Utah Forge updates Milford council on wells, tests and water-rights request

Christopher Kaddas, a Utah Forge representative, told the Milford City Council on July 15 that the company has completed several site activities and outlined testing planned through the coming year.

Kaddas said Utah Forge installed multiple seismic monitoring wells about 1,000 feet deep to monitor the site and performed cleanup and maintenance work, including removing frac tanks, clearing debris from injection and production wells, repairing fencing and power washing the wellhead. He said workers removed a ledge about 8,500 feet in one of the wells during site cleanup.

He said Utah Forge has requested an increase in nonpotable water rights from 50 to 100 (nonpotable use only; not for drinking, livestock or agriculture) and that request is in final stages of approval. The company plans a week of short research-and-development circulation testing in August followed by installation of pumps and equipment for a longer, roughly four-month circulation test beginning in September to evaluate temperature decline over time. Kaddas said "nobody in the world knows if the heat you have will remain over longer periods of time," describing the longer tests as crucial to understanding reservoir performance.

Kaddas also said Utah Forge expects to drill a third deep deviated well in the new year (referred to as 16C, between existing wells A and B) and will stimulate wells A, B and C before conducting longer-term circulation tests. He said the project has funding through 2028 and noted the company's data is made publicly available for research purposes.

Council members thanked Utah Forge for outreach and for the elementary-school art contest winners on display at the library; Kaddas invited the community to visit the Utah Forge exhibit at the county fair.