Geothermal Potential of the Global Oil Industry

There are around 40 new geothermal power projects commissioned in each of the last few years. Growth of the market is around 5% annually and current installed capacity is about 13,300 MW with about the same in development in 24 countries. These figures are impressive, but they do not bear comparison with any of the fossil fuels. However, few will realise that the global oil industry has a cryptic geothermal power potential that is equal to the entire current output of the geothermal industry. The oil industry is ageing. Many areas still produce copious quantities of oil, but the oil comes with an unwanted by-product, water. The volume of water produced is typically is 10–20 times that of the oil; and the water is hot—in some places very hot (>100°C). In a recent study we showed that the power depleted oil production platforms of the North Sea’s North Viking Graben produce sufficient hot water to deliver around 60% of the power requirement for each field. A review of global oil and hence water production has enabled us to calculate that power production alone from waste water from producing oilfields could be at least 15,000 MW.