Power Generation Potential From Coproduced Fluids in the Los Angeles Basin

Abstract

There is potential to profitably utilize mature or abandoned oil field infrastructure to produce geothermal electricity, called coproduction. Although many oil reservoirs have only a moderate temperature range, utilizing mature or abandoned oil infrastructure sidesteps the capital intensive initial investment to drill new wells and eliminates the need and associated risk of induced fracturing, a practice currently under much scrutiny in application for EGS. Power generation from coproduced fluids using a binary-cycle power plant is underway at the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center in Wyoming and being considered in locations in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Arkansas. California is another good candidate for coproduction. Although currently there is no electricity generated from coproduced fluids in California, a study by Sanyal et al. 1993, suggested that the oil and gas fields in the Los Angeles basin have a promising geothermal gradient of 2.0°F/100 ft while data collected by the DOGGR for 2009 reveals a 97% water cut for production in Los Angeles County oilfields. This combination of favorable geothermal gradient and large volume of water produced is promising for electricity generation from these coproduced fluids. In this paper, a process for screening potential candidates for coproduction is demonstrated using the Los Angeles basin as a case study. Temperature and production data were incorporated into a simple STARS numerical model to forecast reservoir performance over the course of 30 years and power output from a binary power plant. These results were then used in an economic model to determine the net present value of the project. The most significant parameters to economic viability for a project include reservoir temperature as well as total fluid production rate.