Observations of hydraulic stimulations in seven enhanced geothermal system projects

Numerous stimulation tests have been performed on Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) or Hot Dry Rock (HDR) projects during the past three decades, however, there is much room for improvement in our knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms of stimulation. This paper investigated the hydraulic stimulation tests carried out on seven EGS or HDR projects where massive volume of fluid was injected into the long open section of the well with interval of tens to hundreds of meters in the crystalline formation. The key characteristic test and performance parameters were defined and collected through extensive survey of stimulation results. Attempts were made to carry out comparative analysis on reservoir conditions, test parameters and test observations. The analysis and discussion suggest that 1) the reservoir stress regime impacts the growth of stimulated region and the reverse faulting stress regime can be favorable for the layout of multiple well system as it may lead to a horizontally or sub-horizontally oriented stimulated zone; 2) the injection pressure for activating shear slip and the associated onset of seismicity is mainly field stress controlled; 3) there is strong dependency of injectivity on injection pressure and a high pressure makes a better hydraulic injectivity during stimulation and consequently afterwards for circulation; 4) the stimulated region and number of induced seismic events are mainly injection volume controlled and the potential strategy to reduce seismic risks is either to extend stimulation in time or to separate stimulation in space; and 5) the differential stress condition is one of the necessary factors to raise a large magnitude event (LME) and the difference of maximum injection pressure achieved over that at onset of seismicity is an important additional factor to induce LMEs.