A Fracture Characterization Case Study from Utah FORGE Registration

START Date WAS:Thursday, 11 January, 2024

START Time WAS:8:00 AM CST (Houston Time, US)

Duration:30 minutes

Abstract:

2pm London, UK Time
6pm Dubai, UAE Time
Critical to the success of developing large-scale, economically sustainable enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) reservoirs is the ability to characterize, initiate, and sustain the interconnected fracture networks required to extract heat in crystalline basement rocks over periods of years with small temperature declines. The granitic and metamorphic basement rocks at the Utah FORGE site have bottomhole temperatures close to 230 degC, which pushes the limits of conventional wireline logging, drilling, and isolation tools. The application of through-the-bit conveyed logging technologies at Utah FORGE has proved effective at mitigating the downhole temperature challenge and provided for the logging of highly deviated injection wells.

The integrated advanced analysis of resistivity and ultrasonic borehole image and dipole sonic data, including 3D far-field acoustic analysis, has provided a detailed subsurface characterization of fracture type, fracture intensity, fracture geometries, and fracture apertures. This data has also provided the Utah FORGE team with an enhanced understanding of the local stress regime and structural history, through borehole stress observations and fracture crosscutting relationships. Ultimately, these fracture characterization data have been used to develop a representative discrete fracture network (DFN) model, required for predicting the characteristics of the stimulated EGS reservoir.

Simulations of the hydraulic stimulation of an injection well have predicted that existing natural fractures, represented by the DFN, could control the efficacy of the treatment and create a large volume of connected flow pathways in the stimulated region. This case study shows how existing technologies and expertise, developed from unconventional hydrocarbon reservoir characterization, are being leveraged to support subsurface fracture characterization and modeling in this pioneering geothermal project.

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Speakers

Erik Borchardt

Engineer

SLB

Erik Borchardt serves as the business development manager for SLB New Energy where his role includes the oversight of the wireline technology portfolio. Erik joined SLB in 2021 as a wireline field engineer in Utah and Colorado's tight gas fields, where he was involved in the testing and launch of the Sonic Scanner acoustic scanning platform. He then took on the role of managing the wireline special services team for US Land West, overseeing fluid sampling, introducing new technologies, and managing sidewall coring services. Following that, Erik shifted to a sales role in Denver, CO, and subsequently advanced to become the business development manager for the Williston Basin and later the wireline SLB New Energy technology portfolio. Committed to addressing climate change challenges, Erik is eager to provide meaningful solutions and innovation to the industry's evolving landscape.

Andy Wray

North America Borehole Geology Domain Champion

Oilfield - US DS SERVICES OKC

Andy Wray serves as the North America borehole geology domain champion at SLB's Oklahoma City office, where he excels in delivering advanced geological interpretations of borehole image data to customers across the US land, Alaska, and offshore. Andy received a Bachelor of Science degree in physical geography from The University of Hull, England, in 1996 and an MSc with distinction in petroleum geology from The University of Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1998. After graduate school, he joined Anglo-Siberian Oil in London as a geologist and later became a petrophysicist at Amerada Hess International, also in London. In 2002, Andy began his journey with SLB in the UK, ultimately transitioning to roles in SLB's Bakersfield, Denver, and Pittsburgh offices. His contributions at SLB extend beyond borehole image interpretation, encompassing geosteering, reservoir saturation tool (RST) interpretation, and distributed temperature interpretation. Andy is an active member of the AAPG and the Oklahoma Geological Foundation.