--> ABSTRACT: Ultra Deep Saltwater Disposal Below 14,000 Feet: A Case History, by Ken E. Davis, James D. Bundy; #91020 (1995).

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Ultra Deep Saltwater Disposal Below 14,000 Feet: A Case History

Ken E. Davis, James D. Bundy

As part of an agreement between the United States and Mexico, the Lower Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Project was created under the management of the Bureau of Reclamation. As directed by the Durango Projects Office of the Bureau, a 16,000-foot disposal well and gathering system was designed and constructed in Southwestern Colorado to dispose of naturally occuring salt brine. The brine is a result of ground water movement from the mountains surrounding the Paradox Valley intersecting a salt dome and becoming saturated with salt. The water flow enters the Dolores River (a tributary of the Colorado River) through natural springs in the bottom of the river as it crosses the Paradox Valley.

The well was air drilled from surface to below 11,000 feet. The Paradox Salt Member was drilled and cored below 13,000 feet and 9-5/8 inch casing was set to 14,021 feet below ground level. The well is completed in the Mississippian Leadville Formation through primary perforations from 14,080 to 14,504 feet below ground level.

The surface collection and treatment system consists of 11 brine production wells, a 2-micron filtration system, and three miles of Hastelloy pipeline from the surface treatment facility to the brine injection facility.

The well is currently in the sixth injection phase of the test program, injecting a mixture of 70% brine water and 30% fresh water at 400 gallons per minute with approximately 4,300 psi surface injection pressure. Injection rate, injection pressure, annulus pressure, specific gravity, temperature, and cumulative volume data are collected at the brine injection facility and stored on a computer on site. The data are transmitted by modem to Envirocorp's Houston office twice weekly for analysis using Envirocorp's EPS PanSystem 2 software, and in-house analytical software. The reservoir is being modeled on Envirocorp's Swift II numerical model. Testing and model programming will continue through 1994.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91020©1995 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, May 5-8, 1995