Geothermal Exploration in Hungary
For the past few years, Mannvit has been working on geothermal development projects in Hungary as a consultant for the Hungarian energy company, Pannergy. Mannvit Engineering most recently discovered a geothermal heat resource near Miskolc, Hungary after months of drilling. This finding of hot water at a depth of approximately 2 kilometers was predicted by tests and analysis done by Mannvit prior to geothermal drilling operations.
The first short-term well tests infer that the well may supply approximately 70 to 90 l/sec. of 115°C hot water, revealing higher flow rates and geothermal resource temperatures higher than expected. This indicates that this location may be capable of producing up to three times more geothermal energy than previously believed. Mannvit was responsible for the interpretation and evaluation of the geoscience data for the borehole site selection, the borehole design and supervision of the drilling operation. Mannvit will continue to evaluate the current drilling and well testing results while expanding their drilling efforts in Miskolc.
Miskolc in East Hungary is one of the largest cities in Hungary with approximately 200,000 inhabitants. Pannergy’s plans include construction of a geothermal district heating system that would serve up to 15,000 of these Miskolc residents. According to the primary test results which show high temperatures and outstanding yield, there may be fewer wells needed to implement the system. Altogether there would be 2 production wells and 3 injection wells which would reduce the planned capital expenditure by 20 percent.
The implementation of the entire project including the electric power generation facilities will take two years. The first phase of the project, the drilling of an injection well in addition to the production well, is expected to be completed in early 2011. After this the geothermal heat supply may start immediately in Miskolc. The second phase of the project is planned to be completed by the start of the heating season of 2011.
This is the second of the geothermal resources discovered by Mannvit, as a Pannergy consultant, following last fall’s identification and testing of hot water resource near the town Szentlörinc in South West Hungary. The utility, designed by Mannvit for Pannergy, will be the largest renewable and environmental friendly energy utility in Hungary, and will reduce the burden on current gas heating utilities.
Overall the importance of the geothermal findings in Miskolc can be summarized by a quote from Balázs Bokorovics, Chairman of PannErgy Plc’s Board of Directors: “In our view, the excellent result of the drilling at Miskolc-Mályi provides further evidence what outstanding significance and value the geothermal energy in Hungary has both from business and social perspectives.”
