Sustainable Development Challenges in Geothermal and Petroleum

Due to the dwindling sources of oil and gas, its role in fueling conflict coupled with global warming concerns, emphasis has shifted to finding alternative energy sources. Geothermal energy is one of the most plausible choices, majorly because it's renewable, sustainable and environmentally friendly. . Both energy resources originate from the earth and a number of techniques in the exploration and development of geothermal are a brain child of Oil and gas. These however have not been deployed without alteration in geothermal due to difference in the reservoir formations of both energies. Geothermal mines heat while oil mines fluid. A quick understanding and comparative study of the nature of these energies ascertain the feasibility of geothermal replacing oil and gas reveals that the principal difference between the two energies is sustainability and though feasible, geothermal is unable presently to replace oil and gas in the transport sector. It further illuminates the hurdles encompassing geothermal development such as high drilling costs that translate into escalated costs of geothermal energy and how the solutions are still strongly intertwined with oil and gas.