William “Bill” Rickard

Bill Rickard has over 30 years’ experience in drilling engineering and consulting. He specializes in project management, drilling management, rig supervision, troubleshooting, well workovers and problem well diagnosis. He has an established record of reducing costs through innovative engineering, and successfully managing geothermal exploration and drilling programs.

Bill’s experience, working as a drilling engineer in the US and overseas, has given him the ability to communicate well with both management and hands in the field. He has also used his knowledge to develop and teach geothermal drilling technology and other technical courses, and conduct geothermal research and development efforts.

Prior to starting his own company as an independent geothermal consultant, Bill worked almost 15 years for Unocal Geothermal. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering, and has also completed multiple geothermal reservoir engineering, drilling safety and management training courses. Bill is a registered Professional Engineer (California No. P001722) and holds other professional certifications. He has served on the Geothermal Resources Council Board of Directors, and is a member of the American Association of Drilling Engineers, and Society of Petroleum Engineers.

William "Will" Osborn

Will Osborn, Vice President, has over twenty-five years of experience in the geothermal industry, including reservoir development and evaluation, power plant design, startup and operation, and evaluation and application of new technology. Will manages integrated teams at Geothermal Resource Group. He has demonstrated experience in translating research and technology into commercial operation. 

 

Will has worked throughout the geothermal industry, including direct field experience in most U.S. geothermal fields and power generation facilities, the Dieng, Patuha, and Bali geothermal fields in Indonesia, and other fields, including the Phillipines, Turkey, Kenya and elsewhere. At the Salton Sea geothermal field, he served as General Manager of CE Minerals, achieving the world’s first commercial production of geothermal zinc. Most recently he led a successful DOE funding application effort and served as Project Manager for the Newberry Volcano Enhanced Geothermal Demonstration.

 

Will is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geology. He completed his Masters of Science degree in Earth Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. Will completed his thesis, “Formation, Diagenesis and Metamorphism of Sulfate Minerals in the Salton Sea Geothermal System,” while at UC Riverside. He has an extensive list of peer-reviewed publications. He has been a member of the Geothermal Resources Council since 1988.

 

Abraham "Sam" Samuel

Sam Samuel is our Operations Manager. He works as a project coordinator, also as a drilling supervisor on-site during drilling and workover operations. Sam maintains well records and analyzes drilling data for efficient drilling practices, and makes recommendations to clients’ management teams regarding drilling and operations.

His experience includes geothermal drilling engineering and well design work in New Zealand, supervision of geothermal mud logging operations in Indonesia, and work on high pressure and high temperature wells throughout Southeast Asia. He also has experience coordinating and implementing HSE policies during drilling operations, maintaining a RIMBase database, and preparing and analyzing final well reports.

Sam holds an MS degree in Petroleum Technology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry as well as a Drilling Supervisor Certificate - Surface BOP Stack. He has also completed Mud Engineering School and a Drilling Practices Course. He is a member of the Geothermal Resources Council, Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Association of Drilling Engineers.

Alan Bailey

Alan Bailey is our Manager of Engineering. He is an experienced geothermal drilling and exploration professional with more than 20 years of industry experience. He has worked as a geologist, drilling operations manager and drilling supervisor. Alan has proven ability to meet organizational goals and objectives, is pragmatic and quality-focused, and has excellent project management skills.

Working on numerous geothermal projects in the United States, Latin America, and Turkey, Alan has supervised drilling operations, written drilling plans and prepared detailed drilling budgets, planned geophysical surveys, overseen health and safety, road and access development, site remediation and is well-versed in the preparation of permits and other government documents. He also is experienced at geothermal well testing.

Alan has a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology. He holds an IADC WellCap well control certificate for Surface Stack – Supervisor, Drilling, and Workover & Completion. He has completed a Drilling Supervision course and project management coursework. Alan is a member of the Geothermal Resources Council, Society of Petroleum Engineers, the American Institute of Professional Geologists and the American Association of Drilling Engineers. He is also a member of the Project Management Institute.

Benny Alarcon

Our Manager of Field Operations, Benny Alarcon has more than 30 years of geothermal experience in The Philippines, Indonesia and North America. Benny has worked as a drilling engineer, drilling manager, reservoir engineer and field operations manager on a wide number of projects. He has particular expertise in geothermal reservoir stimulation and improving well performance.

