February 2020 Outcrop

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Volume 69 • No. 2 • February 2020

The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

2019 Summit Sponsors PLATINUM SPONSOR

GOLD SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSORS

OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

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Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

1999 Broadway • Suite 730 • Denver, CO 80202 • 800-970-7624 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.

2020 OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT

2nd VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT

Jane Estes-Jackson janeestesjackson@gmail.com

Peter Kubik pkubik@mallardexploration.com

PRESIDENT-ELECT

SECRETARY

Cat Campbell ccampbell@caminoresources.com

Jessica Davey jessica.davey@sproule.com

1st VICE PRESIDENT

TREASURER

Ben Burke bburke@hpres.com

Chris Eisinger chris.eisinger@state.co.us

1st VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT

TREASURER ELECT

Nathan Rogers nathantrogers@gmail.com

Rebecca Johnson Scrable rebecca.johnson@bpx.com

2nd VICE PRESIDENT

COUNSELOR

Dan Bassett dbassett@sm-energy.com

Donna Anderson danderso@rmi.net

RMAG STAFF DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Kathy Mitchell-Garton kmitchellgarton@rmag.org DIRECTOR OF MEMBER SERVICES

Debby Watkins dwatkins@rmag.org CO-EDITORS

Courtney Beck Courtney.Beck@halliburton.com Jesse Melick jesse.melick@bpx.com Wylie Walker wylie.walker@gmail.com DESIGN/LAYOUT

Nate Silva nate@nate-silva.com

ADVERTISING INFORMATION

Rates and sizes can be found on page 37. 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 800-970-7624.

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: 800-970-7624 Fax: 323-352-0046 staff@rmag.org or www.rmag.org

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

Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

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Outcrop | Febraury 2020 OUTCROP

RMAG/Mines Partnership Short Course

Practical Python for Earth Scientists Date: February 13, 2020 Location: Catalyst Health Tech Center (3513 Brighton Blvd, Denver, CO 80216) Instructors: Matthew Bauer, P.G., with breakout sessions from Zane Jobe & Thomas Martin Registration: csmspace.com/events/ practicalpython/registration.cpes Please note: Registration will be handled by Colorado School of Mines’ Continuing Education & Professional Development Department. Contact Learn@mines.edu with questions.

Sold Out!

Who is this course for?

This course is tailored for geologists, geophysicists, petrophysicists, petroleum engineers, production engineers, landmen, and anyone else that would like to gain skills in practical python programming, data mining, and machine learning.

While this course will use examples from the petroleum industry, any earth scientist will benefit from learning about geospatial and subsurface data analysis.

Go to registration website to get on wait list

Course Goals: •

Introduce the python programing language for the geoscientist.

•

Introduce python libraries that allow integration into other software programs through reading, manipulating, and writing LAS well logs and shapefiles.

•

Provide hands on examples of the application of Data Mining, Machine Learning, and Data Analytics to solve problems faced by a petroleum geologist.

•

By the end of the course students should be able to adapt the provided examples for use with their own data.

Price:

Course registration fee includes Continuing Education Credits through Colorado School of Mines.

email: staff@rmag.org | phone: 800.970.7624 OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

1999 Broadway, Suite 730, Denver CO 80202

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$300 thru 1/28/2020 $325 after 1/28/2020

Regist- https://csmspace.com/ events/practicalpython/ ration: Closes Feb. 11, 2020 fax: 323.352.0046 | web: www.rmag.org Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

follow: @rmagdenver

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

CONTENTS FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

6 RMAG 2020 Summit Sponsorship

10 RMAG January 2020 Board of Directors Meeting

16 Lead Story: Exploration in Utah—A Look at the Past

14 President’s Letter

ASSOCIATION NEWS

32 RMAG Luncheon Programs: Edmund R. Gustason

2 RMAG Summit Sponsors 4 RMAG February Short Course 11 RMAG Data Science Symposium 34 The Mountain Geologist Best Paper Award for 2019 34 The Outcrop Best Paper and Best Cover Photo Award for 2019

30 RMAG Luncheon Programs: Stephen A. Sonnenberg

37 Outcrop Advertising Rates 38 In The Pipeline 38 Welcome New RMAG members!

39 Advertiser Index 39 Calendar

COVER PHOTO Cane Creek anticline and the Colorado River showing the southwest-dipping Honaker Trail Formation (lower left) through Triassic-Jurassic Wingate cliffs on the distant skyline; view to the south. Photo courtesy of Rebekah Stimpson, formerly with the Utah Geological Survey.

35 Publish with The Mountain Geologist 36 Announcing New GSA Division Award for Career Achievement in Petroleum Geology

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OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

RMAG Summit Sponsorship

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Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists 1999 Broadway, Suite 730 Denver, CO 80202 Phone: 800.970.7624 | email: staff@rmag.org

December 15, 2019 Ladies and gentlemen, First, we’d like to thank the companies that participated as a Summit Sponsor in 2019.

And thank you for the in-kind donations of employee time and meeting space for RMAG meetings and events. Without the support of the Summit Sponsors RMAG could not exist.

In 2019 RMAG put on eight continuing educations classes and seven field trips. Your dollars also support our excellent publications including the monthly Outcrop newsletter, the quarterly Mountain Geologist and our special publications such as Subsurface Cross Sections of Southern Rocky Mountain Basins. Our monthly luncheon talks are a continued success and are often sold out.

For 2020, we have already planned several excellent events including a Data Science Symposium in April, several geologic ‘basics’ classes, and a full slate of field trips. As in the past, our social schedule will include the golf tournament, clay shoot and the Rockbuster’s Ball.

If you are already a Summit Sponsor, we look forward to your continued support in 2020, and you might consider upping your contribution. If you are not already a sponsor, look closely at the many free benefits included with sponsorship.

Please feel free to contact our staff with questions about sponsorship by email: staff@ rmag.org or by phone at 800-970-7624.

We and the staff of RMAG wish you all a successful and prosperous 2020 and look forward to seeing you at our events.

Tom Sperr

Jane Estes-Jackson

2019 RMAG President

2020 RMAG President

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2020 RMAG Summit Sponsorship Platinum, Gold, & Silver Sponsors

Sponsorship Level Contribution Level Benefits Value

Platinum

Gold

Silver

$10,000

$5,000

$2,500

over $8,200

over $4,900

over $3,100

üLarge Logo & Link

üMedium Logo

üMedium Logo

RMAG Website Benefits Company logo on 2020 Summit Sponsor page on www.rmag.org

ü4 articles & 4 large ads ü2 articlesads& 2 medium

Articles and Ads on special Advertisers’ web page

ü4 small ads

Publication Advertising The Outcrop (receive benefits for 12 issues, monthly online publication)* Company logo listed as a 2020 annual sponsor in The Outcrop

ü full page ad

ü 2/3 page ad

ü1/2 page ad

üLarge Logo

üMedium Logo

üSmall Logo

ü

ü

ü

üLarge Logo

üMedium Logo

üMedium Logo

ü

ü

ü

Event Advertising (included for all events except where noted) Company logo looping in PowerPoint presentation Company logo on 2020 Summit Sponsor signage at all events** Opportunity to offer RMAG approved promotional materials

*12 months of Outcrop advertising: In order to receive 12 full months, company logos and ad art must be received no later than the 20th of the month in which you register. If received after the 20th of the month, ad will start in the month following the month after you register, and you will receive 11 total months (e.g., ads received March 25th will appear in the May issue and run through the following March). **All logos and advertising information must be received no later than March 20, 2020, to be included in Summit Sponsor signage. Previous Summit Sponsors need to submit only advertising information.

