| Title | Approaches for Identifying Geothermal Energy Resources in Coastal Queensland |
|---|---|
| Authors | Melanie Fitzell, Stephanie Hamilton, Jim Beeston, Len Cranfield, Kate Nelson, Chris Xavier and Peter Green |
| Year | 2009 |
| Conference | Australian Geothermal Energy Conference |
| Keywords | Queensland, Coastal Geothermal Energy Initiative, Texas beds, Stanthorpe, Tarong Basin, Styx Basin, Hillsborough Basin, geothermal exploration |
| Abstract | The Coastal Geothermal Energy Initiative is a Queensland Government Program designed to investigate sources of hot rocks close to existing transmission lines along the east coast of Queensland where modelled crustal temperatures at 5km are generally less than 150°C. The modelled low temperatures in this coastal region could reflect insufficient and poorly distributed data rather than an absence of suitable geothermal targets. The initiative involves a series of drill holes for the specific purpose of taking downhole temperature readings and obtaining cores for measurement of thermal conductivity to calculate heat-flow. The drill holes are to be sited in areas considered to have potential to contain hot rocks. Selection of these areas is based largely on an understanding of the geological setting and history of this part of Queensland. This paper highlights five different geological targets identified for further investigation. These targets include an extrapolated buried granitoid, inferred granitoids from geophysical anomalies, and three sedimentary basins that contain either low thermal conductivity coal or oil shale. A variety of techniques have been used in the assessment of these targets, involving the integration of different geological and geophysical data. |