
FEASIBILITY STUDY OF POTENTIAL HYDROGEN PRODUCTION AND STORAGE IN SIRTE/LIBYA USING A WIND TURBINES FARM AS SUSTAINABLE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY APPLICATION
ABSTRACT
Sirte is a Mediterranean coastal city located on the north of Libya with a population of 70,000. Due to the availability of wind energy, it is significant that this abundance of wind energy should be utilized to generally reduce the dependence on fossil fuels in daily use and gradually transition to clean and green energy in order to minimize environmental pollution and reduce life-threatening risks as a result.
Moreover, green hydrogen production and storage utilizing wind turbines marks a significant stride in renewable energy technologies, providing a sustainable substitute for fossil fuels, as well as greatly contributing to improving the country’s economy and creating employment opportunities for new and recently graduated students.
Recently, the commercial production and storage of green hydrogen using renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, geothermal energy, and wind turbines, has emerged as a promising solution worldwide. These energy sources, especially wind turbines as green energy, have gained significant acceptance and are extensively utilized in some industrialized countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, and others.
The objective of this paper is to theoretically provide a comprehensive feasibility study of the required methodologies and technologies employed in potential green hydrogen production and storage using sustainable energy, with a particular focus on their applicability to wind energy systems in Sirte, Libya. Furthermore, the paper focuses on the initial wind turbine farm’s design based on the actual average wind speed in Sirte, as recorded by both the Global Wind Atlas and the local meteorological station.
This design estimates the rated energy extracted from the kinetic wind energy and illustrates the amount of energy physically generated and eventually utilized to produce green hydrogen.
KEYWORDS
wind turbine, renewable energy, green hydrogen production, storage cost, wind farm design.
1. INTRODUCTION
In the power grid, the increasing presence of renewable energy poses new challenges due to its fluctuating power supply, making the development of innovative energy storage methods crucial; hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen, has the potential to serve as both an energy storage solution and a means of transportation, playing a significant role in the future hydrogen economy by offering a cleaner energy alternative, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and addressing climate change effectively. The feasibility of producing green hydrogen with wind turbines offers a promising opportunity to sustainably meet industrial hydrogen needs, advancing environmentally friendly and cost-efficient production methods compared to current approaches (Sedai et al., 2023). As part of the hydrogen economy, hydrogen is seen as a sustainable energy carrier for sectors such as transportation, manufacturing, and electricity generation, helping lower carbon emissions in industries where direct electricity usage is challenging (Rampai et al., 2024). Wind turbines generate the necessary power for the electrolysis process, ensuring efficient hydrogen production, and selecting the optimal wind power system size is critical to maximizing hydrogen output.
2. PAPER AIM AND OBJECTIVE
The aim of this work is theoretically proposed a comprehensive feasibility study of the required methodologies and technologies employed in potential green hydrogen production and storage using sustainable energy, with a particular focus on their applicability of wind energy systems in Sirte-Libya. As well as showing the offshore wind turbine farm design that required to provide the electrical energy to operate and produce the green hydrogen and appropriately store it.
3. RESEARCH METHODS AND TECHNIQUES
This research has mainly based on real data obtained from Global Wind Atlas and local weather stations in Sirte region as well as benchmarking some advanced industrialized countries, which well known and considered as leaders in hydrogen production and storage technologies. The paper has proposed offshore rather than onshore wind turbine farm is to positively expand in wind turbine design in term of the blade diameter and the wind turbine tower height.
4.THE WIND TURBINES FARM INITIAL DESIGN
Based on the real wind speed measurements, the wind in Sirte reaches 8.24 m/s at height 100 m. According to Global Wind Atlas, the figure1 shows the direction and frequency of the predominating wind, which is Northeast to Northwest. When designing, it is essential to knowledge wind speed and direction, temperature, and humidity, along with the geographical features around the farm, including the length of the roughness and the depth of the seawater.Initially, 600,000 tons should be converted into kilograms: 600,000 * 1000 = 600 M KG Then calculate annual energy production (AEP): 600 ∗ 106 ∗ 55 ∗ 103 = 33000 𝐺𝑊𝐻 Assuming the farm operates year-round, the maximum power generated may be computed as: 𝑃 = 𝐴𝐸𝑃\8760𝐻 (1)
The maximum power generated per hour is 3.77 GW. The number of turbines required to operate the plant is 243 turbines with a capacity of 15.5 megawatts per turbine. However, it is important to consider that the turbines do not operate at full efficiency throughout the year due to wind fluctuations.