RMAG 2020 Educational Events†

Platinum

Gold

Silver

Number of registrations for each type of educational event are suggested; however, you may use your registration points for any of RMAG’s 2020 symposia, core workshops or short courses. For example, a Gold sponsor may use 4 of their 6 points to send a group to the Fall Symposium.

Short Course registrations

ü2 ü4 ü4

ü2 ü2 ü2

ü1 ü1 ü1

Total Registration Points

10

6

3

Platinum

Gold

Silver

Symposium registrations Core Workshop registrations

RMAG 2020 Social Events†

Golf and Sporting Clay registration points may be used for RMAG educational event registrations. For example, a Platinum Sponsor may use one of their golf teams (4 points) to send 4 people to a short course.

ü 2 teams of 4 players ü 1 team of 4 players ü 2 individual players

Golf Tournament player tickets Total Golf registration points

8

4

2

ü 2 teams of 5 players ü 1 team of 5 players ü 2 individual players

Sporting Clay Tournament player tickets Total Sporting Clay Points RMAG 2020 Luncheons & Field Trips

8

4

2

Platinum

Gold

Silver

Number of tickets for field trips and luncheons are suggested; however, you may use your tickets for any of RMAG’s 2020 field trips or luncheons.

For example, a Gold sponsor may use all 3 of their points to send a group on a field trip.

Field Trip tickets (may be used for any 1-day field trip during 2020)

ü2

ü1

ü1

RMAG Luncheon tickets

ü3

ü2

ü1

†Registration points may be used for any RMAG educational event. One registration point = one admission ticket to event. Luncheon and field trip tickets are not eligible to use for educational or social events.

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Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

2020 RMAG Summit Sponsorship All sponsor benefit event tickets must meet RMAG event registration deadlines.

All benefits end 12 months after registration.

Discount for Platinum and Gold Sponsorships offered to returning 2019 Summit Sponsors only.

RMAG 2020 Summit Sponsorship Opportunities Platinum Sponsor Gold Sponsor Silver Sponsor

Deadline for sponsorship: January 31, 2020. Specify type of payment on signed form, and send logo to staff@rmag.org by 1/31/2020. No benefits will be provided without payment.

Company: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Company Representative: ________________________________________________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone: ___________________________________ Email: __________________________________________________________ Payment by Credit Card Select a card: Amex

M/C

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Signature: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Payment by Check Mail checks payable to RMAG: Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) 1999 Broadway, Suite 730 Denver, CO, 80202

RMAG events are subject to change. Cancellation or rescheduling of events does not give sponsor right to refund. Summit Sponsors will receive benefits at any new events added into the RMAG schedule for 2020.

email: staff@rmag.org

Thank you for your generous support!

phone: 800.970.7624

1999 Suite 730 Denver, CO, 80202 Vol. 69,Broadway, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

fax: 323.352.0046

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web: www.rmag.org

follow: @rmagdenver OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

RMAG JANUARY 2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

By Jessica Davey, Secretary jessica.davey@sproule.com

OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

and the Membership Committee meeting, respectively.

I spent the week of January 20th in Calgary, which felt very much like a “sister city” to Denver.

The January RMAG Board of Directors meeting took place on January 22, 2020, at 4:00 PM. All board members were present except Cat Campbell and myself, Jessica Davey. Treasurer, Chris Eisinger, and Treasurer-Elect, Rebecca Johnson Scrable, reported that investments were up for the last two months of 2019, but overall 2019 revenues fell short of expectations.

As of December, the 2020 Summit Sponsorship is in full swing, so please consider participating as a Summit Sponsor for the year.

The Continuing Education Committee reported

Hello fellow RMAG’ers! I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself as the 2020-2021 Secretary of the RMAG Board of Directors and thank Anna Phelps for her dedicated service the past two years as Secretary. I genuinely look forward to seeing everyone at all of the incredible RMAG events throughout the year, as well as filling you in on the happenings of the RMAG Board of Directors and the hard-working RMAG committees.

I hope 2020 is off to a great start for you! January has been a hectic month for me, and will surely get progressively busier as we get into the warmer field trip months. I want to start by saying a big “thanks” to Pete Kubik and Sandra Labrum for preparing notes for the January meeting of the RMAG Board of Directors

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Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

R ocky M ountain a ssociation of G eoloGists

D enveR a thletic c lub 1325 Glenarm Place Denver, CO 80204

Data Science

April 7, 2020

SYMPOSIUM

The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists presents “Digital Workflows in Oil & Gas�

Data analytics is leading companies to new ways of thinking and faster insights. Come learn about software development and incorporating analytics into your workflow and network with other geologists, geoscientists, and data science professionals.

Price: Member $225; Non-member $250; Student: $100 (limited number).

Register at www.rmag.org. email: staff@rmag.org | phone: 800.970.7624 Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

1999 Broadway, Suite 730, Denver CO 80202

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fax: 323.352.0046 | web: www.rmag.org OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

follow: @rmagdenver

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

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that the Python for Geologists course is sold out!

They’ll keep us posted on a second date. The Membership Committee has been working their 2020 Membership Survey and are hoping to have some great insight. Pair ups for the Mentorship Program took place on January 22, 2020, with a kickoff scheduled to take place on February 12, 2020. In an effort to gain more interest in authors in publication, The Publication Committee is moving forward with the publication of short-term research papers of 1500 to 2000 words. Our On the Rocks Committee reported that there are five planned field trips for 2020 with a couple more to be announced (are you as excited as I am?). And finally, the Educational Outreach Committee has announced the rejuvenation of the Teacher of the Year award.

I look forward to reporting the results of the RMAG Board of Directors and committees to you for the coming months. Please check the RMAG website often for upcoming events and exciting opportunities!

Digital Rock Imaging Platform Whole Core | Plugs and Cuttings | Thin Section Dragonfly Deep Rocks delivers advanced feature sets in an intuitive interface to solve complex challenges in reservoir and source rock image characterization and analysis. cha

www.theobjects.com/dragonfly/

KC Oren President

Denver Office: Brooks Tower 1020 15th Street Denver CO 80202 Postal Address: Frisco CO 80443-0063 Email: KC@GeoStarSolu�ons.com

Phone: 303.249.9965 Web: GeoStar.Partners

Lateral Thinking. Experience our Edge!

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CALL FOR PAPERS MEETING WEBSITE: rmsaapg2020.com The RMS-AAPG together with the Grand Junction and Four Corners Geological Societies invite abstract submissions for the 2020 meeting. All petroleum geology related topics are welcome, with special emphasis on these themes: • Hindsight to Foresight: Lessons from the History of Exploration and Production

• Structure, Tectonics, and Geomechanics of the Rocky Mountain Region

• The Mancos Shale / Western Niobrara Equivalent: Sedimentology, Geochemistry and Physical Properties

• Advances in Seismic Imaging in the Rocky Mountain Region

• The Powder River Basin Shale Play, A Rockies Powerhouse

• The Occurrence and Production of Non-flammable Gasses in Rocky Mountain Area Fields

• The San Juan Basin: from Conventional Reservoirs to Resource Plays

• Energy Minerals of the Rockies - A Special Session in Honor of Bill Chenoweth

• Clastic Reservoirs of the Rockies: Sequence Stratigraphy, Reservoir Quality and Producibility

• Applications of Machine Learning and Data Mining to Petroleum Geology and Energy Minerals

• Geochemistry and Basin Modeling of Rocky Mountain Petroleum Systems

• Sustainable Development 1: New Technology and Models for Reservoir Revitalization

• Lacustrine Basins: Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Geochemistry and Petroleum Systems

• Sustainable Development 2: Carbon Capture Use OR Storage - Turning CO2 from a Liability to an Asset

• The Pennsylvanian System of the Rockies

SUBMIT ABSTRACTS ON MEETING WEBSITE BY MARCH 31, 2020 PLEASE CONTACT THE TECHNICAL PROGRAM CHAIRS WITH YOUR QUESTIONS. Larry Anna LA_Resources@msn.com

Brad Burton, bburton@western.edu

Elizabeth Petrie, epetrie@western.edu

VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR SPONSOR AND EXHIBITOR OPPORTUNITIES SPONSORSHIP CHAIRS: John Youle and Tom Ann Casey: SponsorsRMS2020@gmail.com

EXHIBITS CHAIR: Dave Abrahamson: rmsaapg2020ex@gmail.com

GENERAL INFORMATION GENERAL MEETING CO-CHAIRS: KIM MISKELL GERHARDT (FCGS) & HEIDI SCHOENSTEIN (GJGS) aapgrms2020@gmail.com

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PRESIDENT’S LETTER

By Jane Estes-Jackson

Follow Your Passion

OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

I think I have been interested in geology my whole life.

