STX

2.17%

22.5¢ strike energy limited

Ann: Mid-West Geothermal Power Project Inferred Resource, page-75

First 75 Last

Share
Profile

Follow
relaxed

646 Posts.

226

12/05/22

10:26

Post #: 61360765
Share

Originally posted by Rockist ↑

So, Thursday morning... Overall it is fantastic that someone is seriously looking at geothermal in the Perth Basin. It has been known for many years and there must be some way to exploit it commercially and collect all the green credits you can get. I've found a good paper by Mark Ballesteros on the KIngia Sandstone and it's clear he is the competent technical driver. So far so good.

The Inferred Resource Statement is the problem. It is a bog standard volumetric stored heat calculation in which

volume of Kingia Sandstone x its water content x the heat contained in the water = heat stored in the Kingia Sandstone.

That is where the statement should have ended, with a large and impressive number in petajoules (PJ). From my fading memory of the Geothermal Reporting Code you could only proceed to calculate MWe if electricity generation was a reasonable strategy for exploiting the stored heat.

In this case a single central power station producing around 200 MWe is not a reasonable development strategy because its well-field would have to cover roughly 600 sq km in order to collect the required fluid. Unlike oil or gas, geothermal fluid loses heat and value the more it travels through pipes so a well-field more than a couple of sq km is usually not feasible. Therefore the statement's mention of 226 MWe power generation without further explanation is, in my view, misleading.

It's likely that Strike is focussing on power production, though there are other industrial and agricultural uses for a never-ending supply of hot water which could be profitable. If so, then the statement should have outlined an strategy of many small power plants distributed around the drillable area of the Kingia Sandstone. These would be more expensive and less profitable than a single large power station and therefore you could argue this was a material omission.

Ballesteros' 2020 paper models a series of 4 MWe power stations supplied by 3 well doublets - each 2-well doublet contains a production and disposal well. I don't know drilling costs these days but 10 years ago we reckoned a 3,000 m geothermal well through sediments cost roughly $10-15 million each, so 6 might cost roughly $60-90 million. A 4 MWe power plant might earn 4 x 24 x 365 x $100 = $3.5 million per year. If so, it's hard to see how a series of small power plants could be profitable. (can someone please check my numbers..)

Much depends on the flow rate available from the Kingia Sandstone. Power plants of similar size in the Upper Rhine Valley, which has similar geology, operate with just two wells (e.g. the Insheim plant which Vulcan has just bought for its lithium) and therefore the economics are more reasonable.

In my view, the future geothermal exploration program for Strike should focus on finding the areas with the best combination of high temperature, high flow-rate and shallow drilling in order to reduce potential drilling costs. They could also keep an eye on lithium contents..

Overall, the technical progress so far seems strong and I think there is enough encouragement to continue work towards a power generation business made up of multiple small power plants in strategic locations. This is a perfectly good strategy and there is no need to hide behind the facade of a single large power plant.

Expand

Thanks for the analysis.
It's still very early in the process, so I doubt that STX has any firm plans.
Just complete the permitting, drill Future State-1, and then take it from there.

Anyway, just a point of clarification. The paper mentions 4 MWe per doublet. A plant will have 3 doublets (6 wells all from the same pad) and is modeled to produce 9.6 to 14.7 MWe.

STX Price at posting: 29.5¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
8 Upvote

0 Great analysis

Reply

Top Stories

BNL

Blue Star Helium sees approval for five more wells at 'Galactica/Pegasus' project in Colorado

HotCopper Highlights: Your most watched stocks for Week 46, 2024

IRX

InhaleRX gains approval for clinical trial to test non-opioid therapy for cancer pain

EEG

NT Gov't delivers environmental approval for Empire Energy's Beetaloo Carpentaria pilot gas play

3DA

To make modern missiles, you need 3D Printing. And in that gold rush, Amaero is selling shovels

Week 46 Wrap: Copper hits 2mth low as Trump threatens net zero pace; US rally fades; HotCopper’s picks

GDM

Banshee's historic trenches prove rich in antimony and gold for GDM

BTH

Bigtincan's Board backs Investcorp offer: Why a NASDAQ listing could be game-changing

CUF

CuFe sells its Crossroads gold royalty to Northern Star for $4M cash; says better than waiting for mine launch

CLE

Cyclone signs MOU with Vale for development of Iron Bear play

First 75 Last

Add STX (ASX) to my watchlist

(20min delay)
Last 22.5¢		Change -0.005(2.17%)		Mkt cap ! $644.7M

Open	High	Low	Value	Volume
23.0¢	23.0¢	22.0¢	$501.0K	2.230M

Buyers (Bids)

No.	Vol.	Price($)
27	2046366	22.0¢

Sellers (Offers)

Price($)	Vol.	No.
22.5¢	318000	5

View Market Depth

No.	Vol.	Price($)
22	1994184	0.220
16	659758	0.215
20	1117710	0.210
15	896139	0.205
29	756082	0.200

Price($)	Vol.	No.
0.225	300000	3
0.230	5609093	19
0.235	1597574	28
0.240	2882088	18
0.245	2500130	21

Last trade - 16.10pm 15/11/2024 (20 minute delay)

STX (ASX) Chart

Ann: Mid-West Geothermal Power Project Inferred Resource, page-75

Blue Star Helium sees approval for five more wells at 'Galactica/Pegasus' project in Colorado

HotCopper Highlights: Your most watched stocks for Week 46, 2024

InhaleRX gains approval for clinical trial to test non-opioid therapy for cancer pain

NT Gov't delivers environmental approval for Empire Energy's Beetaloo Carpentaria pilot gas play

To make modern missiles, you need 3D Printing. And in that gold rush, Amaero is selling shovels

Week 46 Wrap: Copper hits 2mth low as Trump threatens net zero pace; US rally fades; HotCopper’s picks

Banshee's historic trenches prove rich in antimony and gold for GDM

Bigtincan's Board backs Investcorp offer: Why a NASDAQ listing could be game-changing

CuFe sells its Crossroads gold royalty to Northern Star for $4M cash; says better than waiting for mine launch

Cyclone signs MOU with Vale for development of Iron Bear play

Featured News

Buyers (Bids)

Sellers (Offers)

Featured News

Ann: Mid-West Geothermal Power Project Inferred Resource, page-75

Top Stories

Blue Star Helium sees approval for five more wells at 'Galactica/Pegasus' project in Colorado

HotCopper Highlights: Your most watched stocks for Week 46, 2024

InhaleRX gains approval for clinical trial to test non-opioid therapy for cancer pain

NT Gov't delivers environmental approval for Empire Energy's Beetaloo Carpentaria pilot gas play

To make modern missiles, you need 3D Printing. And in that gold rush, Amaero is selling shovels

Week 46 Wrap: Copper hits 2mth low as Trump threatens net zero pace; US rally fades; HotCopper’s picks

Banshee's historic trenches prove rich in antimony and gold for GDM

Bigtincan's Board backs Investcorp offer: Why a NASDAQ listing could be game-changing

CuFe sells its Crossroads gold royalty to Northern Star for $4M cash; says better than waiting for mine launch

Cyclone signs MOU with Vale for development of Iron Bear play

Featured News

Buyers (Bids)

Sellers (Offers)

Featured News