Amount of Exploitable Thermal Water from Hódmezõvásárhely Geothermal Reservoir in Hungary

Abstract

Geothermal energy utilization in Hódmezõvásárhely has decades of tradition. The first thermal well was drilled for balneology purpose in 1954. The next well was drilled for agriculture using in 1964. In 1967 another well was drilled for a hospital not only for therapeutic use, but also heating purposes. Since then every well was drilled primarily for heating. In 1993 the local government decided to develop an integrated geothermal district heating system. As a first step 2,800 flats were provided with heating and hot water supply. The first injection well was drilled in 1998. Successful injection to the sand-sandstone layers is a significant professional achievement. In 2007 the geothermal district heating system was further developed saving 5 million m3 of natural gas. This paper will show the development of the geothermal energy source in Hódmezõvásárhely area. The estimated lifetime and the economically exploitable thermal water from Hódmezõvásárhely geothermal reservoir are discussed.