Oil industry expertise 'could lead to geothermal developments'

Expertise gained in the oil industry over the years could soon be applied to a cleaner, greener form of energy.

The Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research at the Norwegian Institute of Technology, abbreviated as SINTEF, has been looking into the potential to develop geothermal energy reserves to a greater extent.

At present, temperature increases of up to eight degrees C are common using ground source heat pumps at depths of up to 200 m.

But Are Lund, senior researcher at SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, wants to use oil industry know-how to go deeper - much deeper.

Down at around 10 km below the surface of the Earth, pressures reach 220 times their sea-level value, with water at temperatures of 374 degrees C.

By reaching these reserves using drilling techniques developed by the oil industry, the researchers say that the energy of a nuclear power plant could be unleashed, with no CO2 emissions or radioactive leftovers.