An Australian company called Ensign is drilling the well for Masdar. In August last year, Masdar hired Reykjavik Geothermal as a consultant for the project. Originally, there were plans to hire six drilling contractors. Ensign began drilling the wells in January this year and is about “half way” through the targeted depths, the source said. “These wells are a lot wider than what we will drill for an oil and gas well. You can begin with one well and then branch out into several laterals.”

The offshore well is looking for a geothermal energy source such as steam or hot water. Masdar extensively studied the geography of the area and came up with the approximate depths of the wells. “As to what kind of well design that Masdar may pursue will depend on whether the shallow well (2800m) design works or the deeper well (4500m) design does,” the source said.

Masdar did not answer questions on the issue. Rough estimates put the amount of investment planned into geothermal energy projects at around $11bn. Masdar is looking forward to produce 5 MW of power to power its air conditioning systems at the Masdar city.