energies Review Prospects of Using Hydrocarbon Deposits from the Autochthonous Miocene Formation (Eastern Carpathian Foredeep, Poland) for Geothermal Purposes Anna Chmielowska * , Anna Sowizd˙ zał˙ and Barbara Tomaszewska Department of Fossil Fuels, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30 Avenue, 30-059 Kraków, Poland;
[email protected] (A.S.);
[email protected] (B.T.) * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: There are many oil and gas fields around the world where the vast number of wells have been abandoned or suspended, mainly due to the depletion of reserves. Those abandoned oil and gas wells (AOGWs) are often located in areas with a prospective geothermal potential and might be retrofitted to a geothermal system without high-cost drilling. In Poland, there are thousands of wells, either operating, abandoned or negative, that might be used for different geothermal applications. Thus, the aim of this paper is not only to review geothermal and petroleum facts about the Eastern Carpathian Foredeep, but also to find out the areas, geological structures or just AOGWs, which are the most prospective in case of geothermal utilization. Due to the inseparability of geological settings with both oil and gas, as well as geothermal conditionings, firstly, the geological background of the analyzed region was performed, considering mainly the autochthonous Miocene formation. Then, Citation: Chmielowska, A.; geothermal and petroleum detailed characteristics were made. In the case of geothermal parameters, Sowizd˙ zał,˙ A.; Tomaszewska, B. such as formation’s thickness, temperatures, water-bearing horizons, wells’ capacities, mineralization Prospects of Using Hydrocarbon and others were extensively examined.