The impacts of mechanical stress transfers caused by hydromechanical and thermal processes on fault stability during hydraulic stimulation in a deep geothermal reservoir

Jeanne, Pierre; Rutqvist, Jonny; Dobson, Patrick; Walters, Mark; Hartline, Craig; García, Julio

doi:10.1016/j.ijrmms.2014.09.005

Cited by 61 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The coupled THM models of the EGS used for calibration of permeability distribution were developed progressively, e.g., going from a 2D plane model with a shear-zone network (Jeanne et al, 2014a) to a full 3D model (Jeanne et al, 2014b), and an explicit well model that considered well-head pressure rather than bottom-hole pressure (Jeanne et al, 2014c). More pressure monitoring data were also included in the analysis as they became available, ending in Jeanne et al (2014c) with a calibration to pressure monitoring data from three wells (PS-31, P-25, P-38) over a 450-day period.…”

Section: Estimation Of Permeability Distribution Using Pressure Monitmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Northwest Geysers EGS Demonstration Project, California – Part 2: Modeling and interpretation

et al. 2016

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a b s t r a c tIn this paper, we summarize the results of coupled thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical (THM) modeling in support of the Northwest Geysers EGS Demonstration Project, which aims at enhancing production from a known High Temperature Reservoir (HTR) (280-400 • C) located under the conventional (240 • C) geothermal steam reservoir. The THM modeling was conducted to investigate geomechanical effects of cold-water injection during the stimulation of the EGS, first to predict the extent of the stimulation zone for a given injection schedule, and then to conduct interpretive analyses of the actual stimulation. By using a calibrated THM model based on historic injection and microseismic data at a nearby well, we could reasonably predict the extent of the stimulation zone around the injection well, at least for the first few months of injection. However, observed microseismic evolution and pressure responses over the one-year stimulation-injection revealed more heterogeneous behavior as a result of more complex geology, including a network of shear zones. Therefore, for an interpretive analysis of the one-year stimulation campaign, we included two sets of vertical shear zones within the model; a set of more permeable NWstriking shear zones and a set of less permeable NE-striking shear zones. Our modeling indicates that the microseismic events in this system are related to shear reactivation of pre-existing fractures, triggered by the combined effects of injection-induced cooling around the injection well and rapid (but small) changes in steam pressure as far as a kilometer from the injection well. Overall, the integrated monitoring and modeling of microseismicity, ground surface deformations, reservoir pressure, fluid chemical composition, and seismic tomography depict an EGS system hydraulically bounded by some of the NE-striking low permeability shear zones, with the more permeable NW-striking shear zone providing liquid flow paths for stimulation deep (several kilometers) down into the HTR. The modeling indicates that a significant mechanical degradation (damage) inferred from seismic tomography, and potential changes in fracture porosity inferred from cross-well pressure responses, are related to shear rupture in the stimulation zone driven by both pressure and cooling effects.

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Section: Estimation Of Permeability Distribution Using Pressure Monitmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Northwest Geysers EGS Demonstration Project, California – Part 2: Modeling and interpretation

et al. 2016

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“…2011), TOUGH-FLAC was expanded to applications, including geomechanical aspects of CO 2 sequestration and fault activation, geomechanical effects in gas production from hydrate bearing sediments, and geothermal energy production. Since 2011, TOUGH-FLAC applications have been further broadened along with an increasing number of users, including continued modeling of geomechanical aspects of CO 2 sequestration (Cappa and Mazzoldi et al, 2012;Rinaldi and Rutqvist, 2013;Jeanne et al, 2014a;Konstantinovskaya et al, 2014;Rinaldi et al, 2014aRinaldi et al, , b, 2015aFigueiredo et al, 2015), nuclear waste disposal , enhanced geothermal systems (Jeanne et al, 2014b(Jeanne et al, -d, 2015aRutqvist et al, 2015a;Rinaldi et al, 2015b), underground gas storage and compressed air energy storage 2015), and gas production from hydrate bearing formations ).…”

