Tapping Oil and Gas Expertise To Advance Geothermal Energy

To align with the the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target, every credible pathway to its goals depends on expanding reliable, clean power by 2050. Geothermal fits that need: it’s available 24/7, requires little land, and is inherently local. The International Energy Agency’s Net Zero Roadmap emphasizes that reliable clean capacity, including geothermal, is central to building a resilient, decarbonized grid by the mid-century.

In the US, geothermal still provides less than 1% of utility-scale generation (about 0.4% in 2023), according to the EIA. However, the US Geological Survey now estimates that enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) in Nevada’s Great Basin and neighboring states could generate enough electricity to meet approximately 10% of current US demand if deployed at scale, representing an order-of-magnitude increase from the current level.

Follow the Money

Capital is shifting accordingly. Wood Mackenzie reports that North American geothermal investment increased by 85%, with $1.7 billion in public funding in Q1 2025 alone as next-generation EGS/AGS technologies mature. On the project level, in early June, Fervo Energy announced it secured substantial funding rounds and advanced utility-scale deployments in Nevada and Utah, along with tariff structures and offtakes emerging from NV Energy’s Clean Transition Tariff, recently approved by Nevada regulators, to serve clients like Google (Penrod, 2024; Kobor, 2025).

On the policy side, the US Department of Energy (DOE)’s Enhanced Geothermal Shot aims for a 90% cost reduction in EGS to $45/MWh by 2035. In May, the Department of the Interior announced it will implement emergency permitting procedures to accelerate geothermal projects that address urgent national security and energy needs while maintaining environmental stewardship. Projects covered by this new procedure include the Diamond Flat Geothermal Project (near Fallon, Nevada), McGinness Hills Geothermal Optimization Project (Lander County, Nevada), and the Pinto Geothermal Project (near Denio, Nevada).

The combination of technical learning curves, clearer market pathways, and permitting focus is turning geothermal from a niche into a serious pillar of firm, clean capacity.

Why Oil and Gas Capability Matters

EGS and other next-generation geothermal techniques resemble unconventional oil and gas—multilateral wells, advanced completions, stimulation, high-temperature metrology, and strict well-integrity practices. This shared foundation explains why subsurface experts are key to reducing costs and risks in geothermal projects. However, transferring knowledge isn’t a simple copy-and-paste process. Geothermal challenges materials and designs at higher cyclic temperatures and chemistries that are uncommon in most hydrocarbon wells, especially for cement systems. Ensuring proper cementing is vital for geothermal well integrity.

The Cement Integrity Challenge in Geothermal: What’s Different Underneath?

Geothermal cements must withstand temperatures exceeding 150°C (300°F), repeated thermal cycling, and corrosive fluids containing dissolved salts, CO₂, and H₂S, all while preserving sheath elasticity, bond strength, and low permeability over decades. Failures appear as loss of zonal isolation, casing exposure and corrosion, wellbore instability, and ultimately a shortened well lifespan.

Root causes (and why they compound)

• High temperatures and thermal cycling: The difference in thermal expansion between casing, cement, and rock causes micro-annuli and debonding; cycling worsens these effects, causing fatigue (Yuxing, Harshkumar, & Saeed, 2020).
• Aggressive geofluids: CO₂/H₂S, brines, and silica-rich fluids can alter cement hydration products and increase porosity/permeability (Nachiket, Hossein, & Marshall, 2022).
• Mechanical stress: Pressure changes, casing loads, and local tectonics contribute to debonding and shear risk at the casing–cement and cement–formation interfaces (Ionut & Catalin, 2022).
• Water chemistry shifts: Mineral scaling or dissolution can alter pH and ionic strength, degrading mechanical and interfacial properties over time (Nachiket, Hossein, & Marshall, 2022).

Practical Consequences

Channeling across zones, sustained casing pressure, and accelerated corrosion result from degraded cement or weak interface issues. These issues are well-documented in geothermal literature and at Stanford’s Geothermal Workshop archives.

What works?

Purpose-built high-temperature binders
API Class G/H remains the workhorse, often silica-rich or otherwise modified for high-temp stability. As temperatures climb, particle size, silica ratio, and additive selection matter (Santos, 2014; oklahoma.gov, 2023).

