Preliminary Atlas of Geothermal Resources of Algeria

Abstract

Many geothermal reservoirs have been identified in Algeria. The most important one is the Albian geothermal reservoir which extends on 600 000 km2 in the Sahara region. Large part of this reservoir is confined. Considerable amount of water which temperature ranges from 40°C to 80°C is obtained by exploiting wells. The total heat discharge is estimated to 800 MWt. The gathered data from oil and water drillings were used to draw different maps as the geothermal gradient, the pH, and the reservoir depth. In the North, the geology is more complex and reservoirs boundaries are not defined. Hydrothermal reservoirs are located in sedimentary rocks as limestone and dolomite, at 600m to 1000m depth. Many hot springs emerge trough deep faults generating a total heat discharge of about 188 MWt. The calculated subsurface temperature does not exceed 123°C. In this region, data coverage is limited; maps of geothermal gradient and the main water characteristics have been drawn as well.