In addition to reservoir stimulation, Benny has written drilling, completion and workover programs, budgets and AFE’s for new and existing projects, and managed field operations.

Benny has a BS in Chemical Engineering, and has completed coursework in drilling, drilling supervision, casing design, cementing and other drilling engineering processes. Benny has also attended mud school and taken project management courses. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the Geothermal Resources Council.

Jonathan Hernandez

Jonathan is a recent graduate from UCLA with a B.S. in Engineering Geology / Geology.  A fluently bilingual engineer, member of the Geothermal Resources Council (GRC), Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) and Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Jonathan helps in the development of geothermal energy projects domestically and abroad.  He has attended the 2011 SPE Reservoir Simulation Symposium in Woodlands, TX earlier this year.  He currently works on conventional and computer reservoir modeling, quantitative analysis as well as production prognostication.

Ozgur Balamir

Ozgur Balamir is a Staff Drilling Engineer. Ozgur is a 2006 graduate of Istanbul Technical University with a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering.  He is a fluently bilingual engineer and a member of the Geothermal Resource Council and the Geothermal Energy Association. Prior to coming to GRG, Ozgur worked for a large development and exploration company as a Drilling Engineer and a Field Supervisor developing a 60 MW geothermal power plant in southwest Turkey. He also worked developing coal bed methane fields throughout the northwest coast of Turkey, as well as working on off shore platforms in the western Black Sea. Ozgur is also a member of SPE and AADE, and has a valid IADC WellCap well control certificate.

Mary Ohren

Mary Ohren is a Geoscientist working with our Geoscience and Engineering team. Mary is a graduate of MacKay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology. She has a background in hydrology, including research as a Fulbright Scholar studying water quality and domestic water well siting to benefit rural populations in Niger. Prior to joining Geothermal Resource Group, Mary was the Resource Manager at a major geothermal operating company, where she evaluated geologic and production data, and managed drilling, testing, and downhole surveys for a variety of thermal gradient,  production and injection wells. Mary is a member of the Geothermal Resources Council, Geological Society of America, and Geological Society of Nevada.

Cal Strobel

Cal Strobel is one of the most respected members of the geothermal community, with nearly 40 years of experience working in oil & gas and geothermal exploration. A graduate of Montana Tech and of Stanford University, Cal has worked on geothermal prospects worldwide, including in Indonesia, South America, and in the United States. In 2009, Cal Strobel was awarded the Henry J. Ramey Jr. Geothermal Reservoir Engineering Award recognizing his outstanding achievements in the field of geothermal reservoir engineering.

Richard Holt

Richard Holt specializes in using reservoir simulation, wellbore simulation, and detailed analysis to assess geothermal resources, make forecasts, and find optimizations. He has the ability to design, implement, and analyze well tests and reservoir tests to help clients successfully develop geothermal resources. His years of experience have taken him to many different geothermal fields, covering a wide range of complex settings.

Richard develops comprehensive and accurate reservoir simulation models for clients to serve various purposes, including simulating and comparing various operating scenarios, assisting in monitoring well deliverability and finding optimum operating strategies, and for use in power plant design and power purchase negotiations.

Prior to working with GRG, Richard worked with Unocal, the Mesquite Group, and FPL Energy. He has both Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in Petroleum Engineering.

Richard is available to the GRG team through a partnership with his specialized geothermal reservoir engineering consulting firm, Geothermal Science, Inc.

Wendell "W.T." Howard

W.T. Howard has been a contract drilling engineer for many years, working in geothermal resource development. He has experience with designing drilling programs, supervising drilling and completion of geothermal wells, and managing drilling operations, while supervising day-to-day activities on location. W.T. also has extensive well testing experience in geothermal operations, and experience as a geothermal production/reservoir engineer.

W.T. has worked in numerous areas, both in the US and overseas. He has written project specifications, forecast and managed budgets, performed cost analyses, written procedures, trained drilling engineers, and supervised the installation of geothermal turbines. His extensive background in all phases of geothermal projects gives him the ability to manage all aspects of clients’ drilling programs.

W.T. holds an IADC drilling certificate for Drilling Supervisor - Surface Stack and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering. He is a member of the Geothermal Resources Council and Society of Petroleum Engineers.