The project is often mischaracterized as being "co-production," meaning hydrocarbons were produced at the same time geothermal energy was being produced. That was not true in this case but Dr. Gosnold says it is possible.
I have long said that oilfield operators could do more to maximize efficiency. Rather than haul generators carrying Saudi-pumped oil to produce domestic oil, they could be generating power locally.
Dr. Gosnold and I also spoke about the need to marry upstream oilfield operations with electric utilities to make these projects happen. Hopefully now that this technology is proven, we will see more of these partnerships.
