Hydrostratigraphical Study, Geochemistry of Thermal Springs, Shallow and Deep Geothermal Exploration in Morocco: Hydrogeothermal Potentialities
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Proceedings World Geothermal Congress 2005 Antalya, Turkey, 24-29 April 2005 Hydrostratigraphical Study, Geochemistry of Thermal Springs, Shallow and Deep Geothermal Exploration in Morocco: Hydrogeothermal Potentialities Yassine Zarhloule1, Salem Bouri2, Abderahim Lahrach3 , Mimoun Boughriba1 ,Abdenbi El Mandour1 and Hamed Ben Dhia2. 1: Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geology, Laboratory of hydrogeology & environement, Oujda, Morocco. 2: ENISfax, Department of Geology, Laboratory of water, energy & environment, Sfax, Tunisia. 3: Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geology, Fès, Morocco. [email protected], [email protected] Keywords: aquifers, thermal springs, geochemistry, Alkaline geothermometers used for the thermal springs are temperatures, oil wells, shallow wells, hydrodynamism, not reliable for prospecting, inasmuch as the chemical geothermal gradient, thermal anomalies, conceptual model, composition is greatly affected by the enormous dilution with Morocco. the shallow cold water and probably affected by interaction with the evaporitic rocks that are ubiquitous in the basin.The ABSTRACT application of Giggenbach method to springs revealed that the waters result from mixing of deep water with shallow The aim of this paper is to obtain a first reliable evaluation of cold water. In this case the reservoir deep temperature is the geothermal potential of the country. It’s caracterised by given by the mixing model. more than 70 hot springs, several deep hot aquifers, more than 1000 petroleum exploration wells and various existing The deep geothermal study is based on the petroleum well geological, geophysical and hydrogeological data. So, its was data which present 1126 BHT and 78 DST. A statistical possible to distinguish the mains geothermal features if the method is used to process these temperature indications and country, by evaluating both the underground temperature and gives a geothermal gradient ranging from 16 to 41°C/Km. In the potential reservoirs. order to establish the first geothermal gradient map for the whole of Morocco , the country is subdivided to five The hydrostratigraphical study of each basin revealed several hydrogeothermal basins. Each basin is characterized by its potentiel reservoir layers in which the carbonate aquifer of geodynamical evolution and its specific reservoirs and Turonian (Tadla basin and Agadir basin) and Liasic (North- hydrodynamism. Also, The data were treated separately and western basin of Morocco and North-Eastern basin) are the five maps of geothermal gradient were realized. The resulting most important hot water reservoirs in Morocco. this study map of Morocco shows that the geothermal anomalies are made it possible to identify the main aquifers, their related to deeper hydrodynamic, recent tectonic, volcanism or temperatures, depth and extension. to elevation of the Moho. A shallow geothermal prospecting has been performed in four zones in Morocco for wich few deep thermal data are 1. INTRODUCTION available (North-western basin of Morocco, North-Eastern For Morocco, the oil crises and the decrease in local energy basin of Morocco, Tadla basin and Agadir basin). These areas ressources, gave impetus to geothermal energy, for potential are different geologically and hydrogeologically. The shallow assessment, exploration and utilisation. The evaluation of temperature measurements program has been launched to hydrogeothermal resources of Morocco is mainly done by the estimate the natural geothermal gradient in these areas, to knowledge of the temperature, the chemical characteristics of determine the principal thermal anomalies, to identify the water, the hydrodynamics of the reservoirs containing hot main thermal indices, and to characterize the recharge, water. The research undertaken showed a country with real discharge and potential mixing limits of the aquifers.The potentialities either by its important deep aquifers or by the main thermals clues and the principal thermal anomalies that relatively high values of geothermal gradient. It is expected coincide with zone of artesianism of Turonian and Liasic that these efforts of geothermal investigation will continue in aquifers have been identified, as well as the potential mixing the future. limit of the aquifers systems. Also,for each basin a conceptual model is presented to interpret the relation between 2. GEOLOGICAL SETTING temperature, hydrodynamism and topography within the sedimentary basins . Morocco is located in a strategic area at the interaction of several plates (Africa, European, Mediterranean and The chimical of several thermal springs, in the north part of Atlantic). The structural framework is characterized by Morocco, has been investigated. Measured temperature transition from the African domain in the southern part of ranges from 21 to 54°C, discharges rates range from 