World’s first commercial solar EOR project begins

The Kern County 21Z Solar Project is the only operational solar EOR project worldwide. The project also incorporates GlassPoint’s Single Transit Trough (STT) technology, the first new solar thermal technology in decades. Specifically designed for rugged oilfield environments, the GlassPoint solution encloses the solar technology in a unique glasshouse structure to deliver durable, low-cost solar steam in industrial environments. The project was built in less than six weeks.

PDO’s Bentouati and co-author of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) paper, “The Impact of Daily and Seasonal Cycles In Solar-Generated Steam On Oil Recovery,” said: “PDO has studied the effect of solar steam on oil production.

“We have found that from a sub-surface oil recovery point of view, solar-generated steam provides a viable alternative to constant rate steam injection derived from natural gas. Much of the world’s heavy oil is located in the Persian Gulf region, which has abundant sunshine. In these locations switching to solar EOR saves gas for higher value applications like industrial development and export as LNG.”

“I’m proud to welcome another exciting energy development to Kern County, the state’s top oil producing region and a model for energy policy and security,” said Representative McCarthy. “Solar steam has the potential to expand local employment and local capital assets and enhance domestic oil production. Once again, Kern County is leading the way in utilizing another form of cutting edge energy technology.”

Steam-based EOR, also known as thermal EOR, dominates EOR operations worldwide, delivering more petroleum and enabling production of otherwise inaccessible heavy oil. Today’s steam generators burn fuel – primarily natural gas – to produce steam injected into the reservoir to facilitate oil production.

GlassPoint claims that its new technology raises steam with solar energy and delivers steam at a fraction of the cost of gas-fired steam. Solar-generated steam can deliver up to 80% of total annual EOR project needs, consequently reducing of the amount of natural gas used by 80% it said in a statement.

The Kern County 21Z Solar Project will produce approximately 1 million Btus per hour of solar heat, replacing natural gas used for steam generation.

The oil fields in Kern County have been in production for over a century, and the most accessible oil has already been recovered.

GlassPoint’s system’s are enclosed inside glasshouses, which protect and seal the mirror system from the elements, including dust, dirt, sand and humidity. The protected environment allows for the use of ultralight, low-cost reflective materials. Automated washing equipment eliminates manual cleaning and operator intervention. GlassPoint steam generators directly raise steam using standard oilfield boiler feedwater, eliminating “reboilers” and expensive deionising units required by older solar system designs.

“It’s not well-known that the United States still has more oil in the ground than the entire proven reserves of Saudi Arabia. The challenge lies in producing these untapped domestic oil resources with reasonable financial and environmental costs. Our solar EOR solution allows customers to produce heavy oil without the air emissions of combustion-based steam generation, and without the exposure to fuel markets, extending the economic life of aging oil fields,” said GlassPoint CEO Rod MacGregor.

“The 21Z project is tangible proof of this new technology. We expect the economic benefits of GlassPoint’s solution will drive the adoption of solar EOR, both here in the heart of Kern County and internationally.”