Geothermal Potential of Pumping–Injecting Doublet Wells

Goran Vižintin, Jurij Šporin () and Željko Vukelić
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Goran Vižintin: Department of Geotechnology, Mining and Environment, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 12, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Jurij Šporin: Department of Geotechnology, Mining and Environment, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 12, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Željko Vukelić: Department of Geotechnology, Mining and Environment, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 12, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: A characteristic of the Pannonian Basin is its strong geothermal flow. Geothermal water is present in aquifers in the Miocene and Pliocene sediments of the Lendava, Murska Sobota, and Mura formations, as well as in pre-Neogene sedimentary rocks, at a depth of several 1000 s to several 100 s of meters. The water from the deep Miocene and Pliocene aquifers is mainly pumped for use in the spas of the region, which is separated by national borders. Pumping water from the aquifers lowers the hydraulic head of the water in the aquifers. The consequence of the drop in hydraulic head is a reduction in the yield of the aquifers, which has a negative impact on the neighboring wells. In order to prevent the effects of this influence—especially in the case of transboundary influences, as in our case—the construction of an additional well was proposed, through which the cooled water would be pumped back into the deep aquifer. For the specific case of the Terme Korovci project, which is located directly on the national border, a 3D structural model of the aquifer was created. The hydrogeological and thermal properties of the aquifer were determined on the basis of the lithological profile of the wells in the region, along with well logs and pumping tests. As detailed data on the thicknesses of the layers have not been available until now, we have envisaged several scenarios for different layer thicknesses. As will be evident from our data, in the case of a 10 m-thick layer, the temperature falls to below 70 °C in fewer than 6000 days, and this period extends with increasing thickness such that with a 200 m-thick layer, the period extends to well over 100,000 days. The findings are important because the potential investor requires at least 20 years of operation of the pumping–reinjection pair of wells.

Keywords: heat modeling; geothermal energy; well logging and structural geology modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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