Like lots of kids I had a rock collection that consisted mostly of interesting pebbles and fossils that I found lying around here and there. I developed the habit of looking at the ground underneath my feet while hunting for arrowheads with my mom, a habit that has served me well while doing field work. I didn’t get a lot of exposure to earth science in middle or high school, but I always really liked math and science in general, and my dad was an aerospace engineer. So when I was trying to decide what to study in college, I chose petroleum engineering because it was the most interesting thing in the course catalog. I took Physical Geology my second semester as a requirement for the petroleum engineering curriculum, and I absolutely fell head over heels in love with it. I suddenly had answers to all of my questions about “how did that get there?” and “What is that made of?” It felt like it was meant to be. I stuck it out in engineering for another two semesters, but my heart just wasn’t in it. At the start of my junior year I changed majors to geology and never looked back, even though I was warned that jobs would be harder to find and that graduate school was a necessity. That was okay with me; I enjoyed graduate school even more than I did college.

I focused on stratigraphy for my Masters

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thesis, which was good preparation for working in the oil and gas industry. Making cross sections and correlating logs across a field or a basin to come up with a regional model that predicts where to find oil and/or gas is my happy place. Finding pieces of data and putting it all together into a cohesive story is a lot like working on a big puzzle, or trying to solve a mystery.

It can be challenging at times.

But for me there really is nothing quite as rewarding as having all of that effort result in drilling a successful well.

I am certainly not alone in feeling this way; in fact most of the geologists that I know are quite passionate about their field. I think that’s one thing that makes our profession unique.

Many geologists continue pursuing their interests after retirement because it is much more to them than just a job.

I have been fortunate in that I have always, throughout my career, managed to do something that I loved. I was excited to go into work nearly each and every day. I realize that not everyone has that opportunity. And even now after being negatively impacted by this downturn, I would not have done anything differently. (For one thing if I hadn’t changed majors to geology I would never have met my husband!). Even with all of the ups and downs, it has been totally and completely worth it.

Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

Integrated Geologic, Seismic, Geomechanics, and Reservoir Engineering Characterization and Flow Simulation: Fractured Conventional and Unconventional Reservoirs

Tuesday - Wednesday, February 11-12, 2020 Location: Colorado School of Mines Fee: $500, includes snacks, class notes, and PDH certificate Instructors: James Gilman, Reinaldo Michelena (iReservoir) and Chris Zahm (BEG) Natural fractures may be conductive in conventional reservoirs or may become conductive after hydraulic stimulation in unconventional reservoirs. This course addresses these concepts by examining datasets from both conventional and unconventional systems and presenting workflows to construct naturally-fractured reservoir models. Particular attention is given to the use and calibration of 3D seismic attributes, sound stratigraphic and structural frameworks, and geomechanical information. Models and concepts are examined in the context of how they impact fluid flow, reservoir simulation results, field production, and forecast. This 2-day course will present the workflows that have been developed along with spreadsheet-based exercises to solidify concepts. The course provides in-depth presentations and discussions of the models presented.

Course Outline Day 1  Natural fractured reservoirs: overview and concepts  Impact of natural fractures on reservoir performance: Overview  Reservoir engineering data for of naturally fractured reservoirs: Overview  Tight unconventional reservoirs: outcrop analogs for subsurface characterization  Tight unconventional reservoirs: mechanical stratigraphy in core and well logs  Tight unconventional reservoirs: seismic properties for fracture characterization  Tight unconventional reservoirs: geomechanics review  Integrated characterization and multi-well flow simulation of tight oil shale resources Day 2  DFN vs Continuum Natural Fracture Descriptions for Simulation in Fractured Reservoirs  Conventional fractured reservoirs: overview and concepts  Value of outcrop analogs in fracture modeling  Conventional fractured reservoirs: facies, rock properties in core and well logs  Conventional fractured reservoirs: rock properties from 3D seismic  Calibration of effective fracture permeabilities  Special Considerations for NFR Simulation (e.g., gridding, vertical perm, relative perm, non-fractured cells)  Putting it all together: Integration of outcrop, core, well logs, and seismic for improved reservoir models

Learner Outcomes    

Highlight geologic concepts (e.g., mechanical stratigraphy, rock properties, faults, folds, etc.) that control natural fracture development in conventional and unconventional reservoirs Demonstrate characterization methods that incorporate the use of 3D seismic data for improved mapping of mechanical facies and fracture properties (i.e., increased value of information) Discuss workflows that combine geologic and geomechanics concepts, petrophysical properties, and seismic attributes within geological models in preparation for reservoir simulation Quantify the combined effect of fracture properties (intensity, orientation, width) and local stresses in effective flow properties of simple fracture scenarios Class Descriptions and Register Online: www.pttcrockies.org For more information, contact Mary Carr, 303.273.3107, mcarr@mines.edu

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LEAD STORY

Exploration in Utah A Look at the Past

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Cane Creek anticline and the Colorado River showing the southwest-dipping Honaker Trail Formation (lower left) through Triassic-Jurassic Wingate cliffs on the distant skyline; view to the south. Photo courtesy of Rebekah Stimpson, formerly with the Utah Geological Survey.

BY THOMAS C. CHIDSEY, JR., UTAH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

INTRODUCTION Utah’s oil and gas exploration history extends back almost 130 years. Over 200 fields have been discovered ranging from small fields consisting of a single well to fields that have hundreds of wells and have produced millions of barrels of oil or trillions of cubic feet of gas. Like their colleagues elsewhere, early wildcatters took large risks and drilled wells in some of the more remote and unusual places in the U.S. The geologic knowledge gained from these exploration efforts helped to piece together Utah’s geologic history and led the way to the discovery of the large reserves of oil and gas that have made Utah a great producer into the 21st century.

GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF UTAH AS IT RELATES TO PETROLEUM ACCUMULATIONS

The ages of the rocks exposed in Utah include every geologic eon, era, period, and epoch. Many of these rocks have the qualities necessary to create the oil and gas reservoirs, sources, and seals that make Utah a petroleum-producing state. A combination of depositional and structural events created the major hydrocarbon-producing regions in Utah: Uinta Basin; Paradox Basin; Cretaceous conventional gas and coalbed methane (CBM) on the Wasatch Plateau, along the west flank of the San Rafael Swell, Book Cliffs, and Uncompahgre uplift and thrust belt (figure 1).

During the Mississippian, the Colorado Plateau was covered by a warm-water, shallow-marine carbonate shelf that extensively covered a large part of the craton with the shelf break into the deeper starved basin located in western Utah. Major changes occurred during the Pennsylvanian when the Uncompahgre Highlands (part of the Ancestral Rockies) and adjacent Paradox Basin developed in southeastern Utah where cyclic organic-rich shales, carbonates, and evaporites of the Paradox Formation accumulated under restricted marine conditions in the rapidly subsiding basin. Carbonate buildups in the Paradox Formation became the main drilling targets in the basin and renewed movement on deep, older basement faults formed structures productive in the Mississippian-age Leadville Limestone.