The RUNSPEC to SUMMARY for the horizontal and multilateral scenarios
was same. In the SCHEDULE section, the changes were done for both instances.
The opposing multilateral well, which was stacked dual, was the multilateral kind that was employed. The well segments and all connections were defined by the WELSEGS input, which was appended to the multilateral input in the SCHEDULE section. Additionally, the COMPSEGS, which was added after the WELSEGS input, described the strata that the well segments are traversing.
3.3 Simulation Run
The reservoir model’s oil zone contained the horizontal well, which served as the base-case. The horizontal and multilateral wells’ vertical sections were positioned at 7020 feet (layer 10) on the x-axis and 7009 feet (layer 5) on the y-axis. To identify the optimal layers with the highest output, the two laterals for the multilateral well were positioned at various depths within the oil rim zone. To determine the ideal placement, the horizontal well section was positioned at various depths within the oil rim zone. Figures 1 and 2, respectively, depict the horizontal and multilateral placement of the reservoir wells. The outcomes were examined and contrasted.
3.4 Cost Analysis
The revenue from both wells was compared by multiplying the current oil price by the total amount of oil produced from both wells in order to evaluate the costs of the multilateral and horizontal wells.
3.5 Sensitivity Analysis
To determine the impact on oil recovery, a sensitivity analysis was conducted by altering the laterals’ positions at various depths, well diameters, and oil prices, as indicated in Table 3. The ideal site for the horizontal segment of the horizontal well was determined by placing wells at various depths of 7030, 7040, and 7050 feet in the reservoir model to test the effect of standoff. In order to observe the impact of stand-off on oil recovery from the reservoir, the top lateral of the multilateral well was positioned at a depth of 7030 and 7066 feet, 7040 feet, and 7066 and 7066 feet for both laterals. The results were analyzed and compared with one another. The bottom lateral was left constant.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In order to maximize oil output, this research presents the outcomes of several changes made to the horizontal and multilateral wells see Figure 1 to 3. Additionally, studies on sensitivity analysis and cost evaluations are provided.
4.1 Model Structure

Figure 1: 3D view of the reservoir model
4.2 Well Scenarios

Figure 2: Horizontal Well in the Oil Rim Reservoir

Figure 3: Multilateral Well in the Oil Rim Reservoir
Following the placement of the horizontal well section at various depths, the optimal lateral site was determined to be 7050 feet, with a total field oil production of 132 MSTB.
With regard to the multilateral, the top lateral at 7030 feet and the bottom lateral at 7066 feet of the reservoir had the best recovery see Figure.4. As a result of the placement, 134 MSTB of field oil were produced. An overview of the output produced by executing the data file for the multilateral and horizontal well models

Figure 4: Field oil production total for both scenarios
4.3 Cost Analysis
In an oil rim reservoir, the multilateral well offsets the high initial costs and hazards associated with multilateral completion by delivering a higher field oil producing total than the horizontal well, as shown by the plots in Figure. 4 and the production data in Table 5. From Table 5, it is observed that the profit gained from the multilateral well is $116,424 higher than that of the horizontal well in the reservoir.

4.4 Horizontal Well Scenario
Based on Table 6, above, it can be inferred that the best optimum production is presented by placing the lateral at 7040 feet because of the coning effect. This means that a well’s production increases with proximity to the water-oil contact, but it also produces more water, which can cause early water coning. Conversely, a well’s recovery decreases with distance from the water-oil contact, but it also produces more gas, which can cause early


Sensitivity Analysis
Effect of Standoff
Multilateral Well Scenario
According to Table 7, the laterals placed at 7030 and 7066 feet produced the most, but they also produced the most gas and water, which will cause early gas and water coning. Thus, the best alternative is to locate the laterals at 7066 feet, opposite one another, and near the water-oil contact at both laterals


Figure 5: Plot of Sensitivity Analysis of varying Well Diameter
4.5 Effect of Variable Well Diameter on Oil Recovery
As seen in Figure 5 and Table 8, as long as the diameter difference stays within the allowed range (± 20%), the impact of liner size on oil production is minimal. However, the production volume in the oil rim reservoir decreases with increasing well diameter.


4.5 Effect of Variable Well Diameter on Oil Recovery
As seen in Figure 5 and Table 8, as long as the diameter difference stays within the allowed range (± 20%), the impact of liner size on oil production is minimal. However, the production volume in the oil rim reservoir decreases with increasing well diameter.
4.6 Effect of Varying Oil Price on Revenue
According to Table 9 above, the reservoir generates more money when the price of oil is higher and less revenue when the price of oil is lower. As a result, revenue is greatly impacted by the price of oil.
5. CONCLUSION
Adopting multilateral wells on new or existing hydrocarbon platforms—in this case, the oil rim reservoir—is said to boost production output. The multilateral well’s primary obstacles have been the initial completion, dependability, and risk considerations.
Using sensitivity analysis, cost analysis, and production simulations to put a multilateral well in a thin oil rim reservoir, the following promising outcomes were obtained:
i. Considerable The multilateral well’s effective placement resulted in a production rise. The field oil production total of 134 MSTB, which was higher than that of the horizontal well, was used to infer these findings.
ii. Examining the impact of standoff from the reservoir, it was found that for a large gas cap reservoir, the oil recovery is higher but the water production leads to early water coning when the distance between the laterals and the water-oil contact is small. For a multilateral well, the highest production was obtained when the top lateral was farther from the bottom lateral but it has the maximum gas and water production that will lead to early gas and water coning. Consequently, the best alternative is to position the laterals across from one another and near the water-oil contact at both laterals.
iii. The multilateral well turned out to be more economically feasible when the earnings from the two wells were compared.
iv. The profit was significantly impacted by sensitivity analysis on a number of variables, including a decrease and an increase in the price of oil. Additionally, if the fluctuation was within the range of ±20%, the variations in well diameter were insignificant.
v. Well design has a significant impact on productivity in oil rim reservoirs.
RECOMMENDATION
This model is a homogeneous model. As a recommendation, this study should continue with the heterogeneous reservoir model.
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