Study on Reasonable Well Spacing for Geothermal Development of Sandstone Geothermal Reservoir—A Case Study of Dezhou, Shandong Province, China

Shandong Province is rich in geothermal resources, mainly stored in sandstone reservoirs. The setting of reasonable well spacing in the early stage of large-scale recharge has not attracted enough attention. The problem of small well spacing in geothermal engineering is particularly prominent in the...

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Main Authors: Shuai Liu, Yan Yan, Lanxin Zhang, Weihua Song, Ying Feng, Guanhong Feng, Jingpeng Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-08-01
Series:Energies
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/15/4149
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author Shuai Liu
Yan Yan
Lanxin Zhang
Weihua Song
Ying Feng
Guanhong Feng
Jingpeng Chen
author_facet Shuai Liu
Yan Yan
Lanxin Zhang
Weihua Song
Ying Feng
Guanhong Feng
Jingpeng Chen
author_sort Shuai Liu
collection DOAJ
description Shandong Province is rich in geothermal resources, mainly stored in sandstone reservoirs. The setting of reasonable well spacing in the early stage of large-scale recharge has not attracted enough attention. The problem of small well spacing in geothermal engineering is particularly prominent in the sandstone thermal reservoir production area represented by Dezhou. Based on the measured data of temperature, flow, and water level, this paper constructs a typical engineering numerical model by using TOUGH2 software. It is found that when the distance between production and recharge wells is 180 m, the amount of production and recharge is 60 m<sup>3</sup>/h, and the temperature of reinjection is 30 °C, the temperature of the production well will decrease rapidly after 10 years of production and recharge. In order to solve the problem of thermal breakthrough, three optimization schemes are assumed: reducing the reinjection temperature to reduce the amount of re-injection when the amount of heat is the same, reducing the amount of production and injection when the temperature of production and injection is constant, and stopping production after the temperature of the production well decreases. However, the results show that the three schemes cannot solve the problem of thermal breakthrough or meet production demand. Therefore, it is necessary to set reasonable well spacing. Therefore, based on the strata near the Hydrological Homeland in Decheng District, the reasonable spacing of production and recharge wells is achieved by numerical simulation. Under a volumetric flux scenario ranging from 60 to 80 m<sup>3</sup>/h, the well spacing should exceed 400 m. For a volumetric flux between 80 and 140 m<sup>3</sup>/h, it is recommended that the well spacing be greater than 600 m.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1996-1073
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publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher MDPI AG
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spelling doaj-art-eecef0d9685c4120aff2541d76839e642025-08-20T03:35:58ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-08-011815414910.3390/en18154149Study on Reasonable Well Spacing for Geothermal Development of Sandstone Geothermal Reservoir—A Case Study of Dezhou, Shandong Province, ChinaShuai Liu0Yan Yan1Lanxin Zhang2Weihua Song3Ying Feng4Guanhong Feng5Jingpeng Chen6The Second Institute of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources (Lubei Geo-Engineering Exploration Institute), Dezhou 253072, ChinaThe Second Institute of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources (Lubei Geo-Engineering Exploration Institute), Dezhou 253072, China801 Institute of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (SPBGM), Jinan 250014, ChinaThe Second Institute of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources (Lubei Geo-Engineering Exploration Institute), Dezhou 253072, ChinaThe Second Institute of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources (Lubei Geo-Engineering Exploration Institute), Dezhou 253072, ChinaKey Laboratory of Groundwater Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, ChinaThe Second Institute of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources (Lubei Geo-Engineering Exploration Institute), Dezhou 253072, ChinaShandong Province is rich in geothermal resources, mainly stored in sandstone reservoirs. The setting of reasonable well spacing in the early stage of large-scale recharge has not attracted enough attention. The problem of small well spacing in geothermal engineering is particularly prominent in the sandstone thermal reservoir production area represented by Dezhou. Based on the measured data of temperature, flow, and water level, this paper constructs a typical engineering numerical model by using TOUGH2 software. It is found that when the distance between production and recharge wells is 180 m, the amount of production and recharge is 60 m<sup>3</sup>/h, and the temperature of reinjection is 30 °C, the temperature of the production well will decrease rapidly after 10 years of production and recharge. In order to solve the problem of thermal breakthrough, three optimization schemes are assumed: reducing the reinjection temperature to reduce the amount of re-injection when the amount of heat is the same, reducing the amount of production and injection when the temperature of production and injection is constant, and stopping production after the temperature of the production well decreases. However, the results show that the three schemes cannot solve the problem of thermal breakthrough or meet production demand. Therefore, it is necessary to set reasonable well spacing. Therefore, based on the strata near the Hydrological Homeland in Decheng District, the reasonable spacing of production and recharge wells is achieved by numerical simulation. Under a volumetric flux scenario ranging from 60 to 80 m<sup>3</sup>/h, the well spacing should exceed 400 m. For a volumetric flux between 80 and 140 m<sup>3</sup>/h, it is recommended that the well spacing be greater than 600 m.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/15/4149sandstone thermal reservoirproduction and recharge well spacingDezhou in Shandong Province
spellingShingle Shuai Liu
Yan Yan
Lanxin Zhang
Weihua Song
Ying Feng
Guanhong Feng
Jingpeng Chen
Study on Reasonable Well Spacing for Geothermal Development of Sandstone Geothermal Reservoir—A Case Study of Dezhou, Shandong Province, China
Energies
sandstone thermal reservoir
production and recharge well spacing
Dezhou in Shandong Province
title Study on Reasonable Well Spacing for Geothermal Development of Sandstone Geothermal Reservoir—A Case Study of Dezhou, Shandong Province, China
title_full Study on Reasonable Well Spacing for Geothermal Development of Sandstone Geothermal Reservoir—A Case Study of Dezhou, Shandong Province, China
title_fullStr Study on Reasonable Well Spacing for Geothermal Development of Sandstone Geothermal Reservoir—A Case Study of Dezhou, Shandong Province, China
title_full_unstemmed Study on Reasonable Well Spacing for Geothermal Development of Sandstone Geothermal Reservoir—A Case Study of Dezhou, Shandong Province, China
title_short Study on Reasonable Well Spacing for Geothermal Development of Sandstone Geothermal Reservoir—A Case Study of Dezhou, Shandong Province, China
title_sort study on reasonable well spacing for geothermal development of sandstone geothermal reservoir a case study of dezhou shandong province china
topic sandstone thermal reservoir
production and recharge well spacing
Dezhou in Shandong Province
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/15/4149
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