In Early Jurassic time, Utah had an arid climate and lay 15 degrees north of the equator. It was then that the most prolific reservoir in the thrust belt, the Nugget/Navajo Sandstone, was deposited in an extensive dune field (erg) comparable to the present-day Sahara.

Correlative eolian rocks form many of the spectacular canyons in the parks of southern Utah.

During the Cretaceous, compressional forces of the Sevier orogeny produced highlands in western Utah and the Western Interior

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LEAD STORY

Seaway covered most of eastern Utah. Extensive coal-forming swamps and marshes near the coastline (Emery, Book Cliffs, Wasatch Plateau, and Sego coal fields) and fluvial and wave-dominated deltas migrated eastward across the state as the sea eventually retreated. The resulting deposits are the targets for gas production in eastern Utah, Wasatch Plateau, and in the Book Cliffs and Ferron CBM fairways. The Sevier orogeny continued into the Paleocene producing the “thin-skinned” folds and faults of the thrust belt that have been prolific producers in northern Utah and southwestern Wyoming.

The Laramide orogeny, between latest Cretaceous and Eocene time, produced numerous basins and basement-cored uplifts in the Rocky Mountain states. In Utah, the Uinta Basin and Uncompahgre uplift are the major petroleum contributors. The northwest-trending Uncompahgre uplift represents a reactivation of ancient highlands of the Pennsylvanian-Permian Ancestral Rockies. Numerous subsidiary structures formed along the uplift and produce mainly gas. During the Paleocene and Eocene, lakes Flagstaff and Uinta formed in the Uinta Basin where over 11,000 feet of alluvial, marginal lacustrine (fluvial, deltaic, beach, etc.), and open lacustrine sediments of the Green River Formation accumulated in an intertonguing relationship. The eastern Uinta Basin is Utah’s most prolific producer of non-associated (dry) gas from the Cretaceous Mesaverde Group and Paleocene-Eocene Wasatch Formation; waterflood projects and horizontal drilling have been very successful in increasing oil production in the western and northern part of the basin from the Green River Formation.

The principal source rocks for these petroleum provinces were deposited during the Pennsylvanian, Permian, Cretaceous, and Tertiary as marine and lacustrine shale, and coal. The reservoir rocks were deposited in a variety of environments including deltas, shallow-shelf marine, eolian dunes, coastal-plain, and river-floodplain settings. Now the source rocks are also targeted reservoirs (Green River Formation, Cane Creek shale of the Paradox Formation, etc.).

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FIRST DRILLING & EARLY 20TH CENTURY DISCOVERIES In 1891, the Bamberger and Millis No. 1 well (SW1/4SE1/4 sec. 15, T. 21 S., R. 16 E., Grand County; Figure 1) in east-central Utah was drilled to a depth of 1,000 feet at a cost of $4,000—although a dry hole, it was the first well in Utah to specifically target hydrocarbons (Clem, 1991). That same year, natural gas was accidentally discovered near Farmington Bay on the eastern shore of Great Salt Lake during the drilling of a water well. Named Farmington field, the reservoir consisted of Quaternary lenticular sand and silt beds with gas sourced from marsh and peat deposits.

Basically a stratigraphic trap, a slight topographic rise suggested structural arching. Between 1895 and 1896 before the field was abandoned, an estimated 150,000 thousand cubic feet of gas (MCFG) from several wells was transported to Salt Lake City in a wooden pipe, marking Utah’s first use of local gas or oil and the beginning of a rich history of exploration.

Wildcats drilled in the early part of the 20th century targeted areas with oil seeps and surface anticlines. These fields produced only small, non-commercial amounts of oil and gas. However, they were just the precursors of the major Utah discoveries to follow (see Table 1 for field production). These fields include: the Rozel Point Field, discovered in 1904 based on oil seeps near the north arm of Great Salt Lake in the Basin and Range physiographic province (Figures 1 and 2); Virgin Field, discovered in 1907 west of Zion National Park, in the High Plateaus section of the Colorado Plateau (Figure 1 and 3); Mexican Hat Field was discovered in 1908 along the Monument upwarp, near Monument Valley in the Four Corners area of the Colorado Plateau (Figurse 1 and 4); Cane Creek Field was discovered in 1925 along the Colorado River between present-day Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in the northern Paradox fold and fault belt of the Paradox Basin (Figures 1 and 5); and Utah’s first commercial gas field, Clay Basin, discovered in 1927 in the southern Green River Basin along the northern flank of the eastern Uinta Mountains (Figure 1 and 6).

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LEAD STORY

»»CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18 EARLY UINTA MOUNTAIN/ UINTA BASIN DISCOVERIES

In 1948, Utah’s first truly commercial oil well, the Ashley Valley 1, was drilled along the southern flank of the eastern Uinta Mountains near Dinosaur National Monument. The trap for Ashley Valley Field (Figure 1) is a subtle anticline with fault closure defined by surface mapping and drilling (Peterson, 1950, 1957, 1961; Johnson, 1964; Larson, 1993). The primary reservoir is the eolian Pennsylvanian/ Permian Weber Sandstone containing oil sourced from both the Permian Phosphoria Formation and Cretaceous Mancos Shale (Chidsey and Sprinkel, 2005). After 70-plus years, Ashley Valley Field continues to produce to this day (Table 1).

Although no fields like Ashley Valley have been found in Utah since, major discoveries not long after the discovery of Ashley Valley opened the Uinta Basin just to the south and southwest where most of the drilling activities continue today (Figure 1).

FIGURE 1: Oil and gas fields map of Utah. Fields discussed in detail are Roosevelt (now Bluebell) and Redhighlighted. Note the location of the 1891 Bamberger and Millis No. 1 wash Fields were discovered in 1949 wildcat, the first well in Utah drilled to specifically target hydrocarbons. and 1951, respectively. Reservoirs Modified from Wood and Chidsey (2015). consist of the lacustrine Eocene Green River Formation with later production from the alluvial/fluvial Paleoof gas (TCFG) through 2018 from more than 70 fields cene/Eocene Wasatch Formation. The traps are an(Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, 2019). ticlines (structural noses), identified by both surface and subsurface mapping, combined with stratigraphEARLY PARADOX BASIN DISCOVERIES ic pinchouts of alluvial and marginal lacustrine sandThe first commercial discovery in the Paradox Bastone beds into offshore marlstone and shale for sin of southeastern Utah was Boundary Butte Field Bluebell and high-energy shoreface sandstone and osin 1948 (Figure 1). The trap is a surface anticline tracodal grainstone beds for Redwash (Picard, 1957; with tilted oil/water (O/W) contacts and two reserSchuh, 1993; Morgan, 2003). The hydrocarbons were voirs: the eolian Permian De Chelly Sandstone (oil) sourced from kerogen-rich lacustrine shale and marland shallow-shelf carbonates of the Ismay zone of the stone of the Green River Formation. Since the discovPennsylvanian Paradox Formation (gas) (McEachin eries of Bluebell and Redwash Fields, total Uinta Basin production was 822 MMBO and 6.9 trillion cubic feet CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

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Table 1.

Production data and status for the fields discussed in the text. See figure 1 for field locations.

