| Title | Characterization of Reservoir Mass and Heat Flows -A Major Japanese Research Program |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tomonori Ide, Shigeyuki Yamazawa, Shozo Ichikawa and Toshiyuki Tosha |
| Year | 2000 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | well test, logging, reservoir management, geophysical monitoring, history matching |
| Abstract | Since 1997, the New Energy & Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has been developing technologies which will be useful for geothermal reservoir characterization and management. The program has two main R&D themes: development of technologies for (1) Characterization of the hydrological properties of fractures, and (2) Monitoring and modeling of reservoir mass and heat flows. The objectives of the first theme are to improve injection testing technology and techniques for downhole pressure monitoring in order to characterize hydrological properties of fractured reservoirs, and to develop new logging technology for estimating properties of fractures intersected by boreholes. The objectives of the second theme are to improve the technologies for precise measurements of changes in gravity, SP (self-potential), resistivity, micro-earthquakes and other events which occur when geothermal fluid is withdrawn from geothermal reservoirs or reinjected into the ground. It also aims to develop techniques for performing integrated analysis of various types of reservoir data, and to develop quantitative numerical reservoir modeling to forecast mass and heat flow changes. These technologies could contribute to minimizing the decrease of power generation output which often occurs during production history, and to increasing the overall power generating output by indicating geothermal fluid location in surrounding areas. |