Exploring the Potential for Geothermal Valorisation in Existing Onshore Oil Concessions in France

The French subsurface holds hydrocarbon resources that have been exploited for nearly 80 years. The two biggest sedimentary basins in France are located around Paris in the North, and in the Southwest of France. Most of the major fields discovered since the 1950s are still in operation today and produce significant amounts of how water during their exploitation.. Both basins hold the potential for valorising this heat from the produced water at those sites.

In particular, in the Aquitaine basin, the company operates 11 fields currently and some of these concessions provide insights into the challenges and opportunities for identifying and exploiting the potential of the calorific production at its sites. The Aquitaine region has been particularly conducive to establishing partnerships that enable the multi-energy use of certain fields operated by Vermilion. These projects have garnered significant interest and support from public authorities and the territories where extraction activities exist.

By 2040, in accordance with Hydrocarbon Law voted in 2017 in France, it will be prohibited to extract hydrocarbons from the subsurface from existing concessions. Therefore Vermilion continues to investigate the potential for converting existing oil production sites to new activities.