Reinjection into fractured geothermal reservoirs

Abstract

The movement of fluids through permeable rocks is a primary interest whether the fluid is groundwater. petroleum, geothermal steam, or radioactive or chemical contaminant. The geothermal industry is involved in the transport of Iluid through fractured volcanic rocks, and the experience accumulated over the past 30 years in the production and reinjection of steam and hot water from geothermal reservoirs has implications of broad interest in other fields.

The first part of the paper describes the effects of individual fractures crossing a wellbore, while the second illustrates the effects of field wide heterogeneity on tracer returns. The consequence of the effects of the preferential flows are discussed in the third section.