Modeling of fluid and heat flow in fractured geothermal reservoirs

Abstract

In most geothermal reservoirs large-scale permeability is dominated by fractures, while most of the heat and fluid reserves are stored in the rock matrix. Early-time fluid production comes mostly from the readily accessible fracture volume, while reservoir behavior at later time depends upon the ease with which fluid and heat can be transferred from the rock matrix to the fractures. Methods for modeling flow in fractured porous media must be able to deal with this matrix-fracture exchange, the so-called "interporosity" flow.

This paper reviews recent work at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory on numerical modeling of nonisothermal multiphase flow in fractured porous media. We also give a brief summary of simulation applications to problems in geothermal production and reinjection.