The Cairn Oil & Gas, India’s largest private oil and gas exploration and production company, has signed a contract with Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, to harness geothermal energy from its repurposed oil and gas wells in Rajasthan.

On successful execution, the contract will help Cairn Oil & Gas co-produce up to 2.4 MW of electricity along with oil and gas and offset 17,000 tons of greenhouse gas per annum. This contract follows Cairn Oil & Gas’ recently announced ESG roadmap where it is committed to becoming a net-zero company by 2050, a spokesperson said here on Friday.

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Speaking on the development, Prachur Sah, Deputy CEO, Cairn Oil & Gas, said, “At Cairn, we are firmly committed to fulfilling India’s domestic energy demand while also encouraging sustainability in practices. 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.”

Neeraj Sethi, Country Director-India & Bangladesh, Baker Hughes said, “With Baker Hughes’ and Cairn Vedanta’s strong relationship, we are excited to work with Cairn on their journey towards net-zero by 2050. We will jointly conduct a feasibility study for re-purposing existing oil and gas wells drilled in high-temperature formations to generate geothermal energy. 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.”

Based on preliminary studies, hydrocarbon wells in and around the Raageshwari Deep Gas field (Barmer Basin, Rajasthan) have been identified for the production of geothermal energy. The contract between Cairn Oil & Gas and Baker Hughes will be executed in phases that include studying the feasibility and potential for the generation of geothermal energy by repurposing producing or exploratory hydrocarbon (oil and gas) wells, designing the concept of the project, a pilot project to test the concept and, subsequently, execute the full-scale project.

The first step of conducting the feasibility study of the project is set to be completed four months from the start of the project. The feasibility study stage will include geoscience data integration and interpretation, the study of the geothermal potential of the area, mandatory field visits to assess surface facilities, the development of a thorough review report, etc.

The agreement for geothermal energy exploration with Baker Hughes follows the ESG roadmap announced by Cairn Oil & Gas in February this year. The ESG objectives of the company focus on uplifting the lives of people in operational areas through sustainable livelihood opportunities to 1 million people, educating ~9 million students by 2030 through digital education programs alongside uplifting 20 million women and children through education, nutrition, healthcare, and welfare.