Basin-Centered Gas Systems of the U.S. by Marin A
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Basin-Centered Gas Systems of the U.S. By Marin A. Popov,1 Vito F. Nuccio,2 Thaddeus S. Dyman,2 Timothy A. Gognat,1 Ronald C. Johnson,2 James W. Schmoker,2 Michael S. Wilson,1 and Charles Bartberger1 Columbia Basin Western Washington Sweetgrass Arch (Willamette–Puget Mid-Continent Rift Michigan Basin Sound Trough) (St. Peter Ss) Appalachian Basin (Clinton–Medina Snake River and older Fms) Hornbrook Basin Downwarp Wasatch Plateau –Modoc Plateau San Rafael Swell (Dakota Fm) Sacramento Basin Hanna Basin Great Denver Basin Basin Santa Maria Basin (Monterey Fm) Raton Basin Arkoma Park Anadarko Los Angeles Basin Chuar Basin Basin Group Basins Black Warrior Basin Colville Basin Salton Mesozoic Rift Trough Permian Basin Basins (Abo Fm) Paradox Basin (Cane Creek interval) Central Alaska Rio Grande Rift Basins (Albuquerque Basin) Gulf Coast– Travis Peak Fm– Gulf Coast– Cotton Valley Grp Austin Chalk; Eagle Fm Cook Inlet Open-File Report 01–135 Version 1.0 2001 This report is preliminary, has not been reviewed for conformity with U. S. Geological Survey editorial standards and stratigraphic nomenclature, and should not be reproduced or distributed. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U. S. Government. 1Geologic consultants on contract to the USGS 2USGS, Denver U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey BASIN-CENTERED GAS SYSTEMS OF THE U.S. DE-AT26-98FT40031 U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Contractor: U.S. Geological Survey Central Region Energy Team DOE Project Chief: Bill Gwilliam USGS Project Chief: V.F. Nuccio Contract Period: April, 1998-November, 2000 Final Report TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction........................................................................ 5 Phase I...............................................................................6 List of High Potential Accumulations....................................6 List of Other Potential Accumulations ...................................6 Phase II..............................................................................7 Basin-centered/continuous-type accumulations...............................8 Examples of pressure condition variability in gas deposits...........9 Hanna Basin ...............................................................9 Applachian Basin (Clinton-Medina Fms)............................10 Gulf Coast Basin-Cotton Valley Group .............................10 Project Organization............................................................ 11 Acknowledgements .............................................................. 12 PHASE I Anadarko Basin................................................................... 14 Appalachian Basin (Clinton/Medina and Older Formations)............. 21 Arkoma Basin .................................................................... 29 Black Warrior Basin............................................................. 37 Central Alaska Basins .......................................................... 45 Chuar Group (Precambrian Paradox Basin).................................. 53 Columbia Basin.................................................................. 58 Colville Basin, Alaska ..........................................................64 Cook Inlet, Alaska.............................................................. 77 Denver Basin ..................................................................... 85 Great Basin (Tertiary Basins).................................................. 95 Gulf Coast-Austin Chalk..................................................... 104 Gulf Coast-Eagle Ford Formation.......................................... 111 Gulf Coast-Travis Peak/Cotton Valley Formations..................... 118 Hanna Basin .................................................................... 125 Hornbrook Formation/Modoc Plateau.......................................133 Los Angeles Basin............................................................. 141 Mesozoic Rift Basins (Eastern U.S.) .......................................148 Michigan Basin (St. Peter Sandstone)..................................... 155 Mid-Continent Rift............................................................ 164 Paradox Basin (Cane Creek Interval)....................................... 171 Park Basins of Colorado...................................................... 179 Permian Basin (Abo Formation)............................................ 187 Raton Basin..................................................................... 195 Rio Grande Rift (Albuquerque Basin)...................................... 203 Sacramento Basin.............................................................. 