| Abstract |
The major energy companies of Iceland initiated the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) to investigate the deeper levels of hydrothermal systems and determine if utilizing supercritical fluids could increase power production from such wells by a factor of 5-10 relative to that from conventional geothermal wells. The primary objective of IDDP is to find >450?C supercritical geothermal fluids at drillable depths, and to study their physical and chemical nature and energy potential. Over the next decade this will require drilling a series of wells 4-5km deep. Such deep, hot wells present both technical challenges and opportunities for important scientific studies. Early in 2005 an Icelandic energy company will drill and flow test a 2.7 km deep well on the Reykjanes Peninsula at the southwest tip of Iceland, where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge emerges from the ocean. In 2006 the IDDP plans to deepen this well to 4.0 km, obtain several spot cores, and then carry out a second flow test at that depth, where temperatures approaching 400?C are possible. After evaluating the technical and scientific results from this depth, and the funding situation, a third phase of drilling with continuous coring is planned to reach 5 km depth, where a third flow test would be scheduled. The IDDP borehole at Reykjanes will allow sampling fluids from 2.7 km, 4.0 km and 5.0 km, and produce more than 1.0 km of core from a high-temperature hydrothermal system located in an ophiolite-like environment that is actively forming today. This will be a very important contribution to global science and have clear connections to the studies of mid-ocean ridges by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. At the same time, we will gain a great deal of information about the deeper levels of a hydrothermal system and investigate an unconventional, very high-enthalpy geothermal resource. From a scientific perspective this plan is very appealing. The geological setting of the Reykjanes well is a superb location for scientific investigations of both high-temperature hydrothermal phenomena and mid-ocean ridge processes. The IDDP drilling will address a wide range of world-class scientific questions, such as the formation of hydrothermal ores, and black smokers on mid-ocean ridges, and the coupling of hydrothermal systems with their magmatic heat sources. The IDDP therefore welcomes participation by the international scientific community and has planned a very comprehensive program of research with collaborating scientists from a dozen different countries. However we are still open to consideration of additional research activities. |