April 2017 Outcrop by The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Volume 66 • No. 4 • April 2017

OUTCROP | April 2017

Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

910 16th Street • Suite 1214 • Denver, CO 80202 • 303-573-8621 The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) is a nonprofit organization whose purposes are to promote interest in geology and allied sciences and their practical application, to foster scientific research and to encourage fellowship and cooperation among its members. The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the RMAG.

2017 OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT

TREASURER

Larry Rasmussen larryr@whiting.com

Karen Dean deankaren@comcast.net

PRESIDENT-ELECT

TREASURER-ELECT

Terri Olson tmolson8550@gmail.com

Robin Swank robin.swank@gmail.com

1st VICE PRESIDENT

SECRETARY

Steve Sturm 303petro.images@gmail.com

Jennifer Jones jaseitzjones@gmail.com

2nd VICE PRESIDENT

1st YEAR COUNSELOR

Cat Campbell CCampbell@bayless-cos.com

Jim Emme jim_emme@yahoo.com 2nd YEAR COUNSELOR

Rob Diedrich rdiedrich@sm-energy.com

RMAG STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Barbara Kuzmic bkuzmic@rmag.org MEMBERSHIP & EVENTS MANAGER

Hannah Rogers hrogers@rmag.org ACCOUNTANT

Carol Dalton cdalton@rmag.org PROJECTS SPECIALIST

Kathy Mitchell-Garton kmitchellgarton@rmag.org MANAGING EDITOR

Will Duggins will.duggins@i-og.net ASSOCIATE EDITORS

ADVERTISING INFORMATION

Rates and sizes can be found on page 32. Advertising rates apply to either black and white or color ads. Submit color ads in RGB color to be compatible with web format. Borders are recommended for advertisements that comprise less than one half page. Digital files must be PC compatible submitted in png, jpg, tif, pdf or eps formats at a minimum of 300 dpi. If you have any questions, please call the RMAG office at 303-573-8621. Ad copy, signed contract and payment must be received before advertising insertion. Contact the RMAG office for details. DEADLINES: Ad submissions are the 1st of every month for the following month’s publication. WEDNESDAY NOON LUNCHEON RESERVATIONS

RMAG Office: 303-573-8621 | Fax: 303-476-2241 | staff@rmag.org or www.rmag.org

Holly Sell holly.sell@yahoo.com Greg Guyer Greg.Guyer@halliburton.com Cheryl Fountain cwhitney@alumni.nmt.edu Ron Parker ron.parker@taskfronterra.com DESIGN/PRODUCTION

Nate Silva nate@nate-silva.com

The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

3 3

Outcrop | April 2017 OUTCROP

Join Us in Billings at RMS-AAPG Petrophysical Evaluation of Unconventional Reservoirs Saturday, June 24, 2017, 8:00 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5:00 pm Double Tree - Skybridge One, Billings Montana Fee: $275, includes lunch, class notes, and PDH certificate Instructor: Jack Breig

Course description: The course will cover the petrophysical approaches to the evaluation of Shale Oil, Tight Gas Sands, and Shale Gas Techniques using both open and cased hole logs. Attendees will learn basic interpretation procedures to determine porosity, hydrocarbon saturation, TOC, volumes of in-place hydrocarbons, recoverable hydrocarbon estimates, and net pay criteria. Worked examples from a number of North American reservoirs will be part of a comprehensive workshop manual to be provided to all attendees. Instructor: Jack Breig is a Petrophysical Consultant with Precision Petrophysics in Denver. He was formerly the Chief Petrophysicist with Whiting Petroleum and a Senior Petrophysicist with Newfield Exploration. His experiences with unconventional resources include foundational studies on the Woodford Shale in Oklahoma, and development of advanced evaluation programs for the Bakken, Three Forks, Niobrara, Eagle Ford, and Marcellus formations. Jack is a member of SPWLA, AAPG, SPE, and the current VP-Technology for the Denver Well Logging Society.

Petroleum Geostatistics

Sunday, June 25, 2017, 8:00 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4:30 pm Double Tree - Skybridge One, Billings Montana Fee: $250, includes lunch, class notes, and PDH certificate Instructor: Dr. Todd Hoffman, Montana Tech, Petroleum Engineering Dept. Course description: This course will teach you how to use geostatistical tools to create high quality petroleum reservoir models. Fundamental techniques such as kriging and sequential simulation will be covered along with more recent developments such as object based methods and multipoint geostatistics. We will use hands-on examples to create a deeper understanding of the methods as well as use software to perform field scale applications. By the end of the course, you know when to use particular techniques and the general concepts and equations behind the techniques. Instructor: Todd Hoffman is an Associate Professor in the Petroleum Engineering Department at the Montana Tech. He has worked as a reservoir engineering consultant specializing in flow modeling and fractured reservoirs. As a petroleum engineering professor at Colorado School of Mines, he taught courses on Geostatistics, Fluid Properties and Reservoir Engineering. Todd has worked on reservoir models for more than 30 fields on six continents, and has published 40+ technical papers. His research involves fracture modeling and improved recovery for conventional and unconventional oil reservoirs. Todd received his B.S. in petroleum engineering from Montana Tech and his M.S. and Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from Stanford University. Class Descriptions and Register Online: rmsaapg2017.com

For more information, contact Mary Carr, 303.273.3107, mcarr@mines.edu 4 Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | April 2017

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

CONTENTS FEATURES

ASSOCIATION NEWS

24 Lead Story: What Geology Has To Say About Building A 1,000-Mile Border Wall

2 RMAG 2017 Summit Sponsors

18 Mineral Of The Month: Siderite DEPARTMENTS 6 RMAG December 2016 Board Of Directors Meeting 8 Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Letter 14 RMAG Luncheon Programs: Stephanie B. Gaswirth

7 WGA 2017 Field Conference 13 Hydrocarbon Source Rocks In Uncoventional Plays, Rocky Mountain Region: Now Available 15 2017 RMAG Golf Tournament 31 Save The Date: RMAG Rockbusters Bash

16 RMAG Luncheon Programs: Mark Millard

33 Save The Date: RMAG DWLS Fall Symposium, RMAG Core Workshop

32 In The Pipeline

34 UGS Special Core Workshop

32 Outcrop Advertising Rates

37 RMAG Core Workshop: Thank You!

36 Welcome New RMAG Members!

COVER PHOTO The Fountain Formation near Boulder, CO. Photo credit Nick Warren

38 Advertiser Index 38 Calendar

Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | April 2017

RMAG DECEMBER 2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING By Jennifer Jones, Secretary jaseitzjones@gmail.com

