Successful across-scale reservoir characterization is a prerequisite for sustainable utilization of the subsurface. Here, we discuss aspects of distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) vertical seismic profiling (VSP) acquisition in Germany and provide an example of data integration for reservoir characterization at the geothermal research platform Groß Schönebeck, aiming to utilize Permian and Permo-Carboniferous reservoir sections at depths below 4 km. At this site, DAS VSP wireline data obtained in two boreholes were processed successfully for 3D interpretation. The data and their interpretation serve as input for a fundamental update of the structural and property characterization of the reservoir zones, relying on the integration of conventional surface 3D seismics and joint core-log analysis. The new model provides a much more detailed characterization of the target reservoirs, allowing for the first time a geological-based (facies-driven) parameterization of the subsurface, considering hydraulic and thermal properties of the reservoir-forming rocks.

Mesozoic sandstone aquifers in the North German Basin offer significant potential to provide green and sustainable geothermal heat as well as large‐scale storage of heat or chill. The determination of geothermal and subsurface heat storage potentials is still afflicted with obstacles due to sparse and partly uncertain subsurface data. Relevant data include the structural and depositional architecture of the underground and the detailed petrophysical properties of the constituting rocks; both are required for a detailed physics‐based integrated modeling and a potential assessment of the subsurface. For the present study, we combine recently published basin-wide structural interpretations of depth horizons of the main stratigraphic formations, with temperature data from geological and geostatistical 3D models (i.e., CEBS, GeotIS). Based on available reservoir sandstone facies data, additional well‐log‐based reservoir lithology identification, and by providing technical boundary conditions, we calculated the geothermal heat in place and the heat storage potential for virtual well doublet systems in Mesozoic reservoirs. This analysis reveals a large potential for both geothermal heating and aquifer thermal energy storage in geologically favorable regions, and in many areas with a high population density or a high heat demand. Given the uncertainties in the input data, the applied methods and the combination of data from different sources are most powerful in identifying promising regions for economically feasible subsurface utilization, and will help decrease exploration risks when combined with detailed geological site analysis beforehand.