Mark McClure

Enhanced Geothermal Systems

X:XX Hours
This course provides an overview of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). The concept of EGS is to use hydraulic stimulation to improve the flow rate that can be achieved from wells drilled in hot, low permeability formations. The technology has the potential to dramatically increase the amount of geothermal energy produced in North America and worldwide. In recent years, dramatic improvements have been achieved in both well performance and drilling, dramatically reducing cost per kW-hr of electricity from EGS, and leading to surge in interest.

This course covers: (a) introduction to geothermal energy, (b) calculating flow and power output, (c) mechanisms of stimulation, (d) stimulation design, (e) thermal performance over time, (f) the Utah FORGE project, (g) Project Red and Project Cape from Fervo Energy, (h) EGS design optimization, and (i) induced seismicity.

01-01 – Introduction and Overview
01-02 – Types of Geothermal
01-03 – Conventional and Next-Generation Approaches to Enhanced Geothermal Systems

02-01 – Factors That Determine Flow Rate
02-02 – Conversion to Electricity

03-01 – Fracturing Modes
03-02 – Faults, Fractures, and Joints
03-03 – Conceptual Models for Stimulation
03-04 – Fracture Morphology
03-05 – Evidence Related to Stimulation Mechanism From FORGE
03-06 – Evidence on Fracture Morphology From Shale

04-01 – Challenges With Conventional Designs
04-02 – Multistage Plug and Perf
04-03 – Proppant Pack Conductivity
04-04 – Fluid Recovery and Well Configuration
04-05 – Proppant Transport

05-01 – Context and Significance
05-02 – Gringarten Solution
05-03 – Economic Optimization
05-04 – Fracture Morphology
05-05 – Potential Role of Thermoelasticity
05-06 – Flow Conformance
05-07 – EGS with CO2

06-01 – FORGE Background
06-02 – Timeline and Key Events
06-03 – Proppantless Stimulations 2022-2023
06-04 – Propped stimulations 2024

07-01 – Company Overview
07-02 – Project Red
07-03 – Project Cape

08-01 – Simulation Setup and Background
08-02 – Results of Sensitivity Analysis Simulations

09-01 – Motivation and Historical Experience
09-02 – Earthquake Physics
09-03 – Induced Seismicity Hazard Analysis
09-04 – Faults vs. Fractures
09-05 – Traffic Light System

Access All Saga Wisdom Training Content

Already a member? Sign in.