Advancing CO2 Plume Geothermal: A Preliminary Investigation of Key Success Factors

Abstract

Numerous studies have shown that CO2 plume geothermal (CPG) contributes to the goal of simultaneously utilizing and storing CO2. The system employs supercritical CO2 as the heat-carrying fluid in natural porous media to achieve the extraction of geothermal resources while storing CO2 geologically. This work investigates key success factors for advancing CO2 plume geothermal. We look at the geologic, reservoir, and thermophysical characteristics of reservoirs and quantitatively evaluate how they support heat extraction using CO2 stored in porous media. We use a three-dimensional numerical simulator to model the impact of each property studied on cumulative CO2 produced. The result showed that permeability and anisotropy had a significant influence on how much CO2 could be extracted from the reservoir. From a geological perspective, sensitivity analyses reveal the influence of dip on CO2 extraction and the need for optimal well placement. The study describes optimal development strategies for different reservoir thicknesses.