Preliminary evaluation of the second hot dry rock geothermal energy reservoir: results of phase 1, run segment 4

Results of the preliminary assessment of the second hot dry rock reservoir at the Fenton Hill field site are presented. This second reservoir was created by fracturing a deeper interval of granite rock located at a depth of 2.93 km (9620 ft) in the same wellbore pair used in the creation of the first reservoir; no additional redrilling was required. The new fracture system has a vertical extent of at least 320 m (1050 ft), suggesting that the combined heat-transfer area of the old and new fracture systems is 11 times that of the old system. The virgin rock temperature at the bottom of the deeper interval was 197/sup 0/C (386/sup 0/F). Water at a flow rate of 6 l/s (100 gpm) was circulated through the reservoir for a period of 23 days. Downhole measurements of the water temperature at the reservoir outlet, as well as temperatures inferred from geothermometry, showed that the thermal drawdown of the reservoir was negligible and preliminary estimates indicate that the minimum effective heat-transfer area of the new reservoir is 45,000 m/sup 2/ (480,000 ft/sup 2/), which is six times larger than the first reservoir. The following are presented: operational plan, reservoir geometry and flowmore » paths, flow impedance, geochemistry, heat extraction, dye tracer flow distribution studies, and seismicity. (MHR)« less