Field

Discovery Year

Cumulative Production* (as of January 1, 2019)

2018 Production* Oil (bbls)

Gas (BCFG)

Oil (bbls)

Gas (BCFG)

Status

Farmington

1891

0

0

0

0.15

Abandoned

Rozel Point

1904

0

0

2665

0

Abandoned

Virgin

1907

0

0

2007

0.05

Abandoned

Mexican Hat

1908

1087

0

313,152

0.002

Producing

Cane Creek

1925

0

0

1887

0.025

Abandoned

Clay Basin

1927

581

0.781

370,412

189.5

†

Producing

Ashley Valley

1948

24,700

0.004

21,059,083

0.034

Producing

Boundary Butte

1948

7103

0.133

5,618,218

13.93

Producing

Bluebell

1949

4,429,243

8.453

194,050,678

282.96

Producing

Redwash

1951

335,473

11.62

88,937,331

462.36

Producing

Clear Creek

1951

0

0

0

114.65

Shut-in

Greater Aneth

1956

3,724,865

7.978

490,782,360

455.84

Producing

Pineview

1975

126,981

0.225

33,148,763

43.52

Producing

West Rozel

1979

0

0

33,028

0

Castlegate

1990

0

0.742

0

15.58

Producing

Drunkards Wash

1992

0

21.2

276

1,050.12

Producing

Covenant

2004

1,269,427

0

26,107,917

0

Producing

Providence

2008

76,510

0.71

402,400

3.72

Producing

†

Abandoned

*Data sources: Heylmun (1961, 1993); Stowe (1972); Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (2019); Bortz and others (1985).

Includes cycled gas.

†

and Royce, 1978). The hydrocarbon source is the organic-rich shales of the Paradox Formation (Chidsey, 2018). Although the De Chelly is not productive elsewhere in the Paradox Basin of Utah, the discovery of hydrocarbons in the Paradox Formation led to major discoveries throughout the basin. including the Greater Aneth field in 1956 (Figure 1), Utah’s largest oil field (Table 1). About 90 fields are in the Utah part of the Paradox Basin, created by stratigraphic traps consisting mainly of phylloid-algal mounds, oolitic banks, and bioclastic shoals. Since the discovery of Boundary Butte, Greater Aneth, and other fields, total Paradox Basin production in Utah was 608 MMBO and 1.5 TCFG through 2018 (Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, 2019).

OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

»»CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

FIRST CRETACEOUS CONVENTIONAL GAS AND COALBED METHANE DISCOVERIES In 1951, the Ferron Sandstone Member of the Upper Cretaceous Mancos Shale proved gas productive with the discovery of Clear Creek Field on the Wasatch Plateau in central Utah (Figure 1). The trap is a faulted surface anticline combined with stratigraphic pinchouts of fluvial channel sandstones. The Ferron represents a fluvial-deltaic complex developed along the Cretaceous Interior Seaway. Clear Creek Field produces from the more proximal part of the delta complex from alluvial and delta-plain facies (Sprinkel, 1993). In the 1980s, companies began testing the potential for coalbed methane (CBM)

»»CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

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A

FIGURE 2: (A) Natural oil seep at low lake level of Great Salt Lake, Rozel Point area, circa 1937. (B)

Leonora Mining & Milling Co. No. 1 well, Rozel Point field, Great Salt Lake, 1929. Photographs courtesy of the Utah Division of State History and the Utah State Historical Society.

B

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LEAD STORY

Virgin Dome Oil Co. drilling operations, Virgin field, near the west entrance to Zion National Park, 1919. Photograph courtesy of the Utah Division of State History and the Utah State Historical Society.

FIGURE 3:

Cable tool drilling near Mexican Hat, circa 1920. Photograph courtesy of the Utah Division of State History and the Utah State Historical Society.

FIGURE 4:

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FIGURE 5: The Midwest

Exploration and Utah Southern No. 1 Shafer well, drilled in 1924 and 1925, was the discovery well for Cane Creek field; view down the Colorado River to the southwest.

The cable-tool rig was floated 20 miles down the river from the town of Moab. The well blew out while drilling at 2028 feet and the rig caught fire and was destroyed.

Photograph courtesy of the Utah Division of State History and the Utah State Historical Society.

A

B

FIGURE 6: (A) Pipeline construction through the Wasatch Range,

northern Utah, circa 1930. (B) Gas mains being installed on South Temple Street, downtown Salt Lake City, 1929.

Photographs courtesy of the Utah Division of State History and the Utah State Historical Society.

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FIGURE 7:

Drilling operations at Covenant field in 2005 (view to the southwest), Sevier County, Utah.

thrust. Reservoirs consist of eolian Triassic-Jurassic Nugget Sandstone and shallow marine Middle Jurassic Twin Creek Limestone having hydrocarbons sourced from subthrust Cretaceous marine shale. Nine similar fields were discovered in Utah (another 15 in Wyoming) in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The 2004 discovery of Covenant field in the central Utah thrust belt turned that region from one of speculation to proven potential (Figures 1 and 7).

The trapping mechanism is similar to those in the northern Utah and Wyoming thrust belt: a ramp anticline but with a back-thrust component (Chidsey and others, 2007; Schelling and others, 2007). The reservoirs are the eolian Lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, stratigraphically equivalent to the Nugget Sandstone, and eolian (coastal dunes) White Throne Member of the Middle Jurassic Temple Cap Formation (Chidsey

»»CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

in several of Utah’s large coalfields (Figure 1). These fields include Castlegate, discovered in 1990 and represents the first commercial CBM production in Utah, coalfields in the Upper Cretaceous Blackhawk Formation of the Book Cliffs, and from the Drunkards Wash CBM, which would later become the Ferron fairway (Figure 1) and is the second-largest gas field in Utah.

EARLY AND SIGNIFICANT THRUST BELT DISCOVERIES

The discovery of Pineview Field in 1975 led to a series of major oil and gas finds in the Utah-Wyoming thrust belt during the late 1970s and early 1980s after years of drilling failures (Figure 1). The trap for Pineview and most of those that followed is a ramp anticline along the leading edge of the Absaroka OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

»»CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

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FIGURE 8:

Drilling barge used by Amoco in Great Salt Lake, 1978. From Bortz (2002).

the Great Salt Lake graben (similar to targets of other wells in the drilling program). The reservoir was late Tertiary (Pliocene) fractured basalts like those found at nearby Rozel Point field. The API gravity of the oil was 4º and containing about 13% sulfur. The oil was likely sourced from Neogene lacustrine sediments.

Due to the high sulfur content of the oil and the extremely harsh drilling environment of the highly saline lake water, West Rozel Field was abandoned after having produced only 33,028 BO (Bortz and others, 1985; Bortz, 1987, 2002).

»»CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24

and others, 2014). However, a major difference between Covenant and thrust belt fields to the north is that the oil source is intraplate or subthrust Carboniferous marine as opposed to subthrust Cretaceous (Wavrek and others, 2005, 2007, 2010; Chidsey and others, 2007). Furthermore, the back thrust likely developed after an initial anticlinal “paleotrap” and in the process of reconfiguring the structure, any gas associated with the oil leaked to the surface as seeps or migrated to other potential reservoir rocks where it remains to be discovered. Thus, Covenant has produced essentially no gas.

CONCLUSIONS

About 1.7 billion BO and 13.9 TCFG have been produced in Utah since true exploration attempts started nearly 130 years ago. Beginning in the 1960s, Utah has consistently ranked in the top 15 states in oil and gas production. In 2018, almost 102,000 BOPD and 0.8 BCFG per day were produced from nearly 12,000 wells (Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining,

EXPLORATION IN GREAT SALT LAKE

Perhaps one of the most unusual drilling programs in Utah took place between 1978 and 1980 when Amoco drilled 15 wells “offshore” in Great Salt Lake (Figure 8). The result was the 1979 discovery of the West Rozel heavy oil field in the north arm of the lake (Figure 1). Seismic surveys identified closure in a faulted anticline of a horst and graben system, i.e.,

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»»CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

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OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

LEAD STORY County, Utah, in Dehler, C.M., Pederson, J.L., Sprinkel, D.A., and Kowallis, B.J., editors, Uinta Mountain geology: Utah Geological Association Publication 33, p. 347–368.

