In what is described as the world’s first project to modify retired oil wells into geothermal wells, a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held this week in Tuttle.
The Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy at the University of Oklahoma and Blue Cedar Energy will hold the ceremony Thursday, Sept. 22 from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. near Tuttle. The ceremony will be at 508 E. Rock Creek Road while the actual well site is located in a pasture.
In a project that has received national media attention, Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy researchers are set to become the first in the world to modify retired oil wells into geothermal wells. After the wells – located in Tuttle, Oklahoma – are modified to produce geothermal energy, researchers will spend the next year measuring the energy production to see if actual output aligns with their estimates and models, and if the wells will create enough energy to heat two nearby schools.
At the conclusion of the project, researchers plan to apply for new grants and state matching funds to make heating the schools with geothermal energy a possibility. Learn more about the project here.
- Learn more about Mewbourne College’s multi-disciplinary geothermal energy research here.
Speakers at the ceremony will include U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office Technology Manager George Stutz; OU Senior Associate Vice President of Research and Partnerships John Antonio; Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy Dean J. Mike Stice; and OU Associate Professor and Lead Researcher Saeed Salehi.
Current Phase: Salehi and his team of researchers anticipate they will spend the next three years retrofitting the four oil wells and then measuring the wells’ energy production to see if actual output aligns with their estimates and models, and if the wells will create enough energy to heat two nearby schools.
Future Phase: The scope of this project does not include the next step of heating the schools with geothermal energy, but rather ensuring that it is possible. Salehi and his team hope that once their current project is completed, they can apply for new grants and state matching funds to make heating the schools with geothermal energy a possibility.
