Abstract:
Although dry hot rock resources hold immense potential, their development faces challenges such as high technical complexity and low commercial viability. This study systematically reviews domestic and international engineering practices in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) and establishes a “geology-engineering integrated” comparative evaluation framework covering well network deployment, well completion and modification and heat exchange monitoring. By comprehensively applying systematic analysis, comparative evaluation, and numerical simulation methods, the study provides data support for the commercial development of EGS. The study indicates that a mature technological system has been established internationally, centered on “horizontal injection and production well clusters, well factory platform drilling, zipper-style volume fracturing, and full-cycle multi-source monitoring.” In contrast, existing domestic demonstration projects primarily rely on vertical well retrofitting, facing critical constraints such as poor inter-well connectivity, insufficient flow capacity, and unstable thermal reservoir modification effects, and have yet to achieve commercial breakthroughs. Based on the above comparison, a systematic and efficient development technology roadmap suitable for China’s deep dry hot rock geological conditions is proposed: guided by stress-constrained wellbore trajectory optimization, matched with reasonable well spacing and refined zone cluster design, employing medium-to-high-volume sand-injected volumetric fracturing processes, and integrating multi-source real-time fracture monitoring with closed-loop feedback control mechanisms to establish an integrated “design–retrofit–evaluation–optimization” method for geothermal reservoir retrofitting in horizontal well systems. This approach provides both a theoretical foundation and a practical pathway for the efficient development of China’s dry hot rock resources and the high-quality development of the geothermal industry.