Structural and sedimentological study of the Cerro Prieto geothermal field, Baja California, Mexico

Geophysical and lithologic well logs from over fifty wells have been qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using both manual and computer interpretation techniques. These logs were studied to make stratigraphic correlations throughout the Cerro Prieto field and to interpret the deltaic depositional environment of the field's lithologic units. Dipmeter and seismic data were of great value in making stratigraphic interpretations and extrapolations. Cross sections were constructed to illustrate lithofacies variations throughout the geothermal field. In turn, these sections were used to construct a three-dimensional model of the Cerro Prieto geothermal reservoir. Petrographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction analyses of well-bore cuttings and cores were utilized to determine the degree and distribution of hydrothermal alteration by fluids at temperatures up to 350{sup 0}C, the origins of dissolution porosity, and the relative degree of fracture versus dissolution porosity. The results of these analyses were confirmed by log-derived determinations of formation fluid properties, porosity, and petrophysical properties and by studies of Cerro Prieto cores conducted under in-situ conditions. The results of this research were integrated into the Cerro Prieto reservoir model