Power Generation Potential from Coproduced Fluids in the Los Angeles Basin
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- There is potential to utilize oilfield infrastructure to produce geothermal electricity profitably, in a process called coproduction. Although many oil reservoirs represent only a low-to-mid temperature resource, utilizing oil infrastructure sidesteps the initial capital investment for exploration and development making these low temperature resourced profitable. Power generation from coproduced fluids using binary-cycle power plants has been demonstrated at the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center in Wyoming, and at Huabei Oilfield near Beijing, China. This research investigated the feasibility and profitability of implementing coproduction at the oilfields of the Los Angeles Basin. The Los Angeles Basin was selected because of the region’s promising combination of giant oilfields, including Wilmington Oilfield, high water cut, 97% water in 2011, and elevated geothermal gradient, over 2.0°F/100ft. The feasibility and profitability of coproduction in the Los Angeles Basin was evaluated in three steps. First, a STARS simulation model for each promising oilfield in the Los Angeles Basin forecasted reservoir and production conditions over the lifetime of the coproduction project. Second, the produced fluid flow rate and temperature, as predicted by the STARS model, was converted to an electricity output by a specific power correlation curve created by consulting the literature on current and past coproduction pilot test and low-temperature geothermal projects. Third, economic analysis was performed to determine the net present value of these coproduction projects considering the profits from avoided electricity purchase, initial capital cost of the power plant and gathering system, continued costs for operation and maintenance, and lost profits from the decrease in oil production due to increases in oil viscosity with decreasing reservoir temperature. From the nine oilfields in the Los Angeles Basin with sufficient production rates and reservoir temperatures for coproduction, four coproduction projects were found to be both feasible and profitable, one was deemed feasible but uneconomic due to lost oil production, and four were not feasible due to wellbore heat losses. The four successful projects represented a combined power generation potential of over 3 MW and a net present value exceeding $14 million.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | June 2012 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Bennett, Kara |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Horne, Roland N. |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Energy Resources Engineering |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Bennett, Kara. (2012). Power Generation Potential from Coproduced Fluids in the Los Angeles Basin. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/dz864rz8489
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
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- brannerlibrary@stanford.edu
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