Marty Hall

Program Development Manager Multi-Client Services

committee is planning for the year, and have some great ideas in progress. The mentorship program held a mixer event in February that went well with high attendance. The Membership Committee is developing plans for quarterly and student events. Planning for the Fall Symposium is in full swing. The RMAG Board has been discussing projects 1 and 2 man Mudlogging to present toSummit the Long Range Planning CommitGas Referencing™ Geosteering tee to guide Mudlogging RMAG throughout 2017. We are also Services working on a demographic survey of RMAG membership to better understand our members and arMike Barber Manager eas of interest. These will both be ongoing efforts Serving the Rocky Mountain Region in the coming months. 230 Airport Rd. check the RMAG website often Ph (435)657-0586 Please for the Unit D Cell (435)640-1382 exciting events and opportunities coming up soon! Heber City, Utah 84032 email: mbarber@summitmudlog.com www.summitmudlog.com We look forward to seeing you.

The February meeting of the RMAG Board of Directors was held February 15, 2017 at 4 PM. Larry, Rob, and Karen were not able to attend. Treasurer-Elect Robin Swank reported that the RMAG financials are continuing as expected. Barbara Kuzmic, Executive Director, led a discussion about membership retention and renewals. Summit Sponsorship commitments are progressing nicely. The monthly luncheon program is nearly booked for the year. The Continuing Education Committee is working on development of a basin evaluation series and fall core workshop. The Publications Committee reported that the Mountain Geologist and Outcrop are doing well. The 3D Seismic Symposium was February 22 - attendance and sponsorships were positive. The On the Rocks 7765 Windwood Way P.O. Box 549 Parker, CO 80134 USA

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OUTCROP | April 2017

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Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

Wyoming Geological Association Geology & Energy Resources of Northern Wyoming

September 811, 2017

NEW DATE!

WGA

2017 Field Conference

Conference to be held in beautiful Casper, Wyoming

More details to come!

This year's conference will focus on all general (energy AND nonenergyrelated) geologic topics in the northern half of Wyoming.

Call for Papers You are invited to submit a technical paper relating to this year's theme. Collected papers will undergo peer review and will be released in an upcoming WGA Guidebook. Submit papers to info@wyogeo.org by JUNE 5, 2017

Call for Speakers In addition to papers, we are inviting people to present at a oneday technical session on topics related to this year's theme.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PAPER GUIDELINES OR SPEAKING, CONTACT: Mike Mellin: 3077020813 Jesse Self: 3073151891 Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org 7 OUTCROP | April 2017 mike.mellin@urenergy.com jesse.self@urenergy.com

PRESIDENT’S LETTER By Larry Rasmussen

Gene Stevenson

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OUTCROP | April 2017

I’m not sure when I first met Gene Stevenson, although it was most definitely through his writing before I met the man in person. About five years ago Gene was our expert guide on a rafting trip down the San Juan River to look at the geology and archaeology between Bluff and Mexican Hat, Utah. He has authored or co-authored nearly four dozen papers about the geology of the Four Corners region, with the Paradox Basin being one of his areas of expertise. I had initially become interested in the geology of the Paradox via road trips with my father, with whom I also coauthored several AAPG talks and one paper. That interest ultimately culminated in my working the basin for several years for my company. Part of me getting up to speed on the geology of the basin was reading the published literature, and Gene’s articles were part of the essential reading list. Continuing along on my informally-titled series, “talking to geologists who interest me”, I recently spoke with Gene about what sparked his interest in geology, his career, and what keeps him going. Gene spent the majority of his childhood in Albuquerque, and, upon graduating high school in 1966, he received a scholarship to play football at Fort Lewis

Photo caption: Gene (a.k.a. Moses) on top of Mule Ear diatreme, October, 2009. 8

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College in Durango. This was a time when many kids his age were being sent off to fight the Commie menace in SE Asia. In retrospect, it’s easy to see that the prospect of playing football, chasing girls and drinking beer held far more allure than heading off to Vietnam. During his first year at Fort Lewis, Gene found himself taking a physical geology course taught by a mineralogist named Frank Bowman. Dr. Berman was the only geologist in the department at that point, but a short time later Don Baars became part of the faculty and one of Gene’s most important mentors over the years. Don Baars is well known to anyone who is a student of Four Corners geology. He wrote extensively about the region, and his books are still relevant and widely available. He studied under Lee Stokes at the University of Utah and later received a PhD from the University of Colorado under John Chronic. In between he had stints at Shell, the U.S. Army and Amoco (Pan Am). He taught for a few years at Washington State before landing a teaching position at Fort Lewis College in 1968. Gene took a Historical Geology course from Don Baars that altered the arc of his life. Don began to take Gene and the other geology students (there were only six in the program) on frequent weekend field trips to explore the geology of the Animas Valley. Following Baar’s addition to the faculty, Gene’s GPA went from a C to an A, he ended up on the dean’s list, and upon graduation he was awarded with a teaching assistantship at Northern Arizona University. At NAU, Gene studied

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Well Site Geology Remote Geosteering Petrographic Analysis Field Geologic Studies

phone 406. 259. 4124 sunburstconsulting.com

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

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OUTCROP | April 2017

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Gene Stevenson (r) with Mark Sonnenfeld (l) floating through Honaker Trail strata, Raplee Anticline, June, 2012. (Photo: Don Rasmussen)

OUTCROP | April 2017

Mountain Basins, but with a particular emphasis on the Paleozoic of the San Juan and Paradox basins. During this period Gene published more than 30 papers on Four Corners geology, several of which were co-authored by Don Baars. Perhaps most notable about Gene’s life as a geologist is how it has dove-tailed with rafting. “Boating rivers and learning geology went hand-in-hand for me.” Gene began rafting while still at Fort Lewis College in 1968 when he took a trip down the San Juan River through Raplee Anticline to look at algal mounds in the Lower Ismay. This was a trip led by his stratigraphy professor, 10

