As reported by the company, Australian Petratherm is planning to “start work on pinpointing a deep well for geothermal energy on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, belonging to Spain.

Petratherm España will undertake an extensive magneto-telluric (MT) survey across the volcanic island of Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands commencing in October 2009 to pinpoint locations for a deep test well site.

A highly regarded international specialist in this type of survey work, Geosystems, have been contracted to complete the survey work which will involve recording variations in electrical conductivity in rocks at depth. The target hot fluid areas typically have a clay cap which is more conductive and can be recognized on MT data.

Petratherm España is also holding advanced joint venture negotiations with potential partners to fund the subsequent planned deep drilling program.

Petratherm España has Geothermal Exploration Licenses (GELs) on Tenerife, the largest of the seven islands in this Spanish archipelago located off the west coast of North Africa. The Canary Islands, known for their volcanism, are considered excellent sites for exploiting conventional geothermal technology.

Conventional geothermal projects are commercially established in many parts of the world accounting for more than 10,000 MW of installed power generation capacity – more than three times the peak demand of the state of South Australia.

Petratherm España is undertaking the work after assessments of historical data revealed promising results for geothermal energy production.

Sinclair Knights Merz’s geothermal division reprocessed limited historical magneto-telluric survey work on behalf of Petratherm España and this highlighted evidence for a potential conductive zone at depth which may represent a clay alteration cap above a hydrothermal reservoir.

One area identified is in the northwest of the island, near the historical Tenerife – 1 well, drilled by the Spanish Government. The base of this feature is at about sea level and, if it is a clay cap, would suggest that the 200oC isotherm is at about 2000m depth in this vicinity.”

For the full release and pictures of location and other supportive material, see official company release, link below.

Source: Company statement (pdf)