Chidsey, T.C., Jr, Sprinkel, D.A., Vrona, J.P., Hartwick, E.E., Lester, M., and Sbarra, R., 2014, Covenant oil field, central Utah thrust belt—new interpretation of the reservoir stratigraphy: Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, The Outcrop, v. 63, no. 12, p. 10–12, 14–17.

Chidsey, T.C., Jr., DeHamer, J.S., Hartwick, E.E., Johnson, K.R., Schelling, D.D., Sprinkel, D.A., Strickland, D.K., Vrona, J.P., and Wavrek, D.A., 2007, Petroleum geology of Covenant oil field, central Utah thrust belt, in Willis, G.C., Hylland, M.D., Clark, D.L., and Chidsey, T.C., Jr., editors, Central Utah—diverse geology of a dynamic landscape: Utah Geological Association Publication 36, p. 273–296.

Clem, K.M., 1991, Utah’s centennial well, Bamberger and Millis no. 1, Grand County, in Chidsey, T.C., Jr., editor, Geology of east-central Utah: Utah Geological Association Publication 19, p. 223–226.

Eardley, A.J., 1963, Oil seeps at Rozel Point: Utah Geological and Mineralogical Survey Special Study 5, 26 p.

Heylmun, E.B., 1961, Farmington field, Davis County, Utah, in Preston, D., editor, A symposium of the oil and gas fields of Utah: Intermountain Association of Petroleum Geologists Guidebook, non-paginated.

Heylmun, E.B., 1993, Virgin, in Hill, B.G., and Bereskin, S.R., editors, Oil and gas fields of Utah: Utah Geological Association 22, non-paginated.

Hunt, G.L., and Chidsey, T.C., Jr., 2002, Rozel Point oil field, Box Elder County, Utah—geology, development history, and cleanup, in Gwynn, J.W., editor, Great Salt Lake—an overview of change: Utah Department of Natural Resources Special Publication, p. 251–258.

Johnson, C.E., 1964, Ashley Valley oil field, Uintah County, Utah, in Sabatka, E.F., editor, Guidebook to the geology and mineral resources of the Uinta Basin—Utah’s hydrocarbon storehouse: Intermountain Association of Petroleum Geologists 13th Annual Field Conference, p. 187–189.

»»CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

2019). The exploration efforts and successes of the past provided a great legacy for Utah and laid the groundwork for more unconventional drilling taking place today. Thus, horizontal drilling, fracking, and resource plays will be key elements for developing Utah’s current and future hydrocarbon potential.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Historical photographs were provided courtesy of the Utah Division of State History and the Utah State Historical Society. Cheryl Gustin and John Good of the Utah Geological Survey (UGS) assisted with figure preparation. This article was carefully reviewed

by Michael D. Vanden Berg, Stephanie M. Carney, Michael D. Hylland, and Bill Keach of the UGS, along with the editors of The Outcrop. Their suggestions and constructive criticism greatly improved the manuscript.

REFERENCES

Baars, D.L., 1993, Mexican Hat, in Hill, B.G., and Bereskin, S.R., editors, Oil and gas fields of Utah: Utah Geological Association 22, non-paginated.

Bortz, L.C., 1987, Heavy-oil deposit, Great Salt Lake, Utah, in Meyers, R.F., editor, Exploration for heavy crude oil and natural bitumen: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Studies in Geology 25, p. 555–563.

Bortz, L.C., 2002, Heavy-oil deposit, Great Salt Lake, Utah, in Gwynn, J.W., editor, Great Salt Lake—an overview of change: Utah Department of Natural Resources Special Publication, p. 243–250.

Bortz, L.C., Cook, S.A., and Morrison, O.J., 1985, Great Salt Lake area, Utah, in Gries, R.R., and Dyer, R.C., editors, Seismic exploration of the Rocky Mountain region: Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists and Denver Geophysical Society Publication, p. 275–281.

Chidsey, T.C., Jr., 2018, Characteristics and source rocks of Utah crude oils, in Emerman, S.H., Bowen, B., Schamel, S., and Simmons, S., editors, Geofluids of Utah: Utah Geological Association Publication 47, p. 149–177, 1 plate, 26 appendices.

Chidsey, T.C., Jr., and Sprinkel, D.A., 2005, Petroleum geology of Ashley Valley oil field and hydrocarbon potential of the surrounding area, Uintah

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»»CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

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LEAD STORY Association of Petroleum Geologists 8th Annual Field Conference, p. 180–184.

Ruhl, S., and Meibos, L., 1993, Castlegate, in Hill, B.G., and Bereskin, S.R., editors, Oil and gas fields of Utah: Utah Geological Association Publication 22, non-paginated.

Schelling, D.D., Strickland, D.K., Johnson, K.R., and Vrona, J.P., 2007, Structural geology of the central Utah thrust belt, in Willis, G.C., Hylland, M.D., Clark, D.L., and Chidsey, T.C., Jr., editors, Central Utah—diverse geology of a dynamic landscape: Utah Geological Association Publication 36, p.

1–29.

Schuh, M.L., 1993, Red Wash, in Hill, B.G., and Bereskin, S.R., editors, Oil and gas fields of Utah: Utah Geological Association 22, non-paginated.

Smith, K.T., 1978, Cane Creek, in Fassett, J.E., editor, Oil and gas fields of the Four Corners area: Four Corners Geological Society, v. II, p. 624–626.

Sommer, S.N., Doelling, H.H., and Gloyn, R.W., 1993, Coalbed methane in Utah, in Hjellming, C.A., editor, Atlas of major Rocky Mountain gas reservoirs: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, p. 167.

Sprinkel, D.A., 1993, Wasatch Plateau play—overview, in Hjellming, C.A., editor, Atlas of major Rocky Mountain gas reservoirs: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, p. 89.

Sprinkel, D.A., Castaño, J.R., and Roth, G.W., 1997, Emerging plays in central Utah based on a regional geochemical, structural, and stratigraphic evaluation [abs.]: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin Annual Convention, Official Program with Abstracts, v. 6, p. A110.

Stowe, C., 1972, Oil and gas production in Utah to 1970: Utah Geological and Mineral Survey Bulletin 94, p. 170.

Tabet, D., and Burns, T., 1993, Drunkards Wash, in Hill, B.G., and Bereskin, S.R., editors, Oil and gas fields of Utah: Utah Geological Association Publication 22, non-paginated.

Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, 2019, Oil and gas summary production report by field, December 2018: Online, https://oilgas.ogm.utah.gov/oilgasweb/publications/monthly-rpts-by-fld.xhtml, accessed August 2019.

»»CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26

Keller, E.R., 1961, Clay Basin field, Daggett County, Utah, in Preston, D., editor, A symposium of the oil and gas fields of Utah: Intermountain Association of Petroleum Geologists Guidebook, non-paginated.

Kendell, C.F., 1993, Rozel Point, in Hill, B.G., and Bereskin, S.R., editors, Oil and gas fields of Utah: Utah Geological Association 22, non-paginated.

Larson, J.B., 1993, Ashley Valley, in Hill, B.G., and Bereskin, S.R., editors, Oil and gas fields of Utah: Utah Geological Association Publication 22, non-paginated.

Lauth, R.E., 1983, Mexican Hat, in Fassett, J.E., editor, Oil and gas fields of the Four Corners area: Four Corners Geological Society Guidebook, v. III, p. 682–687.

