A project in India is set to explore to evaluate the use of depleted oil and gas wells to generate geothermal power. The project, which is expected to cost Rs 15.5 crore (approx. USD 1.6 million), will be led by the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-Madras) with funding support by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
The project will be implemented using depleted hydrocarbon wells at an asset of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in Ankleshwar in Gujarat. The development envisions a 450-kW power generation project for a two-year period.
Professor Rajesh Nair of IIT Madras noted that there are around 13,000 abandoned or unproductive hydrocarbon wells that could be evaluated for geothermal conversion. If the potential can be harnessed, this would allow geothermal power to be produced in India without dealing with the risks and costs associated with drilling new geothermal wells.
In the past years, India has exhibited concerted effort to develop geothermal, with space conditioning and controlled atmosphere storage projects in the more advanced stages of development. In contrast, the local geothermal power sector is still very much in its early stages. Aside from a 20-kW pilot power generation project in Telangana, the planned geothermal power project in Puga Valley seems to not have progressed beyond the drilling stage.
Source: The New Indian Express and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy via X
