Reservoir Processes Related to Exploitation in Los Azufres (México) Geothermal Field Indicated by Geochemical and Production Monitoring Data

Víctor Manuel Arellano¹, Rosa María Barragán^1*, Miguel Ramírez², Siomara López¹, Alfonso Aragón¹, Adriana Paredes¹, Emigdio Casimiro³, Lisette Reyes³

¹Instituto de Investigaciones Eléctricas, Gerencia de Geotermia, Cuernavaca, México.
²Comisión Federal de Electricidad, Gerencia de Proyectos Geotermoeléctricos, Morelia, México.
³Comisión Federal de Electricidad, Residencia Los Azufres, Campamento Agua Fría, México.

DOI: 10.4236/ijg.2015.69083                

Abstract

A combined analysis of geochemical and production data of 39 wells of the Los Azufres (Mexico) geothermal field (227.4 MWe) over time was developed to investigate the exploitation-related processes for 2003-2011. In the south zone, important effects of reinjection were observed through Cl increases in some wells (up to 8000 mg/kg) while in wells with significant boiling, Cl has decreased. In most of the north zone wells, the variations in gas data indicated boiling and condensation of a highly gas-depleted brine, which seems to consist of reinjection fluids. It is suggested that this process maintains the production in the zone relatively stable. The main reservoir exploitation-related processes found were: 1) production of reinjection returns; for this, it was possible to distinguish a) wells that produce liquid and steam from injection, and b) wells that produce steam from injection and sometimes condensed steam from injection; 2) boiling: two types of boiling were identified: a) boiling with steam gain, and b) boiling with steam loss. The results indicated that an effective reservoir recharge occurs since very moderate production declining rates were found.

Keywords

Los Azufres Geothermal Field, Well Simulation, Fluid Geochemistry, Well Bottom Conditions, Production Wells

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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