Tag: SMU Geothermal Laboratory

Dallas Innovates: SMU Researchers Find West Virginia Geothermal Spots

Post author By Margaret Allen
Post date June 1, 2017
No Comments on Dallas Innovates: SMU Researchers Find West Virginia Geothermal Spots

The heated energy sources were discovered in the Mountain State by examining previously overlooked oil and gas data.

Reporter Amy Wolff Sorter with Dallas Innovates reported on the research of the SMU Geothermal Lab, which has identified in West Virginia what may be the largest geothermal hot spot in the United States.

The Dallas Innovates article, “SMU Researchers Find West Virginia Geothermal Spots,” published May 26, 2017.

Read the full story.

EXCERPT:

By Amy Wolff Sorter
Dallas Innovates
The state of West Virginia has been home to coal-driven energy for nearly two centuries. Now, there could be another energy source directly under the Mountain State’s surface discovered by researchers at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

The researchers, examining previously overlooked oil and gas data, located several hot patches of earth, some as hot as 392 degrees Fahrenheit. These hot patches are situated roughly three miles under the state’s surface. In fact, scientists believe West Virginia could be sitting on the largest geothermal hot spot in the United States.

Geothermal patches overlooked in data
SMU’s Geothermal Lab Coordinator Maria Richards told the Exponent Telegram in Clarksburg, West Virginia that the hot patches were discovered by studying previously overlooked oil and gas data.

“We were aware that there were hot springs along the faults in West Virginia, and there was a basic understanding that there could be some sort of higher elevated areas, but we had never had the resources to be able to go back out and look at the deeper data until we had this project from Google that allowed us to bring in the oil and gas data,” she said.

The hot-water reservoirs were once considered too deep for inexpensive production.

However, “because of oil and gas drilling and some of the newer technologies in terms of drilling and pumping, some new innovative ways of developing systems, we can now go into places where we can inject water or a fluid that will then bring out that heat,” Richards said.

Geothermal’s appeal is that it is emission-free. It also has a smaller footprint, as energy is generated from underground wells.

Additionally, this particular renewable energy can overlap with other forms of energy, such as coal.

SMU’s Richards said that hot fluid can be used to dry coal, which, in turn, helps it burn more efficiently. The cleaner the coal burns, the less coal is required to produce electricity.

“Rather than having to burn a fossil fuel to generate electricity to create heat, the goal is to use the heat from the earth to create that heat automatically without having to generate electricity,” Richards said.

Read the full story.

Tags Dedman College, Maria Richards, Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, SMU Geothermal Laboratory

Earth & Climate Energy & Matter Researcher news SMU In The News Technology

Dallas Morning News: Could Texas’ dirty coal power plants be replaced by geothermal systems?

Post author By Margaret Allen
Post date April 28, 2016

“We all care about the earth,” said Maria Richards, SMU geothermal lab coordinator, in welcoming the attendees. “We are applying knowledge that is applying hope.”

Biz Beat Blog reporter Jeffrey Weiss at The Dallas Morning News covered the 2016 SMU Geothermal Conference, “Power Plays: Geothermal Energy in Oil and Gas Fields.”

The conference was April 25-26 on the SMU campus in Dallas. The eighth international conference focused on using the oilfield as a base for alternative energy production through the capture of waste heat and fluids.

The geothermal technology that is the primary focus of the conference takes advantage of an existing resource frequently considered a nuisance – wastewater produced by oil and gas wells during extraction.

As a well ages it will typically produce more water and less oil or gas over time, which raises the cost of production. Where the produced wastewater is hot enough, and the water flow rate is sufficient, specially designed turbines can draw geothermal energy from the wastewater.

The SMU Geothermal Lab team members are leaders of academic data sources for exploration and assessment of existing and potential geothermal resources.

SMU scientists developed the Geothermal Map of North America and built one of the primary nodes of the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS) for temperature and oil/gas data. Their research efforts include over 50 years of continuous thermal data collection and is viewed by the community as an important first-stage resource used in determining the potential for geothermal energy production in the United States.

