The Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany has an open PhD position on the “Re-use of abandoned wells for geothermal energy.” This will be a part of the regional project TRANSGEO (Transforming abandoned wells for geothermal energy production) under the EU-funded INTERREG program.

Applications for the PhD position will be accepted until 26 March 2023. Interested applicants may file their applications via this link. This is a 75% position based in Potsdam with a 3-year fixed-term period that is expected to start by 1 May 2023.

Large amounts of oil and gas were produced in Central Europe from thousands of deep wells, but after decades of production, many of the hydrocarbon exploration and production wells are abandoned. Instead of abandoning unused wells, they may be used for geothermal energy production and heat storage to support local communities and industries in the energy transition. Today this potential is largely underutilised due to economic uncertainties and technical and non-technical barriers.

The TRANSGEO project aims to enable a structural change from a fossil-fuel-producing hydrocarbon industry towards sustainable green energy provision from geothermal energy sources by demonstrating technological re-use options for abandoned wells and removing existing barriers.

The doctoral researcher will support this goal by developing and validating well-reuse methodologies based on site-specific feasibility studies in Berlin/Brandenburg with the help of field data and reservoir models.

Efforts are underway to utilize or repurpose abandoned oil and gas wells in several places worldwide. Examples include China, the UK, and Nevada and Oklahoma in the U.S.