Search Results (10)

Porosity and permeability alteration due to the thermo-poro-elastic stress field disturbance from the cold fluid injection is a deciding factor for longer, more economic, and safer heat extraction from an enhanced geothermal system (EGS). In the Soultz-sous-Forêts geothermal system, faulted zones are the main flow paths, and the resulting porosity–permeability development over time due to stress reorientation is more sensitive in comparison with the regions without faulted zones. Available operational and field data are combined through a validated numerical simulation model to examine the mechanical impact on the pressure and temperature evolution. Results shows that near the injection wellbore zones, permeability and porosity values are strongly affected by stress field changes, and that permeability changes will affect the overall temperature and pressure of the system, demonstrating a fully coupled phenomenon. In some regions inside the faulted zones and close to injection wellbores, porosity doubles, whereas permeability may be enhanced up to 30 times. A sensitivity analysis is performed using two parameters which are not well discussed in the literature the for mechanical aspect, but the results in this study show that one of them impacts significantly on the porosity–permeability changes. Further experimental and field works on this parameter will help to model the heat extraction more precisely than before. Full article

Scanlines constitute a robust method to better understand in 3D the fracture network variability in naturally fractured geothermal reservoirs. This study aims to characterize the spacing variability and the distribution of fracture patterns in a fracture granitic reservoir, and the impact of the major faults on fracture distribution and fluid circulation. The analogue target named the Noble Hills (NH) range is located in Death Valley (DV, USA). It is considered as an analogue of the geothermal reservoir presently exploited in the Upper Rhine Graben (Soultz-sous-Forêts, eastern of France). The methodology undertaken is based on the analyze of 10 scanlines located in the central part of the NH from fieldwork and virtual (photogrammetric models) data. Our main results reveal: (1) NE/SW, E/W, and NW/SE fracture sets are the most recorded orientations along the virtual scanlines; (2) spacing distribution within NH shows that the clustering depends on fracture orientation; and (3) a strong clustering of the fracture system was highlighted in the highly deformed zones and close to the Southern Death Valley fault zone (SDVFZ) and thrust faults. Furthermore, the fracture patterns were controlled by the structural heritage. Two major components should be considered in reservoir modeling: the deformation gradient and the proximity to the regional major faults. Full article

The geothermal powerplant of Soultz-sous-Forêts (France) is investigating the possibility of producing more energy with the same infrastructure by reinjecting the geothermal fluid at lower temperatures. Indeed, during the operation of the powerplant, the geothermal fluid is currently reinjected at 60–70 °C in a deep fractured granite reservoir, and the MEET project aims to test its reinjection at 40 °C. A 3D hydrothermal study was performed in order to evaluate the spreading of the thermal front during colder reinjection and its impact on the production temperature. In the first step, a 3D structural model at fault scale was created, integrating pre-existing models from 2D vintage seismic profiles, vertical seismic profiles, seismic cloud structure and borehole image logs calibrated with well data. This geometrical model was then adapted to be able to run hydrothermal simulation. In the third step, a 3D hydrothermal model was built based on the structural model. After calibration, the effect of colder reinjection on the production temperature was calculated. The results show that a decrease of 10 °C in the injection temperature leads to a drop in the production temperature of 2 °C after 2 years, reaching 3 °C after 25 years of operation. Lastly, the accuracy of the structural model on which the simulations are based is discussed and an update of the structural model is proposed in order to better reproduce the observations. Full article

Geothermal energy has been a subject of great interest since the 1990s in the Upper Rhine Graben (URG), where the first European Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) pilot site has been developed, in Soultz-sous-Forêts (SsF), France. Several studies have already been conducted on scales occurring at the reinjection side at the geothermal plants located in the URG. It has been observed that the composition of the scales changes as chemical treatment is applied to inhibit metal sulfate. The purpose of this study was to model the scaling phenomenon occurring in the surface pipes and the heat exchangers at the SsF geothermal plant. PhreeqC, a geochemical modelling software, was used to reproduce the scaling observations in the geothermal plant during exploitation. A suitable database was chosen based on the availability of chemical elements, minerals, and gas. A thermodynamic model and a kinetic model were proposed for modelling the scaling phenomenon. The thermodynamic model gave insight on possible minerals precipitated while the kinetic model, after modifying the initial rates equation, produced results that were close to the expected scale composition at the SsF geothermal plant. Additional laboratory studies on the kinetics of the scales are proposed to complement the current model. Full article

