Title:

The Reykjanes Geothermal Field i n Iceland: Subsurface Exploration and Well Discharge Characteristics

Authors:

J. S. Gudmundsson, T. Hauksson, J. Tomasson

Geo Location:

Reykjanes, Iceland

Conference:

Stanford Geothermal Workshop

Year:

1981

Session:

Field Development

Language:

English

File Size:

212KB

View File:

Abstract:

The exploration and development of the Reykjanes geothermal field dates back .to about 1956 when the first well was drilled. This well was 162 m deep and had a maximum temperature of 185OC. The chloride concentration of the deep brine was about 25% higher than that of ordinary seawater. The well produced 3-4 kg/s of a steam-brine mixture for over 10 years without a noticeable change in chemical composition (Bjornsson et al. 1971). The fact that the fluid produced was of brine origin but not rainwater affected greatly the course of exploration and development of the Reykjanes field. Most high-temperature geothermal fields in Iceland produce fluids of rainwater origin.

The Reykjanes field was investigated extensively in the years 1968-1970 (Bjornsson et al. 1970, 1971, 1972). This was done in relation to plans to produce 250,000 tonneslyear of not only common salt but various other sea-chemicals for export (Linda1 1975). The investigation showed that the field would be suitable for development. However, the pro- Dosed sea-chemicals scheme did not materialize at that time and further geothermal work in Reykjanes was terminated. Four years ago a company was formed to consider again the production of common salt and other sea-chemicals in Reykjanes. Since that time it has conducted pilot plant and other studies to investigate the feasibility of salt production, mainly for the Icelandic market, which is currently about 60,000 tonneslyear. The building of a demonstration plant has now been decided. It is therefore anticipated that the Reykjanes field will come under development in the next few years.

From the time geothermal work was terminated in Reykjanes 10 years ago, two other hightemrerature fields have been explored and developed in Iceland (Gudmundsson et al. 1981). These are the Krafla field (Stefansson 1981) in the northeast and the Svartsengi field (Thorhallsson 1979) in the southwest. These two fields are still being developed. While the Reykjanes field waited for development the one production well drilled was kept on discharge. The purpose of this test was to learn about the long-term discharge characteristics of the welllreservoir system. In 1980 extensive output measurements were done on this well, showing both flowrate and enthalpy at various wellhead conditions. The main purpose of the present paper is to report on the long-term discharge test and the more recent output measurements. An important feature of the salt-making in Reykjanes is that the geothermal brine itself will be the source of chemicals, so that the steam-brine mixture produced by the wells will supply both the energy and raw material to the process. The long-term chemical characteristics of the production wells is therefore of great importance. The emphasis of this paper will therefore be on reporting the geochemical nature of the Reykjanes field and the one production well operated for nearly a decade. To provide some background information, the reported subsurface exploration work will be discussed. The extensive surface exploration work of Bjornsson et al. (1970, 1971, 1972) will, however, not be discussed. It is hoped that the present paper may contribute something to the near future drilling and development activities in the Reykjanes field. At the same time it may provide reservoir engineering and other information for those not familiar with geothermal resource developments in Iceland.


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