Don Baars, but the expedition was run by an outfitter named Kenny Ross from the Bluff/Mexican Hat area who had inherited his pontoon from Shell after they had completed a field study in the canyon. From there, Gene worked with Ted Hatch (Hatch River Expeditions) during 197071, piloting several rafting trips down the Grand Canyon, mostly for geology students from around the country. This is where he conducted the fieldwork for his MS thesis, stating it was a great way to access outcrops where no sections had been measured and no detailed mapping had been conducted. Even after he moved

the Precambrian Dox Formation (Unkar Group). Prior to Gene’s work in 1970, the last significant work on the Dox was by USGS geologist, Levi Noble, in 1914, and there was still a lot of work to be done. Gene began his career in 1973 with Exxon in New Orleans. For someone from the American Southwest beginning a career in southern Louisiana, it is of little surprise that within two years, he’d pulled up stakes and moved back west to Denver. For the next 15 years, Gene worked primarily as a consulting geologist, working on a wide array of projects in nearly all of the Rocky

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Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

to Denver, Gene continued to lead geological and archaeological field trips via raft, mostly on the San Juan River in SE Utah. In 1991, Gene and his wife, Theresa, sold their house in Denver and moved to Bluff, Utah, located along the San Juan River. Bluff is an eclectic community comprised of writers, artists, hardcore environmentalists and hardcore rednecks. Although Gene continued to work as a consulting geologist, he was also a Professional River Guide and Geologist for Wild Rivers Expeditions for 20 years, something he refers to as his ‘full-time parttime job.’ All told, Gene has taken close to 400 rafting trips down rivers on the Colorado Plateau, most of those (~300) on the San Juan. I’ve taken a few trips down the San Juan, and in 2012, I was fortunate to attend a trip that Gene was leading down the river. The geology is about as spectacular as you might expect. From the put-in at Bluff, you float down-section from just above the Jurassic Navajo SS all the way to the Pennsylvanian Barker Creek evaporites of the Paradox Fm, and then back up-section to the Permian Organ Rock Fm as you continue downstream and out the other side of the anticline toward Mexican Hat. If you ever wanted a spectacular hands-on view of the cycles in the Paradox or Honaker Trail formations, I can hardly recommend a better place to do it. The archaeological sites were equally incredible: Anasazi dwellings littered

Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

with pottery shards and thousand year old corn cobs, countless petroglyphs, and moki steps carved into steep canyon walls. I naively asked Gene if he had any good stories about his years rafting. Of course, he had many, from retrieving the body of a young rock climber who tragically fell to his death on Mule Ear diatreme, to the time the Kansas Geological Survey cored an algal mound along the river which contained oil that flowed out of the core as it was brought to surface. (Those stories will be in his book.) More entertaining was one concerning a geologist fired over an innocent prank involving a motorcycle battery, an office telephone, and a humorless CEO. I’ll let Gene tell the story, but I’ve changed names and pared down the original piece: In 1989, Defiance Oil Co. had just “drilled and killed” a bunch of sheep at Black Rock, Arizona when I took them all on a San Juan River field trip. The river trip was an overnighter going from Bluff to Mexican Hat with emphasis on the algal mounds at Eight-Foot. From the minute the group showed up, the CEO of Defiance, who was on the trip, was constantly on the phone at Wild Rivers office. Cell phones were in their infancy and still didn’t work at all in Bluff. He asked if we carried a “sat” phone for the trip. I said, “no, we don’t even have one”, and he was noticeably annoyed that he would be “out of touch with his REAL world” for a couple of days. The other river guide on the

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OUTCROP | April 2017

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

View of Raplee Anticline near Mexican Hat, Utah, June, 2012. (Photo: Don Rasmussen)

OUTCROP | April 2017

on hikes around the area, and he still hires out as a geologist ‘talking head’ on boat trips down the San Juan. The locals, knowing that he’s a geologist, bring him rocks and fossils to identify. In his spare time, he and my dad are preparing to publish a major revision of stratigraphic nomenclature of Pennsylvanian-age strata in the Colorado Plateau. Currently, he’s in the process of finishing a book on the history of river rafting on the San Juan River and Cataract Canyon portion of the Colorado River, including discussions of geology, hydrology, sedimentation, increased tourism, etc. The book, however, is first and foremost a biography of Kenny Ross, who started Wild Rivers Expeditions and who, along with Don Baars, took Gene on his first raft trip down the San Juan River in 1968.

trip remembers some details. He said “I’m the guy who was working back in the shop when Rich [a geologist from Defiance] came in and explained what they wanted to do and I helped him with some odds and ends of stuff to simulate the phone call. They knew the panic the boss had without a phone, so Rich had brought along an old black dial phone but needed wire and an ammo box (for a motor cycle battery).” We got to camp at lower Eight-Foot Rapid and after everyone had their camp spots picked out and tents set up they came down to our kitchen area by the boats and had some beers. I had set out some nuts and chips & salsa for a pre-dinner snack as per normal on river trips and was preparing dinner while my river partner set up the phone

and battery behind a big rock. He even brought an old car antenna to make it look real from afar. Then, when it was all set up, my buddy hit the switch on the wire he had secretly strung back towards the camp kitchen and the phone rang, and RANG again! Loud! Well, Mister Boss Man jumped up, and said “I knew it; I knew you guys could bring a phone!” and he hurried back to the rock and picked up the dead phone. Of course, when he did we were all rolling in laughter. Unfortunately this guy didn’t know how to take a joke. Apparently when they all returned to Denver poor ole Rich ended up getting fired after this trip! No joke. Today, Gene is still living and consulting from Bluff. For fun, he and his wife take their dog, Millie,

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Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

Available now as a digital download! Non-member - $70

Member - $50 Corporate - $300

Hydrocarbon Source Rocks in

Unconventional Plays, Rocky Mountain Region Editors: Michael P. Dolan, Debra K. Higley, Paul G. Lillis Stratigraphy and Depositional Origin of Tyler Formation (Pennsylvanian) Source Beds in the Williston Basin, Western North Dakota - TIMOTHY O. NESHEIM and STEPHEN H. NORDENG

Introduction - Michael P. Dolan, Debra K. Higley, and Paul G. Lillis Marine mudstone source rocks in epicontinental basins: Development of a conceptual facies model and application to Cenomanian/Turonian mudstones of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway - BRUCE S. HART Overpressure development through time using 4D pressure-volume-temperature modeling in the deep Anadarko Basin, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas DEBRA K. HIGLEY

