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Here is a white paper released by Fervo that describes what they've done in more detail: https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/5704/


"The project involved drilling a first-of-a-kind EGS horizontal doublet well system, consisting of an injection and production well pair within a high-temperature, hard rock geothermal formation... During production testing, the system achieved flow rates of up to 63 L/s, production temperatures of up to 336 ◦F and a peak power production of 3.5 MW electric power equivalent."

The team believes they can increase "the power capacity up to 8 MW of electric power per production well" and unlock economies of scale "because multiple wells can be drilled from a single pad location," which gains from "minimizing in-field rig moves, reducing drilling risk by drilling closely spaced vertical well sections, co-locating surface facilities infrastructure, and minimizing pipeline costs."

Notably, "the rate and pressure responses between Injection Well 34A-22 and Production Well 34-22 were strongly correlated, with changes in one well causing a rapid response in the offset well typically on the order of minutes to tens of minutes." That means dispatchable generation.


As a point of comparison, the average US oil well produces around 26 barrels a day, or 1.8MW.


I don't have any megawatt convertible statistics handy, but the distribution is HEAVILY skewed. Take this as a rough indication:

>An average marginal oil well in the United States produces about 2 barrels/day. Approximately 80 percent of all American oil wells are marginal wells, but they provide about 10-20 percent of American oil production. Approximately two-thirds of all American natural gas wells are marginal wells, averaging about 22 mcfd and providing 12 percent of American natural gas production

https://www.ipaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/IPAAComments...


Oil wells are smaller and more spread out and they also can't necessarily pump more than they can store.




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