Reservoir-scale fracture permeability in the Dixie Valley, Nevada, geothermal field
- Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Geophysics
- Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Geological Survey, Denver, CO (United States)
- Oxbow Geothermal Corp., Reno, NV (United States)
Wellbore image data recorded in six wells penetrating a geothermal reservoir associated with an active normal fault at Dixie Valley, Nevada, were used in conjunction with hydrologic tests and in situ stress measurements to investigate the relationship between reservoir productivity and the contemporary in situ stress field. The analysis of data from wells drilled into productive and non-productive segments of the Stillwater fault zone indicates that fractures must be both optimally oriented and critically stressed to have high measured permeabilities. Fracture permeability in all wells is dominated by a relatively small number of fractures oriented parallel to the local trend of the Stillwater Fault. Fracture geometry may also play a significant role in reservoir productivity. The well-developed populations of low angle fractures present in wells drilled into the producing segment of the fault are not present in the zone where production is not commercially viable.
- Research Organization:
- Oxbow Geothermal Corp., Reno, NV (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG07-96ID13463
- OSTI ID:
- 656554
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ID/13463-T1-Pt.3; CONF-980111-; ON: DE98007211; TRN: AHC29817%%110
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 23. Stanford workshop on geothermal reservoir engineering, Stanford, CA (United States), 26-28 Jan 1998; Other Information: PBD: [1998]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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