The DeepStor-1 exploration well

DeepStor-1 is the exploration well to the Helmholtz research infrastructure “DeepStor”. DeepStor focuses on the investigation of high-temperature heat storage marginal to the former oil-field “Leopoldshafen“. It is located about 10 km north of the city of Karlsruhe (Germany).

The DeepStor-1 well will probe marine to continental syn-rift sedimentary successions. It is planned to reach the Pechelbronn Group at 1‘460 m. Seismic investigation reveal a structurally undisturbed section that below 200 m depth covers the Landau, Bruchsal, Niederrödern and Froidefontaine Formations. Cores will be taken from the entire section below 820 m resolving about 6 Myr (about 26-32 Ma) of the Oligocene (about 23-34 Ma) and revealing an important geoarchive on regional and global signals, evolutionary trends of plate tectonics, paleolife, and paleoclimate. In addition to coring, the logging program is planned to include besides technical logging, a caliper-, self-potential-, temperature-, dual latero-, natural gamma spectrometry-, neutron-gamma porosity-, sonic-, elemental capture spectroscopy-, as well as image-logs in the sections 215-820 m as well as in the cored 820-1460 m section. Drilling of DeepStor-1 is planned between 2023 and 2024. Besides the interest of the Helmholtz Association in

1. the characterization of the subsurface by logging and coring,
2. the evaluation of the structural, hydraulic, and hydro-chemical set-up and the boundary conditions of the reservoir, and
3. short and long-term testing of hydraulic and thermal performance of the reservoir,

the well offers opportunities for more fundamental investigations on the climatic and geological conditions during deposition of the reservoir rocks.