The Future of Renewable Energy
Single-Well Engineered Geothermal System™
(SWEGS™)
“GTherm Green Boiler”
for
GTherm Enhanced Oil Recovery
1
1
The GTherm Team
R&D
Modeling:
Dartmouth
Research:
EPRI
Engineering
and
Equipment
Drilling
and
Tools
Logistics
and
Controls
EPC:
Power Plant Design:
Lehr Consulting Int’l, NY
Drilling:
Nabors Industries, Bermuda
Accounting Logistics: Tax & Audit:
NYC
IFS, IL
• 12 patents filed
2
Geology:
Lehigh University
Heat Pipes:
Aavid Corp., NH
Optimization:
US DOE
Turbines/Generators:
TAS Energy, TX
Drilling:
Baker Hughes, TX
Security and Control:
Tangible Software, VA
Legal:
NYC
GTherm Green Boiler
Thermal Energy
SWEGS
°
87.7°C
HeatNestTM
°
87.7°C
3
• 17.5” (0.45m) diameter
well drilled to region of hot
rock
• Lateral holes drilled out
into hot rock
• Heat pipes grouted into
lateral holes to harvest
heat and bring it to central
well
• Heat exchanger transfers
heat into closed loop
• Closed loop brings heat to
surface
• Heat pumped to
heat/production reservoir
wells
How a GTherm HeatNest Works
Cool Water is
Pumped In
Hot Water is
Pumped Out
Heat
Heat
HeatNestTM
Heat
Heat
Heat
4
Heat Heat
Heat
Geothermal
Energy
Replenishes Itself
GTherm HeatNest Appendages
5
GTherm Heat Extraction Design Flexibility
• Depth of well
• Length of the heat exchanger
• Start of the heat zone
• Number of appendages
• Length of the appendages
• Heat equilibrium determination
• Pump rate (gpm)
6
GTherm SWEGS is a Closed-Loop System
Constant and Continuous Heating
• The water coming from the HeatNest to the pump is continuously
recycled (i.e. No Waste Water)
• No groundwater contamination
• The only thing removed by this system is continuously replenishing
geothermal energy / heat.
• The GTherm SWEGS is designed to pull heat from earth at 20%
less than the refresh rate
• The heat resource is constantly replenished and never consumed
Environmentally Safe
•
•
•
•
7
No fossil fuels
No greenhouse gas (GHGs) or other emissions
No chemicals required for extraction
Eliminates aquifer and surface water contamination
GTherm Green Boiler Applications
Electricity
Enhanced Oil
Recovery
Data Centers
8
Desalination
Fish Farming
Greenhouses
Mining
HVAC
Drying
Etc.
Why it Works
• SWEGS is modeled after heat pumps
• There are millions of heat pumps installed and operating
worldwide
Small Commercial Heat Pump
Length (meters )
Well
Diameter (i nches )
Heat
Length (meters )
Exchange Diameter (i nches )
Low / High Heat ° C
BTU / h
9
SWEGS
Heat Pump
SWEGS
23 - 150 1,000 - 5,000
6.0
17.5
80 - 110
1,000
2- 3
13.5
10 / 16
95 / 315
12,000 34,000,000
GTherm is Not Limited to the Ring-of-Fire
High-Temperature Areas
10
GTherm:
• Enhanced Oil Recovery
• Enhanced Oil Storage
• Enhanced Oil Transport
11
Global Distribution of Conventional
Crude Oil and Heavy Hydrocarbons
12
GTherm EOR Breakthrough Comparison
Legacy Technology
• Water flooding – Light Crude
• CO2 flooding – Light Crude
• Polymer flooding – Light Crude
• Steam flooding – Heavy Crude
• Fire flooding – Heavy Crude
GTherm EOR
• No fresh water
• No gases or chemicals
• No burning fossil fuels
• No greenhouse gases (GHGs)
13
• Adverse environmental
impact
• Use of water
• Huge supply & cost of:
• Water
• Gas
• Chemicals
• Cost of fuel
• Permitting problems
• Greenhouse gases
Heating Oil Lowers Viscosity
Viscosity
Crude
Oils
(centipoise)
Tar,
Bitumen
Extra
Heavy Oil
108
Window putty
107
Caulk
106
Vegetable shortening
105
Peanut butter
104
Tomato ketchup
Heavy Oil
103
Viscous
Oil
102
Molasses
Honey
Maple syrup
10
Light Oil
1
14
Familiar
substances
Corn oil
Water
Crude Oil Composition
Composition by Weight
Hydrocarbon Average
Paraffins
30%
15 to 60%
Naphthenes
Aromatics
49%
15%
30 to 60%
3 to 30%
Asphaltenes
15
Range
6%
Remainder
Melting / Liquification
Point
115°F to 155°F
46°C to 68°C
180°F
82°C
Heating the oil lowers the viscosity
and significantly improves flow
The oil mobility is the ratio of the effective permeability to
the oil flow to its viscosity. This is given by
Viscosity is denominator
16
Source: Argonne National Laboratory
Crude Oil Viscosity
High
Viscosity
Increased Heat
17
Medium
Viscosity
Low
Viscosity
Heavy Crude Oil Viscosity/Heat in Known Fields
GTherm Target Temperature
18
Source: Argonne National Laboratory
Constant Consistent Heating of the Oil Field
Spreads the Heat and Increases Flow
Heat moves through conduction
Heat moves through toroidal
convection of water and oil
in the permeable zones
19
Why GTherm for EOR?
