Adelaide, Dec 5, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The drive to develop hot rock energy in South Australia is to take in the State's Riverland district for the first time under new government exploration funding announced today for Eden Energy Limited (ASX: EDE).
The Company announced today that its concept for a geothermal or hot rock energy project near the Riverland town of Renmark, northeast of Adelaide, had attracted A$100,000 under the latest PACE grants to fund the Company's first drill hole to test the geothermal potential of the Renmark-Tararra Trough.
Eden holds Geothermal Exploration Licences 175 and 176, which are located in the Renmark area, and offer short distance access to major powerlines for distribution.
"The Renmark area stands out as a significant temperature anomaly on the Australian National University's Austherm 2004 image of estimated hot rock temperatures at 5 kilometre depth," Eden Energy's Executive Chairman, Mr Greg Solomon, said today.
"This potential is supported by data from the nearby Nulla Nulla 1 well just over the border in New South Wales," Mr Solomon said.
"Under today's PACE funding announcement, Eden proposes to drill its first geothermal well to acquire drill core and temperature measurements from within the Renmark Trough to confirm the anomalous heat flow status of the Renmark area as suggested by the Austherm image.
"The temperature data will enable an estimate for the area of its temperature at depth. Core from the hole will enable thermal conductivities to be directly measured and a robust estimation made of heat flow and temperature gradient."
Mr Solomon said the drilling program would also dovetail with data to be available shortly from a new SA Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation (DWLBC) saline water re-injection test well near Lock 6 on the Murray River, providing a more regional view of the heat flow.
"A successful hole and heat flow estimate will establish the presence of a well located, significant, new geothermal resource at attractive depths for utilisation in South Australia, and located quite close to prospective markets and infrastructure," Mr Solomon said.
"Success will also confirm a major new style of geothermal target in SA and accelerate exploration of this particular resource as well as highlighting the prospectivity of naturally permeable zones in sedimentary basins with high heat flows."
The Renmark-Tararra Trough is a 300km long sedimentary basin running in a northeasterly direction, located just to the north of Renmark. There are significant accumulations of sediments, including good insulating coaly material, in the Renmark Trough.
Eden believes these may provide effective thermal insulation, which, associated with major faults on the basin margins, provide enhanced permeability, to combine to make the Renmark area an attractive geothermal target.
Contact
Kevin Skinner
Senior Consultant
FIELD PUBLIC RELATIONS
231 South Road
MILE END SA 5031
Tel: (08) 8234 9555
Fax: (08) 8234 9566
Mob: 0414 822 631
kevin@fieldpr.com.au
| ||
|
