A new geothermal production well has been successfully drilled in Áshildarmýri in the municipality of Skeiða- og Gnúpverjahreppur in south-central Iceland. Located through the expertise of Iceland GeoSurvey (ISOR) geologists Sigurður Kristinsson and Auður Óladóttir, the well has now increased the heating supply available to the local utility Hitaveitu Kílhrauns.
The well was drilled to a depth of 792 meters using a rig from the Flói og Skeiði drilling company. Initial results indicate that the well can support a flowrate of over 50 L/s by pumping at a temperature of around 80 ºC. Further measurements and tests are needed, but the early results are very promising.
“Now we have a good resource here for the area. We have, I think, water that would be enough for an entire municipality like Skeiða- og Gnúpverjahrepp. I think we have just hit the jackpot in the area,” said Kristín Rós Hlynsdóttir, owner of the heating utility. A large residential and leisure complex is being built in Áshildarmýri, so the discovery of the new well helps assure much-needed heating supply.
ISOR recounts that geothermal exploration in Kílhraun had started about a decade ago. This was a geothermal system with no surface manifestations, so investigations began with the drilling of thermal wells to evaluate subsurface conditions.
Geologists Árni Hjartarson and Kristján Sæmundsson from ÍSOR led the geothermal exploration at the time, which led to the drilling of a production well in 2017. This served as the only production well of Hitaveitu Kílhrauns for many years, until now.
Despite an extensive history of geothermal exploration and utilization in Iceland, new geothermal resources still continue to be found both in new regions or as extensions of known geothermal sites.
