Galeria Petar Smajic in Ernestinovo, Croatia (source: Rp031, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)The drilling operation will be conducted by Crosco Integrated Drilling and Well Services Co. Ltd. It is expected to take about a month, and results should be available by January 2024.
The British energy company entered the Croatian geothermal market via subsidiary GT Energy Croatia Limited (GTEC) earlier this year with the acquisition of controlling stake in Croatian geothermal developer A14 Energy Limited, which holds the exploration license for the Ernestinovo license area in eastern Croatia via subsidiary IGeoPen.
Aside from expanding the reach of Star Energy to the Croatian geothermal market, the acquisition also brings onboard an experienced team of geological and geothermal professionals.
Three deep exploration wells have been drilled and a 2D seismic data had already been collected and processed in the Ernestinovo license area, indicating a potential for development of a 10-MW geothermal power plant using ORC technology.
“The Ernestinovo license has excellent data from three deep exploration wells drilled in the 1980s and would suggest high temperatures and flow rates are achievable from this well. Our UK and Croatian teams are working closely to ensure a successful operation,” said CEO Chris Hopkinson.
“We are excited to begin the well re-entry on Ernestinovo-3. The speed with which we have constructed a well pad and commenced this operation demonstrates both the expertise of our local partners and the efficiency of the Croatian regulators.”
