Prospects for Assessing Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) Basement Rock Flow Stimulation by Wellbore Temperature Data

• Main Authors: Peter Leary, Peter Malin, Tero Saarno, Ilmo Kukkonen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Fennoscandia
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/12/1979/pdf; https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/12/1979/

We use Matlab 3D finite element fluid flow/transport modelling to simulate localized wellbore temperature events of order 0.05–0.1 °C logged in Fennoscandia basement rock at ~1.5 km depths. The temperature events are approximated as steady-state heat transport due to fluid draining from the crust into the wellbore via naturally occurring fracture-connectivity structures. Flow simulation is based on the empirics of spatially-correlated fracture-connectivity fluid flow widely attested by well-log, well-core, and well-production data. Matching model wellbore-centric radial temperature profiles to a 2D analytic expression for steady-state radial heat transport with Peclet number P e ≡ r 0 φv 0 /D (r 0 = wellbore radius, v 0 = Darcy velocity at r 0 , φ = ambient porosity, D = rock-water thermal diffusivity), gives P e ~ 10–15 for fracture-connectivity flow intersecting the well, and P e ~ 0 for ambient crust. Darcy flow for model P e ~ 10 at radius ~10 m from the wellbore gives permeability estimate κ ~ 0.02 Darcy for flow driven by differential fluid pressure between least principal crustal stress pore pressure and hydrostatic wellbore pressure. Model temperature event flow permeability κ m ~ 0.02 Darcy is related to well-core ambient permeability κ ~ 1 µDarcy by empirical poroperm relation κ m ~ κ exp(α m φ) for φ ~ 0.01 and α m ~ 1000. Our modelling of OTN1 wellbore temperature events helps assess the prospect of reactivating fossilized fracture-connectivity flow for EGS permeability stimulation of basement rock. enhanced geothermal systems (EGS); crustal permeability; finite element flow modelling; crustal wellbore temperatures; wellbore injection; well logs; well core