Towards a Data-Driven Global Heat Map

The widespread adoption of geothermal energy by the petroleum industry is dependent on a number of investment risk factors. One of these is the ability of companies to quickly assess and rank the heat resource potential of different areas. Historically, geothermal projects have focused on volcanic regions. However 50% of the onshore parts of the globe are covered by sedimentary basins which include areas of elevated heat flow and, therefore, potential geothermal energy resource. Successfully determining and then communicating the potential scale of geothermal energy in sedimentary basins is fundamental in our quest to further geothermal development through industry and government cooperation. CGG’s global heat map, developed by applying petroleum industry leading data analytics to the vast publicly available geothermal, mining, hydrocarbon and scientific subsurface temperature datasets, provides an initial screening tool to identify areas for further, higher resolution investigation. The datasets collated require rigorous interrogation, quality control and standardization; work ongoing at CGG. A comprehensive geothermal model is the result of combining a higher resolution, localized heat map with key subsurface geological/geophysical/seismic parameters used to characterize the reservoir properties and geometries. For example, many of the data types collected in hydrocarbon exploration (permeability, temperature, water-chemistry and flow rates) drive our understanding of the production and heat storage capabilities of sedimentary basin plays. A further refinement to the screening process includes the above ground characteristics (e.g. terrain analysis, environmental sensitivity and proximity to populations). Access to accurate global subsurface databases will accelerate workflows and decision-making for new entrants into the geothermal energy industry and for established players who want to widen their geographic portfolio.