Feasibility study of sedimentary enhanced geothermal systems using reservoir simulation
type: CreativeWork
description: The objective of this research is to evaluate the preliminary feasibility of commercial geothermal projects, from a sedimentary reservoir with low permeability that requires productivity enhancement, using numerical reservoir simulation. The performance of a sedimentary geothermal reservoir is investigated in terms of reservoir hydraulics and thermal evolution. To build a reliable benchmark for simulation study, validation of the numerical reservoir model with respect to an analytical model is presented, and the process to achieve an acceptable match between the numerical and analytical solutions is described. The analytical model used in this study is based on the work of Gringarten (1978), which consists of a conceptual geothermal reservoir, considering an injection and production well doublet in a homogeneous porous media. A commercial thermal reservoir simulator (STARS from Computer Modeling Group, CMG) is used in this work for numerical modeling. In order to reproduce the analytical model results, the numerical simulation model is modified to include the same assumptions of the analytical model. Simulation model parameters that make the numerical results deviate from the analytical solution, such as the grid block size, time step and no-flow boundary are identified and investigated. An analytical tracer test model proposed by Shook (2000) is numerically modeled. This model allows us to predict the time when the temperature of the produced water decreases by capturing a tracer component at production well. Reservoir simulation models with different porosity and permeability distribution are tested to see the effects of reservoir inhomogeneity and anisotropy. In particular, premature thermal breakthrough due to the presence of high permeability streak in a reservoir model is simulated. In an effort to apply the knowledge we obtained from the analytical solutions, the effects of reservoir rock and water properties, as a function of pressure and temperature, are in…
abstract: The objective of this research is to evaluate the preliminary feasibility of commercial geothermal projects, from a sedimentary reservoir with low permeability that requires productivity enhancement, using numerical reservoir simulation. The performance of a sedimentary geothermal reservoir is investigated in terms of reservoir hydraulics and thermal evolution. To build a reliable benchmark for simulation study, validation of the numerical reservoir model with respect to an analytical model is presented, and the process to achieve an acceptable match between the numerical and analytical solutions is described. The analytical model used in this study is based on the work of Gringarten (1978), which consists of a conceptual geothermal reservoir, considering an injection and production well doublet in a homogeneous porous media. A commercial thermal reservoir simulator (STARS from Computer Modeling Group, CMG) is used in this work for numerical modeling. In order to reproduce the analytical model results, the numerical simulation model is modified to include the same assumptions of the analytical model. Simulation model parameters that make the numerical results deviate from the analytical solution, such as the grid block size, time step and no-flow boundary are identified and investigated. An analytical tracer test model proposed by Shook (2000) is numerically modeled. This model allows us to predict the time when the temperature of the produced water decreases by capturing a tracer component at production well. Reservoir simulation models with different porosity and permeability distribution are tested to see the effects of reservoir inhomogeneity and anisotropy. In particular, premature thermal breakthrough due to the presence of high permeability streak in a reservoir model is simulated. In an effort to apply the knowledge we obtained from the analytical solutions, the effects of reservoir rock and water properties, as a function of pressure and temperature, are in…
author: Cho, Jae Kyoung
language: eng
language: English
keywords: EGS
identifier: T 7707
date published: 2015
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:41:48Z
provider: Colorado School of Mines
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Colorado School of Mines. Arthur Lakes Library

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/11124/17064