Short Courses | ARGeo-C11

01

Short Course 01

Financing Geothermal Projects in Africa while Leveraging on Carbon Markets and RE Funds

Duration

Two days

Lead / Resource Support

Geothermal companies, project funders, carbon market experts, climate finance specialists, geothermal experts, project developers and beneficiaries.

Background & Rationale

Geothermal development in Africa is strategically important for energy security, industrial development and the transition to low-carbon energy systems. However, geothermal projects are capital intensive and often face high upfront exploration, drilling and resource confirmation risks before they can attract conventional commercial finance. Public finance, concessional resources, guarantees, risk mitigation instruments and grant support remain important, but African projects also need innovative financing approaches that can improve bankability and reduce the cost of capital. Carbon markets and renewable energy funds can provide complementary support when properly structured.

Core Emphasis

Financing geothermal projects using traditional project finance methods, renewable energy funds and innovative carbon trading mechanisms as project finance support, with a strong focus on African experience.

Overall Objective

To strengthen the capacity of African geothermal stakeholders to structure and finance geothermal projects using conventional project finance instruments, renewable energy funds, climate finance and carbon market mechanisms.

Specific Learning Objectives

› Explain the geothermal project financing cycle from early-stage studies to construction and operation.

› Identify traditional financing sources, including public finance, development finance, commercial loans, equity, grants, guarantees and risk mitigation instruments.

› Understand how renewable energy funds and climate finance facilities can support geothermal project preparation and implementation.

› Explain how carbon markets can support geothermal project financing through monetization of emission reductions.

› Assess eligibility, additionality, baseline, monitoring, reporting and verification requirements for geothermal carbon projects.

› Draw practical lessons from African experience in financing geothermal and renewable energy projects.

› Identify practical steps for preparing geothermal projects for funders, investors and carbon market participation.

Target Participants

Geothermal project developers, government officials, utilities, regulators, financiers, development partners, carbon market professionals, climate finance specialists, private investors, consultants, project beneficiaries, researchers and young professionals.

Proposed Course Content

› Geothermal project development cycle and financing requirements at each stage.

› Traditional financing methods for geothermal projects: grants, concessional loans, equity, commercial debt, guarantees and risk mitigation facilities.

› Renewable energy funds and climate finance opportunities relevant to African geothermal projects.

› Carbon markets and geothermal: compliance markets, voluntary markets, Article 6 approaches and project-based carbon crediting.

› Carbon revenue as project finance support: opportunities, limitations and transaction structures.

› African experience: lessons from geothermal, renewable energy and carbon market beneficiaries.

› Investor and funder requirements: project preparation, bankability, governance, safeguards and risk allocation.

› Group exercise: preparing a financing and carbon market support outline for a geothermal project.

Training Methodology

The course will combine presentations, case studies, panel discussions with funders and beneficiaries, practical group work and guided exercises. Participants will review a simplified geothermal project and identify financing gaps, potential funding sources, carbon revenue opportunities and risk mitigation measures.

Expected Outputs

› A practical understanding of geothermal project finance options in Africa.

› Improved awareness of renewable energy funds, climate finance and carbon market mechanisms.

› A financing-readiness checklist for geothermal project developers.

› Draft group financing outlines showing how traditional finance, RE funds and carbon revenue can be combined.

› Improved appreciation of African experience, challenges and lessons learned.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Pre- and post-course questionnaires, participation in group exercises, presentation of group financing outlines and participant feedback forms.

Certification & Follow-up

Participants who attend the full course and complete the practical exercises may receive a certificate of participation. Follow-up may include sharing of training materials, practical templates and contact points for continued technical collaboration after ARGeo-C11.

02

Short Course 02

Geothermal Drilling Engineering, Drilling Project Planning and Risk Management

Duration

Two days

Lead / Resource Support

Drilling engineers, geothermal project managers, training institutions and bilateral cooperation partners.

Background & Rationale

Drilling is one of the most technically demanding and costly phases of geothermal development. A successful drilling campaign requires strong engineering design, disciplined project planning, sound procurement, effective supervision and proactive management of geological, technical, financial, environmental, health, safety and operational risks. In Africa, geothermal drilling programmes often face challenges related to limited drilling experience, complex geology, procurement constraints, logistics, well control, cost escalation and uncertainty in resource confirmation.

Core Emphasis

Drilling engineering, drilling planning and risk management for geothermal projects.

Overall Objective

To equip participants with practical knowledge and tools for planning, engineering, implementing and managing geothermal drilling projects while reducing technical, operational, financial and safeguards risks.

Specific Learning Objectives

› Describe the geothermal drilling project cycle from well targeting to drilling, testing and post-drilling evaluation.

› Understand the key elements of geothermal drilling engineering, including well design, casing design, cementing, drilling fluids, directional drilling and well control.