The SMU Geothermal Lab has been the recipient of approximately $10 million in research grants from a variety of sources, including the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the Texas State Energy Conservation Office, Google.org and private industry.

Read the full story.

EXCERPT:

By Jeffrey Weiss
Dallas Morning News
For Texas electricity customers, geothermal energy is pretty much an afterthought. But some scientists — and even some people in the oil and gas business — say that heat from deep underground may become a significant source of power.

At least, that’s the message at a conference held today at Southern Methodist University, hosted by the school’s geothermal laboratory. The event pulled together an unusual mix: Academics, oil company bosses, people hawking heat-transfer equipment, geothermal experts and a few environmentalists.

This was the eighth such conference held at SMU since 2006. Those who have been to several agreed that the biggest difference over time is that the presentations have shifted from blue-sky theory to some data from working projects.

Perhaps the loudest applause for the day was when Will Gosnold of the University of North Dakota ended his talk about a demonstration project with a slide of an email saying it had started generating electricity today.

Another presenter suggested that geothermal power could be an economically sensible replacement for existing coal-fired power plants, particularly if the existing power plants and their transmission lines are near coal mines. That’s the case in Texas.

Susan Petty, president of Seattle-based AltaRock Energy, told the group that many older coal plants will be unable to meet clean-air requirements and will need replacing in the next few years. Waste water used in coal mines could be injected into wells where natural heat would make the water hot enough to drive geothermal power generators, she said.

Read the full story.

SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools. For more information see www.smu.edu.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.

Tags Dedman College, Maria Richards, Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, SMU Geothermal Laboratory

Earth & Climate Energy & Matter Learning & Education Technology

SMU “Power Plays” conference to promote development of oil and gas fields for geothermal energy production

Post author By Margaret Allen
Post date April 22, 2016

“Power Plays,” on Dallas campus April 25-26, is SMU Geothermal Laboratory’s eighth international energy conference and workshop

SMU’s renowned SMU Geothermal Laboratory will host its eighth international energy conference April 25-26 on the Dallas campus, focused on using the oilfield as a base for alternative energy production through the capture of waste heat and fluids.

In addition to oil and gas field geothermal projects, experts will discuss coal plant conversion for geothermal production, the intersection of geothermal energy and desalination, and large-scale direct use of the energy source produced by the internal heat of the earth.

“Power Plays” begins with an opening reception and poster session from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. Monday, April 25, followed by a daylong program of speakers and presentations Tuesday, April 26. Conference details are available here. Walk-up registration is available at the conference site, the Collins Center at 3150 Binkley Avenue, Dallas, 75205.

The technology that is the primary focus of the conference takes advantage of an existing resource frequently considered a nuisance – wastewater produced by oil and gas wells during extraction. As a well ages it will typically produce more water and less oil or gas over time, which raises the cost of production. Where the produced wastewater is hot enough, and the water flow rate is sufficient, specially designed turbines can draw geothermal energy from the wastewater.

That “bonus” geothermal energy can be used to either generate electricity to operate the oil field equipment and lower the cost of production, sell the electricity directly to the power grid or — more likely — to nearby industry users seeking a highly secure electrical source.

“Initial demonstration projects have taught us a great deal about the complexities of transitioning an oil or gas well to geothermal energy production,” said Maria Richards, director of the SMU Geothermal Lab. “Collaboration continues between the oil and gas industry and the geothermal community, and this conference is the place to hear about the technology, business models and legislation that all play a role in developing geothermal resources. We are confident that geothermal energy production will one day be the norm for an aging oil and gas field.”

The appearance of AltaRock Energy’s Susan Petty to discuss “Transitioning Coal to Geothermal: Baseload Renewable Power With No CO2” will be the first examination of this type of geothermal production at the SMU conference, Richards said, adding that she is pleased to see geothermal technology being combined with other energy systems, from large scale solar operations to electricity generated by on-site flare gas.

“The small surface footprint of geothermal energy makes it a desirable player for developers looking to maximize all possible resources on their site,” Richards said.

