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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
Houston Geological Society Bulletin
Abstract
Abstract: Geothermal Energy from the Frio
Formation - A New Resource from an
Old Trend
By
Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of
Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
A high percentage of the Texas Gulf Coast oil and gas is
produced from the Frio Formation, most of the hydrocarbons are
derived from fluvial sands on the updip portion of the Frio
sedimentary wedge and are less than 100 feet thick. The downdip
Frio sands are considerably thicker (100 - 700 feet) and were
deposited either as deltas or as strandplain deposits. These thick sands at depths greater than 10,000 feet commonly produce water
fresher than sea water with temperatures between 250-300°F and are
saturated with methane gas. The objective of the Bureau of
Economic Geology project is to evaluate the potential of producing
water from these large geopressured reservoirs in order to obtain
thermal energy, methane gas, and potable water.
The first essential step in such an evaluation is to determine
regional trends of the sand bodies and their depositional environments. Sand-percent maps of the lower part of the
Frio outline thick
dip-oriented sand bodies which were deposited as high-constructive
deltas along the Lower Texas Gulf Coast. To the north, along the
Middle and Upper Texas Gulf Coast, sands along the main sand
depocenter are strike-aligned and were deposited as strandplain
sands and barrier bars. The sands of the upper part of the Frio, on the
other hand are dominantly strike oriented throughout the Texas Gulf
Coast.
Sand-percent maps along with isothermal maps identify gross
geothermal fairways which contain sand bodies greater than 300 feet
thick with fluid temperatures higher than 250°F. More detailed studies of these fairways
then incorporate both detailed analysis of
sand distribution with closely spaced well-logs and porosity and
permeability data obtained from core analysis and log interpretation.
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