Audio magnetotelluric data for geothermal exploration in northwest of Saudi Arabia

Radioactive granites and thick sedimentary rocks are located within Midyan basin, northwest of Saudi Arabia. This area is highly affected by tectonics due to its location near the Gulf of Aqaba as well as the Red Sea. In the present work, Audio magnetotelluric data is collected in order to find out the high geothermal potential within the area of interest. The aim of this research is to image the subsurface and understand the thermal regime of the area of interest. The results indicate that there are two high potentials geothermal areas: 1) high heat generating granites (HHGG) and 2) heat sedimentary basins (HSB). The HHGG are significant in terms of EGS while HSB is important for conventional geothermal system. More exploration studies are required in order to evaluate the geothermal energy and map the geothermal reservoir. Geometry and extension of the radioactive granites were identified as a results from this study.