Planned repurposing oil well for geothermal at Nottinghamshire

Oil well, UK (source: Egdon Resources)

As part of an operational update released in late  September 2021, Egdon Resources plc (AIM: EDR, “Egdon”), an exploration and production company focused on the hydrocarbon-producing basins of the onshore UK, shared details about plans on  repurposing an existing oil well for geothermal energy extraction.

The company has been developing a programme to plug and abandon the existing Dukes Wood-1 oil well in Nottinghamshire, UK. The goal is to recomplete the well for geothermal heat production, which has been developed for Egdon by Creative Geothermal Solutions Limited. The program will shortly be submitted to the HSE.  It is anticipated that subject to regulatory approval, this work will commence during Q1 2022.

Egdon has undertaken desktop screening studies to assess its existing well stock and well sites. Several sites have been identified as potential candidates for geothermal repurposing, in particular the Dukes Wood and Kirklington wells in the East Midlands. The sites are both located in an area that has long been known as having a localised geothermal anomaly (higher than average heat flow at shallower depth than expected). Analysis of temperature data from the Dukes Wood-1 and Kirklington-3z wells (and legacy data from other nearby wells) suggests that there is enough of a heat resource to warrant further investigation.

In April, Egdon announced a Memorandum of Understanding had been entered with Creative Geothermal Solutions Ltd (CGS). CGS will provide well engineering expertise to support Egdon’s geoscience knowledge to explore innovative engineering solutions to repurpose the existing oil wells for geothermal. The aim is to isolate the well bore from the productive oil zones to decommission the Dukes Wood and Kirklington fields, before recompleting the well to test the geothermal potential.

Both wells in question aim to be repurposed and operated as low enthalpy single-well closed loop geothermal installations (also known as Deep Borehole Heat Exchangers). No abstraction or injection of fluid from or into the aquifer (surrounding formations) will occur. Egdon and CGS are looking at options for commercial uses for the heat from the existing well sites, with potential for space heating or enhanced agriculture use.

At the end of the project life the wells would be plugged and the sites restored to their previous condition. Subject to further planning and other consents, Egdon and CGS may wish to retain one, or both, of the sites for a new Deep Geothermal well to target higher temperatures at greater depths.

Source: company release, Egdon