Project 4: productivity and sustainability of low-temperature geothermal resources

Executive Summary: Reservoir productivity and sustainability are key factors in the exploration, development and management of geothermal resources. Through 'Program 1, Project 4 - Reservoir Productivity and Sustainability' the Western Australian Geothermal Centre of Excellence (WAGCoE) has developed innovative tools, analyses, workflows and software, which facilitate the study of geothermal resource productivity and sustainability, both in the Western Australian context and for geothermal systems in general. Two new multi-disciplinary modelling workflows integrating geology, hydrogeology and reservoir engineering have been developed to assist geothermal exploration. These workflows target thermal regimes and geological structure, and were applied to evaluate geothermal potentials for targets within the Canning and the Perth basins in Western Australia. This research highlighted the great geothermal resource potential of these basins for direct-use applications. WAGCoE has originated and developed the GeoTemp™ software package to assist the processing, interpretation and modelling of temperature measurement datasets. GeoTemp™ has been used in a range of projects that have generated new understandings of the subsurface thermal characteristics of the Perth Basin and how best to exploit them sustainably. The thermal workflow assists the reservoir engineer in characterizing the thermal regime of target formations. WAGCoE has also helped CSIRO to pursue a major geothermal infrastructure project (SESKA Geothermal) in Perth to stimulate the development of large-scale use of geothermal resources in Western Australia. Together with CSIRO, WAGCoE has pioneered new resource assessment methods for shallow and deep systems, and is leading the development of a major heat rejection technology within the Perth Metropolitan Area. An innovative concept for physical manipulation of thermal fluids in situ was developed and has been submitted for international patent review. Research conducted in this Project has been widely applied to Western Australia (Canning Basin, Perth Basin, Perth Metropolitan Area, Gnangara Mound, M345 ASR trial site, and the Kensington 1 well site at the Australian Resources Research Centre). The research outcomes of this Project were presented at local, national and international conferences, and have been published in leading international scientific journals. This project also provided training to 13 Honours and MSc students, and 1 PhD student on specific technical skills and techniques that are immediately transferrable to various fields of research associated with geothermal energy and reservoir engineering