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Analysis of Geothermal Reservoir and Well Operational Conditions using Monthly Production Reports from Nevada and California

Conference ·
OSTI ID:1423750
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  2. Georgia State University

When conducting techno-economic analysis of geothermal systems, assumptions are typically necessary for reservoir and wellbore parameters such as producer/injector well ratio, production temperature drawdown, and production/injection temperature, pressure and flow rate. To decrease uncertainty of several of these parameters, we analyzed field data reported by operators in monthly production reports. This paper presents results of a statistical analysis conducted on monthly production reports at 19 power plants in California and Nevada covering 196 production wells and 175 injection wells. The average production temperature was 304 degrees F (151 degrees C) for binary plants and 310 degrees F (154 degrees C) for flash plants. The average injection temperature was 169 degrees F (76 degrees C) for binary plants and 173 degrees F (78 degrees C) for flash plants. The average production temperature drawdown was 0.5% per year for binary plants and 0.8% per year for flash plants. The average production well flow rate was 112 L/s for binary plant wells and 62 L/s for flash plant wells. For all 19 plants combined, the median injectivity index value was 3.8 L/s/bar, and the average producer/injector well ratio was 1.6. As an additional example of analysis using data from monthly production reports, a coupled reservoir-wellbore model was developed to derive productivity curves at various pump horsepower settings. The workflow and model were applied to two example production wells.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
U.S. Bureau of Land Management; U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1423750
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-5500-68701
Resource Relation:
Conference: Presented at the Geothermal Resources Council 41st Annual Meeting - Geothermal Energy: Power To Do More (GRC 2017), 1-4 October 2017, Salt Lake City, Utah
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English