Geothermal Energy Potential in Selected Areas of Western Australia
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Hot Dry Rocks Pty Ltd Geothermal Energy Consultants Geothermal Energy Potential in HEAD OFFICE PO Box 251 Selected Areas of Western South Yarra, Vic 3141 Australia T +61 3 9867 4078 F +61 3 9279 3955 Australia (Perth Basin) E [email protected] W www.hotdryrocks.com ABN: 12 114 617 622 SERVICES Exploration Rock Property Measurements A report prepared for the Department of Industry Project Development Portfolio Management Grant Applications and Resources, Western Australia. 17 August 2008 www.hotdryrocks.com Executive summary Hot Dry Rocks Pty Ltd (HDRPL) was commissioned by the Department of Industry and Resources (DoIR), Western Australia, to appraise the geothermal potential of the Perth Basin as part of RQF DOIR0060108. A total of 250 wells were assessed in accordance with the quotation, 170 of which were assessed in detail for heat flow modelling and temperature prediction. Of these 170 wells, 162 had sufficient data to enable the modelling of heat flow. The principle findings of this report are:- • Measured rock thermal conductivities for 36 core samples collected from the Perth Basin range from 1.31–7.01 W/mK. These data were crucial in the development of 1D heat flow models to predict the depth to specific isotherms. • Despite these new data, thermal conductivity remains the major source of uncertainly in heat flow calculations and temperature projections. HDRPL has necessarily made certain assumptions about conductivity in this broad review. The results are valid so long as these assumptions hold true. • HDRPL used measured values for the conductivity of coal measures, based on samples obtained from the DoIR core library, but the assumption of a single characteristic conductivity value is unlikely to hold for the coal measures. The heat flow values and temperature projections for wells containing significant proportions of coal measures are, therefore, of lower reliability than other wells. • Modelled surface heat flow in the Perth Basin ranges from 30–140 mW/m2, with a median of 90 mW/m2 for all wells, and a median of 76.5 mW/m2 for single wells/fields. HDRPL regards 76.5 mW/m2 as more representative of the basin as a whole. The Australian median value is 64.5 mW/m2 from the global heat flow database. www.hotdryrocks.com • The distribution of heat flow values is influenced by well temperature data quality. Lower quality data are biased towards underestimating the true temperature within the well. • Heat flow appears lowest in the southern part of the basin (Bunbury Trough) and shows an apparent increase towards the north, reaching inferred values >90 mW/m2 north of Eneabba. A notable change in apparent heat flow north of latitude 30°00' could be due to an increasing influence of buried granites of the Northampton Complex. • Temperature projections from heat flow models reveal a number of areas north and south of Perth where the 150°C isotherm may lie at <5 km depth. These may be areas of increased Engineered Geothermal System (EGS) prospectivity, depending on the suitability of target lithologies for fracture stimulation. • North of Lancelin-Jurien Bay, the 150°C isotherm is modelled at <4000 m in places, becoming increasingly shallower (<3000 m) towards Eneabba and Dongara. In some of these areas, the inferred 150°C isotherm is coincident with Permian-Jurassic sedimentary units. Where a suitable lithology preserves natural permeability, there may be potential for Deeply Buried Sedimentary Aquifer (DBSA) geothermal systems here. • Available tectonic stress data suggest that the stress state in the Perth Basin is transitional between strike-slip and reverse with the principle horizontal stress trajectory (Shmax) oriented E-W. Fault systems oriented at ~30° to this trajectory may be targets for enhanced fracture permeability. HDRPL recommends 3D numerical stress modelling to properly assess conditions required for fracture reactivation. Disclaimer The information and opinions in this report have been generated to the best ability of the authors, and Hot Dry Rocks Pty Ltd hope they may be of assistance to you. However, neither the authors nor any other employee of Hot Dry Rocks Pty Ltd guarantees that the report is without flaw or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes, and therefore we disclaim all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. The Department of Industry and Resources provided primary data utilised in this report and HDRPL is not responsible for the quality or accuracy of these data. www.hotdryrocks.com 1 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................. 4 2. PERTH BASIN GEOLOGICAL SETTING....................................................................................... 5 3. BASEMENT INVESTIGATIONS.................................................................................................... 10 3.1. BASEMENT DEPTH .................................................................................................................... 10 3.2. BASEMENT LITHOLOGY.............................................................................................................. 11 4. HEAT FLOW MODELLING METHODOLOGY ............................................................................. 16 4.1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................... 16 4.2. HEAT FLOW AND LIMITATIONS OF 1D MODELLING......................................................................... 16 4.3. VERIFICATION OF WELL TEMPERATURES .................................................................................... 17 4.4. SURFACE TEMPERATURES ......................................................................................................... 18 4.5. ROCK THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT........................................................................... 19 4.6. ESTIMATING LITHOLOGIES AT DEPTH........................................................................................... 21 4.7. ESTIMATING BASEMENT HEAT GENERATION................................................................................. 24 5. HEAT FLOW MODELLING RESULTS ......................................................................................... 26 5.1. CALCULATED HEAT FLOW........................................................................................................... 26 5.2. RELIABILITY OF HEAT FLOW DATA ............................................................................................... 27 5.3. SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF HEAT FLOW DATA ............................................................................... 30 6. TEMPERATURE PROJECTION ................................................................................................... 32 6.1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................... 32 6.2. EXTRAPOLATION OF TEMPERATURES TO BASEMENT ................................................................... 33 7. STRESS FIELD IN THE PERTH BASIN ....................................................................................... 38 7.1. ADEQUACY OF CURRENTLY AVAILABLE DATA ............................................................................... 38 7.2. STRESS MAGNITUDES IN THE PERTH BASIN ................................................................................ 38 7.3. DATA QUALITY AND ADEQUACY................................................................................................... 40 7.4. RELEVANCE OF REGIONAL STRESS TO GEOTHERMAL EXPLORATION.............................................. 43 7.5. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STRESS MODELLING ........................................................................... 44 8. DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................. 44 www.hotdryrocks.com 2 List of Figures Figure 2.1 Stratigraphy of the Perth Basin (after Geoscience Australia, 2007)......... 7 Figure 2.2 Basin subdivisions and tectonic elements of the central and southern Perth Basin (after Crostella & Backhouse, 2000) ....................................................... 8 Figure 2.3 Tectonic elements of the northern Perth Basin (Mory & Iasky, 19963) ..... 9 Figure 3.1 Gravity image with OZSEEBASEv2 - Depth to Basement contours for the southern area of the Perth Basin where sediment thickness is estimated to exceed 10 km........................................................................................................................ 12 Figure 3.2 Gravity image with OZSEEBASEv2 - Depth to Basement contours for the central area of the Perth Basin where sediment thickness is estimated to exceed 13 km............................................................................................................................. 13 Figure 3.3 Gravity image with OZSEEBASEv2 - Depth to Basement contours for the northern area of the Perth Basin............................................................................... 14 Figure 3.4 Gravity image under an outline of the onshore Perth Basin (white line) . 15 Figure 4.1 HDRPL seismic interpretation of line A89-708........................................ 23 Figure 5.1 Distribution of apparent surface heat flow for 162 wells in the Perth Basin ................................................................................................................................