Vitrinite Reﬂectance of Cretaceous Coaly Material and Thermal Maturity of the Niobrara Formation, Denver Basin, Colorado, USA - DANIEL G. HALLAU, RYAN J. SHARMA, and ROBERT M. CLUFF Evolution of the Lower Tertiary Elko Lake Basin, a Potential Hydrocarbon Source Rock in Northeast Nevada - RONALD C. JOHNSON and JUSTIN E. BIRDWELL

The Chuar Petroleum System, Arizona and Utah - PAUL G. LILLIS

Geochemistry of the Green River Formation, Piceance Creek Basin, Colorado - JEREMY BOAK, SHEVEN POOLE, and JUFANG FENG

Insights into the Evolution of an Intracratonic Foreland Basin: A Regional Assessment of the Duvernay Formation - Matthew Davis, Glenn Karlen, Mark Tobey, and David Tivey

Source Rock Characterization of the Green River Oil Shale, Piceance Creek Basin, Colorado - JUFANG FENG, J. F. SARG, AND K. TÄNAVSUU-MILKEVICIENE

Petroleum system model of the Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian Bakken Formation in the northern Williston Basin, Saskatchewan, southwestern Manitoba, and southeastern Alberta, Canada - DEBRA K. HIGLEY and NICHOLAS J. GIANOUTSOS

Geological, Geochemical, and Reservoir Characterization of the Uteland Butte Member of the Green River Formation, Uinta Basin, Utah - JUSTIN E. BIRDWELL, MICHAEL D. VANDEN BERG, RONALD C. JOHNSON, TRACEY J. MERCIER, ADAM R. BOEHLKE, and MICHAEL E. BROWNFIELD

The Integration of Geochemical, Stratigraphic, and Production Data to Improve Geological Models in the Bakken-Three Forks Petroleum System, Williston Basin, North Dakota - MARK MILLARD and RILEY BRINKERHOFF

Generation and Migration of Bitumen and Oil from the Oil Shale Interval of the Eocene Green River Formation, Uinta Basin, Utah- RONALD C. JOHNSON and JUSTIN E. BIRDWELL Silver Sponsor

Sponsored by:

email: staﬀ@rmag.org

phone: 303.573.8621

Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

910 16th Street #1214, Denver, CO, 80202

fax: 303.476.2241

web: www.rmag.org OUTCROP | April 2017

follow: @rmagdenver

RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS Speaker: Stephanie B. Gaswirth — April 12, 2017

Assessment of Undiscovered Continuous Oil Resources in the Wolfcamp Shale of the Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province, Texas, 2016 By Stephanie B. Gaswirth and overlying Spraberry Formation. More recently, the Wolfcamp shale is being targeted for continuous oil using horizontal wells that are hydraulically fractured. To date, more than 3,500 horizontal wells have been drilled and completed in the Midland Basin Wolfcamp interval. Six continuous assessment units were defined and quantitatively assessed in the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin; assessed mean resources are 20 billion barrels of oil, 16 trillion cubic feet of associated gas, and 1.6 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. This makes the Wolfcamp shale of the Midland Basin the largest continuous oil accumulation assessed by the USGS.

In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a geology-based assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous petroleum resources in the Pennsylvanian-Permian Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin of the Permian Basin Province of west Texas. This is the first USGS evaluation of continuous resources in the Wolfcamp shale, as it was not assessed as part of the 2007 USGS assessment of the Permian Basin Province. Since the 1980’s, the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin has been part of the “Wolfberry” play; this play has traditionally been developed using vertical wells that are completed and stimulated in multiple productive stratigraphic intervals that include the Wolfcamp

Stephanie Gaswirth has been a Research Geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver, Colorado for over ten years working on petroleum resource assessments of the Williston, Anadarko, and Permian Basins. Prior to joining the USGS, she was employed with ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company in Houston, TX. Stephanie received her B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College, M.S. from Rutgers University, and PhD. from University of Colorado, Boulder.

OUTCROP | April 2017

Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

RMAG Golf Tournament

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June 14, 2017 Arrowhead Golf Club

email: staff@rmag.org

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OUTCROP | April 2017

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RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS Speaker: Mark Millard — May 3, 2017

Seeing the Forest for the Tree A Simplified Workflow for Target Optimization utilizing Correlation Matrices: An Example from the Bakken Formation Mark Millard, SM Energy

OUTCROP | April 2017

Area of Interest (AOI) in the basin center to quantitatively determine which log facies the wells transected. The percentage of feet drilled in each facies and the net thickness of each interval were compiled for each well in a database along numerous geological and production variables. Following compilation of the variables, correlation matrices were utilized to identify key geologic production drivers. The geologic drivers were then utilized to normalize the horizontal well dataset, creating subsets of horizontal wells drilled in areas of “similar” geology. Results from the initial study show a very poor relationship between drilling in-zone and well

Over the past few years, the Middle Bakken play in the Williston Basin has evolved from delineation and step-out drilling to significant infill development. As wells are being drilled at a faster pace, the need to understand the target zone is of greater importance. This study presents a workflow for horizontal target optimization by utilizing correlation matrices coupled with log facies modelling, reverse-geosteering, and geologic mapping. In this study, we created a regional petrophysical log facies scheme by employing a Principle Component Analysis (PCA) utilizing standard wireline log suites and core analyses. We then “reverse geosteered” 164 Middle Bakken horizontal wells in an

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RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS

the reservoir in the AOI is relatively homogenous with regards to pore-throat size, and therefore permeability. In the second phase of the study, the same methodology for evaluating percent in-zone was applied to another portion of the basin where capillary pressure data showed the Middle Bakken to have greater pore-throat size heterogeneity. Results from the second phase of the study show that in regions of the Williston

Basin where pore-throat heterogeneity in the Middle Bakken is greater, in-zone drilling greatly improves well results. While this study specifically analyzes well results in the Middle Bakken, the methodology of utilizing correlation matrices is readily applicable to many types of problems in petroleum exploration and development. (This talk has been presented at the 2016 RMS-AAPG and 2017 AAPG ACE)

results in the AOI. The poor correlation is likely a combination of uncertainty in geosteering interpretations, variations in well completion methods, lateral variations in reservoir quality, and/or homogenous reservoir (minimal vertical variations in porosity and permeability). Evaluation of mercury injection capillary pressure data for the Middle Bakken show that

ÂťÂťCONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

Mark Millard is a Senior Exploration Geologist at SM Energy. He spent the last 5 years exploring the Rockies out of their Billings office, and is now currently working the Permian Basin out of their Denver office. Prior to that, he worked the Eagle Ford and Edwards for Pioneer Natural Resources in Dallas, Texas. He received his M.S. in Geology from Baylor University in 2007 where he studied seismogenic faults in Malibu, California, and received his B.S. in Geology from Brigham Young University-Idaho in 2005. He is a Past President of the Montana Geological Society and is on the advisory board for the Geology Department at BYU-Idaho. He was the recipient of the A.I. Levorson Best Paper Award at the 2014 Rocky Mountain Section of AAPG meeting, and the Frank Kottlowski Memorial Award by the Energy Minerals Division at the 2014 National AAPG.

