Drilling for Deep Geothermal Resources in Iceland

Abstract

The Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) will drill to depths of 4 to 5 km and temperatures of 400–600° C in each of three different high-temperature geothermal fields in Iceland. The aim is to investigate the feasibility of producing supercritical geothermal energy, and achieve large increases in the power output of these fields, without increasing their environmental footprints. The first deep well is in the Krafla geothermal field, within a volcanic caldera in NE Iceland. This well will be drilled to 800 m depth in September 2008 before the winter snows. In the spring of 2009 it will be drilled and cased to 3.5 km depth and deepened to 4.5 km by July. If a flow test is successful, a pilot power plant should follow in 2010. Two new ~4 km deep wells will be drilled in SW Iceland at the Hengill and the Reykjanes geothermal fields during 2009-2011, and subsequently deepened to supercritical conditions. If the economic feasibility of supercritical geothermal resources in Iceland is demonstrated, major improvements in the development of high-temperature geothermal resources could result worldwide. For example, the same approach could be used in the Taupo Volcanic Zone.