Mohammad J.A. Moein

Freie Universität Berlin | FUB · Division of Geophysics

We interpreted the spatial clustering and size distribution of induced microseismicity observed during the stimulation of an Enhanced Geothermal System beneath Basel by comparison with scale invariant synthetic data derived from discrete fracture network models. We evaluated microseimic specific influential factors including the effect of hypocentr...

Anthropogenic operations involving underground fluid extraction or injection can cause unexpectedly large and even damaging earthquakes, despite operational and regulatory efforts. In this Review, we explore the physical mechanisms of induced seismicity and their fundamental applications to modelling, forecasting, monitoring and mitigating induced...

There is an ongoing discussion about how to forecast the maximum magnitudes of induced earthquakes based on operational parameters, subsurface conditions and physical process understanding. Although the occurrence of damage caused by induced earthquakes is rare, some cases have caused significant economic loss, injuries and even loss of life. We an...

We present a methodology for generating fractal fracture networks in one, two and three dimensions that respects the dual power-law model, in which the scaling characteristics are set by the two independent parameters: (1) the correlation dimension that pertains to separation of fracture centers, and (2) the length exponent that governs the distrib...

High-pressure fluid injection into subsurface is often carried out to enhance the permeability of deep geothermal reservoirs. The operation sometimes triggers induced earthquakes that may be as large as natural earthquakes. Novel injection protocols such as cyclic injection schemes have been proposed to mitigate the risk of inducing larger events....

The scaling laws describing the spatial arrangement of fractures along six deep boreholes penetrating the crystalline rocks in the Rhine Graben were derived using a correlation analysis. Five of the wells, two to 5 km depth, were located at the Soultz geothermal site and one well to 5 km depth was located at Basel, some 150 km from Soultz. Five dat...

Induced seismicity is a major challenge for fluid injection operations performed by geo-energy industry to exploit the underground resources. Despite recent developments in the understanding of induced earthquakes, many high-pressure fluid injection operations can still trigger unexpectedly large-magnitude events. A physical understanding of geolog...

Engineering an Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) requires a proper understanding of the fracture network properties from small to large scales in order to create a reliable geological model for reservoir simulations. As deterministic identification of all fractures in a reservoir is practically impossible, stochastic approaches known as Discrete Fra...

Information on structural features of a fracture network at early stages of Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) development is mostly restricted to borehole images and, if available, outcrop data. However, using this information to image discontinuities in deep reservoirs is difficult. Wellbore failure data provides only some information on components...

Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) intend to extract the heat stored in the earth’s crust by circulating a fluid like water between injection and production wells. The heat exchange between the fluid and high temperature (ideally higher than 150°C) host rocks permits producing energy from production fluid. Since the host formations of desirable temp...

Permeability creation during hydraulic stimulation of Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) reservoirs is accompanied in part with induced microseismicity. A satisfactory reservoir characterization is required to mitigate the seismic risk and evaluate different development scenarios with valid hazard assessment. Creating a representative three dimension...

Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) development requires a comprehensive geological model, which includes a proper representation of the natural fracture systems. Our knowledge about the fracture network in the early stages of reservoir creation is restricted to borehole images that only provide the location and orientation of fractures on the borehol...

Development of a geological model for an Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) reservoir requires a characterization of the fracture network. Previous studies have identified fractures from an acoustic image log run in the crystalline basement section of the Basel-1 well and described fracture sets and fracture zone characteristics. Using the Cantor’s D...

Rate of penetration (ROP) in drilling processes is dependent on various operational variables (bit weight, rotary speed etc.), in addition to rock drillability. Drillability of rock depends on physical, mechanical and micro-structural properties of rock. Evaluation of rock drillability is not a trivial task and different methods have been proposed...

In recent years, thanks to telemetry systems, measurement while drilling and geo-steering technologies, drilling directional and horizontal wells has been improved significantly. But still there are a lot of complications in directional drilling operations. Cutting transportation is a serious challenge in high angle and horizontal wells. High mud f...

Significant digenetic processes such as dolomitization, chemical dissolution, reprecipitation, fracturing, etc. create complex pore size distribution in carbonate reservoirs. Contrary to sandstones, the pore size distribution in carbonates is bimodal or trimodal. The existence of organic material increases the complexity, too. The dominant carbonat...