Concept of an Integrated Workflow for Geothermal Exploration in Hot Sedimentary Aquifers

Abstract

Geothermal exploration is currently performed in different steps and on different scales, from the initial, large-scale resource estimation going down to local reservoir sustainability analysis for a specific application. With this approach, it is not possible to explore directly for requirements dictated by a geothermal application. If we, for example, consider the exploration for a direct heat-use application we could require a pumping rate of 100 l/s at a minimum temperature of 70°C. Economic constraints could be a maximum drilling depth and the minimum years lifetime of the system. The direct map-based exploration for the best locations considering these constraints is not possible with the standard workflow. We present here an approach to overcome this limitation. We combine geological modelling, geothermal simulation and reservoir estimation into one consistent location-based method. Outcomes of this integrated workflow are mapbased reservoir and resource analyses that can directly be used as guidance in the exploration for the best possible location of a geothermal application. Our workflow is specifically developed for applications in hot sedimentary aquifers but can be extended to other geothermal settings.