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Overview

Objective
The primary objective of the Stanford Geothermal Program is the development of reservoir engineering techniques to allow for the production of the nation's geothermal resources in the most efficient manner possible. To this end, the investigation topics are chosen to provide greatest impact in identifying and overcoming field problems which are either current or imminent. The primary focus in the immediate future will be the investigation of reinjection into vapor-dominated reservoirs such as The Geysers. This investigation will require the study of the effects of adsorption during injection, as well as the examination of the mechanisms of boiling in vapor filled porous rock.

Background
The Stanford Geothermal Program has conducted geothermal reservoir engineering research for more than 25 years. During this time, about 150 separate projects have been completed, each producing a technical report for dissemination of the results to the public. In addition, a large number of technical papers have been published in the open scientific literature. The program has undertaken studies in a number of areas, with some of the more notable ones including well test analysis of fractured and multiphase reservoirs, design and interpretation of tracer tests in fractured reservoirs, adsorption in vapor-dominated reservoirs, experimental measurements of fluid flow parameters, and optimization of production and reinjection strategies. As an outgrowth of the research, the Stanford Geothermal Program has produced a large number of graduate engineers who have taken up leadership positions in the geothermal industry, both in the US and worldwide. As of the end of 2001, more than 100 people have graduated through the program, and many of them have worked in the geothermal industry in US companies such as UNOCAL Geothermal, California Energy Company, Magma Geothermal, Geothermex, Calpine Corporation, Pacific Gas and Electric, Santa Fe Geothermal, Caithness as well as in the countries of Japan, Philippines, Turkey, Costa Rica, Mexico, New Zealand and Indonesia. Thus the impact of the Stanford Geothermal Program on the industry has been very significant, in research results, in qualified personnel, and in technology transfer as recent graduates carry the research results directly into the industrial setting.