Preliminary Analysis of Results from the Utah FORGE Project

Abstract

Over the past year, the Utah FORGE project has performed a series of hydraulic stimulations and circulation tests. A diversity of data has been gathered, which is still in the process of being analyzed and published. This paper provides preliminary analysis, which is drawn from the data that has been presented publicly to-date. Key observations are: (a) plug and perf stimulation with proppant has delivered dramatically improved EGS performance relative to conventional designs, (b) stimulations without proppant have been ineffective, (c) field tests not found evidence of significant shear stimulation of natural fractures, (d) a larger-scale fault/fracture zone appears to have affected fracture morphology in at least one stage, diverting fracture propagation, (e) flow uniformity along the 16(A) well is adequate but not ideal, (f) geologic variability is substantial, complicating efforts to evaluate the impact of the different stimulation designs that were trialed along the lateral, and (g) tracer tests indicate a surprisingly large swept volume, suggesting that: (i) flow is occurring through a reasonably large number of flowing fractures, and (ii) proppant has likely created a larger than expected propped and stimulated fracture surface area. Several recent papers and presentations have proposed interpretations of the data that are, in part, inconsistent with the conclusions listed above. This paper briefly notes those analyses and provides critical analysis.