Cerro Prieto Case History: Use of Wireline Logs to Characterize a Geothermal Reservoir

The Cerro Prieto geothermal field is located in Baja California, Mexico, in the Salton Trough–a rift basin filled mainly with Colorado River sediments. A comprehensive wireline log analysis was undertaken as part of a multidisciplinary study of this geothermal system. It established (1) the physical properties of the various sedimentary units; (2) the depositional environment and hydrothermal alteration of the units; (3) the location, attitude, and displacement of faults; and (4) the subsurface circulation of the geothermal fluids. Presented are the methodology that was used and the application of the results to further exploration and development of this high-temperature geothermal resource.