Texas Geothermal Energy: A New Profit Commodity for the Oil and Gas Industry*
By
Richard J. Erdlac1
Search and Discovery Article #80001 (2006)
Posted July 3, 2006
*Poster presentation, at AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, April 10-12, 2006
Click
to view presentation in PDF format.
1University of Texas Permian Basin, Center for Energy & Economic Diversification, Odessa, TX ([email protected])
Abstract
In the latter part
of 1989, a new system for energy and power
production was first tested in Texas.
A hybrid geothermal
power
plant was built, tested, and run for 121 days
producing electrical
power
that was sold to HP&L. While a technological success,
timing was poor for commercialization. Oil and gas were inexpensive. No
incentives existed for renewable energy production in the state, no one was
concerned about not having sufficient electrical energy for the economy, and
California and other parts of the country had yet to experience electrical
power
shortages. Those times have changed.
The deep Permian
Basin is one of 5 regions within the state that has the potential for holding
vast amounts of renewable heat energy. Temperatures well in excess of 212F are
present in deep wells. This hot water, generally considered a liability when
encountered in the O&G drilling process, holds the key for a restoration of the
Texas oil and gas industry and its infrastructure for decades to come. Existing
technology can capture this heat and generate electrical power
. Many 1,000's
Megawatts are probable from this heat energy. Conventional geothermal energy
companies have yet to target deep sedimentary basins due to a lack of
knowledge…knowledge of the available resource…knowledge of the subsurface
geological architecture…and knowledge of the data resources developed over many
decades of oil and gas production. The existing O&G industry is presently poised
to take advantage of this energy resource and begin developing heat energy
concurrently with oil and gas production efforts. This presentation discusses
the available heat energy and its future development.