6X: Thermal hydro-mechanical heat extraction from hot dry rock

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Extracted from: EGSModeling.pdf

Enhanced geothermal systems modeling

Geothermal energy is an abundant, clean and sustainable energy resource. Extracting underground heat using the efficient hot dry rock (HDR) technique requires hydraulic fracturing of low permeability rock to create pathways for fluid circulation and injector-producer communication. 6X combines multi-porosity aqueous mass balance and energy equations with fracture mechanics to model enhanced geothermal systems (EGS).

Integral fracture mechanics

6X has a proven workflow for hydraulic fracturing in oil and gas reservoirs: dual- and multi-porosity modeling with dynamic fracture creation and evolution, fully integrated in the simulator (no externally coupled models or fixed discrete fracture network topology). This technology supports the EGS workflow.

Fully implicit energy equation

An extra energy equation is solved fully implicitly with the fluid mass balance. It includes energy exchange between injected cold water and hot rock and aquifers, and thermal conductivity through fluid and rock. Geothermal PVT covers the water-steam system.

EGS workflow optimization

Using these components plus inbuilt multiple realization capabilities, engineers can optimize EGS energy extraction in one tool.

Figures (see original PDF)

Imagery and credits in the PDF include Emok (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons and U.S. DOE (2019) GeoVision. Figures are not reproduced here.

Optimize EGS models with hydraulic fracturing and heat flow within one tool.