Mr. Alexander Richter, ThinkGeoEnergy/CanGEA Iceland Geothermal Conference 2013 March 5-8, 2013, Harpa, Reykjavík

1. GEOTHERMAL
REPORTING CODES
Transparency, consistency and confidence
in public reporting
Alexander Richter
ThinkGeoEnergy.com
@thinkgeoenergy
Canadian Geothermal Energy Association (CanGEA)
7 March 2013, Iceland Geothermal Conference, Reykjavik, Iceland

2. Financing geothermal projects
Start-up Exploration/
Pre-Feasibility
Feasibility/
Resource
Verification
Detailed Design
& Construction
Start of
Operation
Venture
Capital
Development
Equity
Drilling
Equity
Project
Equity
Tax
Equity
Mezz./ Bridge
Debt, Const.
Financing
Project & Vendor
Financing
• Developers
• IPPs (Development Pipeline)
• Resource Speculators
• Venture Capitalists
• Private Equity
• Public Markets
• Financial
Partners
• Private Equity
• Strategic
Partners
• Financial
Players
• Large IPPs with
ability to
monetize PTCs
Source: Islandsbanki

3. Standards, Rules, Guidelines, Codes?
Flexibility increases uncertainty
Greater uncertainty = greater risk to investor
Less confidence in geothermal development
Source: Dr. G. Falcone (May 2012)

4. “Minimum, mandatory set of
requirements for the public
reporting of geothermal resource
and reserve estimates.”
Geothermal Reporting Code

6. Mining firms on the TSX & TSX-V
• TSX and TSX-V 58% of
the world’s public mining
companies
• 90% of all global equity
financing done on TSX
and TSX-V in 2011
• Nearly 40% of the
world’s mining equity
capital
Copper mining, British Columbia, Canada (source: flickr/G_McKenna , creative commons)

7. Mining industry
• Methodology consistent across the main mining
jurisdictions
• Manifestation in codes applied by the Canadian
Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM)
and the Australasian Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy/Australian Institute of Geoscientists Joint
Ore Reserves Committee (JORC).
• Applied by the Security Commissions

8. Petroleum
• The Society of Petroleum
Engineers (SPE) and the World
Petroleum Congress (WPC)
have jointly proposed
definitions of standard terms for
booking petroleum reserves.
• Guidelines for the Evaluation of
Petroleum Reserves and
Resources (SPEE/WPC, 2001),
Petroleum Resources
Management System (SPE,
WPC, AAPG, SPE 2007).
Oil rig at Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada (source: flickr/ Eternal Vagabond , creative commons)

9. Based on mineral and petroleum classification:
Those distinctions are applied to geothermal by the
codes.
2-Dimensional classification
Reliably of the information defining the
physical resource
Commercial extractability of the resource
1
2

10. Geothermal
Reporting Code

11. Geothermal energy occurrences
Three levels of increasing geological confidence:
Sub-commercial
Commercial
Resources:
Reserves:
inferred indicated measured

12. Source: Australian Geothermal Reporting Code Committee
Increasing
geological
knowledge
and
confidence
Consideration of energy recovery and
conversions, economic, marketing,
environmental, social, legal and
regulatory factors (the ‘Modifying factors’)
Exploration resultsExploration Results
Geothermal
Reserves
Geothermal
Resources
Inferred
Probably
Proven
Indicated
Measured

13. Geothermal
progress
checklist
Source: Jacob Securities

14. Qualified Person
To be able to be Code-compliant, a report must be created
by a Qualified Person as defined under the Canadian/
Australian Geothermal Code for Public Reporting.
A ”Qualified Person” under the Code must:
• Have a minimum of 5 years of experience;
• Have professional registration with an Association with a
governing Code of Ethics, or equivalent

15. U.S. Geothermal Terms and Definitions
(2010)
• Definitions given for estimating geothermal energy
resources
• Resources categories of “resource estimates”:
• Possible, delineated and confirmed
• Installed capacity estimate
• Set against 4 phases of development and 6 resource
types
• New terms and new approach inconsistent with
petroleum sector codes and terminology

16. European Reporting Code?
• GEOLEC work and
discussion
• European-wide standard
vs. national financial
market regulation

17. Codes have been applied for projects
in:
• Australia
• Canada
• U.S.
• Chile
• Indonesia
• Nicaragua
• Spain,
• Iceland
• Argentina,
• New Zealand,
• Vanuatu,
• Papua New Guinea

18. Resource mapping
Beardsmore, G., Rybach, L., Blackwell, D., Baron, C.
Protocol for Estimating and Mapping Global EGS
Potential 2011
• Level of confidence in the estimated Technical
Potential at each location, consistent with public
Reporting Codes

19. Australian Code:
http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/geothermal/ageg/ge
othermal_reporting_code
Canadian Code:
http://www.cangea.ca/code

20. Sources & additional information
• Jacob Securities, Layman’s Guide to the Geothermal Reporting Code
(Nov. 2010)
• Australian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Geothermal
Resources and Geothermal Reserves, Second Edition 2010
• Lawless, J. for the Australian Geothermal Code Committee;
Geothermal Lexicon for Resources and Reserves Definition and
Reporting, Second Edition 2010
• Canadian Geothermal Code for Public Reporting, Second edition 2010
• Australia … presentation & speech
• Falcone, G., Worldwide Classification & Reporting Requirements for
geothermal resources (May 2012)

21. ThinkGeoEnergy.com
• Global news
• Job Portal
• Geothermal Power
Plant Map
• Social media
• iPhone app
• Free pictures
• Services

22. Contact
Alexander Richter
ThinkGeoEnergy.com
alex@thinkgeoenergy.com
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