Page 10 - Policy Economic Report - August 2025

POLICY AND ECONOMIC REPORT
OIL & GAS MARKET

Figure 4: Merchandise trade volume growth, 2023-26 (% annual change)

Source- WTO

2. Geothermal Energy Could Meet 15% of Global Power Demand by 2050: IEA

Geothermal capacity has the potential to meet up to 15% of the global electricity demand growth by 2050
with continued technological improvements and a reduction in project costs, according to the
International Energy Agency’s (IEA) ‘The Future of Geothermal Energy’ report.

The geothermal energy potential is increasing as developers access higher heat resources at greater
depths by exploring and utilizing newer technologies. Primarily, two new drilling methods, geothermal
systems (EGS) and advanced geothermal systems (AGS), are being explored. These methods reduce the
need for natural-reservoir dependency and enable the technical exploitation of geothermal heat in almost
any location. These new drilling technologies, which explore resources at depths beyond 3 km, increase
the potential for geothermal energy in nearly all countries.

Utilizing thermal resources at depths below 8 km can provide nearly 600 TW of geothermal capacity with
an operating lifespan of 25 years. According to the report, Africa has one-fifth (115 TW) of EGS power
potential and the largest untapped conventional geothermal potential. The technical potential of
geothermal energy would be more than enough to meet all electricity and heat demand in Africa, China,
Europe, Southeast Asia, and the U.S.

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