Geothermal Low-Temperature Reservoir Assessment in Northern Dona Ana County, New Mexico. Final Report

摘要

Fifty-four shallow temperature gradient holes were drilled along Interstate Highway 25 and the Rio Grande, from Las Cruces to Rincon, in northern Dona Ana County, New Mexico. This shallow temperature study (a joint exploration program performed with the cooperation and financial assistance of Trans-Pacific Geothermal, Inc. of Oakland, California) resulted in the discovery and confirmation of new and suspected major low-temperature geothermal resources. Elevated temperature and heat flow data suggest a thermal anomaly which can be generally described as being a nearly continuous linear feature which extends some 25 miles in length in a northwest-southeast direction with the only break being a 5-mile gap near the southern end of the study area. The width of the anomaly is only a few miles but tends to thicken around individual anomalies located within this larger anomaly. There are five main individual anomalies situated within the major anomaly and, listed from north to south, they are the: (1) Rincon Anomaly, (2) San Diego Mountain Anomaly, (3) Radium Springs KGRA, (4) Grande Dome Anomaly, and (5) Goat Mountain Anomaly. The main anomaly is well defined by a 4 HFU contour and the individual anomalies range from about 10 HFU to a high of near 30 HFU, estimated for the Rincon Anomaly. A bottom-hole temperature of 54 exp 0 C at 50 meters was also recorded at Rincon. Deeper drilling is certainly warranted and required in the Rincon Anomaly in order to discover and confirm the true commercially exploitable potential of this geothermal resource. 12 refs., 9 figs., 3 tabs. (ERA citation 10:036408)