Description
EGS field projects have not sustained production at rates greater than 1/2 of what is needed for economic viability. The primary limitation that makes commercial EGS infeasible is our current inability to cost-effectively create high-permeability reservoirs from impermeable, igneous rock within the 3,000-10,000 ft depth range. Our goal is to develop a novel fracturing fluid technology that maximizes reservoir permeability while reducing stimulation cost and environmental impact. Laboratory equipment development to advance laboratory characterization/monitoring is also a priority of this project to study and optimize the physicochemical properties of these fracturing fluids in a range of reservoir conditions. Barrier G is the primarily intended GTO barrier to be addressed as well as support addressing barriers D, E and I.
Resources
| Name | Format | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acoustic Emission Analysis.docx | Doc | Description of the videos generated during acoustic emission analysis on lab-scale fracturing experiments performed on samples Newberry-1 and Newberry-4 obtained at 706 m depth. | Open resource |
| Gel Expansion-Based Stress Analysis.docx | Doc | Analysis of the pressure generated by PNNL fracturing fluid as a result of the CO2-triggered volume expansion of a polymer solution | Open resource |
| Acoustic Signature for Newberry-1.mp4 | MP4 | Video showing the response of 8 sensors located around the rock sample being fractured by PNNL fracturing fluids at two different confining P/T | Open resource |
| Acoustic Signature for Newberry-4.mp4 | MP4 | Video showing the response of 8 sensors located around the rock sample being fractured by PNNL fracturing fluids at two different confining P/T | Open resource |
| XMT Images and Permeabilities.docx | Doc | A summary of permeability values and x-ray microtomography (XMT) images before and after lab-scale fracturing exps at different confining pressures, temperatures and pH on rock cores from two different EGS reservoirs, Newberry and Coso. | Open resource |