Cornish Lithium has awarded Halliburton a contract to provide integrated well services for its Cross Lanes Geothermal Lithium Project in Cornwall, UK.
Halliburton will undertake subsurface modelling and well engineering and provide the equipment and services required to drill and test two appraisal wells. The programme is intended to estimate the volume of lithium contained in geothermal waters circulating through the Cornubian Batholith, a large granite body underlying much of Cornwall and Devon.
The commercial-scale wells will support extended testing of the geothermal reservoir, including the assessment of sustainable production conditions and water reinjection rates. Cornish Lithium will also use the programme to demonstrate its preferred direct lithium extraction technology and investigate whether geothermal heat could be supplied to local homes and businesses.
Data obtained from the wells will inform the project’s final investment decision and Cornish Lithium’s wider plans to develop a network of modular geothermal lithium production hubs across Cornwall.
Martin Geissler, VP general manager for Lithium in Geothermal Waters at Cornish Lithium, said Halliburton would support the project from well design through to construction, bringing extensive drilling and geothermal experience to the programme.
Cornish Lithium drilled and tested an exploration borehole at Cross Lanes in 2023, confirming the presence of lithium-rich geothermal waters within the underlying rock formations.
The latest work forms part of a £14.5 million drilling and testing programme, supported by a £7.2 million grant from the UK Government’s DRIVE35 initiative. Planning permission has been granted for the first phase of the project.
Jean-Marc Lopez, Halliburton senior vice-president for Europe, Eurasia and Sub-Saharan Africa, said the company would draw on more than 70 years of geothermal development experience to execute the drilling programme.
Image courtesy of Cornish Lithium.
