Abstract:
[Objective] This study aims to review the history and current status of geothermal resource exploration and development in Xiong’an New Area, and to assess the advances, challenges, and future directions of geothermal exploration and utilization. [Methods] Based on the results of comprehensive geothermal exploration across the whole area, this study synthesizes the theoretical approaches, exploration and development technologies, and representative application. [Results] The principal achievements are as follows: (1) The “dominant-flow heat transfer” theory for buried hills is proposed, revealing the nonlinear characteristics of upward deep heat transport and providing a theoretical basis for identifying highest-temperature and largest-capacity geothermal wells in North China. (2) An evaluation method for recoverable geothermal resources under withdrawal–recharge equilibrium is established, comprehensively considering recharge rate, inter-well heat-exchange efficiency, and reservoir temperature attenuation, thereby improving the applicability of resource assessment to geothermal planning and development. (3) For geothermal exploration, the wide-field electromagnetic (WFEM) method is applied for the first time to the Jixianian geothermal reservoirs in Xiong’an New Area; demonstrating high precision and low cost in locating deeply buried geothermal reservoir structures. To address the low core recovery caused by the fractured weathered crust at the top of buried-hill reservoirs, a small-diameter pilot-hole drilling technique is proposed, achieving an overall core recovery of 85.06%. (4) Hydra-jet and acid-fracturing stimulation is implemented for the first time on the deep Gaozhuangzhuang Formation geothermal reservoir, increasing reservoir productivity eightfold and raising the geothermal-fluid temperature from 60.0 ℃ to 66.5 ℃. (5) To address the spatial mismatch between resource-rich areas with low heat demand and heat-demand centers with limited geothermal resources, the concept and associated technologies of long-distance heat transmission are proposed, and a new large-scale exploitation model based on “centralized extraction–centralized transmission–centralized reinjection” is established. [Significance] These theoretical and technological innovations provide guidance for the efficient and scaled development of geothermal resources in Xiong’an, and offer theoretical and technical support for the green and large-scale geothermal development in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and nationwide.