| Abstract |
Eburru,is a volcano located north of Olkaria Geothermal Field found in the Kenya Rift south of the equator. The Eburru volcanic complex is known to have the highest peak in the Rift Valley with an elevation of about 2800m. This field has been studied actively by Kenya Electricity generating Company (KenGen) since 1987 and these studies subsequently led to the drilling of 6 exploration wells. This field is currently developed with a wellhead generator of a 2.5 MW installed capacity and is operated by KenGen. Geophysical exploration is part of the on-going geoscientific studies applied on this field with the main aim of estimating its potential for electricity production using steam and also exploring new methods to facilitate direct utilization of the resource by the local community as well as geo-tourism. The area hosting the resource is very important for the development of the region as it has a significant population. The Eburru field belongs to the complex of volcanoes - Menengai, Olkaria, Longonot, and Suswa - that are centered on the Kenya Dome. Currently Olkaria is the most developed. In Menengai drilling is on-going while Suswa and Longonot are waiting to set the stage for exploration drilling. In Eburru, geophysical techniques employed during the campaign included transient electromagnetics (TEM), magnetotellurics (MT). These were employed to image the subsurface for the existence of electrically conductive zones that could be geothermal reservoirs. The TEM was used to correct the static shift in the MT data. The joint inversion of MT and TEM data indicates that the resistivity structure of Eburru goes to depths in the range of kilometers and also indicates a probable reservoir located at about 1.8km. This paper discusses the results obtained from recent interpretation of 1D inversion of MT and TEM data from Eburru. |