Session 18: Geothermal Well Stimulation - Program Summary and the Beowawe Field Experiment

Republic Geothermal, Inc. and its subcontractors have planned and executed laboratory studies and eight well stimulation field experiments under the Geothermal Reservoir Well Stimulation Program (GRWSP). The program, begun in February 1979, has concentrated on extending petroleum industry stimulation technology for use by the geothermal industry. The most recent experiment was in a naturally fractured Chevron well at Beowawe and involved an acid stimulation of a damaged interval which yielded a 2.3-fold increase in injectivity. Overall results to date have shown that stimulation is viable where adequate reservoirs are penetrated by wells encountering formation damage or locally tight formations. However, wells in marginal naturally fractured reservoirs have not been saved by the types of well stimulation jobs performed thus far. A recent discovery is that many wells can possibly be made outstanding producers by widening and propping compliant natural fractures. Confirmation of this constitutes unfinished business of the GRWSP, and offers one of the greatest potential opportunities for enhancing the economics of geothermal power production