Oil company Mazarine Energy developing geothermal project for oil, gas wells in Romania

Oil and gas company Mazarine Energy has started a project for using geothermal energy by repurposing some of the current oil and gas wells in its Romania’s portfolio.

Mazarine Energy operates 28 oil and gas fields in Romania as well as five gas-to-power units with a total installed capacity of 8.3 MW, according to the company’s website.

Many companies in the petroleum industry have already started developing geothermal projects or they plan to do it

Many companies in the petroleum industry have already started developing geothermal projects or they plan to do it, and Mazarine is among companies with such interest in Romania, said Spencer Coca, country manager at Mazarine Energy and president of the Romanian Petroleum Exploration and Production Companies Association (ROPEPCA), Energynomics reported.

Mazarine will stop oil production in three fields and use them for geothermal projects

According to Coca, Mazarine will abort oil production in three wells near the Bucharest ring road and use them for geothermal projects. The company is cooperating with a firm from the United Kingdom specialized in geothermal technology that is using closed-loop systems with heat pumps that are placed inside the well. The system requires only one well instead of one for injection and another for production.

Geothermal projects cannot be developed on a large scale without the involvement of the oil industry

“This is the future,” Coca said, claiming that from a cost perspective, it’s much more effective to use such a system than to start drilling injection wells that are very expensive.

He said geothermal projects cannot be developed on a large scale without the involvement of the oil and gas industry. In his view, it is as an opportunity for the industry to participate in the energy transition.