Numerical modeling of high-temperature deep wells in the Cerro Prieto geothermal field, Mexico

A numerical modeling study of three non-producing deep geothermal wells from Cerro Prieto is presented. Wecompute the expected production characteristics of these wells in order to determine if their inability to sustain flowwas due to (i) heat loss effects in the well, (ii) the influence of product...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: F. Ascencio, E. Santoyo, A. García, G. Espinosa, H. Gutiérrez, V. Arellano
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:1999
País:México
Institución:Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Repositorio:Redalyc-UMSNH
OAI Identifier:oai:redalyc.org:56838405
Acceso en línea:https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=56838405
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Ciencias de la Tierra
heat losses
gas injection
flow simulation
geothermal wells
well stimulation
Descripción
Sumario:A numerical modeling study of three non-producing deep geothermal wells from Cerro Prieto is presented. Wecompute the expected production characteristics of these wells in order to determine if their inability to sustain flowwas due to (i) heat loss effects in the well, (ii) the influence of production casing diameters, (iii) the transient heat lossduring the first few days of well discharge, or (iv) the effect of secondary low-enthalpy inflows. A new version of thewellbore flow simulator called GEOPOZO v2.0 was developed to solve the equations of conservation of mass, momentumand energy for steady or transient one- and two-phase flow in geothermal wells. It was found that all threewells should have sustained production. The early heat losses were so large that the wells need to be induced and theywould only sustain flow after several days of induced discharge. For well M-202 the match between measured andcomputed temperature profiles for a secondary feedzone suggests that the inflow of colder waters was responsible forstopping the flow of this well.