Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and Waste Heat to Power (WHP) have successfully demonstrated reduced operating costs and improved power reliability in myriad applications. Over 82 GW of CHP have been deployed at > 4,400 industrial and commercial facilities across the U.S. There has been less deployment of this proven technology in the oil field, however. CHP can provide both electric power and thermal energy from a single on-site source. WHP systems capture waste heat from various processes and utilizes it to generate electricity without additional fuel, combustion, or emissions. Recovered waste heat can be used to provide additional services to production facilities, including heating for thermal water treatment, EOR, and/or processing.

In 2017, a ‘CHP in O&G’ workshop was held in Texas in partnership with Shell to initiate dialogue among several operators and service providers regarding current and future power needs in the oil field, power generation/CHP options, and the value proposition of CHP in O&G operations. This presentation seeks to engage O&G companies to discuss what it takes to make CHP/WHP work in upstream and midstream operations. Successful implementations in O&G and information for no-cost CHP technical assistance (feasibility, ROI, etc.) will be shared.

Primary Author / Conference Presenter:
Andra Wilcox
Research Scientist
The Houston Advanced Research Center
The Woodlands, Texas, USA

Co-Authors:
Gavin Dillingham, PhD, HARC, Director, DOE Southcentraland Upperwest CHP-Technical Assessment Partnership, The Woodlands, Texas, USA