Geothermal Reservoir Engineering Development through International Cooperation

Abstract

About twenty years ago when the Geysers Geothermal Steam Field in California first started producing steam in significant quantities for the generation of electricity there were probably no more than five or six people in the U.S.A. who could qualify as geothermal reservoir engineers. Then as now, the Geysers field was the only field in the U.S.A. producing steam in significant quantities on a commercial basis. We are now entering a new era, however, and can expect steam production in this country to rise markedly in the next few years.

In 1960 there were at least a few thousand persons in the U.S.A. who were practicing reservoir engineering in the petroleum industry and in groundwater management organizations. Thus the U.S.A. had at its disposal a great deal of talent and expertise but very little experience in either the operation of natural underground steam reservoirs or in the development of needed geothermal reservoir engineering technology. In contrast, various other countries had been producing natural underground steam reservoirs for many years and had developed from practical experience a considerable fund of knowledge about reservoir behavior. However, these countries had no reservoir engineers in the sense we now conceive this profession, and there was no common awareness of the need for new technology.

What we conceive a s reservoir engineering is of importance in the preparation and understanding of international cooperative agreements in geothermal energy. Reservoir engineering is related to other branches of engineering involved in the development and operation of geothermal-fluid reservoirs. As examples, it is related to drilling , production, and process engineering. It is also related to management functions pertaining to development and production.