| Title | ECOGI, a New Deep EGS Project in Alsace, Rhine Graben, France |
|---|---|
| Authors | Clément BAUJARD, Albert GENTER, Jean-Jacques GRAFF, Vincent MAURER, Eleonore DALMAIS |
| Year | 2015 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | EGS, Deep Geothermal Energy, Fractured Basement, Stimulation, Rittershoffen, France, ECOGI |
| Abstract | The ECOGI deep EGS geothermal project was initiated in 2011. ECOGI is a joint venture between “Electricité de Strasbourg” Group, “Roquette Frères” industrial partner, and the “Caisse des Dépôts et Consignation” institute. The drilling site is located in Rittershoffen, 6 km east of Soultz-sous-Forêts, in Northern Alsace. It is designed to deliver a power of 24 MWth to the “Roquette Frères” bio-refinery located in Beinheim in order to cover around 25% of their industrial heat needs. The project is supported by “ADEME” with the “Fond Chaleur”, “Conseil Régional d'Alsace” and “SAF Environnement”, as guarantor in case of unproductive well. The ECOGI project is the first project of a long-term strategy of this major energy player in Alsace. Results of the second borehole are expected during summer 2014. Vintage seismic profiles available in the vicinity of the project were reprocessed in 2012 using modern techniques leading to an updated geological interpretation of the Rittershoffen region. The drilling of the first well GRT-1, started in autumn 2012 and ended three months later when the well reached a depth of two and a half kilometers within the fractured granite basement. A reservoir development strategy was then designed in order to optimize and enhance the hydraulic properties of the well. The main operations were applied in two sequences, respectively in April 2013 and in June 2013. This strategy was successfully applied, as the hydraulic properties of the GRT-1 reached the target for an industrial development of the project. The reservoir temperature also reached the predictions, with temperatures above 160°C. An advanced seismological monitoring of the reservoir has been set up, allowing real-time location of induced seismic events, thus offering the best support for decision makers during operation. The seismic risk has been mitigated and no events were felt by the local populations despite a complex development of the seismicity in time. Two new seismic profiles were acquired during summer 2013 in order to produce a better structural image of the reservoir for targeting the second well, GRT-2. Several post processing strategies were applied to this newly acquired seismic data which improved the geometrical understanding of the major local faults. Combined with the numerous logs and hydraulic tests performed in GRT-1 well, GRT-2 target has been identified and the trajectory designed. Drilling of GRT-2 started in March 2014. |