Modelling and Analysis of Induced Seismicity in Engineered Geothermal Systems (EGS)

This Master's thesis focuses on the modelling and analysis of induced seismicity in geothermal reservoirs in the context of energy production. The effects of climate change and geopolitical conflicts have fueled the transition to renewable energy, including geothermal energy. However, the exploration and exploitation of deep geothermal reservoirs face challenges such as high costs, social impacts, and induced seismicity from hydraulic stimulation. This thesis aims to use numerical simulations to evaluate the physical processes that give rise to induced seismicity and predict its occurrence in the context of the injection/production of fluids in deep geothermal reservoirs. The numerical simulations were carried out using the CFRAC code to evaluate the phenomenon from a discontinuous point of view. The study focuses on how different injection rates and the size of fractures affect microseismicity. This thesis contributes to improving the understanding of induced seismicity in geothermal reservoirs and reducing the associated risks, enabling the sustainable production of geothermal energy. The study uses the UTAH FORGE Wraps up A 3-Stage Hydraulic Stimulation Of Well 16A(78)-32 dataset from April 2022 to validate a numerical model for induced seismicity prediction. The tasks include identifying suitable datasets, tuning and using a numerical model, analyzing micro-seismicity datasets, validating the numerical model, and interpreting results. The results were compared with observed seismicity to investigate the influence of industrial activities on the generation of induced seismicity