Design and cost feasibility to use electricity from the grid for KenGen drilling rigs

Abstract

KenGen owns and operate three land drilling rigs; one mechanical rig rated at 550 Hp and two electrical rigs rated at 2000 Hp, all stationed at Olkaria for drilling of geothermal wells. Among the operation expenses of drilling, the fuel cost component accounts for the largest part. This is due to the fact that drilling is a 24 hour energy intensive activity that rely on continuous operations of generators for supply of energy for motive power required by several equipment on the rig. Generators are known for their energy inefficiency due to various stages of conversion from chemical energy to mechanical energy and finally to electrical energy. Fuel efficiency is rarely achieved in rig generators due to intermittent load requirements brought by constant switching on and off of main working loads. This make generators consume more fuel than the comensurate electrical loads they carry. When the consumption is high, the expenses of fuel is high. Rig generators also have high maintenance costs due to their continuous operation. All these factors combined provide a genuine need to find alternative source of power to the rig. This is the essence of this project study.