| Title | Geochemical Evaluation of Scale Types in a Production Well Following the 2018 Kilauea Eruption, Puna Geothermal Venture, Hawaii, USA |
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| Authors | Derek CARO, Adam JOHNSON, Ed MROCZEK, Nick PRINA, Drew SPAKE, Joseph HEIMERL, Paul SPIELMAN, Scott COSTA |
| Year | 2025 |
| Conference | Stanford Geothermal Workshop |
| Keywords | Pune Geothermal Venture, geochemistry, scale, seawater, basalt, XRD, XRF |
| Abstract | The Puna geothermal field commenced production in 1993 and is presently operated by the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV), which was acquired by Ormat Technologies (Ormat) in 2004. The geothermal field is hosted in basalt and discharges a diluted hydrothermally altered seawater. An eruption occurred in 2018 in the Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) which resulted in the temporary shut in of all wells. Due to damage caused by the eruption, some wells have been abandoned, whilst some have had mechanical repairs and redrills conducted. KS-14 was a production well that was in operation prior to the 2018 eruption. Following the eruption, the well was mechanically repaired with the installation of an additional production liner. The original reservoir section was abandoned, and another reservoir section was drilled to a new bottom hole target, as KS-14RD2. The well was then put in service but ceased to flow in mid-2023. A mechanical cleanout was undertaken and a total of 14 solid debris samples were collected originating from depths ranging between 1,879 ft and 5,255 ft. These samples have been geochemically characterized and this paper highlights the results of these analyses and discusses the context of these scale types. |