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
