GO-Forward

The GO-Forward project (Geothermal Exploration and Optimization through Forward Modeling and Resource Development), has been one of the proposals selected within the call HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-02 (Advanced exploration technologies for geothermal resources in a wide range of geological settings). The project focuses on developing methods to better determine the location, extent, and potential productivity of geothermal reservoirs.

The main objective of GO-Forward is to develop and advance a new combined work methodology to make more accurate predictions of the properties of geothermal reservoirs in the phases prior to the execution of research campaigns (drilling) based on a detailed characterization of the geological processes that lead to their formation and thus reduce the prior risk of the investment.

This "process-based" approach represents a paradigm shift from traditional "data-driven" workflows, as it simulates geological processes, calibrated with geological or geophysical data, rather than extrapolating the properties of these data with traditional geostatistical methods. By using appropriate simulation tools, reservoir properties can be predicted even in areas with low data availability. The three direct modeling approaches that are analyzed in the GO-Forward project combined, address the complete chain of geological processes leading to the formation of reservoirs with geothermal potential in a wide range of geological environments. The three mechanisms identified are: "Stratigraphic Forward Modelling (SFM)" which is used to predict the deposition processes that lead to the formation of sedimentary rocks, the "Diagenetic Forward Modelling (DFM)" which considers the physicochemical processes that lead to the formation, solidification and alteration of rocks during and/or after sedimentation processes, and the "Forward Fracture Models (FFM)" that allows to generate networks of realistic discrete fractures according to tectonic evolution in the geothermal environments that are studied.