Enhanced Geothermal Systems – EGS

The Problem:

Energy for all.

As the world moves toward safe, reliable, and attainable energy MicroSeismic is a proven monitoring solution to assist in the endeavor.

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We help our clients protect their assets, operations, and environment as the world transition to new sources of energy.

The principle of geothermal energy power production is, simply put, that one can harvest heat from the earth by circulating cold fluids through hot rocks found at depth and return the warm fluids to the surface to drive turbines that generate electricity.

Limiting factors on this process include the temperature of the earth that can be economically accessed (the hotter the better) and the efficiency of the heat transfer in the rocks which is related to the permeability of the rock that is accessed.

Traditional geothermal power applications have used the natural fracture system in the rocks at depth to act as the conduits for the fluids that are being heated. Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) are created by inducing more fractures into the hot rocks in order to increase surface area of hot rock contacted by the fluids thus increasing the efficiency of heat exchange.

Today modern hydraulic shearing and fracturing methodologies developed during the shale revolution are being ported to the geothermal industry in support of EGS, just as in hydrocarbon applications, such fracture processes need to be monitored to image the fractures created and ensure the proper development of an appropriately fractured reservoir for optimal heat exchange.