Baker Hughes and India's Cairn Oil & Gas signed a contract to help Cairn co-produce up to 2.4 megawatts of electricity in addition to oil and gas, as well as offset 17,000 tons per annum of greenhouse gas, a press release announced on June 24.

Cairn, India's largest private oil and gas E&P company, will harness geothermal energy from its repurposed oil and gas wells, aligning with its commitments to becoming a net-zero company by 2050, announced in February of this year.

"As India looks for cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, we are confident that Baker Hughes’ technology can play a significant role in supporting Cairn Oil & Gas to drive a more sustainable energy future,” Neeraj Sethi, country director for India and Bangladesh at Baker Hughes, said in the release.

The contract will be executed through a series of phases, including studying the feasibility for geothermal generation through repurposing producing or exploratory hydrocarbon wells, during which experts will determine the geothermal potential of the area, collect geoscience data and visit the fields to assess surface facilities.

Following the feasibility phase, Cairn will move on to designing the initial project concept and conducting a pilot project will test the concept for safety and effectiveness before the project's final execution. Thus far, hydrocarbon wells in the Raageshwari Deep Gas field in the Barmer Basin have been identified as suitable candidates for geothermal energy production.

Cairn's ESG roadmap aims to place the company at net-zero operations by 2050. To achieve this goal, along with its partnership with Baker Hughes, the company announced earlier this month that it will convert its Mangala pipeline into a fully-solar operated pipeline.

“At Cairn, we are firmly committed to fulfilling India’s domestic energy demand while also encouraging sustainability in practices," Cairn deputy CEO Prachur Sah said. "Our association with Baker Hughes brings the best of technology to contribute to India’s green energy basket.

"Across the world, there is a drive to promote geothermal energy production from dying oil fields and at Cairn, we are committed to bringing the best of global practices to India and aid our country’s journey towards energy aatmanirbharta [self-reliance].”

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