Numerical studies of cold water injection into vapor-dominated geothermal systems

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5850493

Lai, C H; Bodvarsson, G S

Recent reservoir pressure and steam flow rate declines at The Geysers geothermal field in California have attracted interest in studies of increased cold water injection into this system. In this paper, numerical studies of such injection into a fractured vapor-dominated reservoir are conducted using a two-dimensional radial, double-porosity model. The results obtained indicate that cold water injection into superheated (low-pressure) zones will greatly enhance the productivities of steam wells. Injection into two-phase zones with significant liquid reserves in the matrix blocks does not appear to aid in steam recovery until most of the original liquid reserves are depleted. Sensitivity studies are conducted over the range of fracture and matrix permeabilities applicable to the Geysers. The sensitivity of the grid size is also conducted, and shows very large grid effects. A fine vertical space discretization near the bottom of the reservoir is necessary to accurately predict the boiling of the injected water. 28 refs., 15 figs., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: CASLC; DOE; California State Lands Commission, Sacramento, CA (USA); USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 5850493
• Report Number(s): LBL-30173; CONF-910308--1; ON: DE91012295
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
150902 -- Geothermal Engineering-- Fluid Transmission
150904 -- Geothermal Engineering-- Geothermal Reservoir & Well Performance
150906* -- Geothermal Engineering-- Reservoir Stimulation & Extraction Technology
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990200 -- Mathematics & Computers
COMPUTER CODES
FAILURES
FLUID FLOW
FLUID INJECTION
FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC MODELS
GEOTHERMAL FIELDS
GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS
GEYSERS GEOTHERMAL FIELD
Geothermal Legacy
HEATING
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
M CODES
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERMEABILITY
POROSITY
SENSITIVITY
SIMULATION
STEAM GENERATION
SUPERHEATING
TWO-PHASE FLOW
WATER