Technological Progress and Development Suggestions on Integrated Development of Depleted Oil & Gas Reservoirs and New Energy

The integrated development of oil & gas resources and new energy is an important feature of building a new energy system. This study analyzes the main advantages of integrating depleted oil & gas reservoirs with new energy sources and reviews research progress in utilizing these reservoirs for geothermal energy, energy storage, hydrogen storage, hydrogen production, and lithium metal mining, both in China and abroad. The research results show that due to the different degrees of technology portability and reference, the technology maturity of integrated development of depleted oil & gas reservoirs and new energy is different. The feasibility of exploiting geothermal resources by utilizing depleted oil & gas reservoirs has been fully verified, the energy storage of depleted oil & gas reservoirs is currently undergoing verification, while hydrogen storage in depleted oil & gas reservoirs is in the early exploratory stage. Researches into extracting hydrogen and lithium from depleted oil & gas reservoirs have been carried out by a few companies, with the feasibility unproven. Based on the survey results, the main suggestions for promoting the integrating depleted oil & gas reservoirs with new energy are put forward: surveying current depleted oil & gas reservoirs to establish the relevant information sharing platform; conducting extensive collaborative research to promote rapid technological breakthroughs; implementing demonstration and pilot projects to form utilization standards for the resources of depleted oil & gas reservoirs; exploring the business modes for resource utilization of depleted oil & gas reservoirs to achieve low-carbon development.