Valorization Of Shallow To Deep Inactive Gas Well Infrastructures In Low Enthalpy Sedimentary Basins, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

Quebec’s sedimentary basins have been the focus of some oil and gas exploration efforts over the past 150 years. The public data directories contain just over 900 oil-related works (SIGPEG, 2019). In parallel, two regional studies of the geothermal potential of certain sectors of these basins have been carried out (SNC-SOQUIP, 1979; INRS, 2016). Aside from electricity generation, geothermal energy offers considerable economic potential in the cold and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. With average temperatures ranging from -35°C to 25°C on annual basis, Québec needs a variety of energy- efficient and environmentally friendly sources to reduce the pressure on its electrical network during periods of high heating (wintertime) and air conditioning (summertime) demand. Geothermal can be used to meet these needs for institutional, commercial and industrial users. The use of certain methods of exploration of the oil and gas industry will make it possible to obtain more success in the search for geothermal deposits. Past exploration and geoscience information in public databases (SIGPEG, SIH or SIGEOM) can be used to identify reservoir areas, the nature of the fluids in place, and the presence of thermal anomalies. Adding this information to recent geothermal data (Bédard et al., 2018, Raymond, 2018) promoted by new research facilities (Pasquier, 2017, Raymond et al., 2017) will help identify the best development sectors in relation to inactive wells infrastructures and potential customers. The economic development of geothermal energy affects the sensitive areas of energy and natural resources, however the concept receives a positive reception and its social acceptance is favorable to Quebec (Moutenet et al, 2014, Malo et al., 2016). Although the conversion of conventional geothermal energy into electricity does not appear to be viable in the short term in low enthalpy sedimentary basins in Quebec, there are several very interesting development options for developing deep stored energy. The use of available knowledge, expertise and infrastructure in the oil and gas sector is an asset in bringing projects to sustainable levels of profitability. An effective geothermal exploration methodology based on this approach will be presented in this paper. In this context, a pre-feasibility study was also conducted to identify the potential of a converted inactive hydrocarbon well to provide heating energy to a nearby greenhouse. In addition, the proposed document will present the technical choices and financial results achieved so far.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90346 ©2019 AAPG European Region, 3rd Hydrocarbon Geothermal Cross Over Technology Workshop, Geneva, Switzerland, April 9-10, 2019