Lecture 5 — January 19, 2022
Exploration for Geothermal in a Sedimentary Basin
Topics covered:
Temperature gradients
Rock/reservoir types
Interactive analytics for exploration
Speakers
Phil Harms, P.Geol
Philip Harms completed his B.Sc. from the University of Calgary in 2006 with a double major in Geology and Geophysics. He has over 15 years of international exploration, development, and gas storage experience. His roles have included project leadership, geological & geophysical interpretation, seismic data acquisition & processing, resource quantification & risk assessment, data analytics and GIS analysis. Phil has a keen interest in leveraging exploration technology and workflows from the oil and gas industry into the geothermal space and integrating emerging energy trends and technologies into environmentally balanced energy solutions both in Canadian and international markets.
Mr. Harms is a registered Professional Geoscientist with the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) and a member of the CSEG.
Katherine Huang, G.I.T.
Katherine Huang is a Geologist In Training based out of Alberta, Canada. She holds a BSc. Hons. Geology from the University of British Columbia and an MSc. Geology with a specialization in geothermal energy from the University of Iceland. She has been involved in the geothermal energy industry since 2016 through volunteering, internships, consulting, and research. Her experience on several geothermal projects in British Columbia and Alberta ranges from feasibility assessments to drilling. Katherine is currently working as a junior drilling geologist for Rockhound Advisory Corp.
Alberta Geological Survey. (2019). Alberta Table of Formations 2019. Alberta Energy Regulator. https://ags.aer.ca/publications/Table_of_Formations_2019.html
Axelsson, G. (n.d.). Production Capacity of Geothermal Systems. Workshop for Decision Makers on Direct Heating Use of Geothermal Resources in Asi, 15.
Blackwell, D., & Richards, M. (2004). Geothermal Map of North America [AAPG Map].
Huang, K., Champollion, Y., & Hickson, C. (2021). Preliminary Results and New Insights from a Deep Temperature Log in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. GRC Transactions, 45, 12.
McDonald, M. R., Gosnold, W. D., & Nordeng, S. H. (2015). Preliminary Results of a Heat Flow Study of the Williston Basin Using Temporarily Abandoned Oil Wells, Western North Dakota. GRC Transactions, 8.
Majorowicz, J., & Grasby, S. (2019). Deep geothermal energy in Canadian sedimentary basins vs. Fossils based energy we try to replace - Exergy [kJ/kg] compared. Renewable Energy 141, 259-277.
Mossop, G. D., & Shetsen, I. (1994). Introduction to the Geological Atlas of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. In Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and Alberta Research Council.
Renaud, E., Weissenberger, J. A. W., Harris, N. B., Banks, J., & Wilson, B. (2021). A reservoir model for geothermal energy production from the Middle Devonian Slave Point Formation. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 129, 105100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2021.105100
Walsh W. and Tu A., 2014, Geothermal potential within Devonian carbonates in the Clarke Lake Gas, GRC Transactions, Vol. 38, p. 656-660.
LITERATURE REFERENCES
Bachu, S., and R. Burwash, 1994, Geothermal regime in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, in G. D. Mossop and I. Shetsen, eds., Geological atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin: Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and Alberta Research Council, p. 447–454
Grasby, S.E., Allen, D.M., Bell, S., Chen, Z., Ferguson, G., Jessop, A., Kelman, M., Ko, M., Majorowicz, J., Moore, M., Raymond, J, and Therrien, R., 2012. Geothermal Energy Resource Potential of Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 6914 (revised), 322 p. doi:10.4095/291488
Harrison, W.E., K.V. Luza, M.L Prater, and P.K. Chueng, Geothermal resource assessment of Oklahoma, Special Publication 83-1, Okla. Geological Survey, 1983.
Huang, K.Y.; Hickson, C.J.; Cotterill, D.; Champollion, Y. Geothermal Assessment of Target Formations Using Recorded Temperature Measurements for the Alberta No. 1 Geothermal Project. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 608. https://doi. org/10.3390/app11020608
Palmer-Wilson, K., Walsh W., Banks, J., Wild P., 2018, Techno-Economic assessment of Geothermal Energy Resources in the Sedimentary Basin in Northeastern British Columbia, Canada Geoscience BC Report 2018-18 [http://cdn.geosciencebc.com/project_data/GBCReport2018-18/GBCR2018-18_Report.pdf]
Williams, C.F., Reed, M.J., and Mariner, R.H., 2008, A review of methods applied by the U.S. Geological Survey in the assessment of identified geothermal resources: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008-1296, 27 p. [http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1296]
DATA REFERENCES
Geothermal Data Compilation
Jessop, A.M., Allen, V.S., Bentkowski, W., Burgess, M., Drury, M., Judge A.S., Lewis, T., Majorowicz, J., Mareschal, J.C., and Taylor, A.E.
2005: The Canadian Geothermal Data Compilation. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 4887, 1 CD-ROM
Hot Springs
Hickson, C.J., Huttrer, G., Kunkel. “Direct Use Geothermal Resources in British Columbia, Section B - GIS Datafiles_BC Hotsprings”. Geoscience BC, Report 2016-07.
Physiographic Regions
Bostock, H.S., 2014. Geology, Physiographic Regions of Canada; Geological Survey of Canada, Map 1254A (2nd edition), scale
1:5 000 000. doi:10.4095/293408
Surface Air Temperatures
Adjusted and Homogenized Canadian Climate Data (AHCCD). Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECC). Downloaded 28 Jul 2021.
https://climate-change.canada.ca/climate-data/#/adjusted-station-data
Volcanoes
VOTW, Global Volcanism Program, 2013. Volcanoes of the World, v. 4.9.0 (04 Jun 2020). Venzke, E (ed.). Smithsonian Institution. Downloaded 13 May 2020. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW4-2013
Wells (AB)
ST37 List of Wells in Alberta. Alberta Energy Regulator (AER). Downloaded 22 Aug 2021. https://www.aer.ca/providing-information/data-and-reports/statistical-reports/st37
Wells (BC)
Drilling Data for All Wells in BC [BCOGC-41984]. BC Oil & Gas Commission (BCOGC). Downloaded 22 Aug 2021.
https://www.bcogc.ca/data-reports/data-centre/
Well Production (BC)
BC Total Production [BCOGC-41143] . BC Oil & Gas Commission (BCOGC). Downloaded 22 Aug 2021.
https://www.bcogc.ca/data-reports/data-centre/
Wells (SK)
Vertical Wells & Non Vertical Wells. Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources. Downloaded 22 Aug 2021. https://gisappl.saskatchewan.ca/Html5Ext/index.html?viewer=GeoAtlas