Cost Effective
20
•
Each SWEGS can support multiple applications, heat
delivery wells and Hot Water Flooding systems
•
No fossil fuel burned
•
No chemicals or CO2 used for oil recovery
GTherm EOR System
Heat Assisted Gravity Drainage & Hot Water Flooding (Recycling)
Oil
Oil Water /
Brine
Separator
Cool
Water/Brine
SWEGS
Green Boiler
Heat
Exchanger
Heat
Extraction
Hot Water / Brine
Oil
Water/Brine
Wells
Heat Delivery Well
Hot Water Flooding (Recycling) Well
Heated Oil & Water / Brine Reservoir
Oil & Water / Brine Reservoir
21
Ground level
GTherm EOR System
SWEGS & Closed-Loop Heating System
Green Boiler
Heat
Extraction
Heat
Exchanger
Heat Delivery Well
Heated Oil & Water / Brine Reservoir
Oil & Water / Brine Reservoir
Cold
Waterisis
pumped
the
The water
then
heated
inreservoir
the SWEGS
SWEGS
cooled
water
from into
the
and
Heat
Wellcirculates
well
backreturned
to the Heat
heat and
exchanger
is then
to the
Exchanger
and
the Heat
Delivery and
Well,
SWEGS well
where
it is reheated
Which
heats
Reservoir.
recycled
backthe
through
the system.
22
SWEGS
Ground level
GTherm EOR System
Heat Assisted Gravity Drainage + Hot Water Flooding
Oil
Oil
Water / Brine
Separator
Cool
Water / Brine
Heat
Exchanger
Hot Water / Brine
Ground level
Oil
Water/Brine
Wells
Hot Water Flooding Well
Heated Oil & Water / Brine Reservoir
Oil & Water / Brine Reservoir
23
TheThe
heat
oilfrom
/ water
the
Hot
Water
/ Brine
separator
brine
melts
then
and
separates
isthe
pumped
/ drained
mobilizes
oil from
the
thebrine
into
reservoir.
heavy
andthe
recirculates
crude
andthe
recirculates
brine back to
to the
the
production
heat exchanger.
wells.
The Operating GTherm System Closed-Loop
and Hot Water Recycling System
Oil
Oil
Water / Brine
Separator
Cool
Water/Brine
SWEGS
Green Boiler
Heat
Exchanger
Hot Water / Brine
Oil
Water/Brine
Wells
Heat Delivery Well
Hot Water Flooding Well
Heated Oil & Water / Brine Reservoir
Oil & Water / Brine Reservoir
24
ALL
of the
Water
ispower
Recycled
The potential
only
electrical
exists
to complete
required
anis to
autonomous
operate the pumping
/ independent
system
system by
adding an electrical generation system,
which would allow the GTherm system to
generate its own electrical power.
Ground level
Heat
Extraction
GTherm EOR Implications
• A depleted oil well still has over 70% of its oil in place.
• The extraction rate of the oil in an operating well is
dependent on viscosity.
• The GTherm EOR method can be applied to depleted
wells or to currently operating wells.
• With GTherm EOR a discovered oil field can now be
booked on the balance sheet at 80+% of the oil in place
(more than doubling the assets on the balance sheet).
• For depleted oil wells an asset of 55+% of the oil in place
can be booked as an asset on the balance sheet.
25
GTherm Heat Delivery/Production Well
From GTherm
SWEGS Heat
Extraction Well
GTherm Heat Delivery/
Production Well
26
GTherm Heat Delivery/Production Well
with Existing Production Well
27
GTherm Reservoir - Design Implications
• Design to hit the high points of the pay zone with target
heat delivery
• Design to adjust to the dips in the oil bearing zones
• Design the heat injection to focus on the oil flow to
collection points
• Strategically place the heat delivery wells to maximize
the performance of the existing wells
• For new implementations integrate the heat delivery
wells with the production wells
28
GTherm EOR vs. Legacy EOR Costs
GTherm
cost per
barrel
including
carbon
pricing
29
Source: World Petroleum Council: Official Publication 2010
Ex: Alberta Oil Sands–challenges of using
large volumes of water and creating GHG
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Oil sands mining is licensed to use twice the amount of
fresh water that the entire city of Calgary uses in a year.
