Analysis of heterogeneous characteristics in a geothermal area with low permeability and high temperature

Aragón-Aguilar, Alfonso; Izquierdo-Montalvo, Georgina; López-Blanco, Siomara; Arellano-Gómez, Víctor

doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2016.10.007

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, a number of critical studies exists (e.g. Bakhsh et al, 2016;Bauer et al, 2017;Bauer, 2018;Biemans, 2014;Diaz et al, 2016;Loveless et al, 2014) that discuss the risk and difficulties of exploring and exploiting fault zones as geothermal reservoirs. The two main concerns reported are that, first, the architecture of a fault at reservoir depth is, due to the heterogeneous nature of rocks and in particular that of the fault, difficult to predict, i.e.…”

Section: Faulted Reservoirsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…the geothermal reservoir potentially becomes restricted to the fault zone (e.g. Biemans, 2014;Bakhsh et al, 2016;Moeck, 2014). Thus, the exploitation of fault zones constitutes a trade-off between high permeability and reduced reservoir volumes.…”

Section: Faulted Reservoirsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These gradients dissipate at depth, especially in systems that contain low-permeability units that overlie geothermal reservoirs. However, lateral gradients can also be generated by a multitude of other processes, including sediment compaction, clay mineral diagenesis, and buoyancy caused by changes in temperature or salinity (Bachu, 1995;Ingebritsen et al, 2006). These are often an order of magnitude lower than the driving force generated by recharge and discharge at the land surface but have been shown to affect groundwater flow in a diverse range of geological settings (Garven, 1995;Ingebritsen et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A numerical sensitivity study of how permeability, porosity, geological structure, and hydraulic gradient control the lifetime of a geothermal reservoir

Bauer

Krumbholz

Luijendijk³

et al. 2019

Solid Earth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Geothermal energy is an important and sustainable resource that has more potential than is currently utilized. Whether or not a deep geothermal resource can be exploited, mostly depends on, besides temperature, the utilizable reservoir volume over time, which in turn largely depends on petrophysical parameters. We show, using over 1000 (n=1027) 4-D finite-element models of a simple geothermal doublet, that the lifetime of a reservoir is a complex function of its geological parameters, their heterogeneity, and the background hydraulic gradient (BHG). In our models, we test the effects of porosity, permeability, and BHG in an isotropic medium. Furthermore, we simulate the effect of permeability contrast and anisotropy induced by layering, fractures, and a fault. We quantify the lifetime of the reservoir by measuring the time to thermal breakthrough, i.e. how many years pass before the temperature of the produced fluid falls below the 100 ∘C threshold. The results of our sensitivity study attest to the positive effect of high porosity; however, high permeability and BHG can combine to outperform the former. Particular configurations of all the parameters can cause either early thermal breakthrough or extreme longevity of the reservoir. For example, the presence of high-permeability fractures, e.g. in a fault damage zone, can provide initially high yields, but it channels fluid flow and therefore dramatically restricts the exploitable reservoir volume. We demonstrate that the magnitude and orientation of the BHG, provided permeability is sufficiently high, are the prime parameters that affect the lifetime of a reservoir. Our numerical experiments show also that BHGs (low and high) can be outperformed by comparatively small variations in permeability contrast (103) and fracture-induced permeability anisotropy (101) that thus strongly affect the performance of geothermal reservoirs.

show abstract

Section: Faulted Reservoirsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Faulted Reservoirsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A numerical sensitivity study of how permeability, porosity, geological structure, and hydraulic gradient control the lifetime of a geothermal reservoir

Bauer

Krumbholz

Luijendijk³

et al. 2019

Solid Earth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The cap rock acted as a reservoir cover to prevent the geothermal fluid leak from the reservoir. Cap rock was impermeable or resistant to fluid pressure and it had a low resistivity value or referred to as a conductive layer [8]. Identification of the low resistivity layer at the "N" geothermal field was the main topic of this study because it was one of the important parts of geothermal exploration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of low resistivity layers in the “N” geothermal field using 2D magnetotelluric inversion modelling

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Magnetotelluric research in the “N” geothermal field has been carried out to see the subsurface detail in the “N” geothermal field. 2D inversion model is generated by secondary data from magnetotelluric data collection in the form of time series data to become 2D models. Magnetotellurics method is used to identify geothermal system components, especially identifying layers with low resistivity values (2 Ω.m - 10 Ω.m) or also called as the cap rock which is seen with a very contrasting color difference compared to the surrounding layers. There are manifestations on the “N” geothermal field which reinforce the assumption that there is a geothermal system in this area. This research begins by processing time series data to become apparent resistivity and phase data. Time series data processing in this study uses several processing methods to produce better apparent resistivity and phase data. The final result of this study is a 2D model that illustrates the contour of the resistivity value of rocks laterally or vertically. 2D model interpretation in this study identified the cap rock layer with low resistivity distribution (2 Ω.m - 10 Ω.m), the medium resistivity zone identified as the reservoir layer (11 Ω.m - 70 Ω.m), and the resistive zone which has high resistivity value (more than 70 Ω.m).

show abstract

“…The objective of this work is focused to show a heat stored evaluation methodology, using wells data located in a section of Los Humeros geothermal field (LHGF). This is classified as a geothermal field with high temperature but low permeability [9]. Even though the LHGF is the third producer field of electric generation in Mexico, heterogeneity of its rock formation, influences in production performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methodology Applied for Thickness Selection and Stored Heat Evaluation in Non-producer Geothermal Wells in Order to Its Investment Rescue

Aguilar

Montalvo

Serrato

et al. 2020

CJAST

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An assessment methodology of stored heat in rock formation surrounding to wellbore in geothermal systems is shown. Due to geothermal systems generally are nested in volcanic rock, it is characteristic its heterogeneous behavior. Proposed methodology starts since zone selection with possibilities of heat store. This methodology is focused to be applied in geothermal reservoirs with tendency to production decline, due to low permeability and unbalance between exploitation and water recharge. Because the high costs of drilling geothermal wells, methodology shown in this work is proposed to be applied in those with production decline or non-producers, in order to rescue its investment. The objective is to select the thickness with heat, evaluate its storage, design the appropriate instrumentation for its recovery, its energy conversion and rescue its investment done. The different designs for energy recovery using non-conventional methods to those, used habitually are reviewed. Each one of the variables for stored heat calculation was determined using technical tools of reservoir engineering. A parametric analysis about variables sensitivity (porosity and drainage radius) for determining thermal energy and corresponding electric energy of analyzed rock volume is done. Practical application of this methodology was carried out using data of one of wells of Los Humeros Mexican geothermal field.

show abstract

Analysis of heterogeneous characteristics in a geothermal area with low permeability and high temperature

Cited by 16 publications

References 9 publications

A numerical sensitivity study of how permeability, porosity, geological structure, and hydraulic gradient control the lifetime of a geothermal reservoir

A numerical sensitivity study of how permeability, porosity, geological structure, and hydraulic gradient control the lifetime of a geothermal reservoir

Identification of low resistivity layers in the “N” geothermal field using 2D magnetotelluric inversion modelling

Methodology Applied for Thickness Selection and Stored Heat Evaluation in Non-producer Geothermal Wells in Order to Its Investment Rescue

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About