Released a short while agoOlympic Dam Update – Hydraulic...

Released a short while ago

Olympic Dam Update – Hydraulic Fracture Testing


• Hydraulic fracture testing to commence at Olympic Dam
• Seismic monitoring system installed


Green Rock Energy Limited (ASX Code: “GRK”), a geothermal energy company
with activities in Australia and Europe, advises that the hydraulic fracture testing will commence this week in its Blanche No. 1 well at the Company’s geothermal leases at Olympic Dam, South Australia.

Equipment and an expert engineering crew from Germany to be used for the
hydro-fracture pressure testing, together with experts from the CSIRO, will arrive on site at Blanche No. 1 within the next few days when the testing program will commence. The testing will be operated by GEO-Meß-Systeme GmbH, a German company specialising in measurement of rock stresses, in conjunction with the CSIRO experts.

An array of seismic sensors have been set-up around Blanche No. 1 by the
Institute of Earth Science & Engineering (IESE) from the University of Auckland, New Zealand to monitor the subtle seismic signals resulting from fracturing of the hot granites caused by the hydraulic fracture testing. The layout of the array of the sensors is based on seismic instruments IESE has developed, installed, and operated in various geothermal study sites around the World.

The hydraulic pressure will open tensile fractures in the rock, at various depths down to the bottom of the well at 1,935 metres. This will determine the pressure required to fracture the hot granites.

A slim-hole televiewer will be used to provide images in the well bore of the
fractures opened in the granites.

The results of the testing program will be used for the design of the initial
injection and production wells at greater depths in the hot granites and a major fracture stimulation program to link the two wells via permeable fractures generated at depth. Given success with the consequent water circulation testing, this production and injection well pair will be used to feed geothermal energy to a 3 to 5 MWe pilot power plant. This will complete the evaluation stage of the project following which the design and development of the commercial power plant operation will then occur.

The Olympic Dam Geothermal Energy Project, owned 100% by Green Rock
Energy, is located within 10 kms of BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine and only 5 kms from a 275kV and a 132 kV power transmission lines connected to the
Eastern Australian power grid. The Company is undertaking the evaluation of an engineered geothermal system (“EGS”) within the hot granites at Olympic Dam to establish a 3 to 5 MWe pilot power plant. This is in preparation for the construction of a series of EGS reservoirs at Olympic Dam to provide the heat energy to power a large base load power plant with a capacity in excess of 400 MW of electricity.



My comment
Well it starting now. I am told we will get regular updates over the next few weeks.
News flow to investors is about to increase a lot. Apparently there were delays in getting the equipment over from Germany.

The activity at Hab 3 and the flow testing should bring more interest to the sector.
GRK should do well from the news coming out and the resulting greater interest from brokers should help the price along.

cheers
omg