| Abstract |
Panax Geothermal Limited (Panax) holds four Geothermal Exploration Licences (GEL’s) in the north east of South Australia, namely GEL’s 220, 221, 281 and 502. These licences overlap the Great Artesian Basin and in particular the Hutton Sandstone (“Hutton”), a known prolific reservoir. It has been demonstrated in existing wells and extrapolated using seismic data that the Hutton are recognized as a very porous and permeable aquifer and can be found at depths greater than 2,000m and temperatures of up to 145 °C. Reviewing core samples in the region suggests that there is a high likelihood for transmissibility up to 90-100 Dm. The Hutton Project is based on producing an initial artesian flow of hot water sufficient to generate about 1 MWe. Although greater flows could be produced, either by artesian flow or by pumping, capable of generating up to 5-6 MWe per production well, a smaller development is more appropriate whilst the market evolves. Initially, the focus is on replacing diesel or gas generation in the local oil fields, small settlements and pastoral leases. |