Shawnee is a town located in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma and is approximately 45 minutes east of downtown Oklahoma City and 30 miles Northeast of the University of Oklahoma. The site is also located within the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma and Potawatomi Nation jurisdiction. The team has identified 6 previously drilled oil and gas wells that can be utilized to heat and cool educational and municipal buildings within the town of Shawnee. These wells have averaged measured depths of approximately 5,000 ft. Of these six wells, three are currently being used as injector wells, while the remaining three produce oil and gas in low quantities.
About the Location
A map showing the well and end user locations in Shawnee, Oklahoma (Google Earth, 2022).
The team selected this site due to the high number of wells in the area and the numerous potential end-users within the vicinity of the wells. The downhole thermal conductivity in the City of Shawnee area is 28.1°C/km or 9.77°F/ft (OGS, 1984). The depth of the wells at the selected site is expected to produce thermal energy conducive to direct-use geothermal energy production. With the wells in question having been drilled previously, the cost for drilling would be negligible and reduce the potential costs associated with geothermal energy production. While the wells would need to be inspected to ensure that the wellbores are intact before geothermal production for direct use, the downhole infrastructure is already present, and it implies a lesser cost in regards to establishing and maintaining the necessary wellbore integrity for production. Our team is also aware that OG&E, a gas and electric company within Oklahoma, currently has geothermal initiatives for geothermal projects in Oklahoma, making direct-use geothermal energy production in this region possible. Using previously drilled wells also reduces the potential for environmental issues and aquifer protection as it minimizes surface activity at the well sites.