United Kingdom: Learn About Possible Geothermal Resources in Carboniferous Sediments

Lecture: The geothermal potential of Carboniferous sediments in the East Midlands (The Geological Society of London)

13 October 2015, British Geological Survey, Keyworth

Carboniferous sediments have, to date, been largely ignored when UK geothermal resource assessments have been made. Resources located within deep sedimentary Mesozoic basins, and those associated with radiothermal granites have formed the main focus of resource quantification in recent years.

There has been no attempt to formally quantify the resource located within Carboniferous sediments due to their complex structural and diagenetic history. The East Midlands Petroleum Province is the onshore extension of the Southern North Sea Basin. Oil reserves are typically found in Upper Carboniferous sandstone units, and rarely in Lower Carboniferous (Dinantian) Limestones.

Exploration within the East Midlands has led to the discovery of over 30 separate fields. In 2011, IGas PLC purchased and now operates 16 of these fields. The well records and production data that were obtained as a result of this procurement has been used to produce a first quantification of the geothermal resource held within Carboniferous strata.