SMU’s Geothermal Lab team members are leaders of academic data sources for exploration and assessment of existing and potential geothermal resources. SMU scientists developed the Geothermal Map of North America and built one of the primary nodes of the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS) for temperature and oil/gas data. Their research efforts include over 50 years of continuous thermal data collection and is viewed by the community as an important first-stage resource used in determining the potential for geothermal energy production in the United States.

Tags Dedman College, Geothermal Map of North America, Maria Richards, Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, SMU Geothermal Laboratory

Earth & Climate Energy & Matter Fossils & Ruins Learning & Education Researcher news

SMU conference promotes technology, economics of geothermal production in oil and gas fields

Post author By Margaret Allen
Post date May 15, 2015

“Power Plays” workshop, in Dallas May 19-20, is SMU Geothermal Laboratory’s seventh international energy conference and workshop

Southern Methodist University’s renowned SMU Geothermal Laboratory will host its seventh international energy conference and workshop on the SMU campus May 19-20. The conference is designed to promote transition of oil and gas fields to electricity-producing geothermal systems by harnessing waste heat and fluids from both active and abandoned fields.

More than 200 professionals – ranging from members of the oil and gas service industry, reservoir engineers, to geothermal energy entrepreneurs, to lawyers – are expected to attend “SMU Power Plays: Geothermal Energy in Oil and Gas Fields” Topics of discussion will include:

Power generation from flare gas

Power generation from waste-heat and geothermal fluids

Research updates on induced seismicity, as well as onshore and offshore thermal maturation

Play Fairway Analysis – a subsurface mapping technique used to identify prospective geothermal resources

Technology updates

Researchers from SMU’s Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences will present results from their Fall 2014 Eastern North American Margin Community Seismic Experiment (ENAM CSE) research. In addition, equipment such as one-well systems, desalination and other new technologies will be explored. SMU geothermal conference remains open and walk-up attendees will be accommodated.

SMU has been at the forefront of geothermal energy research for more than 45 years, and the Geothermal Laboratory’s mapping of North American geothermal resources is considered the baseline for U.S. geothermal energy exploration. Geothermal Laboratory Coordinator Maria Richards and Emeritus Professor David Blackwell have seen interest in geothermal energy wax and wane with the price of oil and natural gas.

But Richards believes current low oil prices will drive more interest in geothermal development, encouraging oil and gas producers to use geothermal production from existing oil and gas fields as they try to keep them cost-effective for petroleum production at 2015 prices.

The technology that will be examined at the conference is relatively straight-forward: Sedimentary basins drilled for oil and gas production leave behind reservoir pathways that can later be used for heat extraction. Fluids moving through those hot reservoir pathways capture heat, which at the surface can be turned into electricity, or used downhole to replace pumping needs. In addition, the existing surface equipment used in active oil and gas fields generates heat, which also can be tapped to produce electricity and mitigate the cost of production.

“Oil and gas drilling rig counts are down,” Richards said. “The industry has tightened its work force and honed its expertise. The opportunity to produce a new revenue stream during an economically challenging period, through the addition of relatively simple technology at the wellhead, may be the best chance we’ve had in years to gain operators’ attention.”

Featured speakers include Jim Wicklund, managing director for equity research at Credit Suisse, who will speak on “Volatile Economics in the Oil Field,” and Holly Thomas and Tim Reinhardt from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office. STW Water Process & Technology, a water reclamation and oilfield services company, will have desalination equipment on-site for attendees to understand size and scaling capacity of water purification for oil field operators.

Information and registration is available at www.smu.edu/geothermal. — Kimberly Cobb

Follow SMUResearch.com on twitter at @smuresearch.

Tags David Blackwell, Maria Richards, Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, SMU Geothermal Laboratory

Earth & Climate Energy & Matter Researcher news SMU In The News

Renewable Energy World: Where’s the Heat? Geothermal Industry Seeks Resource Assessment Tools to Spur Development

Post author By Margaret Allen
Post date April 17, 2014

In order to secure investment, the geothermal industry needs improved assessment methods to prove reliable resources.

