Production-Injection at the Costa Rica Geothermal Fields: Miravalles and Pailas

Abstract

There are two fields producing geothermal energy in Costa Rica, Miravalles and Pailas. Miravalles has 4 steam units installed: Unit 1 (55 MWe, 1994), Wellhead Unit (5 MWe, 1995), Unit 2 (55 MWe, 1998) and Unit 3 (29 MWe, 2000), and also a binary plant: Unit 5 (19 MWe, 2004). On the other hand, Pailas has a binary unit with a production of 35 MWe installed (2011). The Miravalles field has supplied the steam and brine needed to generate over twenty years of exploitation (1994-2014), while Pailas field has approximately three years of operation, with changes in the configuration of wells. The performance of the fields, changes in strategies, in terms of production-injection are Described in the Following sections