Stabbing the 473 mm casing together for Habanero 3 - credit Geodynamics Limited
#6 David Shakhovskoy: Sustainable Energy Drilling Engineer
After working for oil services companies and spending three years overseas on an oil drilling rig, David Shakhovskoy decided to move into geothermal energy – where power is generated by piping water through hot rocks deep below the earth’s surface.
About 15 months ago, engineer David Shakhovskoy, after working for oil services companies and spending three years overseas on an oil drilling rig, decided to move into sustainable energy.
His return to Australia saw David begin a masters’ in renewable energy systems and it was this that inspired his move into geothermal energy – where power is generated by piping water into hot-rock fissures kilometres below the surface and then harnessing the resultant steam.
Environmental Drilling
David cold-called Geodynamics – Australia’s largest listed public company focused solely on geothermal energy – and within two weeks was employed as a drilling engineer.
“Geothermal wells are very similar to oil wells so working for Geodynamics gave me the ideal chance to draw on my previous experience and apply it in a more environmentally sustainable field,” he says. “Oil is very important to how the world works but geothermal energy gave me an opportunity to work with new environments, technologies and challenges.”
Geodynamics uses the same rig as in oil exploration but because tapping geothermal energy requires deeper drilling than previously done in Australia and at temperatures of more than 250 degrees, David is involved in designing pipes from new materials that can withstand these extremes.
Australian Innovation
He is particularly focused on designing and project managing the drilling program for geothermal wells in the Cooper Basin, South Australia.
A typical day sees David design wells, organise drilling equipment and analyse data to improve the company’s drilling program.
“I analyse what happens in the well and, based on surface indications, try to decide what’s happening thousands of metres below the earth and choose the best way forward for drilling the well faster and more cheaply,” he says.
“We are drilling hotter, deeper and larger wells than anyone has drilled before in Australia. We are pushing the limits of existing materials, technologies and practices, all of which provide a lot of challenges and require a lot of technical innovation and new thinking.”
David says his long-term goal is to develop design and implementation skills in the newly-created geothermal industry and help it become a technically and economically viable technology.