McEachin, W.D., and Royce, R.M., 1978, Boundary Butte Coconino, San Juan County, Utah, in Fassett, J.E., editor, Oil and gas fields of the Four Corners area: Four Corners Geological Society Guidebook, v. II, p. 615–617.

Morgan, C.D., editor, 2003, The Bluebell oil field, Uinta Basin, Duchesne and Uintah Counties, Utah—characterization and oil well demonstration: Utah Geological Survey Special Study 106, 95 p.

Morgan, C.D., 2005, Clay Basin gas field, Daggett County, Utah, in Dehler, C.M., Pederson, J.L., Sprinkel, D.A., and Kowallis, B.J., editors, Uinta Mountain geology: Utah Geological Association Publication 33, p. 337–345.

Peterson, V.E., 1950, Ashley Valley oil field, in Eardley, A.J., editor, Guidebook to the geology of Utah: Utah Geological Society Publication 5, p. 135–138.

Peterson, V.E., 1957, Ashley Valley oil field, in Seal, O.G., editor, Guidebook to the geology of the Uinta Basin: Intermountain Association of Petroleum Geologists 8th Annual Field Conference, p. 191–192.

Peterson, V.E., 1961, Ashley Valley oil field, Uintah County, Utah, in Preston, Don, editor, A symposium of the oil and gas fields of Utah: Intermountain Association of Petroleum Geologists Guidebook, non-paginated.

Picard, M.D., 1957, The Red Wash-Walker Hollow field—a resume, in Seal, O.G. editor, Guidebook to the geology of the Uinta Basin: Intermountain

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»»CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

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Wavrek, D.A., Ali-Adeeb, J., Chao, J.C., Santon, L.E., Hardwick, E.A., Strickland, D.K., and Schelling, D.D., 2007, Paleozoic source rocks in the central Utah thrust belt—organic facies response to tectonic and paleoclimatic variables [abs.]: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Rocky Mountain Section Meeting Official Program, p.

58–59.

Wavrek, D.A., Schelling, D.D., Sbarra, R., Vrona, J.P., and Johnson, K.R., 2010, Central Utah thrust belt discoveries—a tale of two hydrocarbon charges [abs.]: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, Official Program with Abstracts, p. 72–73.

Wavrek, D.A., Strickland, D., Schelling, D.D., Johnson, K.R., and Vrona, J.P., 2005, A major paradigm shift—Carboniferous versus Permian petroleum systems in the central Rocky Mountains, U.S.A. [abs.]: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Convention, Official Program with Abstracts, v. 14, non-paginated.

Wengerd, S.A., 1955, Geology of Mexican Hat oil field, San Juan County, Utah, in Cooper, J.C., editor, Geology of parts of Paradox, Black Mesa, and San Juan Basins: Four Corners Geological Society Field Conference, p. 150–163.

Wood, R.E., and Chidsey, T.C., Jr., 2015, Oil and gas fields map of Utah: Utah Geological Survey Circular 119, scale 1:700,000.

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RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS Speaker: Stephen A. Sonnenberg | February 5, 2020

Geology of the Turner Sandstone, Finn-Shurley Field Powder River Basin, Wyoming

By Stephen A. Sonnenberg, Colorado School of Mines

DR. STEVE SONNENBERG is a Professor of Geology and holds the Charles Boettcher Distinguished Chair in Petroleum Geology at the Colorado School of Mines. He specializes in unconventional reservoirs, sequence stratigraphy, tectonic influence on sedimentation, and petroleum

OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

across the field is roughly east-west. Trapping occurs where sandstone beds get shalier up-dip. The field is located along the shallow east margin of the Powder River Basin south of the Clareton lineament.

Three to four coarsening upward cycles are present in the Turner in the field. Most of the production comes from the lower two cycles. Each cycle consists

The Finn-Shurley field produces petroleum from the Upper Cretaceous Turner Sandstone of the Powder River Basin. The Turner is a member of the Carlile and is overlain by the Sage Breaks and underlain by the Pool Creek members of the Carlile. The Turner is interpreted to be a shallow marine shelf sandstone deposited along the eastern side of the Western Interior Cretaceous Seaway. Sand-shelf-bar orientation

CONTINUED ON PAGE 31

geology. A native of Billings, Montana, Sonnenberg received BS and MS degrees in geology from Texas A&M University and a Ph.D. degree in geology from the Colorado School of Mines. Steve began teaching at Colorado School of Mines in 2007 after working in the petroleum

30

industry for over 25 years.

Steve has served as President of several organizations including the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, RMS-AAPG and Colorado Scientific Society.

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RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30

vertical wells is 22.5 MMBO and 38 BCFG. Cumulative gas oil ratio is 1688 cu ft gas per barrel oil. Average production per well is approximately 30 MBO and 50 MMCFG. Horizontal drilling activity in the field area has recently commenced. Although the production is fair to marginal, the field provides an excellent example of trapping style as well as a depositional model for Turner Sandstone elsewhere in the deeper parts of the Powder River Basin. Recent drilling in the deeper overpressured parts of the Powder River Basin has encountered excellent production from the Turner (> 1,000 bbls oil equivalent per well).

Finn-Shurley Field is part of a continuous accumulation within the Turner Sandstone in the Powder River Basin. Distinct oil-water contacts are not present in the field area. The accumulation is underpressured and regarded as unconventional.

of burrowed to bioturbated, heterolithic mudstones and sandstones coarsening upwards into fine-grained laminated to burrowed sandstones. Trace fossil present fall into the shelf Cruziana ichnofacies. The sandstones are largely litharenites. Porosities range from 11-17% and permeabilities range from 0.06 to 0.5 md. Source rock analysis of the Turner shales indicate Ro values averaging 0.63 and Tmax values of 433oC. Source beds for the oil and gas in the Turner is thought to be the Mowry Formation. The low thermal maturity suggests lateral migration of oil into the stratigraphic trap.

The field extends over an area roughly circular in shape of ~65 square miles. Productive depths across the field are 4450 to 5700 ft. First production is reported as 1974 and cumulative production from ~750

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RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS Speaker: Edmund R. Gustason | March 4, 2020

Facies architecture and sequence stratigraphy of the Codell Sandstone, Denver Basin, CO

By Edmund R. Gustason1 (speaker), Marshall Deacon2 and Tofer Lewis1

1: Enerplus Resources, Denver, CO 2: Edge Oil and Gas, LLC, Denver, CO

EDMUND R “GUS” GUSTASON is a senior staff geologist for Enerplus Resources. Gus received his BS Geology from Humboldt State University, his MS from Northern Arizona University and PhD in Geology from CU Boulder in 1989.

He has worked in the petroleum industry

OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

discrete reservoir flow units. Photomosaic mapping of outcrops reveals that the erosional surfaces and overlying laminated facies are laterally continuous for up to three miles. The laminated facies also have an anomalously high thorium content that creates a “hot” gamma ray marker that can be correlated for several miles between cored wells. The surfaces are nearly horizontal, show no clinoform geometry, and are interpreted as parasequence-scale, low stand surfaces of erosion, formed during times of base level lowering in areas of low accommodation. Storms reworked the underlying sediment into laminated facies. Laminated facies grade upward into bioturbated facies, indicating that base level gradually rose and predominantly low energy conditions returned.

Regionally correlatable, sub-horizontal flow units of laminated facies provided important pathways for oil and gas migration in the Denver Basin. They also contain the best reservoir quality sandstone for horizontal well placement.

Based on detailed descriptions of outcrops and cores, the Codell contains eight facies: bioturbated sandy mudstone, bioturbated muddy sandstone, bioturbated sandstone, planar parallel laminated sandstone, hummocky cross-laminated sandstone, wave ripple cross-laminated sandstone, cross stratified sandstone, and laminated mudstone. Facies can be grouped into two facies associations: bioturbated and laminated facies. The bioturbated facies are characterized by a high bioturbation index (BI) and high diversity of trace fossils, indicating low energy, normal marine conditions. The laminated facies are characterized by a lower BI and similar diversity, indicating higher energy (storms) or more rapid deposition under normal marine conditions.

