Test Shows Fracturing Can Also Create Underground Water Heating Systems

ResFrac customer, Fervo Energy has shown that fracturing can be used to build a geothermal heating system in hot, hard rock. During a 37 day test at it’s Project Red test site, the Houston company produced as much as 63 L/s (998 gal/min) of water heated to 336 degrees F. By pumping water from an injection well through fractured hot rock to a producing well, it heated enough water to generate up to 3.5MW of power, according to a company release.

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ResFrac Featured as Pioneering Software Technology in Hart Energy’s 2023 Hydraulic Fracturing Techbook

ResFrac initiates the process by building a “why” model using first principle physics. “Once we have a model that accurately describes how things are acting in the rock, we apply algorithms that use data analytical techniques,” ResFrac COO, Garrett Fowler said. “Optimization algorithms run a variety of hypothetical simulations—moving a well 50 feet deeper, for example, or using twice as much fluid—to determine the best next step in the development process.”

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Fervo Energy sees ‘breakthrough’ in enhanced geothermal technology, opening path for firm, clean power

The project’s results are a “historic breakthrough” for geothermal power, but Fervo still has much work ahead, according to Mark McClure, CEO of ResFrac, a firm that develops hydraulic fracturing simulation software. “Even as they continue to achieve technical success, they will need to demonstrate the commercial model — that they can secure funding, execute, and drive down costs to achieve long-term profitability,” he said Wednesday in a review of the project’s results.

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ResFrac’s Garrett Fowler is named 2023 SPE Distinguished Lecturer

ResFrac Corporation Chief Operating Officer, Garrett Fowler, has been named 2023–2024 SPE Distinguished Lecturer. Garrett will be presenting on “How To Leverage What We’ve Learned About Hydraulic Fractures.” DL Speakers from various disciplines and professions focus on industry trends, challenges, technology applications, and advances. Scheduled DL events are in-person meetings only.

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DOE Innovators Roundtable on Enhanced Geothermal Systems with Secretary Granholm

This week, the US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, was in Houston to announce an ‘Earthshot’ initiative to accelerate domestic production of zero-emission, baseload geothermal energy  Secretary Granholm announced the initiative at a press conference, and then hosted a roundtable discussion with Reginald DesRoches, the president of Rice University, and a group of innovators in the geothermal space. ResFrac CEO Mark McClure was one of the participants in the roundtable. Sec. Granholm asked him how to increase engagement from the oil and gas industry in geothermal.

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The Fracturing Plan: Hit a Well 300 ft Away—How Hard Could That Be?

Hitting the next well during fracturing happens all the time. Predictably doing that on a large scale in granite looks a lot harder. Backed by $220 million from the US Department of Energy, the Utah FORGE team’s goal is to develop the techniques and tools needed to create well-to-well flow paths through rocks that are at more than 400°F and then send the heated fluids to the surface to power electric generation. This approach is known as an enhanced geothermal system (EGS). A paper recently presented at the SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference highlighted the problem. The reservoir modeling firm ResFrac offered examples of what can be done to understand geothermal fracturing systems, but said it is not yet possible to model a well plan for a specific location.

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