| Title | Alternate Operating Strategies for Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Reservoirs |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robinson, Bruce A. |
| Year | 1991 |
| Conference | Geothermal Resources Council Transactions |
| Keywords | Hot Dry Rock; Engineering; USA; New Mexico; Fenton Hill; Reservoir Engineering; Reservoir Parameters; Tracer; Modeling; Long Term Flow Test; Water Loss; Injection well; Joint Dilation; Heat Mining; Microseismic; Production Well; Heat Extraction |
| Abstract | Flowing testing and heat extraction experiments in prototype Hot Dry Rock (HDR) geothermal reservoirs have uncovered several challenges which must be addressed before commercialization of the technology is possible. Foremost among these is the creation of a reservoir which simultaneously possesses high permeability pathways and a large volume of fractured rock. The current concept of heat extraction - a steady state circulation system with fluid pumping from the injection well to a single, low pressure production well - may limit our ability to create heat extraction systems which meet these goals. A single injection well feeding two production wells producing fluid at moderate pressures is shown to be potentially superior way to extract heat. Cyclic production is also demonstrated to have potential as a method for sweeping fluid through a larger volume of rock there by inhibiting flow channeling and increasing reservoir lifetime. |