The design and results of a cyclic hydraulic fracturing experiment performed to enhance the productivity of the geothermal research well at Groß Schönebeck (Germany) are presented. The stimulation carried out in the low-permeability volcanics of the Lower Rotliegend (Lower Permian) included alternating stages with cyclic changes of low and high flow rates with up to 150 L/s over six days in conjunction with the addition of quartz sand to support fracture opening. There was rapid water level increase in an adjacent well due to the stimulation (i.e. water injection). The subsequent production test showed the success of the fracture treatment, with the overall productivity of the treated well being increased by a factor of four.
Understanding hydrothermal processes during production is critical to optimal geothermal reservoir management and sustainable utilization. This study addresses the hydrothermal (HT) processes in a geothermal research doublet consisting of the injection well E GrSk3/90 and production well Gt GrSk4/05 at the deep geothermal reservoir of Groß Schö nebeck (north of Berlin, Germany) during geothermal power production. The reservoir is located between )4050 to )4250 m depth in the Lower Permian of the Northeast German Basin. Operational activities such as hydraulic stimulation, production () change the HT conditions of the geothermal reservoir. The most significant changes affect temperature, mass concentration and pore pressure. These changes influence fluid density and viscosity as well as rock properties such as porosity, permeability, thermal conductivity and heat capacity. In addition, the geometry and hydraulic properties of hydraulically induced fractures vary during the lifetime of the reservoir. A three-dimensional reservoir model was developed based on a structural geological model to simulate and understand the complex interaction of such processes. This model includes a full HT coupling of various petrophysical parameters. Specifically, temperature-dependent thermal conductivity and heat capacity as well as the pressure-, temperature-and mass concentration-dependent fluid density and viscosity are considered. These parameters were determined by laboratory and field experiments. The effective pressure dependence of matrix permeability is less than 2.3% at our reservoir conditions and therefore can be neglected. The results of a threedimensional thermohaline finite-element simulation of the life cycle performance of this geothermal well doublet indicate the beginning of thermal breakthrough after 3.6 years of utilization. This result is crucial for optimizing reservoir management.
This study addresses the thermal-hydraulic-mechanical and chemical (THMC) behaviour of a research well doublet consisting of the injection well E GrSk 3/90 and the production well Gt GrSk 4/05 A(2) in the deep geothermal reservoir of Groß Schönebeck (north of Berlin, Germany). The reservoir is located between 3815 and 4247 m below sea level in the Lower Permian of the North German Basin (NGB). Both wells were hydraulically stimulated to enhance productivity. For the production well three stimulation treatments were performed in 2007: these three treatments result in a productivity increase from 2.4 m 3 /(hMPa) to
Reasons for injectivity decline were investigated in a low-enthalpy geothermal aquifer in Klaipeda (Lithuania). It is one of the study sites within the DESTRESS project, which demonstrates different stimulation techniques in geothermal reservoirs. Due to low injectivity, production rates from the Lithuanian field are currently reduced, which lead to negative commercial implications for the site. Productivity from the same wells is measured to be 40 times higher. Injectivity decline in aquifers is often related to clogging processes in spatially correlated highly permeable structures, which control the main flow volume. We subdivided clogging processes into (1) physical, (2) chemical, and (3) biological processes and studied them by analyzing fluid and solid samples as well as operational data. The methods we used are fluid and solid analyses in situ, in the laboratory and in experimental setups, statistical interpretation, and numerical modeling. Our results show that the spatially correlating nature of permeable structures is responsible for exponentially decreasing injectivity because few highly permeable zones clog rapidly by intruded particles. In particular, field operations cause changes of the physical, chemical, and biological processes in the aquifer. Mineral precipitation and corrosion are the main chemical processes observed at our site. Microbial activity causes biofilm while fines migration is caused by changes in physical boundary conditions. Moreover, these processes can affect each other and generate further reactions, for example, microbial activity triggers corrosion in surface pipelines.
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