212 Salton Trough, California ................................................... 219 San Rafael Swell (Dakota Formation)..................................... 227 Santa Maria Basin............................................................. 235 Snake River Downwarp, Idaho .............................................. 242 Sweetgrass Arch (Central Montana)........................................ 250 Wasatch Plateau................................................................ 257 Western Washington (Willamette-Puget Sound Trough)................ 264 iii References Cited............................................................... 270 Selected Bibliography......................................................... 290 Appendix I: Phase II Abstracts Potential for a basin-center gas accumulation in the Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico....................................................294 Is there a basin-center gas accumulation in the deep Anadarko Basin?....................................................................294 Is there a basin-center gas accumulation in the Columbia Basin Pasco Basin), Central Washington?................................295 Is there a basin-center gas accumulation in the Cotton Valley Group Sandstones, Gulf Coast Basin, USA? .....................295 Is there a basin-center gas accumulation in the Ordovician-Age Glenwood Formation and St Peter Sandstone, Central Michigan Basin?.......................................................296 Potential for a basin-center gas accumulation in the Raton Basin, Colorado and New Mexico...................................296 Does the Forbes Formation in the Sacramento Basin contain a basin-center gas accumulation? .....................................297 Is there a basin-center gas accumulation in the Travis Peak (Hosston) Formation, Gulf Coast Basin, USA?..................298 iv INTRODUCTION The USGS is re-evaluating the resource potential of basin-centered gas accumulations in the U.S. because of changing perceptions of the geology of these accumulations, and the availability of new data since the USGS 1995 National Assessment of United States oil and gas resources (Gautier et al., 1996). To attain these objectives, this project used knowledge of basin-centered gas systems and procedures such as stratigraphic analysis, organic geochemistry, modeling of basin thermal dynamics, reservoir characterization, and pressure analysis. This project proceeded in two phases which had the following objectives: Phase I (4/1998 through 5/1999): Identify and describe the geologic and geographic distribution of potential basin-centered gas systems, and Phase II (6/1999 through 11/2000): For selected systems, estimate the location of those basin-centered gas resources that are likely to be produced over the next 30 years. In Phase I, we characterize thirty-three (33) potential basin-centered gas systems (or accumulations) based on information published in the literature or acquired from internal computerized well and reservoir data files. These newly defined potential accumulations vary from low to high risk and may or may not survive the rigorous geologic scrutiny leading towards full assessment by the USGS. For logistical reasons, not all basins received the level of detail desired or required. The thirty-three potential accumulations investigated in Phase I are in the list below. For each, we summarize the geologic setting and data favoring the existence of a potential basin-centered gas accumulation. Anadarko Basin Mesozoic Rift Basins (eastern U.S.) Appalachian Basin (Clinton-Medina and older Formations) Michigan Basin (St. Peter Sandstone) Arkoma Basin Mid-Continent Rift Black Warrior Basin Paradox Basin (Cane Creek interval) Central Alaska basins Park Basins of Colorado Chuar Group (Precambrian Paradox Basin) Permian Basin (Abo Formation) Columbia Basin Rio Grande Rift (Albuquerque Basin) Colville Basin, Alaska Raton Basin Cook Inlet, Alaska Sacramento Basin Denver Basin Salton Trough, California Great Basin (Tertiary basins) San Rafael Swell (Dakota Formation) Gulf Coast-Austin Chalk Santa Maria Basin (Monterey Formation) Gulf Coast-Eagle Ford Formation Snake River downwarp, Idaho Gulf Coast-Travis Peak/Cotton Valley Formations Sweetgrass Arch (central Montana) Hanna Basin Wasatch Plateau Hornbrook Basin/Modoc Plateau Western Washington (Willamette-Puget Los Angeles Basin (deep) Sound Trough) 5 PHASE I In Phase I we divided the thirty-three (33) basins or areas into two categories: High Potential Accumulations, or those we believe have high potential for development in the next 30 years, and Other Potential Accumulations, those that have some potential, but are not as likely to be developed within the next 30 years. Note that well-known and explored basin-centered accumulations (such as the Green