of well test at its commercial pilot project, Project Red, in northern Nevada.

• The well test confirms the commercial viability of Fervo’s drilling technology and establishes Project Red as the most productive enhanced geothermal system in history.

• The 30-day well test achieved a flowrate of 63 liters per second at high temperature, enabling 3.5 MW of electric production.

• Fervo is the first company to successfully drill a horizontal well pair for commercial geothermal production, achieving lateral lengths of 3,250 feet and reaching a temperature of 191 °C.

• Fervo implemented an induced seismicity mitigation protocol and completed the project without incident.

• Data collected from the pilot will enable rapid advancement in geothermal deployment, with plans for Fervo’s next horizontal well pair to achieve more than double the power output of the pilot design.

• Fervo’s achievements were made possible through the application of drilling technology from the oil and gas industry.

• Fervo’s partnership with Google aims to develop next-generation geothermal power to power Google’s Cloud region in Las Vegas with carbon-free energy.

• The results from Project Red support the findings of the DOE Enhanced Geothermal Earthshot, indicating that geothermal energy could supply over 20% of U.S. power needs and help achieve a fully decarbonized grid.

• Fervo has broken ground on its first greenfield development in southwest Utah, adjacent to the DOE’s Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE).

Recently, we covered Devon’s $10mm investment into Fervo 

LNG

Cheniere explores pipeline expansion for LNG growth

• Cheniere Energy, the largest U.S. LNG exporter, plans to build a new pipeline to connect its Louisiana expansion project to other pipelines in shale-gas producing regions.

• The pipeline aims to diversify Cheniere’s gas supply and support its planned “Stage 5” capacity at the Sabine Pass facility.

• The pipeline will provide access to Haynesville, Marcellus, mid-continent, Permian, and Eagleford shale gas.

• Cheniere has already repurposed existing pipelines to supply gas to its Louisiana facility, but additional supply is needed.

• The company currently spends $800 million annually on pipeline transit fees to transport natural gas from 26 pipelines to its LNG plants in Texas and Louisiana.

• The new pipeline’s cost and size have not been disclosed.

• The project likely requires a small header system to aggregate gas from multiple lines.

• The pipeline is designed to produce up to 20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG but is not yet funded.

• Proposed LNG and gas pipeline projects in the Gulf Coast region are expected to receive approval without significant environmental opposition.

EV BATTERY

India’s Tata to develop $5 billion gigafactory in UK

• Tata Group, an Indian conglomerate, plans to invest over £4 billion ($5.17 billion) in building a major facility for electric car battery production in the UK.

• The gigafactory is expected to be one of Europe’s largest and will support the UK’s goal of securing its own supply of EV batteries.

• The factory aims to start production in 2026 and will create approximately 4,000 direct jobs.

• Jaguar Land Rover, a subsidiary of Tata Motors, will be one of the primary customers for the batteries, with other customers in the UK and Europe also being considered.

• The gigafactory will generate additional jobs in sectors related to critical raw minerals and battery materials.

• The UK government highlights that this investment is crucial for boosting the country’s battery manufacturing capacity to support the long-term growth of the electric vehicle industry.

• With an initial output of 40GWh, the factory will contribute nearly half the battery production needed in the UK by 2030.

OIL AND GAS

In a shocking turn of events…

Blackrock adds CEO of Aramco onto the board

• BlackRock has appointed Amin Nasser, the CEO of Saudi Aramco, as an independent director.

• Nasser, who joined Aramco in 1982 and led their IPO in 2019, brings expertise in the Middle East to fill a gap on BlackRock’s board.

• BlackRock aims to balance its stance on climate change by investing in fossil fuel companies while encouraging them to adopt energy transition plans.

• The asset manager projects global annual investment in the energy system to reach $4 trillion by 2050.

• Aramco unveiled a $1.5 billion sustainability fund focused on areas such as carbon capture, greenhouse gas emissions, and alternative fuels.

• Nasser believes that alternatives to fossil fuels are not yet capable of meeting the growing energy demand and calls for parallel efforts until alternatives are ready.

• Saudi Arabia aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060, aligning with global climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement.

Hess publishes 26th annual sustainability report

• Hess has published its 26th Annual Sustainability Report highlighting its ESG programs and initiatives.

• The company is committed to achieving net zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

• Hess made significant progress towards its 2025 emissions reduction targets and aims to achieve zero routine flaring from its operations.

• They announced a forest preservation agreement with the Government of Guyana, investing a minimum of $750 million in purchasing carbon credits to save forests and combat climate change.

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.