Section: Tough-flacmentioning

confidence: 99%

An overview of TOUGH-based geomechanics models

Rutqvist

2017

Computers & Geosciences

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After the initial development of the first TOUGH-based geomechanics model 15 years ago based on linking TOUGH2 multiphase flow simulator to the FLAC3D geomechanics simulator, at least 15 additional TOUGH-based geomechanics models have appeared in the literature. This development has been fueled by a growing demand and interest for modeling coupled multiphase flow and geomechanical processes related to a number of geoengineering applications, such as in geologic CO 2 sequestration, enhanced geothermal systems, unconventional hydrocarbon production, and most recently, related to reservoir stimulation and injection-induced seismicity. This paper provides a brief overview of these TOUGHbased geomechanics models, focusing on some of the most frequently applied to a diverse set of problems associated with geomechanics and its couplings to hydraulic, thermal and chemical processes.

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“…The main focus of current research is to quantify stress changes due to anthropogenic underground usage (McClure and Horne, 2014;Jeanne et al, 2014;Orlecka-Sikora, 2010;Gaucher et al, 2015;Magri et al, 2013). Induced changes of the 3-D stress state in geo-reservoirs are simulated with thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) models since the treatment of the underground, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Induced changes of the 3-D stress state in geo-reservoirs are simulated with thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) models since the treatment of the underground, e.g. the rate of injected fluid or the amount of mass removal, is well known (Kohl and Mégel, 2007;Gaucher et al, 2015;Van Wees et al, 2014;Jeanne et al, 2014;Cacace et al, 2013;Rutqvist et al, 2013;Magri et al, 2013). However, to assess whether the subsurface engineering pushes the system into a critical stress state in terms of absolute values, knowledge of the contemporary in situ stress, i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A multi-stage 3-D stress field modelling approach exemplified in the Bavarian Molasse Basin

Ziegler

Heidbach

Reinecker³

et al. 2016

Solid Earth

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Abstract. The knowledge of the contemporary in situ stress state is a key issue for safe and sustainable subsurface engineering. However, information on the orientation and magnitudes of the stress state is limited and often not available for the areas of interest. Therefore 3-D geomechanicalnumerical modelling is used to estimate the in situ stress state and the distance of faults from failure for application in subsurface engineering. The main challenge in this approach is to bridge the gap in scale between the widely scattered data used for calibration of the model and the high resolution in the target area required for the application. We present a multi-stage 3-D geomechanical-numerical approach which provides a state-of-the-art model of the stress field for a reservoir-scale area from widely scattered data records. Therefore, we first use a large-scale regional model which is calibrated by available stress data and provides the full 3-D stress tensor at discrete points in the entire model volume. The modelled stress state is used subsequently for the calibration of a smaller-scale model located within the large-scale model in an area without any observed stress data records. We exemplify this approach with two-stages for the area around Munich in the German Molasse Basin. As an example of application, we estimate the scalar values for slip tendency and fracture potential from the model results as measures for the criticality of fault reactivation in the reservoir-scale model. The modelling results show that variations due to uncertainties in the input data are mainly introduced by the uncertain material properties and missing S H max magnitude estimates needed for a more reliable model calibration. This leads to the conclusion that at this stage the model's reliability depends only on the amount and quality of available stress information rather than on the modelling technique itself or on local details of the model geometry. Any improvements in modelling and increases in model reliability can only be achieved using more high-quality data for calibration.

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The impacts of mechanical stress transfers caused by hydromechanical and thermal processes on fault stability during hydraulic stimulation in a deep geothermal reservoir

Cited by 61 publications

References 31 publications

The Northwest Geysers EGS Demonstration Project, California – Part 2: Modeling and interpretation

The Northwest Geysers EGS Demonstration Project, California – Part 2: Modeling and interpretation

An overview of TOUGH-based geomechanics models

A multi-stage 3-D stress field modelling approach exemplified in the Bavarian Molasse Basin

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