Subsurface software developer Getech announced on Monday that it had completed a geothermal study for UK-based oil and gas company Angus Energy, demonstrating “significant potential” for development of the clean energy source in the UK.
Angus Energy is looking to leverage its oil and gas drilling and engineering assets to develop geothermal energy projects in the UK, the companies said in a joint press statement. To achieve this, Angus deployed Getech’s subsurface software technology to locate and assess promising areas for geothermal energy production in south-west England.
Getech successfully identified favourable locations for geothermal energy applications in the study's areas. The company has also produced a geoscientific interpretation that included structural mapping, depth estimation and heat flow analysis. The assessment, which featured 2D modelling and 3D inversions, will enable Angus Energy to make informed and cost-effective decisions regarding future development phases for geothermal projects.
Richard Bennett, acting CEO at Getech, said: “Given the drive for new ways to decarbonise operations and provide consistent heat and power, investment in alternative energy sources such as geothermal is ramping up. Getech’s subsurface and geoscience expertise is helping Angus Energy take an important step toward developing sustainable energy solutions that bolster the UK’s energy security and advance decarbonisation efforts.”
Angus Energy CEO Richard Herbert added: “We are pleased to have made good progress in bringing some of our traditional skills and focus on subsurface assessment out of the world of hydrocarbons into that of alternative energies. We are grateful to Getech for their professionalism, which will assist in de-risking future geothermal drilling programmes by all players in this developing sector.”
Interest in geothermal energy in the UK has begun to ramp up in recent years as the country looks to meet decarbonisation targets and bolster energy security. In March, UK-based geothermal developer Geothermal Engineering (GEL) secured $18m (£15m) to build the UK’s first commercial-scale deep geothermal power plant. In the same month, geologists at the British Geological Survey published a research paper mapping out in detail regions in central and southern England with the greatest potential to generate geothermal energy.
In May, the UK Government awarded $27m (£22m) for the first deep geothermal district heating network in the country, known as the Langarth Deep Geothermal Heat Network. The project will be located in Cornwall, in the south of England, and will be developed by GEL.
In June, the first small-scale deep geothermal project for 37 years was switched on at the Eden Project, also in Cornwall, and is now operational.
Jason Cheng, CEO of Kerogen Capital, an investor in GEL and its projects, told Power Technology in May: “More broadly in the UK we believe geothermal can play a central role in decarbonising heating, which is 50% of the country’s energy usage.
“It is estimated that there is currently enough deep geothermal heat energy to supply all of the UK’s needs for at least 100 years,” he added.
Geothermal technologies currently deliver less than 0.3% of the UK’s heat demand, according to government reports.
