Insights from Integrated Geological and Seismic Modelling of Fluvial Geothermal Reservoirs
B.S.I. Gesbert (TU Delft - Applied Geology)
S. Geiger (TU Delft - Geoscience and Engineering)
D.J. Verschuur (TU Delft - Applied Geophysics and Petrophysics)
H.A. Abels (TU Delft - Applied Geology)
G. Song (TU Delft - Applied Geology)
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Abstract
Fluvial reservoirs are a major target for geothermal energy production. Interpreting the 3D reservoir architectures from 2D seismic datasets, which usually are acquired for geothermal systems, is difficult. In particular, small-scale geological factors like sandbody connectivity are challenging to resolve. This study addresses these issues through a novel workflow that incorporates 3D geological and 2D seismic modelling methods to assess the seismic responses of stratigraphic attributes in fluvial geothermal reservoirs where data availability is low.
Two synthetic fluvial reservoir scenarios were built, ranging from a single channelised deposit to a geologically more plausible model ensemble of fluvial deposits, which represents the reservoir heterogeneities that could be present at the geothermal doublet at Delft University of Technology. Acoustic finite-difference modelling was combined with seismic imaging to create 2D depth images. Our results reveal how seismic resolution determines our ability to correctly identify sandbody connectivity and capture inner channel details. Whereas channel bodies can be detected, the best frequency spectra for observing certain geological features remain unclear. These findings emphasise that quantitative multi-scale analysis, advanced imaging techniques, and survey design optimisation are central to improving seismic characterisation of fluvial geothermal systems in future research.