Japanese Idemitsu to assess national park site for geothermal potential - report

Jul 5, 2013 - Japanese petroleum and petrochemical supplier Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd (TYO:5019) and its partners will perform a study at Kurikoma National Park to assess its geothermal power potential, NHK World reported today.

The parties will drill a 2,000 metres deep (6,500 ft) hole at the park located in Akita Prefecture to obtain temperature and geological information.

The test drilling, to be initiated at the end of the month, follows the softening of Japan’s rules concerning geothermal power projects inside national parks implemented in 2012 in a bid to give the sector a boost. The country's estimated geothermal resource is 23.5 GW, according to a study from last June by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Some 80% of the suitable sites for geothermal projects are in national parks. The government says there are 520 MW of installed geothermal capacity in the country at present.

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