Yemen Geothermal Potential (Case history 1980 - 2021)

Yemen has special location in the Middle East with a great geothermal potential because it is located at one of the most active plate boundaries and at the triple junction made up by the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and African Rift system. This is the key factor in the formation of geothermal manifestations distributed in the country, where many Quaternary volcanoes can be found. The evaluation of the geothermal potential started in the early 80's where most studies were undertaken by government institutions with assistance from countries that had developed geothermal activities. The potential capacity was estimated to be 600 MW. In recent decades, there has been major growing in the geothermal development in the country but with slow in harnessing the potential significant resources. Five main geothermal fields have been identified in Yemen: (1) Al lisi and Isbil, (2) Al Qafr, (3) Damt, (4) Taiz and (5) Red Sea Coast. The most promising of these fields for electricity generation is Al lisi and Isbil geothermal field, where the first exploration well was allocated to be drilled in 2010, whereas the other geothermal fields have good potential for low and moderate enthalpy resources. The highest temperatures recorded were 96 °C from a boiling pool at Al Qafr and 68 °C from a fumarole at Al lisi and Isbil. The geothermal resources in other places are exploited in direct uses by private in tourism activities: hotels, balneology, swimming, and therapeutic applications, estimated to be1.0 MWt and 15 TJ/yr.