Geothermal Energy Possibilities, Exploration and Future Prospects in Serbia

Abstract

Geothermal investigations in Serbia began in 1974, after the first world oil crisis. A first assessment of geothermal resources has been made for all of Serbia. Detailed investigations in twenty localities are in progress. The territory of Serbia has favorable geothermal characteristics. There are four geothermal provinces. The most promising are the Pannonian and Neogen magmatic activation provinces. More than eighty low enthalphy hydrogeothermal systems are present in Serbia. The most important are located at the southern edge of the Pannonian Basin. The reservoirs of this systems are in karstified Mesozoic limestones with a thickness of more than 500 m. Geothermal energy in Serbia is being utilized for balneological purposes, in agriculture and for space heating with heat exchangers and heat pumps.