Hydrothermal Features of a Sandstone Geothermal Reservoir in the North Shandong Plain, China

Abstract

Abstract There are 1,000 geothermal wells with depths of 1500–2000 m drilled into the upper Tertiary sandstone geothermal reservoir in the Guantao Formation in the North Shandong Plain, which support about 61 million square meters of domestic space heating. Concerning the large-scale exploitation of the Guantao Formation geothermal reservoir and its important role in clean space heating, it is essential to fully understand the characteristics of the geotemperature, geothermal water flow, and hydrochemical features, especially the heat accumulation and geothermal water enrichment mechanism. Based on the data from pumping tests, temperature logging, water level measurements, and hydrochemistry and isotope sampling and analysis, in this study, the heat sources and accumulation, water sources, and enrichment mechanism of the sandstone geothermal reservoir in the Guantao Formation were explored. The geothermal gradient of the cap rocks and the reservoir’s temperature revealed that the geothermal temperature fields are controlled by fault structures, and the relative high temperature zones are distributed in the area where the uplifts and deep heat-controlled faults converge. The geothermal water-rich area is located in the ancient river channel zone. The closer the water-rich area is to the ancient river channel belt, the deeper and coarser the buried conglomerate aquifer is, and the better the water-rich condition is. The best water-rich areas are found in the alluvial fan of the ancient channel belt.