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Survey indicates existence of offshore geothermal opportunity in Dunquin, Ireland

Survey indicates existence of offshore geothermal opportunity in Dunquin, Ireland Offshore oil platform, North Sea (source: flickr/ Håkon Thingstad, creative commons)
Carlo Cariaga 18 Apr 2019

Integrated seismic and drilling results in a potential offshore geothermal resource in Dunquin, Ireland have prompted Providence Resources to start well design and reservoir modeling efforts.

A hydrocarbon exploration drilling project by Providence Resources in the southern Porcupine Basin off the south-western shore of Ireland has led to the discovery of a potential geothermal resource. The well, called 44/23-1, penetrated a Lower Cretaceous carbonate reservoir system in the Dunquin region at 3000 meters BML.

By integrating seismic techniques with the results of the well drilling, a reservoir volume of 7 square kilometers was inferred. At a TD reservoir temperature of 260 °F, this corresponds to about 7 billion barrels of equivalent energy.

Large-bore wells are currently being designed to maximize the reservoir flow potential and produce an average of 10 MW per well. A 10-well initial development is being planned for a 100-MW generation capacity. Reservoir modeling is also being conducted to come up with a feasible production and reinjection strategy.

Work is still ongoing on how to develop this geothermal resource to provide Ireland with a green baseload power supply. Currently, the plan is to construct an underwater geothermal power plant complete with a heat exchanger, turbine, and generator.

Source: Providence Resources