OPTIWELL

Method development for improved well placement geothermal energy

Publieke samenvatting / Public summary

Aanleiding
Geothermal areas have thus far been developed using doublets i.e. an injector-producer pairing to extract hot water from the subsurface. A doublet based approach has been successful in developing individual projects on a local scale where there was no need to account for the interaction between doublet well systems. Further development of geothermal energy production from the Dutch subsurface makes it more relevant to take this interaction into account and optimize well placement and configuration.

Doelstelling
The ultimate goal is the development of a tool for geothermal well placement to enable optimal area development to facilitate the scale-up of geothermal energy and increase its efficiency and profitability in and outside the Netherlands. This projects aims to investigate improved methods for placement (including trajectory and configuration) of new geothermal wells or doublets, based on: -available subsurface information -available information fromexisting wells -existing modeling and optimization tools This will enable quantitative consideration of the available subsurface information in addition to surface requirements and limitations (e.g. local heat demand and transport options).

Korte omschrijving
-Selection of relevant demonstration case(s) -Create model(s) of relevant area(s) -History match with available information from NLOG, operators, existing models. -Define uncertainty bands / ensemble of geological models to account for uncertainties) -Optimize placement (trajectory, configuration) of geothermal well or doublet, considering uncertainties and based on objectives like energy production, risks and cost o Define the controls (variables) to be optimized. o Define the objective function to be optimized -Perform sensitivity analysis towards uncertainty bands -Compare outcomes to current practice -Reporting & recommendations

Resultaat
A demonstrated workflow (based on existing elements) to improve placement (incl. trajectory and configuration) of geothermal wells / doublets and comparison to existing methods for well / doublet placement.