by John O'Sullivan, Technical Director at Providence Resources PLC
The reservoir is both massive and porous with the potential to contain in excess of one trillion litres of 'boiling' water and therefore comprises a potentially significant geothermal resource.
The Lower Cretaceous Dunquin North carbonate build-up lies buried c. 3,000 metres beneath the seabed in c. 1,600 metres water depth and is c. 170 km off the SW coast of Ireland. This feature comprises the remnants of a tropical coral island atoll which existed in the Porcupine Basin some c. 100 million years ago.
Climate Change associated with the Late Cretaceous green-house climatic crisis caused global sea-level rise which quickly buried this feature leaving it 'frozen in time'.
Today Dunquin North hosts a vast high pressure hot water reservoir system. Drilling results from the recent 44/23-1 well in 2013 confirmed reservoir temperatures of c. 250 F (c. 120 C) in c. 800 atmospheres of pressure (c. 11,000 psi).
The reservoir is both massive and porous with the potential to contain in excess of one trillion litres of 'boiling' water and therefore comprises a potentially significant geothermal resource. Harnessing the potential of Dunquin North poses great challenges for scientists, engineers and policy makers but surely that's what any great endeavour takes. Dunquin North - created by Climate Change - to combat Climate Change?
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