June 20, 2022 by Andrew Seto, VP Technology, Energi Simulation
In order to meet energy demand while reducing carbon emissions, many countries have been transitioning their energy consumption from fossil fuels to renewal sources. Being abundant in nature, geothermal resource is an attractive and clean energy source to complement other forms of renewal energy.
The development of a geothermal energy resource typically involves the injection of cold water into a natural heat source underground and the production of hot fluid back to surface, for space heating or electricity generation. There are many similarities in geothermal and hydrocarbon resource developments in that both would require robust geological and reservoir simulation models to help define the geologic formation, rock, fluid and mineral characteristics under reservoir pressure and temperature conditions, number and spacing of drilled wells, and surface facilities, for realistic simulation forecast of sustainable energy supply into the future.
To assist in the optimum design of geothermal energy systems, it is imperative to have a good understanding of the reservoir, resource potential, its deliverability, within the economic, environmental, and regulatory constraints. With our group of world-class scientists in the Energi Simulation geothermal energy research chair programs, who collaborate with their expertise in geomodelling, reservoir simulation, rock and fluid characterization, and artificial intelligences / machine learning, we expect to see an acceleration of research results that would benefit both industry and society.