SMU researcher touts geothermal energy potential of Eagle Ford wells
The myriad oil and gas wells perforating the Eagle Ford Shale and other Texas shale plays could be a source of hot water used to generate clean electricity, a Southern Methodist University scientist says.
New steam engines allow cheap jerseys water from deep within well sites often above the boiling point to produce both power for utility companies and revenue for well operators, says Maria Richards, a researcher at Southern Methodist University's Geothermal Laboratory.
SMU's Geothermal Laboratory in 2005 launched a biannual energy conference that regularly attracts attendees from big oil firms, including ConocoPhillips Co., Chevron Corp. and Shell.
Those companies, Richards says, have the potential to generate energy both from the hot water beneath the earth's surface and by capturing heat from heavy equipment cheap nfl jerseys they use at well sites.
However, Richards says most have only deployed geothermal technology on a small scale basis and then not in Texas. Most of the interest has come from Western states like Wyoming, North Dakota and California.
"It's something the oil and gas companies are definitely learning about," she says. "But reaching out to the right decision makers at those companies is something we could do a better job with."
Also challenging, Richards says, is convincing oil and gas firms who rely on quick profitability to think longer term. While an oil well can become profitable in two or three years, a geothermal investment might take five.