GEOTHERMAL LOOP ENERGY PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

1 . A method of efficiently harvesting geothermal energy, comprising:

drilling a first wellbore into a subsurface geologic formation;

collecting data from the subsurface geologic formation while drilling the first wellbore;

analyzing the collected data to identify a target zone;

drilling a second wellbore to the identified target zone; and

emplacing a closed-loop pipe system within the second wellbore to harvest energy from the target zone.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the collecting data comprises one or more of:

recording a temperature of the subsurface geologic formation;

recording a pressure of the subsurface geologic formation;

recording microseismic data during the drilling;

recording a position of a drill bit in the wellbore during the drilling;

measuring a property of the subsurface formation using a measurement tool.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the analyzing the collected data comprises one or more of:

determining a location of a boundary between a convection zone and a caprock zone;

determining a location of a fault in a caprock zone;

determining a location of a fault in a convection zone (advection zone);

determining a zone comprising rock with permeability suitable for movement of geothermal brine.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein determining a zone comprising rock with permeability suitable for movement of geothermal brine comprises identifying a zone having a permeability of at least 50 Darcy.

5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein determining a zone comprising rock with permeability suitable for movement of geothermal brine comprises identifying a zone having a permeability of at least 75 Darcy.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

passing supercritical carbon dioxide through the closed-loop pipe system to produce an energized carbon dioxide stream;

converting the energized carbon dioxide stream to another form of energy.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

collecting data from the subsurface geologic formation while drilling the second wellbore;

analyzing the data collected while drilling the second wellbore to identify a second target zone;

drilling a third wellbore to the identified second target zone; and

emplacing a second closed-loop pipe system within the third wellbore to harvest energy from the second target zone.

8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

passing supercritical carbon dioxide through the closed-loop pipe system to produce an energized carbon dioxide stream;

passing supercritical carbon dioxide through the second closed-loop pipe system to produce a second energized carbon dioxide stream;

converting the energized carbon dioxide stream and the second energized carbon dioxide stream to another form of energy.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein emplacing the closed-loop pipe system comprises disposing a horizontal, vertical, or angled pipe run that at least partially passes through the identified target convective zone.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second wellbore has a diameter in the range from 2 inches to 24 inches, and wherein the closed-loop pipe system comprises pipe having an external diameter smaller than the diameter of the second wellbore.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the second wellbore has a diameter in the range from 4 inches to 14 inches, and wherein the closed-loop pipe system comprises pipe having an external diameter at least 2 inches less than the diameter of the second wellbore.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

analyzing data for a geologic formation to identify a location of a boundary between a convection zone and a caprock zone; and

wherein the first wellbore is drilled such that the first wellbore is disposed proximate the identified boundary location between the convection zone and the caprock zone.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising emplacing a second closed-loop pipe system within the first wellbore.

14 . A system for producing geothermal energy, comprising:

a first closed-loop pipe system emplaced within a convection zone of a heat-producing geologic formation; and

a second closed-loop pipe system emplaced within a fault within the convection zone or within a fault within a caprock zone proximate the convection zone of the heat producing geologic formation.

15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the second closed-loop pipe system is emplaced within a wellbore drilled, at least in part, based on data collected during drilling of a wellbore for the first closed-loop pipe system.

16 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the first closed-loop pipe system is disposed proximate a boundary between a caprock layer and a convection zone.

17 . The system of claim 14 , further comprising a third closed-loop pipe system emplaced within a fault deep within the convection zone.

18 . A method of producing geothermal energy, comprising:

drilling a wellbore into a subsurface geologic formation with a drill bit;

measuring properties of the subsurface geologic formation while drilling the wellbore;

analyzing the measured properties of the subsurface geologic formation to identify a target zone;

adjusting a trajectory of the drill bit to pass the wellbore into or through the identified target zone; and

emplacing a closed-loop pipe system within the wellbore to harvest energy from the target zone.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

analyzing the measured properties of the subsurface geologic formation to identify a second target zone;

drilling a second wellbore to the identified second target zone; and

emplacing a second closed-loop pipe system within the second wellbore to harvest energy from the second target zone.

20 . A method of producing geothermal energy, comprising:

analyzing measurement while drilling (MWD) data or logging while drilling (LWD) data of a geologic formation to identify a convective geothermal target zone;

drilling a wellbore to the identified convective geothermal target zone; and

emplacing a closed-loop pipe system within the wellbore to harvest energy from the convective geothermal target zone.

21 . A method of producing geothermal energy, comprising:

disposing two or more closed-loop pipe systems within a geologic formation at targeted locations having different convective heat flow characteristics;

harvesting energy from the geologic formation via the two or more closed-loop pipe systems;

converting the harvested energy via a conversion system configured to utilize the two or more closed-loop pipe systems in tiered manner.

22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the two or more closed-loop pipe systems include a higher temperature loop and a lower temperature loop, and wherein the conversion system comprises a CO2 turbine associated with the higher temperature loop and a Rankine cycle system associated with the lower temperature loop.

23 . A method of producing geothermal energy, comprising:

analyzing formation data to determine two or more target locations having different convective heat flow characteristics;

drilling a first wellbore to a first target location;

disposing a first closed-loop pipe system within the first wellbore to harvest energy from the formation;

drilling a second wellbore to a second target location;

disposing a second closed-loop pipe system within the second wellbore to harvest energy from the formation.

24 . The method of claim 23 , further comprising:

converting energy harvested from the first and second closed-loop pipe systems to another form of energy.