A New Meme for the Hydrocarbon/Energy Industry

Douglas Swift¹, Sovani Meksvanh², Ronald Whelan², Richard Erdlac³, and Anthony Swift^4
1 Meksvanh, Whelan, and Swift, LLC, Midland, TX
² Meksvanh, Whelan, and Swift, LLC, Bethesda, MD
³ University of Texas, Permian Basin, Odessa, TX
⁴ Department of Transportation, Washington, DC

U.S. domestic oil production closely follows the 1957 predictive curve of M.King Hubbert. Peak world oil production will follow suit. Meanwhile, oil demand, particularly from China and India, grows. Never has the world encountered an essential commodity which cannot respond to classic supply/demand pressures. Potential severe economic problems include double digit inflation coincident with large-scale fixed income retirement, disruptions to a decompartmentalized domestic financial system, and national security issues.

Renewable energy sources must be developed. A viable infrastructure, presently non-existent, must evolve. Current energy resources include oil, gas, coal, nuclear, biomass/biowaste, wind, hydropower, solar, tidal, and geothermal. All have strengths and weaknesses. Energy sources must be found that reliably deliver baseload/peakload electric production, have low environmental impact, and are deliverable to the end user. Geothermal is a superior resource, but is presently limited by prospective terrains.

Utilization of deep, high BHT, depleted gas fields as geothermal reservoirs (Deep Permeable Strata Geothermal Energy) significantly expands areas prospective for geothermal energy. Solar Augmented Geothermal Energy (SAGE) converts depleting oil and gas fields and comparable reservoir strata, to “synthetic geothermal” reservoirs, over even wider regions. SAGE stores/banks solar energy, utilizing naturally occurring brines, for uninterrupted geothermal power generation, while enhancing tertiary recovery. Additional hydrocarbons are recovered, a new source of electrical power established, fresh water resources developed, and hydrogen/oxygen generated for end-user power generation, delivered through existing natural gas/oil pipeline right-of-way infrastructure. SAGE converts oilfield liabilities to assets, while utilizing industry technologies, data bases, and personnel.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90039©2005 AAPG Calgary, Alberta, June 16-19, 2005