Advanced additives and nanomaterials
Nano-silica and related nanomaterials can refine microstructure, reduce permeability, and enhance high-temperature strength. Emerging research shows promise, but dispersion, dosage, and long-term stability are key (Akshar, Aakash, Shishir, Manan, & Anirbid, 2020; Dhruv, Jayesh, Harsh, Dhrumil, & Manan, 2021; Jesús Fernando et al., 2024).

Geopolymer cements
Geopolymers (e.g., fly-ash/metakaolin-based) offer thermal stability and chemical resilience at elevated temperatures; field consistency and placement practices are active R&D areas (Cameron, Catalin, Saeed, & Mahmood, 2022; Veerabhadra, Moneeb, Maria, Mike, & Eric, 2022).

Flawless placement
Centralization, engineered spacer trains, and flow-regime control to avoid channeling are non-negotiable in narrow annuli and deviated sections.

Design for thermal strain
Use elastic or expanding systems when appropriate; explicitly model thermal cycles and consider bonding shear strength (IBSS) along with tensile and flexural behavior, not just bulk compressive strength (UCS) (Potter, Eckert, Jones, Weicheng, & Meng, 2024).

Monitoring and surveillance
Combine cement bond log and variable density log, ultrasonic imaging, and pressure/temperature trending to detect degradation early and plan remediation before zonal isolation is compromised.

Research Spotlight: OU Well Integrity Lab

At the University of Oklahoma’s Well Integrity Lab, OU research assistant Kayode Sanni and OU professor Catalin Teodoriu are developing next-generation cement systems and test methods tailored for geothermal realities—high temperatures, severe thermal cycling, and aggressive fluids—not just repurposed oilfield recipes. Their work advances three fronts that matter directly to project bankability and lifetime output.

1. Interface-first testing that mirrors the field. Rather than relying solely on UCS, the team prioritizes casing–cement IBSS and its response to temperature and cure time. Their comparative study of API Class G vs. Class H cements showed that IBSS can fall as temperature rises even when UCS increases, and that curing duration (1 vs. 3 days) materially shifts bond performance. This reframes how operators specify and accept slurries for geothermal service—moving toward interface-centric standards that better protect zonal isolation and reduce sustained casing pressure in cyclic operations (Kayode, Jorge Andres, Khizar, & Catalin, 2024).
2. Thermal-performance engineering over the long haul. In a 763-day campaign spanning nine cement composites (Class G/H baselines with fly ash, gilsonite, micro-fillers, TiO₂, and sand), the lab quantified how thermal conductivity (TC) evolves to a stable value under water-saturated vs. air-dry curing. Pairing this with clustering-based machine learning, they map which recipes deliver higher TC (better heat transfer) or lower TC (for tailored insulation) and under which conditions. That data feeds directly into well and plant models, helping designers maximize heat at the wellhead and improve capacity factors—key drivers of $/MWh in EGS (Khizar, Kayode, & Catalin, 2025).
3. Materials that hold up where it counts. The lab’s portfolio includes silica-rich Class G/H variants, nano-modified binders, and geopolymer candidates aimed at permeability control, chemical durability, and thermal-cycle resilience. The goal is for field-ready systems to maintain bond integrity and thermal performance over decades, cutting workovers and integrity risk on multiwell pads.

Significance and Path to Net Zero

This research shifts geothermal well design from generic strength metrics to interface-centric integrity and long-horizon thermal performance, giving operators the tools to keep wells sealed and productive under extreme temperature cycling and corrosive fluids. Reducing early-life remediation, lowering integrity risk, and improving heat delivery at the wellhead raise capacity factors and bankability, two prerequisites for scaling a firm to 24/7 clean power.

In practical terms, that means more reliable projects will be brought online faster, at lower lifetime costs, and with fewer setbacks. These advances are a decisive step toward deploying geothermal at a meaningful scale, strengthening the clean-baseload backbone needed to achieve the net-zero 2050 goal.

