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GreenFire Energy expands IP rights in closed-loop well technology for geothermal

GreenFire Energy expands IP rights in closed-loop well technology for geothermal Coso well, California (source: GreenFire Energy)
Alexander Richter 27 May 2020

GreenFire Energy Inc. announces the acquisition of an exclusive license to patents by GeoTek Energy, LLC relating to closed-loop well technologies for the geothermal and oil and gas industries.

In an announcement today, GreenFire Energy Inc. and GeoTek Energy, LLC reported on an agreement whereby GreenFire Energy will acquire an exclusive license to GeoTek’s patents relating to closed-loop well technologies for the geothermal and oil and gas industries. Additionally, GeoTek will transfer ownership of its sophisticated closed-loop thermodynamic model called THYMO. The agreement expands GreenFire Energy’s expertise and intellectual property in closed-loop well technologies for power generation and high-value industrial applications.

GeoTek’s patented technologies exploit the thermosiphon effect to power downbore pumps, thereby avoiding the significant parasitic power loss associated with line shaft and submersible pumps. When combined with GreenFire Energy’s GreenLoop™ technology, GeoTek downbore pumps can improve the profitability of new retrofit oil and gas wells.

Since its inception, GreenFire Energy has focused on the development of advanced thermodynamic models for closed-loop wells and recently verified the accuracy of those models at its GreenLoop technology demonstration in Coso, California. The company believes that the addition of GeoTek’s THYMO modeling capabilities will further enhance techno-economic estimates of well performance and optimize the design of wells prior to project construction.

GeoTek Energy, LLC was founded by oil and gas industry experts in Frisco, Texas. The company had the foresight to leverage its expertise to develop and patent several types of thermosiphon-driven systems for use in both the geothermal and the oil and gas industries.”We were ahead of our time in seeing the benefits of geothermal energy and developing technology and processes to access the energy from the same environment as oil and gas,” says Craig Campbell, founder of GeoTek Energy, LLC. “Our technology is a unique addition to GreenFire Energy’s closed-loop technology portfolio as it is aimed at geothermal opportunities in the oil and gas sector. It has the capability to add green energy to the grid and to considerably reduce the cost of pumping appropriate oil and gas wells,” added John Wilkinson, GeoTek Energy, LLC chairman.

“We see the agreement with GeoTek Energy as significant to our strategy in two key respects: First, it broadens our capabilities in closed-loop wells, especially relating to oil and gas wells, and confirms GreenFire Energy as the premier source of closed-loop expertise for power generation and high-value industrial applications. Second, this deal further extends our leadership in the development, ownership and commercialization of intellectual property relating to closed-loop wells,” says Joseph Scherer, President and CEO of GreenFire Energy.