The Codell displays an upward coarsening succession of facies interpreted as progradational shoreline deposits. However, the transition from bioturbated facies to laminated facies is “punctuated” by erosional surfaces that compartmentalize the Codell into

for 38 years, holding various research, exploration and development geology positions with RPI, BP, Schlumberger Reservoir Technologies, EnCana, El Paso, and now, with Enerplus. Gus also teaches core facies analysis courses for CU Boulder and Nautilus. Gus is very interested in

32

the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Cretaceous Western Interior. Lately, he has been trying to understand the “shades of gray” and resource potential of the Niobrara Formation.

Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

Cognitive E&P Environment A multidimensional environment that unites planning and operations, bringing together advances in technical disciplines such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, and automation.

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Well Site Geology Geosteering - On site & Remote Rock Analytics Geologic Prognosis/Mapping Oil Field Safety Training - PEC Regulatory Representation

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406.259.4124 Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

33

OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

The Mountain Geologist Best Paper Award for 2019 depths of more than 500 meters. These events en-

The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is pleased to announce the winner of The Mountain Geologist Best Paper Award for 2019. The winning paper is “New Constraints on the Timing and History of Breccia Dikes in the Western San Juan Mountains, Southwestern Colorado” by David Gonzales.

The author used U-Pb zircon dating to constrain the ages of these dikes and concludes that the origin of these breccia dikes involved the rapid and explosive subsurface release of magmatic volatiles at

trained and transported fragments of Proterozoic to Cenozoic rocks.

Again in 2019 the collection of papers published

in The Mountain Geologist were outstanding. We

would like to thank all of the authors for their contributions to the journal.

Congratulations to David.

—The Best Paper Selection Committee

The Outcrop Best Paper and Best Cover Photo Award for 2019

OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

highlighting interesting historical aspects of Colorado geology.

The Outcrop team would like to thank all of our 2019 lead article authors and we encourage everyone to go to the Outcrop archives on the RMAG website and reread the winning articles.

Additionally, we would like to thank everyone who submitted a photo to the 2019 photo contest.

The winner is Noel Waechter, whose picture of The Needles in Canyonland National Park appeared on the March 2019 cover.

Thank you again to all of our photo and article contributors, and congratulations again to the winners!

—The Outcrop Team

The editors of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists reviewed all of the original lead article submissions to The Outcrop in 2019 and determined a winner for Best Lead Article. From the eight articles published in last year’s Outcrop, we chose the October lead, “Underground Water Storage Could Be Colorado’s Future” by Ralf Topper. This article was commended for its local relevance, excellent figures, and linking everyday life with geology.

We also designated two articles as honorable mentions: the April lead article, “The Colorado Mineral Belt Composite Batholith and its Role in Explaining the Genesis of Ore Deposits” by Josh Rosera and Sean Gaynor; and the December lead article, “Geology and Trains: An Intertwined History” by Ben Burke. Both articles were excellent reads,

34

Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

Proudly developing Colorado’s energy potential through innovation, safety and a commitment to our community l e a r n m o r e at : w w w . c r e s t o n e p e a k r e s o u r c e s . c o m

Publish with…

Why contribute?

• Reach a broad industry and academic audience • Quarterly peer-reviewed journal • Permanent archiving includes AAPG Datapages • Quick turn-around time • Every subdiscipline in the geosciences Expanded geologic focus: • Entire greater Rocky Mountain area of North America • West Texas and New Mexico to northern British Columbia • Great Plains and Mid-Continent region

Email: mgeditor@rmag.org https://www.rmag.org/publications/the-mountain-geologist/

Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

35

OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

Announcing New GSA Division Award for Career Achievement in Petroleum Geology Boulder, Colo., USA: The Curtis-Hedberg Petroleum Career Achievement Award has been established by the Energy Geology Division of The Geological Society of America (GSA) and will be awarded in 2020 at the GSA Annual Meeting in Montréal, Canada.

The award will go to a GSA member who has had a career in petroleum geology and has made contributions to the discovery of petroleum reserves or the development of a new idea(s) and/ or technology that increased petroleum resources. Considerations will be given for nominees’ publications as well as contributions to geoscience societies and institutions.

Nominations are heartily encouraged and solicited from both GSA members and non-members.

They are due by 1 March 2020 and should include the nominee’s CV and two letters of support.

Submit nominations to Laura S. Ruhl, at lsruhl@ualr.edu.

Learn more at https://community.geosociety.org/energydivision/awards/curtishedberg.

Contributions to support the award can be made via the GSA Foundation at https://gsa-foundation.org.

OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

36

Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

COLORADO BORN. COLORADO BUILT. Colorado Committed.

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37

OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

IN THE PIPELINE FEBRUARY 5, 2020 RMAG Luncheon.

Speaker Stephen A. Sonnenberg. “Geology of the Turner Sandstone, Finn-Shurley Field, Powder River Basin Wyoming”.

Maggiano’s Downtown Denver.

FEBRUARY 11, 2020 RMS-SEPM Core Workshop.

Speakers Gus Gustason and Keith Shanley. Wall Creek and Turner core workshop.

USGS Core Research Center.

FEBRUARY 11-12, 2020 PTTC Rockies Short Course.

Instructors: James R. Gilman, Chris Zahm, and Reinaldo J. Michelena.

“Integrated Geologic, Seismic, Geomechanics, and Reservoir Engineering

Characterization and Flow Simulation in Fractured Conventional and Unconventional Reservoirs.”

CSM, Golden, CO. FEBRUARY 13, 2020 RMAG and CPES Short Course.

“Practical Python for Earth Scientists.” Catalyst Tech Center, Denver, CO.

Using the Petrophysical Stepchild ‘Photo-electric Effect’ and Apparent Matrix Densities.” Wynkoop Brewing Company, 1634 18th Street at Wynkoop, Denver.

FEBRUARY 19, 2020 SPE General Meeting.

“Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) for Unconventional Reservoirs: The Next Big Thing?”

FEBRUARY 14, 2020 DIPS Luncheon.

Members $20 and Nonmembers $25. For more information or to RSVP via email to kurt.reisser@gmail. com.

FEBRUARY 18-19, 2020 DUG Rockies Conference and Expo.

Colorado Convention Center.

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

COGA Mardi Gras Ball.

DWLS Luncheon.

Speaker Max Peters. “Clay Types Derived from Logs

WELCOME NEW RMAG MEMBERS!

Ryan Herz-Thyhsen

is a Geologist at Enerplus Resources in Denver, Colorado.

Katherine McCarville

is Professor of Geosciences at Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa.

Devon Robb

is a student in Poolesville, Maryland.

Well Log Digitizing • Petrophysics Petra® Projects • Mud Log Evaluation Bill Donovan

Geologist • Petroleum Engineer • PE

(720) 351-7470 donovan@petroleum-eng.com OUTCROP | Febraury 2020

38

Vol. 69, No. 2 | www.rmag.org

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CALENDAR – FEBRUARY 2020 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

13

14

15

RMAG Luncheon.

Speaker Stephen A. Sonnenberg.

9

10

11

12

RMS-SEPM Core Workshop.

RMAG and CPES Short Course.

PTTC Rockies Short Course.

16

17

18 DWLS Luncheon.

19

20

SPE General Meeting.

24

25

26

21

22

COGA Mardi Gras Ball.

DUG Rockies Conference and Expo.

23

DIPS Luncheon.

27

28

29