On April 18, 2023, in the Szaflary Commune (in the Podhale Basin area), UOS Drilling S.A. began drilling the Bańska PGP-4 exploration and production well. According to expert assumptions, the well is to be 7,000 m deep and the water temperature at the bottom is to reach over 150°C.
The main objective of the drilling is to determine the resources of thermal waters in the Eocene Numulitic and Mesozoic formations of the Podhale Basin bed in the Podhale 2 mining area and to conduct hydrodynamic tests and physicochemical studies enabling the assessment of the deposit parameters: i.e. temperature, efficiency, mineralization and chemical composition, as well as the assessment of the suitability of the collected waters for heating and energy purposes.
So far, UOS Drilling S.A. drilled to a depth of over 6,000 m, making the Bańska PGP-4 well the deepest geothermal well in Poland and one of the deepest in the world.
What is worth noting: at a depth of about 3,000 m, deposits of hot springs with a temperature of about 85°C were found, and at 5,000 m, water above 100°C.
Drilling, especially the deepest ones, such as in Szaflary, gives us a lot of information, not only about the structure of the upper part of the Earth's crust, but also allows the extraction of geological material, based on which geologists can document the image of the Earth, as well as examine and measure the pressure and temperature below its surface.
The Bańska PGP-4 well is therefore important not only from the perspective of the authorities and residents of the Szaflary commune (hot water extracted from it is to be used to heat buildings in the Szaflary commune and Nowy Targ), but above all from the perspective of the world of science!
The total cost of the investment is over PLN 132 million. It is financed by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management and the Commune of Szaflary.
