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Canadian Oil Service Sector joins forces to support emerging Canadian geothermal industry

Canadian Oil Service Sector joins forces to support emerging Canadian geothermal industry Drilling rig on site of geothermal project, Saskatchewan/ Canada (source: DEEP Corp.)
Alexander Richter 30 Apr 2020

Several groups in the oil and geothermal sector have set up a new geothermal alliance to promote Canadian geothermal development and to create jobs for displaced oil and gas drilling contractors and oilfield service workers.

The Canadian Oil Service Sector Joins Forces to Support the Emerging Canadian Geothermal Industry Geothermal energy is a critical component to the future of an integrated Canadian energy system that can provide zero-emission, renewable baseload power and thermal energy which can decarbonize oil and gas production and be sold to industries, municipalities and power utilities. In addition to power generation, high volume industrial heat users can use geothermal heating and take advantage of a low cost, high capacity heat. Based on availability, geothermal power generation and direct heating opportunities will provide a significant opportunity for new industries and new long-term job creation, while helping Canada reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change.

The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC), Clean Energy Canada, the Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN), the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC), and Canadian geothermal developers have joined together to create a geothermal alliance to promote Canadian geothermal development and to create jobs for displaced oil and gas drilling contractors and oilfield service workers.

Drilling for deep geothermal resources requires advanced drilling technology and expertise and can put drilling rigs and associated services to work in this current economic slowdown. Each active drilling rig can create 175 direct and indirect jobs, putting hard-working Canadians back to work on renewable energy. Significant Canadian public support as requested, and as already available Internationally, could unlock billions in private investment in the geothermal industry in Canada, creating thousands of jobs and establishing a brand new industry within Canada’s clean energy sector.

There are thousands of cutting-edge service companies that have been focussed on advancing the oil and gas energy sector that can now be deployed to a new business line. From decades of successful technology innovation and expertise, these companies are the foundation on which the Canadian geothermal industry can be advanced. Oil and gas technology overlaps with geothermal energy technology in many ways – vertical, directional and horizontal drilling, well completions, piping, fluid chemistry management and subsurface thermodynamic modelling, to list a few. It’s this incredible talent that has created a virtual Silicon Valley of drilling technology and knowhow in Western Canada. The oil and gas industry has been a significant part of Canada’s economic success over the past decades. The geothermal alliance is positioned to repurpose these skills for the first time in a new renewable energy industry.

The Geothermal Collaboration Network is energized to find new opportunities for its members as our industry sees our prosperity threatened like never before. We recognize that the twin calamity of a politically driven price war and global health pandemic means that the government needs to take extraordinary measures to ensure major Canadian industries like the oil and gas sector don’t completely collapse. We also recognize that we can look beyond the oil and gas industry for new opportunities to expand into industries like geothermal.

Geothermal energy development could easily attract major foreign investment capital to Western Canada to create several hundred Megawatts of clean dispatchable power, that can complement variable sources like wind and solar, as well as direct heating opportunities. Such a plan would create a new clean energy industry for Canada while employing oil and gas employees and contractors.

With geothermal energy developments, the same investment dollar can protect oil service jobs, improve the environment and provide a prosperous future for Canadians. To achieve this vision, Canadian geothermal developers require a long-term energy price that properly reflects the true value of reliable geothermal power.

Support for the vision comes from geothermal developers, such as DEEP Earth Energy Production Corp (deepcorp.ca), Terrapin Geothermics (terrapingeo.com) and Eavor Technologies Inc. (Eavor.com), and Geothermal Canada (geothermalcanada.org). The group also includes advanced research supporting these developments with various academic institutions.

Participating and signing companies: CAODC, Clean Energy Canada, Beaver Drilling, PSAC, Terrapin Geothermics, Geothermal Canada, Deep Corp., Eavor Technologies Inc.