Enter STRYDE World

United States

Case study

Monitoring the stimulation of geothermal wells at the Utah FORGE site with high-density seismic

A microseismic and sparse 4D seismic study conducted by Rice University with assistance from the Utah FORGE team and Fervo Energy.

Project snapshot

Customer

Rice University

Project partners

Rice University, Utah Forge and Fervo Energy

Location

Utah, USA

Environment type

Desert highlands

Survey size

~4 km²

Duration

~28 days

Project summary

The survey was conducted to monitor the stimulation of an enhanced geothermal site (EGS).

The dataset acquired will be used to test algorithms for moment tensor inversion and passive diffraction imaging in the context of EGS.

Survey snapshot

Survey type

Microseismic + sparse 4D

Number of nodes used

700 1C STRYDE Nodes + 100 3C nodes

Source used

Passive + Surface Orbital Vibrator

Survey layout

10 high density lines

Line and receiver points

Line spacing ~ 260 m, linear receiver spacing ~30 m

Sampling frequency

500 Hz

"This survey was the highest in density and channel count ever conducted by our team. Achieving our desired trace density within our time and labour constraints would not have been possible without STRYDE's agile nodes.

The lightweight nature of these nodes marked a significant advancement for us, allowing for high-density deployments on foot, even in rough terrain.

Our team was thoroughly impressed with the STRYDE system, particularly valuing the integrated node deployment backpack, navigation tablet, GPS unit, and node initialisation device, which greatly enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of our deployment process."

Staff member at Rice University

Survey operations

Crew size and make up

The deployment and retrieval crews consisted of three teams of two

Deployment speed

The teams deployed an average of 130 nodes per day

Deployment duration

The total node deployment required three days and six people

Deployment method

Used vehicles to access the lines but most deployment occurred on foot over rough ground

Challenges faced and why STRYDE was selected

Permitting and obtaining permissions from multiple land owners

Because the survey was located in zones where cultural and biological clearance was required, the University needed to prove that their operations would cause minimal land disruption, making the use of miniature nodes ideal and instrumental in getting this survey approved.

Remote location of deployment and retrieval lines

The team had to hike a considerable distance to reach the deployment lines, making lightweight nodes essential. These nodes allowed the team to transport high-channel counts more easily, significantly reducing the physical burden of carrying the equipment on foot.

Limited budget available for the seismic acquisition

STRYDE's nodes are three times more affordable than any other seismic sensors on the market, making high-density surveys feasible by significantly lowering the overall project costs.

Time constraints due to the academic year calendar

The project required completion within a narrow time frame, making speed and efficiency crucial. The use of STRYDE's nodes facilitated rapid deployment and retrieval, significantly reducing the overall project timeline.

Speak to our team

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