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Senate committee advances bill to let Oil and Gas Board repurpose old wells for geothermal use
Summary
A Senate committee voted to report a bill that would authorize Alabama's Oil and Gas Board to reopen previously drilled oil and gas wells for geothermal energy by injecting water and extracting steam; the bill explicitly excludes coal-methane wells and does not authorize CO2 capture, and the committee asked staff for counts of Gulf wells and capped wells.
A Senate committee moved to report a bill that would let Alabama's Oil and Gas Board authorize the reuse of previously drilled oil and gas wells for geothermal energy, the bill's presenter said.
The presenter, identified in the transcript as Speaker 1, told the committee the proposal would authorize the board to reopen existing, emptied wellbores and allow geothermal companies to pump water or saline into those cavities, "let us sit there and get heated up and then extract the steam that's produced and or hot water as an energy source." The committee voted to send the measure forward in a paper report after a roll call…
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