Historically, renewable energy technologies have been seen as a source of competition by the oil and gas industry. However, the oil and gas industry is now one of the primary sources of investments in renewable-energy technologies. The oil and gas industry in California, in particular, has been making significant investments in renewables and leveraging the latest renewable-energy technologies to reduce the carbon footprint of oilfield applications. This study analyzes the latest advances in renewable-energy solutions, their effect on energy-transition efforts in the state, and the potential of further developing conventional and unconventional oil and gas resources in California.
This paper has focused on conducting a thorough review of literature related to the latest advances in renewable energy technologies and energy transition efforts in California and the applications of these technologies in reducing the carbon footprint of oilfield activities, along with examples of renewables as a complementary resource to oil and gas. Furthermore, the availability of conventional and unconventional oil and gas resources in the state has been summarized. The potential of developing these resources in the future is analyzed in detail. The literature includes a comprehensive set of references ranging from peer-reviewed journal publications and proceedings to data from market studies and other nontechnical publications and market predictions by renowned experts.
The position of renewable energy resources either as a competing or complementary source to oil and natural gas in California and the effect of these resources in energy transition efforts in the state are discussed. Examples of the use of renewable energy technologies to improve various processes within oil and gas production operations are provided, and the prospect of further developing conventional and unconventional oil and gas resources in the state has been investigated to conclude the effect of both of these energy sources to the regional energy supply and demand dynamics. In addition, the benefits, drawbacks, and challenges in scaling up the use of these energy sources are discussed in detail.