Prospects for the use of geothermal waters in the Chechen Republic based on the experience of similar works in France (Paris Basin)

Geothermal waters are underground waters with temperatures above 35 °C, which are considered as one of the renewable alternative energy resources. Geothermal waters can be cost-effectively used as a natural source of energy for heating, hot water supply, power generation, etc. The main advantages of geothermal resources in comparison with traditional sources of energy are: renewabil-ity, inexhaustibility, complex use, complete independence from environmental conditions, time of day and year, environmental cleanliness. There are 66 explored geothermal water deposits in Russia, and one of the most promising areas is the Chechen Republic, which ranks third among the regions of proven reserves. Since the 1970s, there was an active development, especially at the biggest Khankala deposit. However, in 1994, as a result of the tragic events that occurred on the territory of the republic, the exploitation was stopped, and now geothermal waters are not used industrially. One of the countries that have achieved good results in the use of the geothermal waters of similar temperature and depth is France, where the main object of exploitation is the Dogger reservoir (Middle Jurassic) in the Paris Artesian Basin. Originally, it was planned to discharge used water into the Seine, but because of their high mineralization this project was abandoned. The development of "doublet" technology, which consists of injection and production wells, made geothermal exploitation in the Paris Basin possible. Use of this technology minimizes adverse effects on the environment and maintains the piezometric level in the production wells. In Russia, this technique is not applied and will be tested for the first time at the Khankala geothermal waters deposit. In 2013, Grozny State Oil Technical University named after Academician M. D. Million-shchikov, Arenstroicentr company and Vernadsky State Geological Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences within the Geo-thermal Resources consortium with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science, scientific supervision of BRGM (Bureau of Geological and Mining Research, France) launched a project to build an experimental geothermal station on the basis of the most promising XIII layer of the Khankala deposit with a planned capacity of 5.45 Gcal/h and a greenhouse complex as a consumer. If successful, this project will allow assessing the economic efficiency of medium temperature thermal waters use in the Chechen Republic, where there are 14 already explored deposits, and it will become a new stage in the utilization of geothermal water in the region.

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