Abandoned Wells and Geothermal Energy: A Survey on the Utilization of Geothermal Heat from Abandoned Wells in Energy Systems

Every year many oil and gas wells in the oilfields get depleted and abandoned all over the world. Notwithstanding the costs and risks of the petroleum wells depletion, they contain sufficient amounts of geothermal energy that can be used for different purposes. Utilizing the geothermal heat of the abandoned oil and gas wells, besides saving drilling costs and managing the residual oil pollution, can relieve the energy problems.

This chapter will focus on the plausibility of geothermal heat extraction from the abandoned wells, their associated advantages and challenges, the methods of heat extraction, and the utilized energy systems. Finally, a new approach in the application of energy systems in the abandoned wells will be analyzed and optimized.