I never wanted to be around a geothermal rig, let alone one trying to drill into magma (although I suppose you could think of that as extreme geothermal drilling).
In 1989, I was doing a gold-exploration drilling project in Dixie Valley in Nevada, out east of Fallon. The project lasted several weeks, during which time a big oil-field type rig spent about a week drilling a hole a few miles away. One morning I came out and the big rig was gone, leaving a jet of steam being deflected horizontally from their collar. That steam was blowing about 100 yards out before it started to rise, and you could hear the shrieking ten miles away. Geothermal stuff can be pretty impressive, but I’d rather see it from a distance.
—”That steam was blowing about 100 yards out before it started to rise, and you could hear the shrieking ten miles away. Geothermal stuff can be pretty impressive, but I’d rather see it from a distance.”
I retired from BP R&D and have only seen the oil patch in safety films, but have heard some fun stories.