British firm Marriott Drilling Group has secured a contract to drill up to four exploration wells at Ethiopia's Corbetti geothermal project, with drilling operations scheduled to begin in 2027. The contract award marks a concrete step forward for a project that targets an initial 50 MW power plant, with total installed capacity eventually reaching 150 MW.
Corbetti is one of Ethiopia's flagship geothermal development sites, and the project is positioned to help the country diversify an electricity system that is currently dominated by hydropower. Geothermal capacity would provide a more weather-independent baseload generation source, reducing Ethiopia's vulnerability to seasonal rainfall variability that periodically constrains hydro output. The 150 MW ultimate target represents a meaningful addition to the national grid for a country working to expand electricity access across a large and growing population.
The instrument here is a signed drilling contract awarded to Marriott Drilling Group, a UK-based specialist drilling contractor. Up to four exploration wells are planned under the scope of work, with the programme designed to confirm subsurface resource potential before any final investment decision on surface power plant infrastructure. The 2027 start date gives project stakeholders a defined timeline but also signals that development remains in the exploration and appraisal phase rather than full field development.
For Norway's oil and gas service sector, geothermal drilling shares meaningful technical overlap with conventional well services, including rotary drilling equipment, wellhead systems, casing and cementing, and mud engineering. Companies with transferable downhole and surface well-services expertise may find Corbetti a relevant reference point as African geothermal development accelerates, particularly given the high-temperature, high-enthalpy conditions typical of the East African Rift system where Corbetti is located.