A Pragmatic Path To Net-Zero Relevance

To convert potential into durable gigawatts, the industry should

1. Standardize geothermal-specific cement testing beyond UCS, e.g., IBSS at temperature, cyclic thermal tests, and permeability under brine/CO2/H2S and incorporate these into procurement specs for Class G/H variants, geopolymers, and nano-modified systems (Nachiket, Hossein, & Marshall, 2022; Ionut & Catalin, 2022).
2. Codify best-practice placement (centralization, spacers, flow regimes) for high-angle EGS wells, where annuli are tight and thermal cycling severe.
3. Design for life cycle integrity with surveillance plans and remediation playbooks, not just “good cement jobs.”
4. Scale policy enablers—continue permitting reforms and expand performance-based tariffs for 24/7 clean energy capacity.
5. Leverage oil and gas talent—directional drillers, cementing specialists, completions engineers, and integrity teams have exactly the skill sets geothermal needs.

Conclusion

The US begins from a small base, about 0.4% of generation, but the Great Basin EGS potential (approximately 10%), an 85% surge in 2025 investment, and policy/market innovations indicate a sector reaching escape velocity. The key factor is well integrity. If we solve high-temperature bonding, thermal cycling, and chemical durability in cement systems, building on the work underway at OU and elsewhere, geothermal can take on a central role in a net-zero 2050 grid.

This is familiar territory for oil and gas professionals with a new mission: applying subsurface expertise to produce heat, not hydrocarbons—reliably, safely, and at scale.

For Further Reading

A Comprehensive Review of the Application of Nano-Silica in Oil Well Cementing by A. Thakkar, R. Askash, C. Shishir, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University; et al.

A Review on Geothermal Wells: Well Integrity Issues by P. Allahvirdizadeh, University of Stavanger.

Geopolymers, Are They Consistent Enough for Geothermal? By C. Devers, C. Teodoriu, S. Salehi, University of Oklahoma; et al.

A Discussion on Geothermal Well Integrity Using Long Term Experimental Bonding and Re-Bonding Data by C. Teodoriu, University of Oklahoma.

Emergence of Nano Silica for Oil and Gas Well Cementing: Application, Challenges, and Future Scope by D. Makwana, J. Bellani, H. Verma, et al.

Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Cement Bonding Properties at Elevated Temperatures—The Effect of Sample Cooling by I. Lambrescu, Petroleum-Gas University Ploiesti, and C. Teodoriu, University of Oklahoma

Geothermal Nano-SiO₂ Waste as a Supplementary Cementitious Material for Concrete Exposed at High Critical Temperatures by J. López-Perales, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León; M. Alonso-Alonso, Instituto de Ciencias de la Construcción Eduardo Torroja; F. Vázquez-Rodríguez, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León; et al.

Comparative Analysis of Casing-Cement Interfacial Bonding Shear Strength Using Class G and Class H Cement at Room and Elevated Temperatures by K. Sanni, J. Alvarez-Escobar, K. Abid, University of Oklahoma; et al.

Long-Term Experimental Study of Thermal Conductivity and Machine Learning Analysis of Various Cement Mixtures for Geothermal Wells by K. Abid, K. Sanni, C. Teodoriu, University of Oklahoma

Our First-Of-Its-Kind Partnership for Clean Energy Has Been Approved in Nevada, Google
Production, Classification, and Composition of Cement Used in Oil and Gas Well Construction and Abandonment by J. Heathman

NV Energy Seeks New Tariff to Supply Google With 24/7 Power From Fervo Geothermal Plant by E. Penrod, Utility Dive

Comparative Analysis of Critical Bond Strength Parameters of Neat Class G Cement and Fly Ash Enhanced Cement to Steel by C. Potter, A. Eckert, J. Jones, et al.
Thermal Considerations of Cement Integrity in Geothermal Wells by Y. Wu, H. Patel, S. Salehi, University of Oklahoma

Using Geopolymers as a Sustainable Alternative Cementing Solution for Long-Term Zonal Isolation and Lost Circulation Challenges in Deep Geothermal Wells by V. Denduluri, M. Genedy, M. Juenger, The University of Texas at Austin.