Luke P. Frash¹, Bulbul Ahmmed¹ and Bijay K C¹

As we seek to expand geothermal development, unconventional resources that lack natural convection are becoming increasingly appealing. However, the viability of developing unconventional hot dry rock resources is directly dependent on both the properties of the resource and the design of the system that will be used to extract its heat. In this presentation, we will explore the prospectivity of undeveloped “greenfield” geothermal resources in parallel with different options for development. More specifically, we will consider closed-loop advanced geothermal systems (AGS), hydraulic fractured and propped enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), and multi-well fracture caged geothermal systems (CGS). In addition, we will consider subsurface uncertainty, fault density, reservoir depth, thermal gradient, and faulting regime. Our cross-comparison of results is founded on economic potential that includes factors such as drilling cost, pumping cost, earthquake risk, and other factors. Ultimately, we find that all three systems offer promise for economic generation of power and heat at previously undeveloped locations in and around New Mexico.

2024 New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting April 19, 2024, Macey Center, Socorro, NM Online ISSN: 2834-5800

Pages: 21