Effects of pressure drawdown and recovery on the Cerro Prieto beta reservoir in the CP-III area

The production characteristics of wells in the northwestern Cerro Prieto III area changed greatly when the Cp-III power plant went on line in 1986. Fluid extraction in the field more than doubled and reservoir-wide boiling started immediately, greatly increasing the enthalpy of produced fluids. Some well fluids showed a decrease in chloride due to adiabatic steam condensation in the well and separator, and others were enriched in chloride due to boiling. As reservoir drawdown increased, entrance of cooler and more dilute groundwaters into the reservoir became evident (i.e., condensation stopped, and there was a decrease in enthalpy and chloride in produced fluids). Although some groundwater inflow was from the leaky western margin of the reservoir, the majority is in the northeast, inferred to be local and downward, possibly through more permeable zones associated with the normal fault H. This natural recharge and some reinjection have slowed and possibly reversed pressure drawdown throughout CP-III. Enthalpy has decreased and liquid saturation has increased as the steam-rich zone in the upper part of the reservoir has either disappeared or become thinner