| Abstract |
Wyoming possesses a substantial infrastructure of existing oil and gas wells. This study investigates the potential of repurposing abandoned and inactive oil and gas wells for geothermal energy production. While Wyoming's subsurface geology does not offer significant geothermal resources overall, utilizing existing wells could provide easy access to the existing resources, or provide access to previously unprofitable resources while significantly reducing the cost. Our analysis examines wells and geological data to identify suitable candidates for repurposing. Factors considered include well depth, bottom-hole temperature, temperature gradient, casing design, and proximity to potential energy demand centers. We conclude the study with a numerical simulation for geothermal energy production from a selected candidate well under Huff-n-Puff production strategy. Our findings outline the potential geothermal capacity that could be exploited through well repurposing. This offers an actionable path toward energy diversification and a reduced environmental footprint for the state of Wyoming. |
| Authors |
Abdeldjalil Latrach   , A. Dehdouh , Cilia Abdelhamid , Ilyas Mellal , Minou Rabiei
|
| Journal Info |
OnePetro | 50th U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium
|
| Publication Date |
6/23/2024 |
| ISSN |
|
Type |
article |
| Open Access |
closed
|
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.56952/arma-2024-0504 |
| Keywords |
Repurposing (Score: 0.7839235) , Oil Production (Score: 0.45219502)
|
