Chevron Technology Ventures has released a demonstration project that will test the viability of using solar energy to produce oil. The project, the first of its kind in the world, uses over 7,600 mirrors to focus the suns energy onto a solar boiler. The steam produced is injected into oil reservoirs to increase oil production.
The technology will be deployed at the Coalinga field which produces heavy crude oil that is more difficult to extract than lighter crude. The solar-to-steam project will supplement the gas-fired steam generators and help determine the commercial viability of using heat from the sun instead of natural gas to generate steam.
Throughout the course of the day, more than 7,600 mirrors track the sun and reflect its rays to a receiver positioned on a solar tower. Using heat from the concentrated sunlight, the solar tower system produces steam that is distributed throughout the oil field and then injected underground for enhanced oil recovery. The solar demonstration generates about the same amount of steam as one gas-fired steam generator.
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