Study of Chachimbiro and Chacana geothermal projects, Ecuador, and volumetric assessment

Abstract

Chachimbiro and Chacana geothermal fields are located in the Andes ridge in the north of Ecuador. Previous prefeasibility studies of geology, geochemistry and geophysics were reviewed and the acquired information was used to generate different scenarios for volumetric assessment of the geothermal fields depending on the results from resistivity models and geothermometers. Chachimbiro was treated as a high-temperature field in the volumetric assessment, supported by the presence of a high-temperature resistivity structure. Chacana was treated in a similar way, but as an intermediate- to low-temperature system. Using similar processes with different scenarios may help to advance them to the next stages of exploration. The true conditions of the fields must be discovered by drilling. With an exploratory drilling campaign, the estimation of the models would partly be fixed to more accurate parameters.