At the first working meeting on September 26, 2024, the following people gathered for WP1: Nora Heijnen (EBN), Laurens van der Sluijs (Shell Geothermal), Nick Buik (IF Technology), Andreas Reinicke (TNO), and Lies Peters (TNO, lead scientist).
WP1 focuses on promoting the development of open geothermal systems in the mid-depth range (500 – 1500 m) by making available the knowledge and experiences of operators in this depth range. This includes experiences from gas and oil fields as well as geothermal energy, both during the development phase (drilling and completing wells) and the production phase. This depth range is characterized by relatively fine-sandy and poorly consolidated deposits, which pose additional challenges at every stage of development. Moreover, the production temperature is relatively low, making cost-efficient production essential. Based on the collected knowledge and experiences, research directions will be defined in collaboration with all involved parties to further advance the development of shallow geothermal energy.
During the first meeting, the team first discussed what information would be useful to gather within the context of this work package. It is important not only to collect information on, for example, the chosen completions or drilling technique but also to understand the basis on which these decisions were made. The properties of the subsurface are necessary background knowledge to later translate to other locations. The WP1 team agreed that Shell Geothermal will collect information on the De Wijk gas field and Schoonebeek, of which NAM is the operator. EBN will do this for the gas fields in the A/B blocks in the Dutch offshore, and IF Technology will do this for the only shallow geothermal doublet in the Netherlands in Zevenbergen. During a workshop with experts in the period of January/February 2025, the collected information will be presented and discussed. A major topic of discussion was how to make as much information available as possible while respecting the potential confidentiality of the underlying data.
On behalf of the WP1 team,
Lies Peters, lead scientist TNO
