| Title | Stimulation of Geothermal Wells, Can We Afford It? |
|---|---|
| Authors | Magaly Flores-Armenta, David Davies, Gary Couples and Bjarni Palsson |
| Year | 2005 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | matrix acidising, hydraulic fracturing, thermal fracturing, techno-economic study |
| Abstract | Unexpected, low production rates in a geothermal well can occur due to several causes: e.g. formation damage, completion effects or lack of connectivity to main fluid conduits. Stimulation treatments have been successfully applied in many cases to increase the well production rate to commercial levels. These stimulation techniques were originally developed to address similar problems in oil and gas production wells. The applicability of these stimulation techniques to a high temperature, naturally-fractured reservoir is less well known. This is particularly relevant since oil and gas field experience has shown that fractured formations have often proven to be one of the most difficult well types to treat. This paper addresses the twin questions of whether stimulation technology can be successfully applied: 1. Technically, to the high temperature environment of naturally fractured geothermal wells. 2. Commercially, to the different financial environment of the geothermal industry compared to that of the oilfield. This paper provides a comparative, techno-economic study of three well stimulation techniques (matrix acidising, hydraulic fracturing and thermal fracturing) within the technical and economic environments of two Power Companies: ComisiÛn Federal de Electricidad in MÈxico and Landsvirkjun in Iceland. Thermal fracturing is shown to be potentially the most attractive, but least understood, stimulation technique. There is currently no well-founded methodology to design such well treatments. Initial work, on a novel approach to develop a methodology to be able to efficiently design and execute such treatments, will be discussed. |