MINERAL OF THE MONTH By Ronald L. Parker, Senior Geologist, Borehole Image Specialists P. O. Box 221724, Denver CO 80222 | ron@bhigeo.com

SIDERITE Ferrous and Fizzy

»»CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 Euhedral siderite with biotite and quartz. The siderite crystals are compositionally zoned from center to edge. Collected by B. Wylie, circa 1978, Crabtree Creek Quarry, Wake County, NC. Photo B. Wylie.

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LEADERS IN PETROLEUM GEOCHEMISTRY ROCKY MOUNTAINS

MINERAL OF THE MONTH: SIDERITE

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Siderite is an iron carbonate (FeCO3) that is formed by early diagenetic alteration of organic-matter rich sediments in the absence of both oxygen (O2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). As a diagenetic mineral, siderite (FeCO3) is most often found as small, flattened concretions and intergranular cements. Siderite also occurs as an igneous and metamorphic mineral and as hydrothermal veins associated with barite, fluorite, galena and other minerals (Wikipedia, 2016)

SIDERITE

The name siderite derives from the Greek sideros, which means iron. As a prefix, sidero denotes ‘of or pertaining to’ iron. For example, siderophiles are iron-loving bacteria. Siderite is a simple carbonate salt that shares many physical properties with the other members of the calcite group: calcite (CaCO3), magnesite (MgCO3), smithsonite (ZnCO3), and rhodochrosite (MnCO3). Siderite is hexagonal, belonging to the special trigonal (or, rhombohedral) crystal class. Siderite is isostructural with calcite and crystals usually express the classic calcite group trigonal symmetry of bar32/m (Klein, 2002). Like the other members of this crystal class, siderite displays obtuse rhombohedral crystals and the perfect 3-sided rhombohedral cleavage on {10bar11}. Siderite forms a complete solid solution series with magnesite (MgCO3) and with rhodochrosite (MnCO3) (Klein and Philpotts, 2013). Thus,

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MINERAL OF THE MONTH: SIDERITE

Flattened siderite concretions in an delta top swamp mud deposit. Carboniferous Breathitt Formation, near Pineville, Kentucky. Photo by Ronald L. Parker.

considerable isomorphic substitution of Mn and Mg2+ for Fe2+ is common (Nesse, 2004). Crystal faces and cleavage surfaces in siderite may display slight curvature, probably as the result of variations in ionic radii among substituting cations. Like calcite, siderite effervesces in dilute acids. Unit cell dimensions of siderite are a=4.72Å, c=15.45Å, for an axial ratio (a:c) of 0.3055:1 (Klein, 2002). Siderite has a hardness of 3.5 to 4 and a high specific gravity of ~3.96. The high specific gravity, along with the brown color, assists in discriminating siderite from the other calcite group minerals (Klein and Philpotts, 2013). Siderite is most usually a yellowish-brown, reddish-brown or grayish-brown color although non-oxidized crystals of siderite may be white (Wenk and Bulakh, 2004). Common crystal habits include botryoidal and tabular. Most siderite, however, occurs with uniformly indistinguishable

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small crystals in a massive habit (Webmineral, 2016). In thin-section, siderite displays moderate to high positive relief that varies with rotational position. Interference colors in thin-section are upper order white or gray. Siderite has higher indices of refraction than other members of the calcite group, although indices decrease in magnitude with increasing substitution of Mg2+ or Mn2+. The crystal is uniaxial negative (-) (Nesse, 2004). Igneous siderites are known from carbonatites and are sometimes found in amygduloidal cavities in basalts and andesites (Nesse, 2004). Siderite is a dominant mineral in some Pre-Cambrian banded-iron formations in association with magnetite, hematite, pyrite and iron-bearing silicates (Klein and Philpotts, 2013). Siderite is most commonly found as a diagenetic mineral in organic-rich marginal marine

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MINERAL OF THE MONTH: SIDERITE

Three views of a flattened siderite concretion from the locality in the previous photo. The lower photo preserves the fabric and coalified remnants of a piece of vegetation. Photos by Ronald L. Parker.

Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

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MINERAL OF THE MONTH: SIDERITE

sedimentary rocks (Wenk and Bulakh, 2004). Low redox conditions produced by partial decay of organic matter results in mobilization of ferrous (Fe2+) iron in pore fluids. In marine systems, where sulfate (SO42-) is the 2nd most abundant anion (behind Cl-), these low redox conditions result in reduction of sulfate to sulfide (S-). This leads to precipitation of ferrous polysulfides such as pyrite, marcasite, macinawite and greigite (Hem, 1989). Fresh water contains very little dissolved sulfate. In oxidized fresh water, iron is stable (or metastable) as insoluble oxide and oxyhydroxide solids. In reduced fresh water, iron is mobilized and reactive, but in the absence of dissolved sulfur species, it cannot form pyrite or other ferrous polysulfides. Therefore, pyrite is rare in freshwater sediments. Siderite, on the other hand, is generally taken as an indicator of a freshwater sediment origin (Adams, et. al., 2006). Brackish waters, formed in the mixing zone between marine and fresh waters, may exhibit a gradient from siderite-dominated (landward) to pyrite dominated (seaward) iron minerals. Mozley (1989) demonstrated that impure siderites are possible from early diagenesis in marine systems. Unlike fresh water siderites, which are almost always greater than 90% FeCO3, marine siderites display abundant substitution by Mg, Ca and Mn. When siderite-like material is found in marine rocks or cores, therefore, it is not stoichiometric FeCO3, but an impure siderite. Siderite is mined as an iron ore in several localities, particularly from PreCambrian banded-iron formation ores. Siderite is used as a brown pigment in some paints (Klein and Philpotts, 2013). Associated minerals include quartz, cerussite, ankerite, dolomite, goethite, cryolite, barite, sphalerite, pyrite and other iron sulfides (Klein, 2002).

