TY - JOUR
T1 - Geothermal groundwater study and its energetic potential assessment in Abu Gharadig Basin, North Western Desert, Egypt
AU - Elmasry, Ahmed
AU - Mohallel, Saad A.
AU - Madani, Ahmed
AU - Saibi, Hakim
AU - Zaher, Mohamed Abdel
AU - Nassar, Tamer
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to express their gratitude to both Eng. Mahmoud Saeed, Tunnel Manager at Concord for Engineering and Contracting Company in Egypt, Eng. Tarek Galhom, Prospect Generation Geophysicist at Khalda Petroleum Company in Egypt, Eng. Ahmed El-Marakby, Surface Operations Department Head at Khalda Petroleum Company in Egypt, and Eng. Khalf Mabruk, Manager of Abu Gharadig Fields at Khalda Petroleum Company in Egypt, for their assistance in collecting samples of the study area. The authors would like also to thank the anonymous reviewers and editor for their fruitful comments and corrections which improved the paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - The Abu Gharadig Basin (AGB) is one of Egypt's main oil-producing basins, characterized by a range of tectonic structures generated by intense extension and the deposition of a thick sedimentary sequence, making it an ideal location for geothermal energy research. In this study, seven groundwater samples were collected from wells drilled in the AGB to conduct hydrochemical and isotopic analyses. The results indicate that the region's groundwater is dominated by Na+ cations and Cl− anions, which originate from precipitation and runoff. The application of cation geothermometers reveals that all the groundwater samples are in partial equilibrium with the host rock and may also be from mixed sources. The temperature of the deep geothermal reservoir can be estimated using cation geothermometers. The calculated reservoir temperature range deduced from Na–K–Ca geothermometry is 127–184 °C, with an average of 157 °C. The quantities of geothermal power stored in the vicinity of the AGB low-enthalpy geothermal field over the next 25 and 50 years were estimated using stochastic Monte Carlo simulations. For a site with a surface area of 1 km2, the geothermal power potential is 14.3 MWe for a 25-year lifespan and 7.16 MWe for a 50-year lifespan.
AB - The Abu Gharadig Basin (AGB) is one of Egypt's main oil-producing basins, characterized by a range of tectonic structures generated by intense extension and the deposition of a thick sedimentary sequence, making it an ideal location for geothermal energy research. In this study, seven groundwater samples were collected from wells drilled in the AGB to conduct hydrochemical and isotopic analyses. The results indicate that the region's groundwater is dominated by Na+ cations and Cl− anions, which originate from precipitation and runoff. The application of cation geothermometers reveals that all the groundwater samples are in partial equilibrium with the host rock and may also be from mixed sources. The temperature of the deep geothermal reservoir can be estimated using cation geothermometers. The calculated reservoir temperature range deduced from Na–K–Ca geothermometry is 127–184 °C, with an average of 157 °C. The quantities of geothermal power stored in the vicinity of the AGB low-enthalpy geothermal field over the next 25 and 50 years were estimated using stochastic Monte Carlo simulations. For a site with a surface area of 1 km2, the geothermal power potential is 14.3 MWe for a 25-year lifespan and 7.16 MWe for a 50-year lifespan.
KW - Abu Gharadig Basin
KW - Egypt
KW - Geothermal energy
KW - Geothermometers
KW - Hydrochemical analyses
KW - Low geothermal systems
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2023.104925
DO - 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2023.104925
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85151023495
SN - 1464-343X
VL - 202
JO - Journal of African Earth Sciences
JF - Journal of African Earth Sciences
M1 - 104925
ER -