Using co-produced water and disposal wells to assess the geothermal potential of sedimentary basins
Using co-produced water and disposal wells to assess the geothermal potential of sedimentary basins
Previously Published Material: Co-produced and injection figures have been presented. The geothermal analysis is new.
Abstract ID#: 35297
English Abstract:
Rich datasets from the oil and gas industry can reduce the level of uncertainty for geothermal developments. 700,000 wells have been drilled in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) allowing for the creation of detailed geological models. In addition to this geological knowledge, extensive hydraulic characterization and fluid production and injection has occurred in the WCSB. Approximately 20 billion m3 of water has been produced from this basin during oil and gas production and 23 billion m3 has been injected. Here, hypothetical geothermal developments are explored using historical production and and injection rates and known temperatures. The ability to predict hydraulic performance of geothermal developments based on long-term records is not normally possible in other geothermal developments. This could be a key advantage to developing these lower temperature resources.