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26 Petroleum Geology of the Basal Niobrara Sandstone

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26 Petroleum Geology of the Basal Niobrara Sandstone PETROLEUM GEOLOGY OF THE BASAL NIOBRARA SANDSTONE WEST PUERTO CHIQUITO FIELD RIO ARRIBA COUNTY NEW MEXICO USA By Thomas A. Arthur 26 A thesis submitted to the Faculty and the Board of Trustees of the Colorado School of Mines in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Geology). Golden, Colorado Date____________ Signed: Thomas A. Arthur Signed: Dr. Stephen A. Sonnenberg Thesis Advisor Golden, Colorado Date ____________ Signed: Dr. John D. Humphrey, Department Head Department of Geology and Geological Engineering ii ABSTRACT The basal Niobrara sandstone in the eastern San Juan Basin is an important oil producing reservoir. The West Puerto Chiquito (WPC) Field has produced approximately 18 million barrels of oil from Fort Hays age equivalent sandstones. Most of the Late Cretaceous oil producing stratigraphic traps that have been identified in the Rocky Mountain region are associated with unconformities. The boundary between the Carlile Shale and Niobrara is a well- known regional unconformity that has been extensively studied on the west side of the San Juan Basin in association with large oil fields such as Bisti and Horseshoe. A study of well log correlation, outcrop, core and source rock analysis was conducted in order to identify the resource potential of the Niobrara sandstone in the eastern part of the San Juan Basin. The Niobrara Sandstone is encased within 2000 feet of organic-rich, thermally mature Mancos source rock. Core analyses, including petrographic thin sections help to characterize the porosity and permeability of this tight reservoir. Surface lineaments were studied in order to identify reservoir connectivity. Structural mapping indicates that relative structurally high folds along the steeply dipping eastern San Juan Basin margin are associated with higher volume oil production. Log analysis also indicates that resistivity over 62 Ohm-m in the Niobrara C sandstone interval are the most productive. Geochemical analysis shows that total organic content (TOC) ranges from 1-4 wt. % and the highest TOCs are located at the top of the Mancos Shale and also within 200 feet above the Niobrara sandstones. Source rocks are mature with Tmax values measured from 435°C to 450°C and calculated vitrinite reflectance ranges from 0.6 to 1.0. Measured S2 fractions were low due to the high level of maturity. Type II and III are the primary kerogen types with some type IV which is overrepresented by high levels of kerogen maturation. Rock work comparison of outcrop to the subsurface indicated that the subsurface iii cores are comprised of finely laminated sandstone and mudstone interbeds that are conformable. Outcrop sandstones are massive continuous beds with sharp mudstone contacts above and below the Niobrara A, B and C sandstone intervals. The sandstones are interpreted to be offshore sand bars within an isolated embayment. Petrographic thin sections indicate that the cored Niobrara sandstone intervals are very fine-grained calcareous sandstones with fine lamination of organic material and marine fossil fragments. There are no apparent unconformities observed in cores or in outcrop. Basin modeling indicates that peak oil generation occurred at 59 Ma and primary gas generation began at 50 Ma. Production observations reveal that the highest production coincides with surface lineaments that indicate regional subsurface connectivity. WPC oil is produced through solution gas drive and the updip trap and seal are likely related to a maturity boundary along with an updip fault-seal. The Niobrara sandstones at West Puerto Chiquito are an unconventional resource that represent an opportunity to horizontally drill and downspace development based on the observed reservoir characteristics. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... xvii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... xviii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Study Area ........................................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Research Methods ............................................................................................................ 4 1.3.1 Well Log Analysis ........................................................................................................ 4 1.3.2 Cuttings ......................................................................................................................... 4 1.3.3 Outcrop ......................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.4 Core .............................................................................................................................. 8 1.3.5 Surface lineaments ........................................................................................................ 9 1.3.6 Basin Modeling............................................................................................................. 9 1.4 Industry Activity ............................................................................................................ 10 CHAPTER 2 GEOLOGIC BACKGROUND ............................................................................... 12 2.1 Regional Setting ............................................................................................................. 12 2.2 Regional Setting for Isolated Marine Sandstones .......................................................... 15 2.3 Stratigraphy and Terminology ....................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 3 STRATIGRAPHY AND MAPPING THE PETROLEUM POTENTIAL ............. 21 3.1 Stratigraphy of the Niobrara at West Puerto Chiquito ................................................... 21 3.2 Structural background of the San Juan Basin................................................................. 23 3.3 Niobrara structure of the east San Juan Basin ................................................................ 29 3.4 Resistivity mapping of the basal Niobrara units for organic richness............................ 34 3.5 Isopach maps of the basal Niobrara sandstones ............................................................. 35 3.6 Production mapping ....................................................................................................... 35 3.7 Lineament mapping ........................................................................................................ 46 CHAPTER 4 SOURCE ROCK ANALYSIS ................................................................................ 53 4.1 Terminology ................................................................................................................... 53 v 4.2 Procedure ........................................................................................................................ 54 4.3 Source rock analyzer results ........................................................................................... 54 CHAPTER 5 OUTCROP, CORE ANALYSIS AND PETROGRAPHIC THIN SECTIONS ..... 64 5.1 Outcrop ........................................................................................................................... 64 5.2 Core analysis .................................................................................................................. 66 CHAPTER 6 BASIN MODELING .............................................................................................. 76 6.1 Background .................................................................................................................... 76 6.2 Burial history and petroleum system plots for the Cypress Collins #1 well .................. 77 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................... 81 CHAPTER 8 FUTURE WORK .................................................................................................... 86 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 88 APPENDIX A SOURCE ROCK ANALYSIS – CUTTINGS ..................................................... 97 APPENDIX B CYPRESS COLLINS #1 CORE DATA API 300390906097 ............................ 102 APPENDIX C OUTCROP GAMMA-RAY DATA ................................................................... 105 APPENDIX D THIN SECTION PHOTOS FROM CORES ...................................................... 107 APPENDIX E – PHOTOS OF MEASURED SECTION OUTCROPS ..................................... 119 APPENDIX F – VOLUMETRICS FOR THE NIOBRARA C ISOPACH INTERVAL BOUNDED BY THE WPC FIELD POLYGON........................................................................ 122 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Study area index map showing the location of the Mancos-Niobrara West Puerto
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