WOMEN IN ENERGY SUBSTANCE IN THE GEOTHERMAL SECTOR Working in a group of 23 drilling engineers at the Geothermal Development Company, Kenya is an indication that this field is on a healthy trajectory. In an exclusive interview with Phyllis Gathoni Mathenge, the company’s drilling engineer, ESI Africa undertakes a bit of ‘excavation’ to uncover how to succeed in the geothermal domain. H olding the unofficial title of being the first-ever female drilling engineer at GDC, your training has required you to undertake intensive local, international and on-the-job training to execute your duties efficiently and effectively in this highly skilled and specialised field. Now that you are in this position, does the learning stop there? It was a new and exciting field for me and I loved the experience. I hold a BSc. Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Nairobi, and joined Geothermal Development Company (GDC), Kenya as a graduate trainee. My first deployment was to the maintenance department as a rig maintenance engineer (electrical). I later moved to the more exciting field of drilling operations where I doubled as a shift supervisor. Currently, I am a drilling engineer deployed in the Menengai Geothermal Field in the Kenyan Rift Valley. GDC makes use of seven 2,000Hp rigs to drill for geothermal and as I am a shift supervisor on one of these rigs, the drilling operation crew is my responsibility. Duties entail crew supervision, execution of the drilling programme, liaising with maintenance crew to ensure maximum availability of equipment, monitoring material movement and usage, ensuring safe operation of equipment and crew while conserving the environment. With this level of responsibility, the learning never stops; keeping abreast of the latest trends by reading relevant articles is essential in this sphere, thereby comparing our challenges with those faced in other parts of the world and coming up with best solutions. Your work hours are quite intensive; tell us about a day in the life of a drilling engineer for us to get a fuller picture. A drilling engineer in the geothermal field develops, plans, costs and supervises the operations necessary for drilling of geothermal wells. We are involved from the initial design of the well to testing, completion and abandonment (cradle to grave!). Our shifts start at either midday or midnight. At the rig, we hold a handover meeting with the outgoing crew where we discuss the operations over the past 24 hours, challenges, successes and way forward. Time is money. With my crew, we discuss fastest, best and safest ways to execute the duties at hand, procedures and safety measures; staff to do it, equipment needed and any other resource that might be required. Article proudly sponsored by 64 ESI AFRICA ISSUE 1 2017