Four decades of service - Kızıldere reservoir, units and management

The Kızıldere resource in the Menderes graben is one of the oldest and largest developed fields in Turkey for power generation. The first permanent installation, Kızıldere-1, has been operating successfully since 1984, and Kızıldere-2 was commissioned in 2013. The recent completion in 2017-2018 of two units at Kızıldere-3 has brought the current gross generating capacity of the field to over 250 MW, utilizing a total of 42 production and 28 injection wells. This paper discusses the ever-evolving geoscientific understanding of the field, presents characteristics of the various generating units and describes the building up of human capacity by the developer and operator, Zorlu. The paper includes metrics on the drilling programs, plant performance, staffing, achievable project timelines given Zorlu's proven delivery methods and key lessons learned from each development. Current operational assessment and testing practices are detailed in relation to resource sustainability efforts. Plans for future expansion and management are outlined, based on the latest geoscience and well testing.