Renewable Energy Projects in France
In 2008, Vermilion teamed up with four agricultural engineers who wanted to create an economically and ecologically viable greenhouse operation in which to grow tomatoes. The concept was to use geothermal energy from our Parentis oilfield’s produced water to supply an industrial-sized tomato greenhouse operation. Today, this ongoing operation has catalyzed an entire agricultural sector, and we have expanded the concept to heating residential neighbourhood and a microalgae producer, and a college in three additional communities in France. This represents strong partnerships developed over the years that represent added value for the areas that host our activities. 203-2
In Parentis, our commitment to provide heat free-of-charge and free of carbon emissions for 25 years has made the greenhouse operation profitable to build and operate, which in turn has enabled our partners to expand and attracted other business to the area.
We are incredibly proud of the role we played in this economic growth, with its social and environmental benefits. Not only have we helped create new jobs in a new industry, we have effectively decoupled economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions for this sector.Here's how it grew.
The mayor of Parentis brought Vermilion and the tomato growers together in the mid-2000s. The ensuing discussions led to the rezoning and issuance of related municipal permits, and the signing of our 25-year partnership agreement. Tom D’Aqui (the tomato growing cooperative) built their first 10-hectare greenhouse next to our Parentis battery, we installed the heat exchange technology and brought the operation online in 2012, establishing that this model not only worked, but worked well.
- Vermilion's petroleum extraction process in the Parentis field produces a mix of oil, gas and water, which is naturally heated to around 60°C.
- Once the oil and gas are separated out, the heated water enters a "closed loop" system where heat exchangers transfer its caloric energy to a second water system belonging to Tom d'Aqui (while ensuring fluids from the two water systems never come into contact).
- The second water system heats the Tom d'Aqui greenhouse located next to the Parentis battery.
- Vermilion reuses the produced water by pumping it back underground to maintain reservoir operating pressures and enhance production.
Within the overall agricultural sector listed above, the direct impact of our produced water geothermal system includes:
- 7,500 tonnes of tomatoes grown annually in 15 hectares of greenhouses
- 10,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases avoided each year
- 250 direct jobs
This system also allows the Tom d’Aqui greenhouse to be heated without carbon emissions, a key element in their certification as an eco-greenhouse. The project also reduces the cost of traditional tomato growing operations in the region, allowing the producers to compete with warmer climate producers.
This shared focus on innovative technology and environmental responsibility earned our partnership the 2013 Circular Economy Award for Industrial and Regional Ecology from the French government, recognizing economically successful enterprises that operate within a circular economy. G4-OG2/3
By demonstrating proof-of-concept, our partnership with Tom d’Aqui has been credited as being a catalyst for three new projects launched independently of Vermilion. It has also attracted other business to the area, creating an agricultural sector that has become an important factor within the region’s economy. Our heat contributes 40% of the sector’s needs; the other projects have been developed using recycled biomass, with the result that this is now the largest tomato production in France from non-fossil fuel sources, including:
- 15,000 tonnes of CO2 avoided every year
- 15,000 tonnes of fresh tomatoes produced annually
- 27 hectares of greenhouses built, comprising four greenhouses
- 350 long-term jobs created, and
- 37 million euros invested in economic diversification in a rural area
Based on our success, we supported AVENIA, an industry partnership that advises the French government on energy, to launch an industry and country-wide study to identify the potential for waste energy use from oil and gas operations. In addition to contributing financial support, we provided the expertise of our people, and actively encouraged other companies to participate. The results were shared following a detailed review by AVENIA.
We are using a similar geothermal concept to support an Eco-Neighborhood in La-Teste. This 30-year partnership with the city and the French land developer Pichet is using our geothermal energy to heat 550 apartments, saving 50% of the heating bill for the residents and 500 tonnes per year of CO2. The community, which has reserved one third of the apartments for low-income social housing, also features a community centre and various sports facilities. The technology works the same way as in our greenhouse partnership:
- Vermilion produces oil from three fields in the Arcachon Basin (part of the Aquitaine Basin): Les Mimosas, Les Pins and Les Arbousiers. The production is gathered in a central battery where approximately 1,000 m3/day of water at a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius is produced along with the oil.
- A heat exchanger on our battery allows the transfer of the energy from the produced water to the eco-neighborhood, producing up to 80% of the heat needed; the remaining 20% will be supplied by the use of gas resulting from biomass, thanks to a COFELY/ENGIE boiler.
In addition, our Les Pins asset began providing geothermal heat to Archachon school in late 2021.
