Abstract
To measure the output of a geothermal well, also known as amount of megawatts of a well, discharge tests are done between two to four months after drilling of the well to collect the relevant types of data which includes wellhead pressure, lip pressure and the weir height. After collection of these data, [8] formula is applied in determining the well output. These data exhibits skewness and excess kurtosis also known as heavy – tailedness, an attempt to fit ordinary least squares (OLS) model to such data leads to model misspecification. Therefore, in this study, robust non-parametric estimation has been used to fit these data as applied by [1]. The model is known to be robust to outliers which characterize the wells data, robustness signifies insensitivity to deviations from the strict model assumptions. A comparison between the robust method used and OLS method has also been made with graphical illustrations. The results show that locally weighted regression (loess) method used with a smoothing parameter of 0.07 and a polynomial of order 2 fits the geothermal well discharge data. It was confirmed that geothermal well discharge data is characterized by outliers which may affect the ultimate determination of the value of a well output and therefore there is need for further statistical data processing to remove the errors before Russel James method is applied.
Highlights
Geothermal exploration in Kenya dates back more than 40 years ago [5] where it was recognized that the central Rift Valley could contain a geothermal energy resource
Findings presented in [9] and [10] point to the existence of exploitable geothermal resources within the Menengai caldera, Ol-Rongai and OlBanita calderas to the northwest of the Menengai caldera. [12] proceeds and concludes that the existence is evidenced by active strong surface manifestations and young lava's, signifying an active heat source
There are several methods applied to determine a geothermal well output using the discharge data, of interest is the lip pressure method which was used in calculating the output of wells at the Menengai Caldera
Summary
Geothermal exploration in Kenya dates back more than 40 years ago [5] where it was recognized that the central Rift Valley could contain a geothermal energy resource. When well drilling is completed, a wellhead is fitted at the top of the well to control the steam as well as enable other relevant tests to be carried. Geothermal Well Discharge Data from Menengai Geothermal Wells in Kenya into a silencer which acts as a steam – water separator at atmospheric pressure [6]. There are several methods applied to determine a geothermal well output using the discharge data, of interest is the lip pressure method which was used in calculating the output of wells at the Menengai Caldera. To use the lip pressure method, the steam – water mixture is discharged through an approximately sized pipe into a silencer or some other simple device to separate the steam and water phases at atmospheric pressure [6]. In determining the flow characteristics of the well, James lip pressure method was used. Well-head pressure (WHP), lip pressure (PC) and the weir height data are collected which are used in estimation of the well output
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