Abstract
The combination of seismic analysis with advanced physics-based simulation provides an opportunity to further understand injection-induced fault reactivation, including the hydro-mechanical interplay between different faults and the rock where they reside. Here, this is investigated based on data from hydraulic stimulation of a well at the Reykjanes geothermal field. Central is the development of an interdisciplinary framework for integration of different data types towards a 3D, hydro-mechanical and faulted geothermal reservoir simulation model. This work shows how seismic interpretations can improve simulation models and, reciprocally, how fully coupled physics-based modeling can add to seismic interpretations in analysis of fault reactivation.
Highlights
Most of the Earth's accessible geothermal energy is stored in hard, competent rock
We present an investigation of the hydraulic stimulation of RN-34 based on new analysis of the seismic data combined with an unprecedented simulation study of the reservoir dynamics
7 Conclusion Combining analysis of seismicity observed during well stimulation with simulation of injectioninduced reservoir dynamics has the potential to improve our understanding of injection-induced fault reactivation as well as interpretations of data
Summary
Most of the Earth's accessible geothermal energy is stored in hard, competent rock. In such rock types, fractures and faults are the main conduits for fluid flow, which is essential for production of geothermal fluid to the surface. Fault plane solutions computed from two of many earthquake swarms on the Reykjanes Peninsula (in 1972 and 2013) showed that both normal, strike–slip, and oblique motions occurred during both earthquakes in a magmatic phase (Björnsson et al, 2020; Khodayar et al, 2018), supporting the idea that deformation might occur simultaneously on differently oriented structures The sequence of 33 seismic events 29 March appears to be representative for the period from 20 May to 13 August in terms of spatial location and temporal occurrence, magnitude, focal mechanisms, and reactivated structures This justifies our choice of the local fault model for this particular day as representative for a longer injection period. In the fault grid, fluid pressure and contact force (both normal and tangential) are represented by cell center values
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