Abstract
There are many oil and gas fields around the world where the vast number of wells have been abandoned or suspended, mainly due to the depletion of reserves. Those abandoned oil and gas wells (AOGWs) are often located in areas with a prospective geothermal potential and might be retrofitted to a geothermal system without high-cost drilling. In Poland, there are thousands of wells, either operating, abandoned or negative, that might be used for different geothermal applications. Thus, the aim of this paper is not only to review geothermal and petroleum facts about the Eastern Carpathian Foredeep, but also to find out the areas, geological structures or just AOGWs, which are the most prospective in case of geothermal utilization. Due to the inseparability of geological settings with both oil and gas, as well as geothermal conditionings, firstly, the geological background of the analyzed region was performed, considering mainly the autochthonous Miocene formation. Then, geothermal and petroleum detailed characteristics were made. In the case of geothermal parameters, such as formation’s thickness, temperatures, water-bearing horizons, wells’ capacities, mineralization and others were extensively examined. Considering oil and gas settings, insights into reservoir rocks, hydrocarbon traps and migration paths issues were created. Then, for evaluating geothermal parameters for specific hydrocarbon reservoirs, their depths were established based on publicly available wells data. Thereafter, the average temperatures for selected reservoirs were set. As the effect, it turned out that most of the deposits have average temperatures of 40/50 °C, nonetheless, there are a few characterized by higher (even around 80 °C) temperatures at reasonable depths.
Highlights
Geothermal energy is endowed with considerable energetic potential, either due to the continuous availability, independence from weather conditions and minor impact on the natural environment [1,2,3,4,5]
Apart from shallow geothermic, the utilization of geothermal energy is possible due to the deep boreholes, either brand-new ones dedicated to geothermal extraction, or old, petroleum wells readapted for geothermal purposes [13]
Changing legal conditions and greater care for the natural environment led to the search for new, effective solutions in case of adaptation of existing petroleum wells
Summary
Geothermal energy is endowed with considerable energetic potential, either due to the continuous availability, independence from weather conditions and minor impact on the natural environment [1,2,3,4,5]. Because of the constant heat flow from the Earth’s interior, geothermal resources are almost inexhaustible and can be considered as an unlimited supply of energy for billions of years [1,3]. They can be harnessed for thermal energy (mainly district heating) and the generation of electricity; they are characterized by a wide range of possible applications [6,7,8,9]. Changing legal conditions and greater care for the natural environment led to the search for new, effective solutions in case of adaptation of existing petroleum wells
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