Sæunn Halldorsdottir

Supercritical and superheated geothermal systems in Iceland – Insight from field cases

Deep drilling in high-temperature geothermal systems by the Iceland Deep Drilling (IDDP) project is aimed at increasing the power output of high-temperature geothermal fields by an order of magnitude without increasing their environmental footprints. The drilling of two wells within the project has opened a window to look into the deeper parts of the geothermal systems and study the nature of their roots; that is, their heat sources. The first, drilled in Krafla, unexpectedly encountered magma at only 2.1 km depth and became the world’s hottest production well at the time, yielding more than 450°C superheated  steam. The second, drilled in the Reykjanes geothermal field in Iceland, reached a total depth of 4.5 km in January 2017, achieving the main objective of the IDDP project by reaching supercritical conditions.