habanero 1 geothermal well is go

http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,5994137%255E913,00.html

Hot rock ready to roll

17feb03
WORK has started on Australia's first hot dry rock (HDR) project, with drilling on a 4.9km well in outback South Australia.

Renewable energy company Geodynamics chief executive Bertus de Graaf said the $5.4 million Habanero 1 well near Innaminka would take 10 to 12 weeks to reach the 290C granite.

It would be the first stage in developing an underground heat exchanger, to demonstrate the potential of a power plant at the site.

"So, the adventure starts now and it looks very promising," Dr de Graaf said in Adelaide last week.

A nearby existing 3.7km former Santos well would be used for observation purposes during the drilling operation. He said it was a "geological fluke" that one of the world's non-volcanic hottest spots was in the Cooper Basin location.

"Establishing this underground heat exchanger will open up the full potential of the world-class, high-grade HDR geothermal resource," he said. "Our project has received international interest and there are many geothermal experts who are watching our project very closely."

Up to 20 overseas specialists in the field are due in SA next week to inspect progress at the site.

Dr de Graaf said experts from Europe, Japan, the US, Woodside, Santos, CSIRO, University of Queensland and Primary Industry and Resources SA would be part of the second peer review of Geodynamics' hydraulic stimulation program.

Woodside Petroleum is a 32 per cent investor in Geodynamics, which raised $11.7 million through a share market float last year.

The shares remained steady at their 50c issue price on Friday.