Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis of the Snake River Plain: Phase 2

Conference · Tue Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 2017

OSTI ID:1402043

Shervais, John W.; Glen, Jonathan M. G.; Nielson, Dennis L.; Garg, Sabodh; Liberty, Lee M.; Siler, Drew; Dobson, Patrick; Gasperikova, Erika; Sonnenthal, Eric; Neupane, Ghanashyam; DeAngelo, Jacob; Newell, Dennis L.; Evans, James P.; Snyder, Neil

Play Fairway Analysis (PFA) is a methodology adapted from the petroleum industry that integrates data at the regional or basin scale to define favorable plays for exploration in a systematic fashion. Phase 2 of our Play Fairway Analysis of the Western Snake River Plain (WSRP) province in southern Idaho had three primary goals: first, to fill data gaps in critical areas in order to better define potential prospects, second, to integrate these data into new thermal and structural models, and finally, to infer the location of potential resources and drilling targets that could be validated during Phase 3. Prospects in the WSRP identified as potential target resources for Phase 3 validation include the Mountain Home region close to the Air Force Base, and the Camas Prairie. The Mountain Home region represents a blind geothermal resource in an area of high heat flow and young volcanism. The Camas Prairie is a semi-blind, structurally controlled resource in an area with indicators of magmatic heat. New geophysical data acquired at these sites includes reflection seismic, gravity and magnetic surveys, and a magnetotelluric field survey. New geochemical data collection focused on the Camas Prairie, and included the aqueous and isotope geochemistry of hot springs, cold springs, and wells (geothermal, groundwater, and irrigation). New field mapping, sampling, and basalt flow chronology was also conducted at Camas Prairie. Integrated results from Phase 1 and 2 studies suggest that the blind system near the Mountain Home Air Force Base is located at ~1.5– 2.3 km depth, and the structurally-controlled system at Camas Prairie is shallower, with upper reservoir depths perhaps only ~0.5–0.7 km.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 1402043
• Report Number(s): INL/CON-17-42832
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Basaltic heat source
Common Risk Segment maps
GIS
Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis
Snake River Plain