Transcript Geothermal Power from Co-produced Oil Field Fluids

The Potential Impacts of Co-produced Geothermal Waters
KEY POINTS
• The amount of geothermal energy contained in oil and gas producing sedimentary basins is orders of magnitude
greater than the energy requirements of the U.S., but it is largely untapped.
School 1of Engineering
and
Mines
1
2
Will Gosnold , Zhengwen Zeng , Mike Mann , Hossein
3
Salehfar
•Previous estimates of the accessible stratabound geothermal resource were based on only one or two aquifers within
a basin and resulted in a gross underestimate . For example, the accessible resource in ND and SD was estimated to
be 2,050 EJ. Analysis of all potential aquifers in South Dakota and North Dakota indicates that the total accessible
resource base in the two basins is approximately 33,700 EJ.
•Advances in Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) technology makes temperatures as low as 90 ºC cost-competitive power
production, and use of existing infrastructure eliminates drilling and well completion costs.
1 Geology and Geological Engineering, 81 Cornell, Mail Stop 8358,
[email protected], (701-777-2631); [email protected], (701-777-3027)
2 Chemical Engineering, 241 Centennial Drive, Mail Stop 7101,
[email protected], (701-777-3852)
3 Electrical Engineering, 243 Centennial Drive, Mail Stop 7165,
[email protected], (701-777-4432)
•Large basins such as the Williston Basin, Denver Basin, Powder River Basin, Anadarko Basin, and the US Gulf Coast
region contain more than a dozen potential geothermal aquifers having temperatures greater than 100 °C.
•Approximately half of global anthropogenic CO2 derives from coal-fired power plants.
“The potential power production in the mid-continent using oil field waste
waters with ORC technology is estimated to be at least 5.9 GW and could be
as high as 21.9 GW,” (McKenna et al., 2005; MIT - 2007).
The Madison Fm in western North Dakota contains 1,476 EJ of thermal
energy. Colors are temperature, contours are depth (m).
EGS is an
acronym for
Enhanced
Geothermal
Systems
The table below was derived from Appendix A.2.2 of the MIT Report “Future of Geothermal Energy, 2007.”
Mid-cont.
States with
geothermal
potential
Water
Produced in
2004 (kbbl)
Total Water
Production
Rate, kGPM
Equiv.
Power,
MW @
100oC
Equiv.
Power,
MW @
140oC
Equiv.
Power,
MW @
180oC
Montana
180,898
913
16
42
79
Colorado
487,331
44
44
112
212
The two temperature maps above relate to Enhanced Geothermal Systems and were developed as part of a series of maps
by the SMU Geothermal Laboratory for the Department of Energy. The implications for utilization of EGS were
summarized as follows in the MIT Report. “If we limit our calculation of stored thermal energy in place to a depth of 10 km
beneath the land area of the United States, then the amount of thermal energy in the crust is so large (about 14 million
quads) that we can view it as sustainable. Even if we were to use it to provide all the primary energy consumed in the
United States, we still would be depleting only a tiny fraction of it.” "The Future of Geothermal Energy," MIT Report, January 22,
2007.
N. Dakota
182,441
16
17
42
79
S. Dakota
6,725
1
1
2
3
POTENTIAL IMPACTS
Nebraska
102,005
9
9
23
44
6,326,175
572
575
1,456
2,746
•Development of currently produced oil field geothermal waters in 31 oil and gas producing states could provide all
power necessary to produce the oil fields and as much as 6.8 percent of the current electric power consumption in
those states.
Oklahoma
12,423,264
1,124
1,129
2,860
5,393
Texas
12,097,990
1,094
1,099
2,785
5,252
Mid-Cont
31,806,829
2,876
2,890
7,322
13,808
Kansas
TOTAL US
50,525,333
4,569
4,591
11,631
21,933
•Development of sedimentary basins specifically for geothermal water production using abandoned or capped
wells in oil and gas fields could establish an extensive geothermal power infrastructure and provide a sustainable
and secure domestic energy resource.
•Large-scale development of binary power plants using geothermal resources could replace coal-fired power plants
and bring about a significant reduction in anthropogenic greenhouse gas production.