The decision to continue working at the old site despite drilling problems has resulted in costs for the geothermal development at Agriport A7 in Middenmeer (Netherlands). The damage was only partially covered, which led to a lawsuit against the insurer. Last month, the court ruled that the insurer must pay 3.8 million euros to the energy company. However, this amount is significantly lower than the total sum of 26 million euros demanded. The costs of repairing the problematic borehole are to be borne by the energy company due to the decisions made in the proceedings.

According to the judgment of the Rotterdam District Court of July 18, 2024, problems arose during the development of geothermal energy in the summer of 2017. During the first attempt, the liner got stuck in the drilling corridor. The pipe could only be partially pulled out, the tools used were damaged and some of them remained in the borehole.

In search of a solution, an attempt was made to create a diversion a little closer to the injection well. But even with this attempt, the liner jammed again. Therefore, an alternative drilling route was chosen with a different drilling shape – an S-shape instead of a J-shape. This drilling attempt was successful, but resulted in the pumping well and the injection well being closer together than planned. This proximity reduced efficiency because the warm water pumped up mixed more quickly with the cooled water pumped back.