New-Generation Geothermal Wells – How the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry Can Bring Its Experience to Bear

Abstract

Abstract As renewables are forecast to take a larger and larger slice of the energy mix going forward, the upstream oil and gas industry needs to look at whether and how it can be involved with these new sources of energy in order to maintain its share of the energy mix. Providers of services and technology to the industry should be thinking about how they might be able to apply their skills and capabilities in other, adjacent industries and should begin to think of themselves as energy service companies and not oilfield service and oilfield equipment supply companies. As the world searches for and attempts to bring on alternative sources of energy, the "holy grail" is a renewable energy source that can provide 24/7 baseload power without releasing greenhouse gases. Wind and solar both have issues with intermittency and therefore with capacity, and will require additional storage capacity – for example, batteries – in order to be able to deliver baseload. More traditional energy sources suffer from significant greenhouse gas emissions. Geothermal is currently the only source of energy which has the potential to provide clean power at scale and in a way that can provide uninterrupted baseload for an electrical grid – without the requirement for storage and the unnecessary consumption of resources this would entail. Serendipitously, geothermal drilling also has many similarities with drilling for oil and gas. The paper will review how geothermal installations are evolving beyond traditional hydrothermal wells and how they will include closed loop systems which seek to extract heat, and not hot water or steam, from the Earth. This paper describes the various types of new geothermal systems that have been proposed with some commentary on what has been achieved to date. It identifies both similarities and differences between the various well types required for these "unconventional" geothermal systems and the many different challenges in terms of well design and construction that our industry has developed, and perfected over more than 100 years. The similarities that are identified can be thought of as near-term opportunities for the oil and gas drilling industry to apply its skills, technologies and people to this new and growing sector. The differences can be thought of as challenges that our industry will have to overcome in order to be a valuable part of the inevitable transition that will take place in the near future.