Nevis geothermal drilling still has no start date as rig waits in Iceland

CHARLESTOWN, Nevis. Premier Mark Brantley has conceded he cannot say when drilling will begin on the Nevis geothermal project, despite repeated assurances this year that the wells would be under way before the end of 2026.

Giving an update at a recent press conference, released by the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) on Tuesday, Mr Brantley, who is also Minister of Energy and Utilities, said civil works were progressing at the Hamilton site, where land was being cleared and vegetation removed.

"I do not have a date that I can give you," Mr Brantley said.

He said the contractor, Iceland Drilling, had reported that its rig was ready to be deployed and that about 12 containers of equipment had already arrived. However, the NIA does not want the rig to leave Iceland until the site is ready, because the administration would face penalties if it sat on the island unused. The size of those penalties was not disclosed.

A shifting timeline

The update is the latest in a series of slipping dates. In February the administration said drilling would begin later this year. When the drilling contract was announced in May, the NIA reported that work was scheduled to begin by September 2026, with completion expected in the second half of 2027.

In late July Mr Brantley said the original rig mobilisation date had been August and that he expected "slight slippage but not much", adding that drilling should certainly start this year. An inspection of the rig in Iceland in late August was described as the last major requirement before it could be shipped. With seven weeks of the year left, no shipping, arrival or drilling date has been published.

Costs and financing

According to the NIA, the project has about US$71.6 million in international support, including roughly US$51.6 million from the Green Climate Fund through the Caribbean Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, and US$20 million from the Saudi Fund for Development. About US$6 million had been paid to Iceland Drilling by August. The value of the drilling contract has not been made public.

Mr Brantley said the civil works must be supervised by independent engineers the NIA has to hire. Possible European Union funding for technical oversight was discussed at the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum, while the World Bank is considering financing a power interconnection between Nevis and St Kitts. Neither has been confirmed.

Official statements have also differed on the scope of the drilling, describing five wells in February and August, but up to two production wells and one injection well in May.