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Kenya: Firm Training Next Crop of Geologists in Africa

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4 years ago

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As Maloune Seatane boards the bus at Menengai Geothermal Project in Nakuru, he marvels at the drilling exploration and steam gathering system.

The Moroccan is among 50 students drawn from various African countries who have joined a growing list of scholars benefiting from practical skills training offered at the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) Centre of Excellence.

“I did not have the slightest idea what was ahead of this training, after this training, I will gain skills that will show me how to utilise geothermal energy in my country, Kenya is the hub of geothermal exploration in Africa. In Morocco, we’re still at the exploration stage, therefore we are yet to tap into this clean energy “said Seatane, a geochemist.

Fikre Feleke, a senior exploration geologist from Ethiopia, is also one of the students seeking knowledge from this centre of excellence, the aim to help his country exploit clean energy.

“Ethiopia is making good progress in geothermal exploration but lacks capacity, skills and expertise. I’m attending this training to get knowledge in geochemistry, geophysics, geological and geophysical mapping and environment,” he said.

Sabah Essa Ibrahim from Djibouti is excited to be in Kenya for the first time to be trained on geothermal exploration skills by well-grounded experts in international deep drilling projects.

“We have hot springs and I’m excited and motivated to learn more as this is my first time to train about geothermal exploration exploits outside Djibouti. It’s a great opportunity for me and I have learned many lessons that I will utilise in my home country,” said Essa, who works in the Office of Geothermal Development in

Sa’edatu Haruna Mohamed, a research officer at the Energy Commission of Nigeria, says attending the training in Kenya marks a new beginning in her career.

Exploration

“It is an exciting course. I hope from the knowledge, skills and wisdom I will acquire, I will be able to impact my colleagues at home, and hopefully, Nigeria will start exploration. We have not so far started,” she said.

Another beneficiary of the training is Emmanuel Mtana, a mechanical engineering graduate at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. He says that sharing best practices with top geologists has opened up his world view on geothermal energy.

“Geothermal energy is an important element that increases a country’s energy security of supply. It’s environmental-friendly energy that contributes to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 that ensures access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, and SDG 13 that calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.”

Annually, 50 young professionals below the age of 35 drawn from Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Morocco, and Nigeria receive practical training at GDC centres of excellence sites in Baringo, Nakuru and Naivasha.

The 50 participants are drawn from different backgrounds and includes geologists, environmental Scientists, engineers, geophysicists, analytical chemists, research officers, reservoir technicians and two economists.

“GDC centre of excellence aims at training a pool of specialists in geothermal resource so that these young experts can use the skills in their countries and be able to exploit these resources,” said Dr Robert Ogutu, the acting principal officer at the centre.

“Africa still lacks enough specialists to help the continent exploit geothermal resource. The numbers are too low as the majority are concentrated in Kenya and a few in Ethiopia,” added Dr Ogutu.

The short course on exploration and development of geothermal resources cuts across the entire value chain of geothermal resource development and includes surface exploration studies, drilling operations, reservoir management, environmental studies and project management.

The training programme is jointly sponsored by GRO Geothermal Training Programme in Iceland, Kenya Electricity Generating Company and GDC. It was launched in 2008 and has so far trained at least 500 geologists and other experts in disciplines related to geothermal resources.

“We have contributed to the pool of expertise within the region on exploration development, assessment, production and operations like reservoir management, drilling management as well as environmental impacts and regulatory compliance,” said Dr Ogutu.

Peter Ndirangu, a geomaticist at KenGen, explains that the course is divided into various segments such as fieldwork, lectures, project work, field visits and assessment.