General Meeting: Tom Bradley, Application of Oil and Gas Subsurface Evaluation Methodology to Geothermal: The Value of Data

Society of Petroleum Engineers

Distinguished Lecturer 2023-24 Lecture Season

Application of Oil and Gas Subsurface Evaluation Methodology to Geothermal: The Value of Data

Tom Bradley

Baker Hughes Company

Abstract:

The energy landscape is changing: Renewables are gaining in importance as a dependable energy source now that the environmental impact of fossil fuels is understood, and recent geopolitical events have shown the risks of over-reliance on non-domestic energy sources.

Heat is a major energy demand. Geothermal energy can be a key contributor as it can supply constant dependable heat for a wide range of uses, ranging from low temperature heating through mid temperature industrial uses, to high enthalpies for power generation. It has additional benefits, that unlike other renewables such as wind and solar, it has essentially no reliance on varying prevailing conditions.

However, even with recent industry growth, and increasing awareness of the importance of subsurface knowledge for geothermal, many stakeholders are still unaware of it’s value in project success. Therefore, many projects still disappoint. The knowledge required is very similar to that for successful hydrocarbon exploration. Therefore, the expertise gained in the hydrocarbon industries over many years can be applied to geothermal projects to help increase their likelihood of success. However, because of the nature of the two industries, there is often a barrier that needs to be broken down before this knowledge can be shared.

In this presentation, I discuss the basics of geothermal, how the subsurface information needed for success is very similar to oil and gas, show the value of data, how established oil and gas methodologies can be applied to geothermal, and how the hydrocarbon industries can contribute to the success of geothermal projects.

Biography:

Tom Bradley is a Senior Global Petrophysical Advisor with Baker Hughes, specializing in open hole formation evaluation. After graduating from The Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London with a degree in Geology with Engineering Geology in 1996, he started his career in 1997 with Western Atlas International. Since then he has worked for Baker Hughes globally in a variety of technical and supervisory roles. Since 2005 he has been based in the Netherlands, and as part of his current role he is advising multiple stakeholders in the development of geothermal energy in the Netherlands and Europe.

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