A GEOSPATIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE POTENTIAL OF AMERICA’S SEDIMENTARY BASINS UTILIZING INNOVATIVE GIS METHODS

While the sedimentary basins of the United States have long been exploited for their petroleum energy reserves, recent studies have explored the possibility of accessing the abundant thermal energy contained within the rocks and fluids of deep basins. This is of particular interest in regions with active or historical oil and gas development, as exploration and production efforts have created a wealth of geologic data and existing infrastructure to allow for the development of geothermal-energy production. Additionally, interest in advancing the potential of geologic carbon sequestration and geothermal energy development has greatly increased the amount and availability of data characterizing the sedimentary basins in the United States.

In order to build upon past studies and further characterize the geothermal resource contained within America’s sedimentary basins, an analysis was conducted to estimate the thermal energy in place and recoverable energy portion. Innovative GIS analysis techniques were used to process the compiled data sets, calculate various parameters of the basins, and complete estimations of the subsurface volume and thermal energy magnitude of potential regions. Subsurface analysis was completed in divisions based upon temperate and depth intervals, using a minimum temperature of 100 degrees Celsius and a subsurface depth range of 1.5 to 6.5 kilometers. As the basins contain a wide range of porosity values, a low and high porosity value was determined for each basin using reported porosity ranges. This resulted in a low and high estimate of thermal energy in place. Recoverable energy was calculated using estimations of the recoverable thermal energy in large sedimentary basins found in past studies.

From the completed analysis, thermal energy in place within the sedimentary basins of the contiguous U.S. is estimated at 8.1 X 10²⁰ to 1.32 X 10²¹ kilojoules. Recoverable energy is estimated at 8.1 X 10¹⁷ to 1.32 X 10¹⁹ kilojoules. The majority of potential areas lie west of the Mississippi River, with the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast, the Denver Basin, and the Great Basin identified as high potential regions, among others. This represents a substantial and valuable domestic energy source for the United States which justifies further and more site-specific research.