Flow Simulation and History Matching of a High Enthalpy Geothermal Reservoir: The Larderello Case Study (Italy)

The Larderello-Travale field (Tuscany, Italy) is the oldest historical areas of geothermal exploration and exploitation in the world. Two reservoirs have been progressively investigated and exploited and the current case study focuses on the deepest fractured reservoir in the southwestern area of the field. It is characterized by temperatures of 250–350°C with an initial static pressure of around 70 bar. The modeled area is historically managed by 64 producers and 12 injectors.

The study consisted in a 3D static and dynamic modeling and particular attention was paid to natural fractures distribution within the reservoir. The history matching was performed on the natural state and production history which started in the nineties.

The aim of the study is to give a better understanding of the production mechanism of a naturally fractured geothermal field by mean of fracture characterization and distribution. This calls for a detailed description of well productivity and interference between closed wells and groups of wells.