› Prepare and review drilling plans, drilling programmes, budgets, schedules and procurement packages.

› Identify and manage risks associated with drilling operations, contracts, HSE, logistics, cost and schedule.

› Understand the roles of project owners, drilling contractors, supervisors, regulators, financiers and training institutions.

› Relate drilling results to resource confirmation, well testing, conceptual model updates and investment decisions.

Target Participants

Drilling engineers, geoscientists, reservoir engineers, geothermal project managers, government officials, utilities, regulators, procurement specialists, HSE specialists, training institutions, consultants and early-career geothermal professionals.

Proposed Course Content

› Overview of geothermal drilling in the project development cycle.

› Well targeting and integration of surface exploration, conceptual models and drilling objectives.

› Drilling engineering fundamentals: well design, casing, cementing, drilling fluids, rig selection, directional drilling and well control.

› Drilling project planning: work breakdown structures, schedules, budgets, procurement, contracts and logistics.

› Drilling supervision, daily reporting, quality assurance and contractor management.

› Health, safety and environmental management during drilling.

› Risk management: risk registers, mitigation planning, contingency planning and decision gates.

› Well testing, drilling results interpretation and implications for conceptual model refinement.

› Group exercise: preparing a drilling plan and risk register for an exploration well.

Training Methodology

The course will use technical lectures, drilling case studies, practical examples, group exercises and facilitated discussions. Participants will work through a simplified geothermal drilling project, develop a drilling plan and prepare a risk register with mitigation actions and responsibilities.

Expected Outputs

› Improved understanding of geothermal drilling engineering and project planning.

› A practical drilling planning checklist.

› A sample drilling project risk register.

› Improved capacity to supervise drilling contractors and manage drilling risks.

› Clearer understanding of how drilling results feed into resource confirmation and project decisions.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Pre- and post-course assessment, review of group drilling plans and risk registers, participation in discussions and participant feedback.

Certification & Follow-up

Participants who attend the full course and complete the practical exercises may receive a certificate of participation. Follow-up may include sharing of training materials, practical templates and contact points for continued technical collaboration after ARGeo-C11.

03

Short Course 03

Low-Medium Temperature Geothermal Resources for Distributed Generation, Captive Power and Direct Use Applications

Duration

Two days

Lead / Resource Support

Direct-use geothermal experts, engineering specialists, business model experts, productive-use experts, small power project experts using Organic Rankine Cycle technology and international geothermal training institutions.

Background & Rationale

Many African countries have geothermal resources that may not immediately support large conventional power plants but can still deliver high economic and social value through distributed power, captive power and direct-use applications. Low to medium temperature resources can support small power projects using technologies such as Organic Rankine Cycle systems, as well as productive thermal applications in agriculture, food processing, aquaculture, tourism, industry, heating and cooling.

Core Emphasis

Exploration, drilling and development of direct-use application projects and small power projects.

Overall Objective

To build practical capacity for identifying, exploring, drilling, designing and developing low to medium temperature geothermal resources for distributed and captive power and direct-use applications in Africa.

Specific Learning Objectives

› Identify low to medium temperature geothermal resource types and their potential applications.

› Select appropriate exploration techniques for low to medium temperature geothermal resources.

› Understand drilling approaches suitable for direct-use and small power projects.

› Match resource temperature, flow rate and chemistry to direct-use and small power technologies.

› Explain the basics of ORC-based small power generation and captive/distributed geothermal power concepts.

› Develop preliminary concepts for direct-use and productive-use geothermal projects.

› Assess business models, revenue streams, market linkages and institutional arrangements for direct-use projects.

Target Participants

Geothermal developers, government agencies, utilities, local authorities, agricultural and industrial planners, engineers, direct-use specialists, private investors, entrepreneurs, development partners, productive-use experts, researchers and young professionals.

Proposed Course Content

› Introduction to low and medium temperature geothermal systems and applications.

› Exploration techniques for low and medium temperature resources: geological, geochemical, geophysical and hydrological methods.

› Resource assessment, temperature estimation, flow testing and chemistry considerations.

› Drilling for low to medium temperature resources: slim holes, production wells, reinjection and cost-effective approaches.

› Distributed and captive geothermal power, including small power projects using ORC technology.

› Direct-use applications: greenhouse heating, drying, milk processing, aquaculture, agro-processing, tourism, industrial heat, heating and cooling.

› Designing direct-use application projects: demand assessment, heat cascades, infrastructure and operation.

› Business models for direct-use, productive-use and small power projects.

› Environmental, social, gender, youth and community considerations.

› Group exercise: developing a project concept for a direct-use or small geothermal power application.

Training Methodology

The course will combine lectures, technology demonstrations, case studies, group exercises and project concept development. Participants will work in groups to match resource conditions with suitable applications and prepare a preliminary concept for a direct-use, distributed power or captive power project.

