The Helmholtz Alberta Initative is a German-Canadian collaboration that is seeking to reduce the environmental impact of oilsands production in Northern Alberta. Research is taking place in six themes.

I am leading Theme 4 that is investigating if geothermal energy could be used to generate heat for oilsands production in Alberta. Currently this heat is generated by burning large quantities of natural gas.

Details of the other themes can be found on Helmholtz Alberta Initiative website

Geothermal publications by HAI Theme 4

Majorowicz JA, MJ Unsworth et al, Geothermal Energy as a Source of Heat for Oil Sands Processing in Northern Alberta, Canada, AAPG studies in Geology, 64, Chapter 27, 2012. (PDF)

Gray DA, Majorowicz JA, MJ Unsworth, Investigation of the geothermal state sedimentary basins using oil industry thermal data: case study from Northern Alberta exhibiting the need to systematically remove biased data, Journal of Geophysics and Engineering, 9, 534-548, 2012. (PDF)

Majorowicz JA et al, The first deep heat flow determination in crystalline basement rocks beneath theWestern Canadian Sedimentary Basin Geophysical Journal International , published online March 2014. (PDF)

Geothermal literature

  • The Future of geothermal energy MIT report by Tester et al., (2006)
  • EGS potential in the Alberta Basin ISEEE report by Majorowicz and Moore, (2008)
  • Regional trends in radiogenic heat generation beneath the WCSB Jones and Majorowicz, GRL (1987)
  • Geothermal Energy Potential of Canada GSC Open File Report 6914, June 2011
  • CanGRC Review Canadian Geothermal Research Council, Summer 2011 Newsletter 2011

    Oilsands literature

  • Environmental and Health Impacts of Canada's Oil Sands Industry Royal Society of Canada report, (2010)
  • The Athabasca Oil Sands — a Regional Geological Perspective Hein and Cotterill, Natural Resources Research,(2006)
  • Time lapse photos of oil sands development (1984-2011) NASA Earth Observatory, World Of Change

    WWW links on geothermal energy

  • Elevated Crustal Temperatures in West Virginia: Potential for Geothermal Power , Blackwell et al., (2010)
  • Hot rocks and high hopes The Economist, Sept 2010
  • Are enhanced geothermal systems in trouble? Power and Energy, Sept 2010
  • Can Geothermal Energy Pick Up Real Steam? National Geographic, Dec 2010
  • ENGINE Enhanced Geothermal Innovative Network for Europe
  • Cooper Basin EGS in South Australia
  • Newberry EGS demonstration Pilot project in Oregon, developed by AltaRock
  • Ormat files for Mount Spurr geothermal exploration Petroleum News (Alaska), June 27, 2010

  • Ontario leads Canada in installation of geoexchange CleanBreak.ca, February 2012
  • Top 5 Reasons Why Geothermal Power is Nowhere in Canada February 26, 2014

    Last updated March 2012