The deep geothermal energy project at Soultz-sous-Forêts is located in the Upper Rhine Graben, France. As part of the Multidisciplinary and multi-contact demonstration of EGS exploration and Exploitation Techniques and potentials (MEET) project, this study aimed to evaluate the possibility of extracting higher amounts of energy from the existing industrial infrastructure. To achieve this objective, the effect of reinjecting fluid at lower temperature than the current fluid injection temperature of 70 °C was modeled and the drop in the production wellhead temperature for 100 years of operation was quantified. Two injection-production rate scenarios were considered and compared for their effect on overall production wellhead temperature. For each scenario, reinjection temperatures of 40, 50, and 60 °C were chosen and compared with the 70 °C injection case. For the lower production rate scenario, the results show that the production wellhead temperature is approximately 1–1.5 °C higher than for the higher production rate scenario after 100 years of operation. In conclusion, no significant thermal breakthrough was observed with the applied flow rates and lowered injection temperatures even after 100 years of operation. Full article

We have performed several sensitivity studies to assess the ability of the Full Wave Inversion method to detect, delineate and characterize faults in a crystalline geothermal reservoir from OVSP data. The distant goal is to apply the method to the Soultz-sous-Forêts site (France). Our approach consists of performing synthetic Full Wave 2D Inversion experiments using offset vertical seismic and comparing the estimated fields provided by the inversion, i.e., the estimated underground images, to the initial reference model including the fault target. We first tuned the inversion algorithmic parameters in order to adapt the FWI software, originally dedicated to a sedimentary context, to a crystalline context. In a second step, we studied the sensitivity of the FWI fault imaging results as a function of the acquisition geometry parameters, namely, the number of shots, the intershot distance, the maximum offset and also the antenna length and well deviation. From this study, we suggest rules to design the acquisition geometry in order to improve the fault detection, delineation and characterization. In a third step, we studied the sensitivity of the FWI fault imaging results as a function of the fault or the fault zone characteristics, namely, the fault dip, thickness and the contrast of physical parameters between the fault materials and the surrounding fresh rocks. We have shown that a fault with high dip, between 60 and 90° as thin as 10 m (i.e. lower than a tenth of the seismic wavelength of 120 m for Vp and 70 m for Vs) can be imaged by FWI, even in the presence of additive gaussian noise. In summary, for a crystalline geological context, and dealing with acceptable S/N ratio data, the FWI show a high potential for accurately detecting, delineating and characterizing the fault zones. Full article

The Soultz-Sous-Forêts geothermal site (France) operates three deep wells for electricity production. During operation, scales precipitate within the surface installation as (Ba, Sr) sulfate and (Pb, As, Sb) sulfide types. Scales have an impact on lowering energy production and inducing specific waste management issues. Thus scaling needs to be reduced for which a thorough characterization of the scales has to be performed. The geothermal brine is produced at 160 °C and reinjected at 70 °C during normal operation. In the frame of the H2020 MEET project, a small heat exchanger was tested in order to allow higher energy production, by reinjecting the geothermal fluid at 40 °C. Samples of scales were analyzed by XRD and SEM-EDS, highlighting that mostly galena precipitates and shows various crystal shapes. These shapes can be related to the turbulence of the flow and the speed of crystal growth. Where the flow is turbulent (entrance, water box, exit), crystals grow quickly and mainly show dendritic shape. In the tubes, where the flow is laminar, crystals grow more slowly and some of them are characterized by well-developed faces leading to cubes and derived shapes. The major consequence of the temperature decrease is the increased scaling phenomenon. Full article