Expected Outputs

› Improved understanding of low to medium temperature geothermal opportunities.

› Ability to identify appropriate exploration, drilling and development pathways.

› A preliminary checklist for direct-use and small power project preparation.

› Draft concepts for direct-use, distributed power or captive power projects.

› Improved understanding of ORC technology and productive-use business models.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Pre- and post-course questionnaires, evaluation of group project concepts, participant feedback and a short summary of lessons learned.

Certification & Follow-up

Participants who attend the full course and complete the practical exercises may receive a certificate of participation. Follow-up may include sharing of training materials, practical templates and contact points for continued technical collaboration after ARGeo-C11.

04

Short Course 04

Leapfrog 3-D Modelling Software Training for Geothermal Projects

Duration

Two days

Lead / Resource Support

Seequent as Leapfrog software developers, with geothermal modellers and trained experts from Africa.

Background & Rationale

High-quality conceptual models are central to geothermal exploration, drilling decisions, resource assessment and project risk management. Leapfrog 3-D modelling software is widely used to integrate geological, geophysical, geochemical, structural, topographic and drilling data into dynamic 3-D models that support interpretation and decision-making. For geothermal projects, the value of any model depends strongly on the quality, consistency and interpretation of input data.

Core Emphasis

Practical 3-D geological and geothermal conceptual modelling using Leapfrog, including inputs from exploration data and drilling results, with emphasis on high-quality input data.

Overall Objective

To provide participants with practical skills in using Leapfrog 3-D modelling software for geological and geothermal conceptual modelling, with emphasis on data quality, integration of exploration and drilling results, and interpretation for geothermal decision-making.

Specific Learning Objectives

› Understand the role of 3-D modelling in geothermal exploration, drilling planning and resource assessment.

› Prepare and quality-check input datasets for Leapfrog modelling.

› Import, organize and visualize geological, geophysical, geochemical, topographic and drilling data.

› Build geological surfaces, faults, structures and conceptual geothermal models in 3-D.

› Integrate drilling results into an existing conceptual model and update interpretations.

› Identify common data quality problems and understand how they affect model reliability.

› Use 3-D models to support well targeting, risk assessment, communication and decision-making.

Target Participants

Geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, reservoir engineers, drilling engineers, geothermal modellers, exploration managers, university lecturers, technical staff from geothermal institutions and young African professionals involved in geothermal exploration and project development.

Proposed Course Content

› Introduction to Leapfrog and its application in geothermal conceptual modelling.

› Data requirements and data quality: coordinate systems, metadata, sampling, validation and consistency checks.

› Importing and visualizing exploration data, maps, digital elevation models, geophysical layers and geochemical datasets.

› Working with borehole and drilling data: well paths, lithology, alteration, temperature, feed zones and test results.

› Building 3-D geological models: surfaces, lithological units, structures, faults and permeability controls.

› Developing geothermal conceptual models: heat source, reservoir, caprock, recharge, outflow, fluid pathways and upflow zones.

› Updating models using drilling results and new exploration data.

› Using Leapfrog outputs for well targeting, project planning, risk communication and stakeholder presentations.

› Hands-on practical sessions using sample geothermal datasets.

› Group exercise: building and presenting a simplified 3-D geothermal conceptual model.

Training Methodology

The course will be highly practical and software-based. Seequent is proposed to lead the software training, with support from geothermal modellers and African experts who can contextualize the workflows for African geothermal systems. The training should use sample geothermal datasets and allow participants to complete guided exercises on data import, visualization, modelling and interpretation.

Expected Outputs

› Improved practical familiarity with Leapfrog 3-D modelling workflows.

› Better understanding of the relationship between data quality and model reliability.

› A simplified 3-D geothermal conceptual model developed during the course.

› Improved capacity to integrate exploration and drilling results into project decision-making.

› A set of recommended data preparation and quality control practices for African geothermal projects.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Evaluation will include practical exercises, facilitator review of participant models, group presentations, participant feedback and a short post-training skills assessment.

Certification & Follow-up

Participants who attend the full course and complete the practical exercises may receive a certificate of participation. Follow-up may include sharing of training materials, practical templates and contact points for continued technical collaboration after ARGeo-C11.

ARGeo-C11 Short Courses

Proposed Short Courses

Geothermal Project Finance

Drilling Engineering

Low-Medium Temperature Resources

Leapfrog 3-D Modelling

Course Details

Financing Geothermal Projects in Africa while Leveraging on Carbon Markets and RE Funds

Geothermal Drilling Engineering, Drilling Project Planning and Risk Management

Low-Medium Temperature Geothermal Resources for Distributed Generation, Captive Power and Direct Use Applications

Leapfrog 3-D Modelling Software Training for Geothermal Projects

Interested in Attending a Short Course?