After his education at St Joseph’s, Khadki, Samuel Abraham went on to do his BSc in Chemistry at Nowrosjee Wadia College. Those days there was a one year PG course in petroleum which Sam enrolled for. Almost immediately after the completion of that course, Sam got a contract job with ONGC on their rig. If there is one thing that petroleum does for your career, it is mobility. So in a matter of a few years, Sam had shifted base. He spent five years in New Zealand – and liked the country so much that he actually became a permanent resident of the place.

A major shift in his career happened around 2005. He moved from petroleum to geothermal. This was also when he shifted base to California. The shift was accompanied by a more diverse role. Today he works with governments all over the world in the area of regulations for geothermal projects. He is also a technical advisor to the World Bank – and is regularly roped in to guide academic projects that have been sponsored by the WB. One of the projects that he is involved in has 10 postdocs working on at Berkeley. 

Geothermal energy depends on fissures in the earth’s crust and a seepage of water into these fissures. The typical depth of this fissure is 2.5 km plus – because that is where the magma transfers energy from itself to the water resulting in the generation of hot water and steam. This is tapped for electricity generation. Was pleasantly surprised to find that there are geothermal sites which have projects as large as 200 MW. I asked Sam if the steam generation at these sites taper off over time. In most cases they don’t, as the operator returns the condensate to the well. 

One interesting byproduct of the wells are rare earths. Since this hot water/steam has been in contact with the surrounding rocks, some of the minerals seep into this water. It is more appropriate to call it brine rather than water. At one site in South Carolina, Sam and company have started a project with GM to recover lithium hydroxide from this brine. Insha allah, China shall indeed have some competition in Lithium soon.

Sam has worked extensively in Southeast Asia and Africa. We chatted about corruption in those places. He feels that Africa is changing a lot. One example he gave was Rwanda, where he has had interactions with the current President. Unlike his predecessors, the guy is clean, and a go-getter. In Southeast Asia, Sam says that corruption is still there, but the brown packets do their work. If you have paid up, your work gets done fast. Does he have any work with the Indian government? A few years ago some government officials approached him for help in developing a project in Ladakh. Sam offered his services for free, but that did not enthuse the sarkaari karamcharis. They wanted to discuss bribes even before the project specs had been drafted. And these karamcharis were director level people. Needless to say, the project never took off.

Sam has finished two Master Level’s programs – and is currently enrolled for a PhD at the Univ of Oklahoma. He had applied for a PhD at IIM Kozhikode – and remembers his interview. Most of the professors who interviewed him had zero knowledge of engineering – and he was bombarded with questions on trivia like the statue of the protesting girl on Wall Street. 

Sam is an avid photographer – and his photos have graced a lot of publications in geothermal industry magazines. His wife, Susan, is an accounting professional. He has one daughter who is doing her undergraduate studies in radiology. His parents continue to stay in Pune, in New Sangvi. His visits to India are not so often, as the family also has to make trips to New Zealand to ensure that his PR status is maintained. He has work in Kenya in January – and hopes that he can make a quick trip to Pune then. Would be fun catching up with him on that trip.

Note: Here is Sam talking about his work – https://youtu.be/OGoQZnEoTOI This is the company website..https://www.geothermalresourcegroup.com/