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»»CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

Cryolite, Siderite, Ivigtut Cryolite Deposit, Ivittuut, Arsuk Firth, Arsuk, Kitaa Province, Greenland, 7.5 cm x 5 cm x 3.7 cm. Jamison Brizendine collection 241. Photo by Jamison Brizendine.

Siderite, Calcite, Nikolaevskiy Mine, Dal’negorsk, Kavalerovo Mining District, Primorskiy Kray, Far-Eastern Region, Russia, 4.2 cm x 4.1 cm x 3.8 cm. Photo by Jamison Brizendine.

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MINERAL OF THE MONTH: SIDERITE Depositional Environment and the Elemental Composition of Early Diagenetic Siderite, Geology, 17(8):704-706. Johnsen, Ole, 2002, Minerals of the World: Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. 439 pp. Klein, Cornelis, 2002, The 22nd Edition of the Manual of Mineral Science: New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 641 pp. Klein, Cornelis and Philpotts, Anthony, 2013, Earth Materials – Introduction to Mineralogy and Petrology: New York: Cambridge University Press, 536 pp. Nesse, William D., 2004, Introduction to Optical Mineralogy, 3rd Edition: New York: Oxford University Press, 348 pp. Webmineral, 2016, Siderite http://webmineral. com/data/Siderite.shtml#.WJzdPPkrJHY, accessed 12/3/2016. Wenk, Hans-Rudolf and Bulakh, Andrei, 2004, Minerals – Their Constitution and Origin: New York: Cambridge University Press, 646 pp.

»»CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22 WEBLINKS • http://www.minerals.net/mineral/siderite. aspx • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siderite • https://www.mindat.org/min-3647.html • http://webmineral.com/data/Siderite.shtml#. WJzdPPkrJHY • http://www.galleries.com/Siderite

REFERENCES

Adams, L.K., MacQuaker, J.H.S., and Marshall, J.D., 2006, Iron(III)-Reduction in a Low-Organic Carbon Brackish-Marine System, Journal of Sedimentary Research, 76:919-925. Hem, John D., 1989, Study and Interpretation of the Chemical Characteristics of Natural Water, United States Geological Survey Water-supply Paper 2254, 264 pp. Mozley, Peter S., 1989, Relation Between

Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

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LEAD STORY

What Geology Has to Say About Building a 1,000-Mile Border Wall Compared to erecting a marble palace or high-steepled church, a wall may seem relatively straightforward—it isn’t

By Maya Wei-Haas smithsonian.com February 7, 2017—Last month, President Donald Trump took steps to make good on a campaign promise to turn the United States’ existing border fence into a “big, beautiful” wall. On January 25, the White House issued an Executive Order announcing the creation of a “secure, contiguous, and impassable physical barrier … to prevent illegal immigration, drug and human trafficking, and acts of terrorism.” Now the U.S. Customs and Border Protection—the office tasked with enforcing border regulations—is scrambling to make that order a concrete reality. Today’s fence consists of roughly 650 miles of disparate segments, made out of a combination of steel posts and rails, metal sheeting, chain link, concrete vehicle barriers and wire mesh. To replace that fence with what has been described as a 20- to 50-foot concrete structure that will traverse 1,000 of the some 2,000 miles of the U.S.’s border with Mexico will be no easy feat. Besides dealing with a proposed Mexican lawsuit and navigating the private ownership of much of Texas’ lands, there is another concern few have addressed in detail: geology.

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Compared to building a marble palace or high-steepled church, erecting a wall may seem relatively straightforward. It isn’t. (Just ask the Chinese, whose Great Wall took 2,000 years to build and failed to keep out invaders.) Though most wall designs are fairly simple, builders must adapt to a wide range of terrains, explains Gary Clendenin, a senior hydrogeologist at ICF. The southern U.S. border alone contains desert, wetlands, grasslands, rivers, mountains and forests— all of which create vastly different problems for builders. “The length of this thing presents challenges that just aren’t typically undertaken in a construction project,” says Clendenin. Can these hurdles be overcome? Smithsonian.com asked two scientists, a geophysicist and a hydrogeologist, which geologic factors the wall’s builders should take into account first if they are to execute this ambitious project.

SURVEYING THE SITUATION

The Tower of Pisa was never meant to lean. Built between 1173 and 1370, the off-kilter structure was positioned atop roughly 30 feet of fine river sediments

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US-Mexican border in Arizona close to highway 85, captured in September 2016. (Martin Froyda, shutterstock.com) Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

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LEAD STORY

FIGURE 1: Some 650 miles of disparate segments of fence stand along the almost 2,000-mile border between the U.S. and

Mexico. Many segments, like the one pictured above, still allow some communication across the border. (Brian Auer / Alamy Stock Photo)

underlain by a layer of ancient marine clay. But as builders assembled the tons of marble, the river sediments didn’t compact evenly. So by 1178, when they had finished work on the third story, the tower had already acquired its characteristic tilt. The Italian government has since spent millions of dollars to make sure this beloved landmark doesn’t topple over. Such structural failures serve as a reminder that, while our ancestors did manage to successfully erect many impressive feats, “they don’t necessarily stay upright,” in the words of field geophysicist Mika McKinnon. To circumvent such problems today, modern builders have added a crucial step to the construction process: surveying. Though time-consuming, this step is critical to ensure that the resulting structure can remain standing on terra firma for years to come. Before a single brick is laid, teams of scientists assemble on scene to investigate a litany of details, from bedrock depth to soil chemistry. In the case of the

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border wall, they would have to traverse the entire length of the proposed path, working in segments to evaluate the region, collect data, develop plans. (This necessity makes the process of erecting walls—especially ones spanning thousands of miles—more challenging than building, say, a 95-story skyscraper.) “Quite frankly, that would take years to do,” says Clendenin, who specializes in linear projects like railways and roads. McKinnon agrees. One project she worked on, a three-mile stretch of pipeline, is now on year five of field surveys. Yet Trump’s order appears to allow a mere six months for all surveying and planning efforts. Within its long list of required steps, his executive order states: “Produce a comprehensive study of the security of the southern border, to be completed within 180 days of this order, that shall include the current state of southern border security, all geophysical and topographical aspects of the southern border, the