2.5 to Morocco to Alpin foldeed structures (Atlasic domain and Rif 40l/s and TDS range 132 mg/l to 3g/l. The waters are mainly troughs). Four main structural units are defined from South to HCO3-Ca-Mg type, resulting from the great influence of North (Fig. 1): Anti-Atlas and Saharian domain corresponds carbonate rocks, and the Na-Cl type, resulting from the to the Precambrian basement, Atlas corresponds to an Alpine interaction of water with marine sediments.The geochimical intracontinental range, Mesetas corresponds to stable prospecting using geothermometers(silica, Na/K, Na-K-Ca, Paleozoic-Mesozoic basement, Rif represents the Alpine belt around the Western Mediterranean . Morocco was subdivided into five hydrogeothermal basins Na-K-Ca-Mg, Mg/Li and Na/Li) has been applied and only (Fig. 1), distinguished by specific geological and the silica geothermometrs seem to give plausible values. hydrogeological feautres (North-Western basin, North- 1 Zarhloule et al. Eastern basin, South-Western basin, Tadla basin, Errachidia- High-Atlas Ourzazate-Boudnib basin and Tarfaya. Laayoune-Moroccan 0 Atlantic -200 -400 Sahara basin). Ocean 0 +400 -400 +200 0 -200 Tagatrant na 0 ou -200 Sebta G Aquiclude Mediterraean Sea El Sidi Bourja N Agadir -1000 Bou Rbia Rif Reservoir domain 4 -800 -400 El Haffaia N Rabat Hydrogeothermal 3 Oujda -600 Od Teima Fes eta -400El Kléa Reservoir Meseta Mes Q Anti-Atlas in -200 Tadla 2 oma 6 Q Biougra Essaouira sic d S 10 km Atla Errachidia Q S 1 in ma Tr Tr do M Turonian visible fault Fault from electric Oil well Hydrogeological well Agadir tlas Pl-Q C South limit of Turonian deposit ti-A C 200 Structural curve of Turonian aquifers Atlantic Ocean An Q Og Q Mp S H-B IC Tarfaya S Tr 5 Saharian Tr C Pr-K Laayoune domain Ms-Eo Npr BB Figure 2a: Structural map of Turonian aquifer. C P-K Ox A Mp n Sahara H-Be Cal-Ox To a D S Pl Do C Ba-To High-Atlas Morocc Pr-K L Ts Ts Atlantic 170 230 C-Tr D Pz Ox L 140 Pz Ocean 200 6 El Gouna Tagatrant D L Ts 5 IC Pz Ts L Agadir Sidi Bourja Ts Pz 4 200 km 110 Bou Rbia Ts Pz 3 El Haffaia N 1 Pz 2 El Klea Od Teima Anti-Atlas areas studies: 1:South-Western basin, 2:Tadla basin, 3:North-Western basin (Saïss), 4:North-Eastern basin, 5:Tarfaya-Laayoune-Moroccan Sahara basin, 6:Errachidia-Ourazazate-Boudnib basin. 1.2.3.4.5.6:Deep geothermal exploration, 1.2.3.4:shallow geothermal exploration, 3.4:Geochimical Biougra 10 km investigation. Q:Quaternary, M:Miocene, Og:Oligocene, S:Senonian, Tr:Turonian, C:Cenomanian, Pr:Portlandian, K:Kimmeridgian, Cal:Callovian, Ox:Oxfordian, Ba-To:Bathonian-Toarcien, L:Lias, Ts:Triasic, Pz:Paleozoïc, A:Aalenian, Do:Domerian, P-N:Paleogene-Neogene, H-Be:Hauterivian- Turonian visible fault Fault from electric Oil well Hydrogeological well Berriasian, D:Dogger, Ms-Eo:Maastrichtian-Eocene, Pl:Pliocene, IC:Infra-Cenomanian, Mp:Miocene South limit of Turonian deposit 200 Piezometric curve of Turonian aquifers post-nappe, Npr: Nappe pre-rifain Figure 2b: Piezometric map of Turonian aquifer. Figure 1: Simplified geological map of Morocco with the study zones and their hydrostratigraphical 3.1.2 Tadla basin logs. In the Tadla basin the aquifer is represented by the 3. HYDROSTRATIGRAPHICAL STUDY carbonate. The outcrops are limited to the Nord of Kasbat The basic data were mainly obtained from final well reports, Tadla-El Borouj. The tickness varies from 20m to 100m. from both oil and hydrogeologic research. Also some data The depth of the reservoir ranges from the outcrops to 500m have been acquired on the land (piezometrical level, chemical (Fig. 3a ). In the north part of Kasbat Tadla-El Borouj, the analysis of water, measure of temperature). These data hydrodynamic flow is from the North to the South of the proved useful for characterising the hot aquifers of Morocco. basin and to South-Ouest, but in the South of this limit the aquifer is deep and the groundwater flow is toward ENE- The hydrostratigraphical study (Fig.1) of each basin revealed WSW . The discharge zone is in the South-Ouest of El several potential reservoir layers in which the carbonate Brouj (Fig. 3b). The aquifer temperature and the salinity aquifer of Turonian (South-Western and Tadla basin) and varies respectively from 21°C to 47°C and from 530mg/l to Liasic (North-Western and North-Eastern basin) are the most 2530mg/l important hot water reservoirs in Morocco (Zarhloule, 1999, Zarhloule et al.2001). These areas are different geologically and hydrogeologically. +600 KT 3.1 Hydrogeological characterstics of the Turonian +400 aquifers EB FBS Atlasic +200 0 Domain 3.1.1 South-Western basin -200 BM -400 Turonian In the Agadir basin the aquifer is mainly limestone. The OZ -600 Paleozoïc +200 outcrops are limited to High-Atlas, Haffaia, Sidi-bourja, 0 Hydrogeological well Ouled bou Rbia, El Aaricha and Tagtrannat zones. The -200 15 km aquifer thickness ranges from 10m in the East to 120m in the KT: Kasba Tadla, EB: El Borouj, FBS: Fkih Ben Salah, BM: Beni Mellal, OZ, Ouled Zidouh. West. The depth of the aquifer varies from the outcrops in the south of the basin to 500 m in the East (Fig.