Geologic characteristics of a portion of the Salton Sea geothermal field

Abstract

The examination of drill cuttings and core samples from the Magmamax Nos. 2 and 3 and Woolsey No. 1 wells indicate that the sequence of sedimentary rocks in the Salton Sea geothermal field from the surface to below 4000 ft can be divided into three categories: cap rock, unaltered reservoir rocks, and hydrothermally altered reservoir rocks. The cap rock extends from the surface to a depth of approximately 1100 ft in all three wells. There is evidence to suggest that the cap rock has undergone self-sealing through time as a result of the circulation of hot brine through the rocks. Essentially unaltered reservoir rocks extend from a depth of 1100 ft to approximately 3000 ft. The mineralogical and textural changes that occur at depth can be attributed to the process of hydrothermal alteration. Alteration has occurred in a chemically open system and the important variables in the alteration scheme have been temperature, permeability, brine composition, and rock composition. The transition from unaltered to altered reservoir rocks is marked by the replacement of calcite by epidote. The first appearance of epidote correlates reasonably well with the top of the alteration zone as determined in other studies by electric log analysis. Biotite more » and chlorite, potential indicators of alteration zones, are considered to be of detrital origin rather than hydrothermal origin. The primary effect of hydrothermal alteration on the reservoir rocks in the Salton Sea geothermal field has been the reduction of porosity and permeability with depth. Petrographic analysis indicates that porosity and permeability in the field is enhanced by the presence of fractures in shales. The geologic picture that emerges from spontaneous potential (SP) log correlation is that of a structural basin whose axis lies to the northwest of Magmamax No. 2. The data suggest that unaltered reservoir rocks on the periphery of the field offer good production possibilities. « less