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LEAD STORY

FIGURE 2: The border fence that runs through the Algodones Sand Dunes in California is of special construction to accommodate

the ever-changing dune environment. The narrow, 15-foot-tall posts “float” above the sand and can be moved vertically as the dunes shift. (United States Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security) the 4th century BC, Petra’s inhabitants carved the basis for this once-bustling trading city directly into the rugged pink and tan sandstone cliffs between the Red Sea and the Dead sea. Though winds and rain threatened to erode the structure top down, its firm rooting in bedrock—the solid rock that lies beneath the earth’s loose layers—has kept this structure standing tall for thousands of years. Such grounding in bedrock is a key feature when building a megastructure, says McKinnon. For something as extensive as a 1,000-mile wall that stands upwards of 20 feet tall, builders will need to anchor the whole thing beneath the surface to the underlying rock if they want it to stay upright. The problem is, getting to bedrock can be a doozy. Great swaths of the border feature a hefty layer

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availability of Federal and State resources necessary to achieve complete operational control of the southern border, and a strategy to obtain and maintain complete operational control of the southern border.” When contacted by Smithsonian.com, the Customs and Border Protection agency declined to comment on the current timeline for the wall, saying in an email that “it would be speculative to address the questions that you’re asking at this point.” But according to scientists Smithsonian.com spoke to, it isn’t going up anytime soon.

GETTING TO BEDROCK

The prehistoric city of Petra stands as a prime example of ancient geologic foresight. Around Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

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LEAD STORY McKinnon experienced one of these problems firsthand, during the construction of a hydroelectric dam that was meant to be built across a valley that spanned about a mile. The team did all the proper surveys of the region, and discovered that beneath their riverbed lay a second channel buried in dirt. “If we hadn’t found it and we tried to build our dam across, then the water would have just eroded that old channel underneath and we would have had a river under our dam,” she says. There are two options for overcoming such problems with sediment: compact the sediment and add a deeper foundation. For a wall roughly 20 feet tall, the foundation should extend six to eight feet beneath the surface, Clendenin says. All of these steps are expensive and time-consuming. But skimp on any of them, and “you get your Leaning-Tower-of-Pisa situation,” says McKinnon. Of course, many modern regions don’t have the economic resources to do such surveys and construction of deep foundations. The cities of Campania, Italy, are built atop loose sediments that are prone to

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of loose sediments—dirt, soils, sand—laying atop the bedrock. In some regions the bedrock is hundreds if not thousands of feet down. “Some places the bedrock will be too deep—you’ll never be able to reach the bedrock in an affordable fashion,” says McKinnon. “That’s okay if you want to [build] a tiny house because you just have it floating on its foundation,” she adds. But if you’re building a megastructure, “you have a problem,” she says. That’s not to say that building on sand is impossible. But to safely erect such structures, geophysicists today conduct extensive seismic surveys to image what lies beneath. To create these pictures, they install rows of spike-like geophones, which are 3D microphones that detect minute vibrations of the ground, converting them into an electric signal. Then they make a large noise, often by triggering an explosion or using a heavy weight to thump the ground. The geophones record the scattering and reflection of vibrations to image underground structures, and tease out problems that may lay under the surface.

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LEAD STORY

FIGURE 3:

Upkeep of such a lengthy structure is challenging. And even if such a wall can be erected, the size of budget necessary to keep it standing remains unclear. (Kevin Foy / Alamy Stock Photo)

sliding—a situation worsened by local clearcutting of the vegetation and unregulated construction that commonly lacks adequate foundations. These factors leave them vulnerable to the whims of their region’s geology: In 1998, when a mudslide rippled through the city, the houses crumpled under the weight and movement of the sludge, leaving at least 95 dead.

DIRT DRAMA

“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall / That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,” begins Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall.” Frost may not have been a geological surveyor, but he got one thing right: When it comes to building walls, soil swelling is a major headache. That’s why, after surveyors finish assessing the kind of rock and earth they’ll be building over, they start studying the dirt. Sediments, particularly in clay-rich materials, can take on water, swelling like a sponge in a bowl of water. The resulting cycles of swelling and shrinking during wet and dry periods can crack the very foundation of structures. And these types of soils are common in many states where the border wall will be built, including Texas and parts of New Mexico. In

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fact, about half of American homes are built on soils that expand significantly, and nearly half of those suffer damage yearly because of the soil, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. Dirt can also eat up the wall’s support system. Soils that are naturally acidic or have high chloride levels can rapidly degrade iron-rich metals, says McKinnon. These soils could “corrode any, say, nice big metal rebar that you’re putting in there to stabilize your foundation,” she says. Other soils have a high amount of sulfates, a compound found in the common mineral gypsum that breaks down both metals and concrete. Sulfate-rich soils are common in what’s known as the Trans-Pecos soils along the border in the southwestern arm of Texas. “You’re going to encounter hundreds, if not thousands, of different types of soils along [such a lengthy] linear pathway,” says Clendenin. (In fact, there are over 1,300 kinds of soil in Texas alone.) And many of those soils aren’t going to be the right type to build on top of. At that point, would-be wall-builders have two options: Spend more time and money excavating the existing soils and replacing them with better dirt—or avoid the region altogether. One thing they can’t always avoid, though, are regions at risk of earthquakes and floods. Rivers run

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LEAD STORY

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along a sizeable portion of the U.S.-Mexico border, which can create a very real danger of flood. Building adjacent to rivers can also present unexpected legal issues: A 1970 treaty necessitates that the fence be set back from the Rio Grande river, which delineates the Texas-Mexico border. Because of this, the current fence crosscuts Texas landowner’s property and has gaps to allow landowners to pass. Earthquakes are also relatively common in the western U.S. Depending on the build, some of these tremblors could cause cracks or breaks in the wall, says McKinnon. One example is the magnitude 7.2 quake that struck in 2010 near the California-Mexico Border, according to Austin Elliott, a postdoctoral student at the University of Oxford whose research is focused on the history of earthquakes. “If there had been a wall at El Centinela [a mountain in northern Mexico] it would have been offset,” Elliott writes on Twitter.

