A Preliminary Evaluation of Geothermal Potential of San Juan Basin, New Mexico, Using Bottom Hole Temperatures from Oil and Gas Wells
- Key words
- Exploration; USA; New Mexico; San Juan Basin; Geophysical Surveys; Temperature
- Location
- New Mexico; San Juan Basin
- Conference
- Geothermal Resources Council Transactions
- Year
- 1980
- Session
- Exploration; Well logging; Temperature gradients
- Language
- English
Abstract
Bottom hole temperatures from existing well logs of 12,300 oil and gas wells in San Juan Basin, New Mexico were collected and analyzed to evaluate the geothermal potential of this region. The data was used to calculated an approximate geothermal gradient at each well location by assuming a surface temperature of 15°C. The average gradient for the basin, computed from the entire data is 27°C/km. The highest concentration of high computed gradients is in the northwest corner of the state, near Shiprock. Several other locations scattered throughout the basin appear to have promising geothermal potential.
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