The water requirements for oil sands projects range from
2.5 to 4.0 barrels of water for each barrel of oil produced.
At least 90% of the fresh water used in the oil sands ends
up in tailing lakes so toxic that propane cannons and
floating scarecrows are used to keep migrating ducks
landed on a tar sands toxic lake and dying. The toxic lakes
in Northern Alberta span 50 square kilometers and can be
seen from space
Processing the oil sands uses enough natural gas in a day
to heat 3 million homes in Canada..
Producing a barrel of oil from the oil sands produces three
times more greenhouse gas emissions than a barrel of
conventional oil.
The oil sands operations are the fastest growing source of
heat-trapping greenhouse gas in Canada. By 2020 the oil
sands will release twice the amount produced currently by
all the cars and trucks in Canada.
By 2015, the Alberta Oil Sands are expected to emit more
GHG than the nation of Denmark (pop. 5.4 million).
GTherm EOR: No water, No greenhouse gases, No fossil fuels
30
GTherm EOR Example – Depleted Wells
Barrels
Extracted
1,000,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
4,000,000
5,000,000
10,000,000
15,000,000
20,000,000
25,000,000
30,000,000
35,000,000
40,000,000
50,000,000
75,000,000
100,000,000
31
Barrels in % with EOR
Place
Extractable
3,000,000
65%
6,000,000
65%
9,000,000
65%
12,000,000
65%
15,000,000
65%
30,000,000
65%
45,000,000
65%
60,000,000
65%
75,000,000
65%
90,000,000
65%
105,000,000
65%
120,000,000
65%
150,000,000
65%
225,000,000
65%
300,000,000
65%
Barrels
Price per Oil Value
Extractable
Barrel
(000)
1,950,000 $75.00
$146,250
3,900,000 $75.00
$292,500
5,850,000 $75.00
$438,750
7,800,000 $75.00
$585,000
9,750,000 $75.00
$731,250
19,500,000 $75.00 $1,462,500
29,250,000 $75.00 $2,193,750
39,000,000 $75.00 $2,925,000
48,750,000 $75.00 $3,656,250
58,500,000 $75.00 $4,387,500
68,250,000 $75.00 $5,118,750
78,000,000 $75.00 $5,850,000
97,500,000 $75.00 $7,312,500
146,250,000 $75.00 $10,968,750
195,000,000 $75.00 $14,625,000
GTherm Enhanced Oil Storage
Sludge in Storage Tanks and Sludge Pools
32
SWEGS – Changes the Viscosity of Sludge in
Storage Tanks & Sludge Pools to Flowing Crude
Cooler Water
Pumps
Cooler Water
Hot Water
Hot Water
SWEGS
OIL
Crude OIL Storage Tank
or Storage Pools
Sludge
33
SWEGS – Changes the Viscosity of Sludge in
Storage Tanks & Sludge Pools to Flowing Crude
34
GTherm Enhanced Oil Transport
• To pump oil through a pipe line the oil need to have a
low viscosity
• As heavy crude travels through a pipe over distance it
cools and viscosity increases decreasing pumping
performance
• To reduce viscosity companies are either:
– heating the pipes by burning fossil fuel
– mixing the heavy crude with lighter crude
– adding solvents to the heavy crude
• GTherm uses strategically placed SWEGS to heat the
pipeline and reduce the viscosity of the oil thereby
increasing the efficiency to the pipe line.
35
GTherm Enhanced Oil Transport Design
Heating Exchanger
Colder Oil
Warmer Oil
Hot Water
SWEGS
36
Cooler Water
GTherm Enhanced Oil Transport Design
Objective: To Keep the Oil at Low Viscosity
Miles
Miles
Miles
Oil Pipeline
GTherm SWEGS Heating Stations
37
Energy-Food- Water Nexus
“The biggest obstacle to sustainable long-term socio-economic growth”
E&Y
38
GTherm Structure
GTherm, Inc.
Holdings
(US)
GTherm
International
(US)
39
Shared Services
Legal &
Finance
Business
Development
SWEGS
Engineering
SWEGS
Drilling
R&D
IT/NOC
Components
The Future of:
Enhanced Oil Recovery
Enhanced Oil Storage
Enhanced Oil Transport
Thank You
For More information please contact
Mark Henderson
Axess1 group, LLC dba A1 Green Energies
678-653-5554
mark@axess1.com