…

Even if all the proper surveys are completed and the boxes checked, success isn’t guaranteed. “There are just so many things that have to be done before you even shovel out the first scoop of dirt,” says Clendenin. Despite all of our modern surveying tools and careful planning, the earth will still surprise you, adds McKinnon. “This part that you thought was boring and simple and easy to predict is actually totally complicated,” she says. “Look at any major excavation for a subway system, any major bridge construction, any large tower complex; all of them had intense surveys beforehand, extensive design phases, and still had to modify while building.” After the announcement of Trump’s Executive Order, McKinnon took to Twitter to leave a foreboding reminder of the consequences of underestimating the Earth. “Earth doesn’t forgive sloppy,” she wrote. She added in an interview: “Ignore geology at your peril.”

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RMAG Rockbusters Bash Professional Awards Celebration

November 9, 2017 The Curtis Hotel, Denver, CO email: staďŹ&#x20AC;@rmag.org

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IN THE PIPELINE APRIL 25, 2017

APRIL 12, 2017 RMAG Luncheon. Speaker: Stephanie Gaswirth. “Assessment of Undiscovered Continuous Oil Resources in the Wolfcamp Shale of the Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province, TX 2016.” Maggiano’s Little Italy, Denver. RSVP to staff@rmag.org.

RMS-SEPM Luncheon. Speaker: Chris Laughrey. “Petroleum Geochemistry and Mudstone Diagenesis of the Woodford Shale, Anadarko Basin, USA- An Intergrated Approach.” RSVP to Luncheons@ rmssepm.org or call 720-272-6697.

APRIL 18, 2017

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OCF Denver Chapter Luncheon. RVSP to 303-258-6401.

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As a diverse community of individuals working towards a worthy cause, we believe that your unique talents can bring us all forward. Volunteers are always needed and welcome! If you would like to volunteer for any of our committees or events, please contact the RMAG office at (303) 573-8621 or staff@rmag.org

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You Are Invited to Attend a Special Core Workshop: Introducing the Largest Single Field (Greater Aneth) Collection of Carbonate Cores in the Rocky Mountains! The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) is proud to announce a major donation of cores from Greater Aneth field in the Paradox Basin of southeastern Utah. This massive and scientifically significant collection of cores (from over 125 wells) was generously donated to the UGS by the field operator, Resolute Energy Corporation of Denver, Colorado. Greater Aneth is Utah’s largest field having produced over 480 million BO and 437 BCFG from oolitic and phylloid-algal limestones and dolomites of the Pennsylvanian Paradox Formation. The UGS and Resolute invite you to attend a special core workshop designed to introduce this amazing collection to the geologic community (industry, universities, consultants, etc.). 

Sponsors: The Utah Geological Survey and Resolute Energy Corporation



Cost: none



Date and Time: Tuesday, May 16, 2017, 8:30 A.M.–4:30 P.M.



Location: UGS’s Utah Core Research Center (UCRC), 240 North Redwood Road, Salt Lake City, Utah (Ph.: 801/5373359)



Lunch: provided compliments of Resolute



Workshop Notes and Handouts: provided compliments of the UGS Please RSVP

Registration (limited to 40 attendees): Cheryl Gustin, UGS Ph. – (801) 537-3360; email – cherylgustin@utah.gov For more information contact: Tom Chidsey, UGS Ph. – (801) 537-3364; email – tomchidsey@utah.gov

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Preliminary Agenda Welcome and Overview of the UGS's Core Research Center – Peter Nielsen, UGS Core Center Curator Lecture Session Reservoir Properties and Carbonate Petrography of the Aneth Unit, Greater Aneth Field – Tom Chidsey, UGS Geologist, and Dave Eby, Eby Petrography & Consulting, Inc. Resolute's Aneth Field Development Program, 2006–Present (Horizontal Drilling and CO2 Injection) – Steve Hoppe, Resolute Engineer A Quick Note on Desert Creek Nomenclature – Jason Burris, Resolute Geologist Core Examination Sessions Core Examination Session I: Dave Eby Core Examination Session II: Dr. Scott M. Ritter (professor) and graduate students, Brigham Young University Department of Geological Sciences Roundtable Discussion Session on Research Opportunities/Recommendations – Tom Chidsey, Jason Burris, Scott Ritter, Dave Eby, and Peter Nielsen, Moderators Closing Remarks/Wrap up – Tom Chidsey

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WELCOME NEW RMAG MEMBERS!

Pawan Budhathoki

is a Geologist in Arvada, Colorado.

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works at WPX Energy in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

is a Geo Tech at Shaw Resources Management in Denver, Colorado.

Stephen Hodgetts

is a Laboratory Technician at Dolan Integration Group in Westminster, Colorado.

RENEW! OUTCROP | April 2017

Emily Hron Weigle

Robert Webber

is a Geologist at Samson Energy in Golden, Colorado.

Renew your dues for the 2017 year today! RMAG members make up the heart of the organization, and without our loyal membership, the RMAG would be unable to produce relevant publications, host strong technical talks, and provide great networking events. As a member youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll enjoy discounted rates on events and publications, as well as access to the 6 most recent The Mountain Geologist issues, and much more.

CLICK HERE TO RENEW TODAY!

Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

March 2, 2017

| 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM

USGS Core Research Center

RMAG Core Workshop Selected Rocky Mountain Tight Oil Sandstone Plays: Symposium and Core Workshop Presenters: Rich Bottjer, Coal Creek Resources; Gus Gustason, Enerplus; Kevin Smith, Garnet Ridge Resources

Thank you to everyone who attended and volunteered their time to make this workshop a success! email: staďŹ&#x20AC;@rmag.org

phone: 303.573.8621

Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org

910 16th Street #1214, Denver, CO, 80202

fax: 888.389.4090

web: www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | April 2017

follow: @rmagdenver

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• Donovan Brothers Inc. �� 28

• Sinclair Petroleum Engineering, Inc. �� 6

• Drawbridge Consulting & Search Firm �� 30

• SM Energy �� 17

• Geokinetics �� 6

• Spancers & Associates �� 30

• Geomark �� 19

• Stoner Engineering (SES) �� 23

• Geostar Solutions �� 14

• Sunburst Consulting �� 9

• Kestrel Geoscience, LLC �� 6

• Tracker Resources �� 9

• Louis J. Mazzullo, LLC �� 28

• W.W. Little Geological Consulting, LLC �� 28, 30

CALENDAR | APRIL 2017 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

1 2

RMS-SEPM Luncheon.

OCF Denver Chapter Luncheon.

RMAG Luncheon.

18 DWLS Luncheon.

OUTCROP | April 2017

Vol. 66, No. 4 | www.rmag.org