**Abstract**

Fully Coupled Thermo-Poroelastic Numerical Approach. 36th Geothermal Resources

[31] Gholizadeh Doonechaly, N. and S.S. Rahman, 3D hybrid tectono-stochastic modeling of naturally fractured reservoir: Application of finite element method and stochastic

[32] Genter, A., et al., Contribution of the exploration of deep crystalline fractured reser‐ voir of Soultz to the knowledge of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). Comptes Re‐

simulation technique. Tectonophysics, 2012. 541–543(0): p. 43-56.

Council Transactions, 2012.

590 Effective and Sustainable Hydraulic Fracturing

ndus Geoscience, 2010. 342(7–8): p. 502-516.

In this work, the effect of fracture network connectivity on hydraulic fracturing effectiveness was investigated using a discrete element numerical model. The simulation results show that natural fracture density can significantly affect the hydraulic fracturing effectiveness, which was characterized by either the ratio of stimulated natural fracture area to hydraulic fracture area or the leakoff ratio. The sparse DFN cases showed a flat microseismic distribution zone with few events, while the dense DFN cases showed a complex microseismic map which indicated significant interaction between the hydraulic fracture and natural fractures. Further, it was found that the initial natural fracture aperture affected the hydraulic fracturing effec‐ tiveness more for the dense natural fracture case than for the sparse (less dense) case. Overall, this work shows that fracture network connectivity plays a critical role in hydraulic fracturing effectiveness, which, in-turn, affects treating pressures, the created microseismicity and corresponding stimulated volume, and well production.