The main goal of this paper was to estimate the heat exchange rock mass volume of a hot dry rock (HDR) geothermal reservoir based on microseismicity location. There are two types of recorded microseismicity: induced by flowing fluid (wet microseismicity) and induced by stress mechanisms (dry microseismicity). In this paper, an attempt was made to extract events associated with the injected fluid flow. The authors rejected dry microseismic events with no hydraulic connection with the stimulated fracture network so as to avoid overestimating the reservoir volume. The proposed algorithm, which includes the collapsing method, automatic cluster detection, and spatiotemporal cluster evolution from the injection well, was applied to the microseismic dataset recorded during stimulation of the Soultz-sous-Forets HDR field in September 1993. The stimulated reservoir volume obtained from wet seismicity using convex hulls is approximately five times smaller than the volume obtained from the primary cloud of located events. Full article

Clay minerals are the signature of hydrothermal alterations related to fluid circulation in volcanic and crystalline rocks. In the French part of the Upper Rhine Graben, in the deep-seated granites, illitic minerals (illite and I/S mixed layers (ml)) are typical products of the structurally-controlled argillic alteration in the Paleozoic granitic basement. In the new Illkirch geothermal well, GIL-1, drill-cuttings were studied with various petrographic methods to determine the characteristics of illite in paleo- and present-permeable zones, and to compare the alteration mineralogy with that of geothermal Soultz-sous-Forêts and Rittershoffen sites. Alteration petrography, crystal structure as well as the chemical composition of the illitic minerals and the altered bulk rocks were performed all along the well. This complete characterization, combined with geophysical logs and structural results, highlighted that the illitic minerals at Illkirch, Soultz-sous-Forêts, and Rittershoffen are composed of illite and illite-rich illite-smectite mixed layers (I/S ml) (<10% smectite). Two mineralogical assemblages were distinguished: chlorite + illite resulting from the propylitic alteration after the emplacement of the granitic basement under temperatures higher than 350 °C, and illite + I/S ml + carbonates + quartz resulting from the argillic alteration due to fluid circulation in the fractures at temperatures between 130 and 160 °C. Fracture zones are characterized by the occurrence of illitic minerals (illite and I/S ml), and specifically, by higher quantities of I/S ml in present-day permeable zones than in paleo-permeable zones. A conceptual model of the fracture zones at the interface between the overlying sedimentary rocks and the granitic basement is proposed. The present-day permeability distribution is controlled by the fault and fracture network, which consists of sealed zones and unsealed zones. Fluid convection in the URG implies paleo and present fluids circulating in both fractured sedimentary and crystalline reservoirs. Such circulations develop illitic minerals that could be considered as exploration guides for future geothermal sites in the URG. At Illkirch, the repartition of the present-permeable fracture zones (KFZs) in the GIL-1 well indicates that the moderately argillically altered granite distally situated from the Eschau fault is more permeable than the intensely argillically altered granite close to the Eschau fault. Full article

The Upper Rhine Graben (URG) hosts thermal anomalies that account for the development of oil fields. Recently, a geothermal power plant has been installed in this area. Data obtained in this framework provide an insight into the temperature distribution in the URG. The present thermal gradient at Soultz-sous-Forêts is not linear: nearly 90 °C/km down to 1400 m depth, then about 12 °C/km from that depth down to 5000 m. The combination of temperature conditions and natural fluid circulation in fracture networks has led to the hydrothermal alteration of the granite into mineral assemblages such as those including illite, quartz and calcite. Illite is locally impregnated with organic matter of two kinds: a mature type derived from oil source rocks and a less mature type derived from surficial sedimentary layers indicating the km-scale of transfer. Newly formed crystals of quartz and calcite from around 2000 m depth record a fluid temperature range of 130 to 170 °C, consistent with modelling and the temperatures measured at present in the drill-holes at this depth. In such hydrothermally altered zones, local variations of temperature are encountered indicating current fluid flows that are being sought for geothermal purposes. Full article