Exploration of Geothermal Systems with Petrel Modeling Software

RES Master´s Thesis Verkefnið er unnið í tengslum við Háskóla Íslands og Háskólann á AkureyriIn this thesis work an area located in Hungary was examined in order to localize the most promising site for geothermal water extraction for use in electricity production or in direct heat utilization systems. Hungary is located in the central part of the Pannonian Basin. The geological evolution of the basin was favorable for the formation of low- and medium-enthalpy geothermal reservoirs throughout the country. These resources are already used in the balneology and agriculture sector. The utilization of the natural hot water in district heating systems and for domestic hot water supply has been developing fast in the recent years, while electricity generation from geothermal water is still in research phase. A three-dimensional (3D) digital geological model of the area was created to support the localization of the best prospective site in the area of interest. For the model’s construction, eighteen two-dimensional (2D) seismic sections were used as input data. The Petrel geological modeling software, which was developed by Schlumberger Co, was used for data processing. Three promising sites were designated in the studied area. Those sites were selected where the old deep and young shallower fractured zones cross each other by creating a locally extensional stress field. Due to the difficulties of the interpretation process the presence of the before mentioned requirements are very likely, but not certain, in the designated areas. Further exploration is crucial. A comparison made between the computer supported analysis and the manual interpretation of hard copies of the seismic sections revealed that computer aided interpretation process lead to the recognition of more detailed tectonic structures in a relatively shorter time interval