In a renewable energy report on geothermal technology, the renewable energy news web site Renewable Energy World.com covered the SMU Geothermal Laboratory‘s research to locate and quantify the huge geothermal resources available for production from existing oil wells within Texas. The article drew on the expertise of SMU geothermal expert Maria Richards, director of the SMU Geothermal Laboratory.

The article by associate editor Megan Cichon, “Where’s the Heat? Geothermal Industry Seeks Resource Assessment Tools to Spur Development,” published April 16.

SMU’s Geothermal Laboratory is a renowned national resource for the development of clean, green energy from the Earth’s heat.

SMU researchers have completed a national mapping project backed by Google.org that makes it possible to access reliable geothermal data (heat flow and temperature-at-depth information) culled from oil and gas development all over the country. Their mapping project already has determined that there is potential for more electric generation from geothermal sources in West Virginia than is currently being produced by the state’s mostly coal-fired generation plants.

Read the full article.

EXCERPT:

By Meg Cichon
Renewable Energy World
Commissioning a geothermal project is no easy task. Of all the renewable energy technologies, it has one of the longest project lead times – it can take an average of eight years from start to finish. Due to its heavy front-end expense, developers must be as certain as possible that they are spending time and money on a viable resource. So when drilling through hot rock, imagine the developer’s surprise — and utter disappointment — when equipment suddenly melts away after hitting magma.

Though extremely rare, this exact scenario happened in 2009 at the Iceland Deep Drilling Project.

Located in the Krafla volcanic caldera, which is heated by centrally located magma chamber, drilling was expected to reach 4-5,000 meters based on preexisting modeling data and nearby well depths. But at little more than 2,000 meters, after days of slow, difficult progress, drillers were met with dramatically reduced resistance as the equipment shot straight through rock and into super-hot magma.

Since this mishap, the project team decided not to close off the well, but attempt to take advantage of the super-hot resource — an accomplishment in itself. However, this case brings up a long-standing issue in the geothermal industry: resource assessment.

It Starts with Data
Resource assessment starts with information. Existing geothermal data — including heat maps, existing well locations, geological surveys — can be a project developer’s best friend. However, this information had previously been scattered, disorganized, and simply impossible to find. Enter initiatives such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Geothermal Data System (NGDS).

Realizing the need for organized information, the Geothermal Technologies Office designed an information network that adds data from more than 10 information hubs across the U.S., and puts them in one centralized location. NGDS is also expanding its reach abroad.

Learn from Experience
The Southern Methodist University (SMU) Geothermal Lab, already a huge asset to the NGDS, is currently looking to a more experienced industry for geothermal opportunity. At the Renewable Energy World North America Conference and Expo, Maria Richards, coordinator at the SMU Geothermal Lab, explained that the program is now culling data of all the existing abandoned oil and gas bore wells in the United States.

The geothermal industry can take advantage of these wells and either co-produce with existing oil and gas plant, or go beyond that and revitalize the wells to produce geothermal electricity. In Texas alone, there are more than 3,100 oil fields with “extractable” thermal energy. “The infrastructure already exists,” said Richards, “we might as well exploit it.”

Read the full article.

Follow SMUResearch.com on Twitter.

For more information, www.smuresearch.com.

SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools. For more information see www.smu.edu.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.

Tags Maria Richards, SMU Geothermal Laboratory

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The heated energy sources were discovered in the Mountain State by examining previously overlooked oil and gas data.

“We all care about the earth,” said Maria Richards, SMU geothermal lab coordinator, in welcoming the attendees. “We are applying knowledge that is applying hope.”

Book a live interview

Related links

More SMU Research news

“Power Plays,” on Dallas campus April 25-26, is SMU Geothermal Laboratory’s eighth international energy conference and workshop

Book a live interview

Related links

More SMU Research news

“Power Plays” workshop, in Dallas May 19-20, is SMU Geothermal Laboratory’s seventh international energy conference and workshop

Book a live interview

Related links

More SMU Research news

In order to secure investment, the geothermal industry needs improved assessment methods to prove reliable resources.

Book a live interview

Related links

More SMU Research news