Oil & Gas and Geothermal: like steam, the oil & gas industry could rise to the occasion

International

With a significant number of industry conferences targeting geothermal being held around the world this year, the oil & gas industry is starting to recognise the potential of geothermal as an energy source where the technical, commercial, financial and legal challenges are very similar to (and the associated experiences are readily transferrable from) oil & gas projects.

As has been seen with wind and solar (and now hydrogen and carbon capture), the decades of experience in engineering and project management of oil & gas companies is showing its worth in the transition to clean energy at scale, leveraging the global capabilities and financial strength of these companies.

Geothermal could have a key role to play in the shift to clean power and heat. Recent developments even see a role for geothermal as, in effect, underground storage for solar and wind energy. Geothermal could thereby assist in the provision of a clean peak load on electricity grids, as well as itself providing a baseload energy source.

In light of its potential, the geothermal market could well be on the verge of substantial growth precisely at a time when oil & gas companies are looking to further diversify their businesses. In this article, we provide a summary of the geothermal sector and its recent developments before examining some of the similarities between geothermal and oil & gas projects, and the role which the oil & gas industry could play in developing geothermal as a part of the energy transition.

Please click here to read the briefing.