Lewis Total Petroleum System of the Southwestern Wyoming Province, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah Volume Title Page by Robert D
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Chapter 9 Lewis Total Petroleum System of the Southwestern Wyoming Province, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah Volume Title Page By Robert D. Hettinger and Laura N.R. Roberts Chapter 9 of Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the Southwestern Wyoming Province, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah By USGS Southwestern Wyoming Province Assessment Team U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series DDS–69–D U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior Gale A. Norton, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Charles G. Groat, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado: Version 1, 2005 For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services Box 25286, Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Manuscript approved for publication May 10, 2005 ISBN= 0-607-99027-9 Contents Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Acknowledgments …………………………………………………………………………… 3 Stratigraphy of Lewis Shale …………………………………………………………………… 3 Basin-Centered Gas System in the Greater Green River Basin ……………………………… 7 Lewis Total Petroleum System (503707) ……………………………………………………… 10 Hydrocarbon Source Rocks ……………………………………………………………… 10 Source Rock Maturation ………………………………………………………………… 12 Hydrocarbon Migration ………………………………………………………………… 14 Hydrocarbon Reservoir Rocks …………………………………………………………… 14 Hydrocarbon Traps and Seals …………………………………………………………… 17 Total Petroleum System Event Summary ………………………………………………… 17 Assessment Units in the Lewis Total Petroleum System ……………………………………… 19 Lewis Continuous Gas Assessment Unit (50370761) …………………………………… 20 Historical Drilling, Success Ratios, and Production ……………………………… 20 Lewis Conventional Oil and Gas Assessment Unit (50370701) …………………………… 26 Historical Drilling and Production ………………………………………………… 26 Assessment Results for the Lewis Total Petroleum System (503707) ………………………… 26 Lewis Continuous Gas Assessment Unit (50370761) …………………………………… 26 Total Assessment-Unit Area ……………………………………………………… 26 Area per Cell of Untested Cells Having Potential for Additions to Reserves in the Next 30 Years …………………………………………………………………… 30 Percentage of the Total Assessment-Unit Area that is Untested ………………… 30 Future Success Ratios for Untested Cells Having Potential for Additions to Reserves in the Next 30 Years …………………………………………………… 30 Percentage of Untested Assessment-Unit Area that has Potential for Additions to Reserves in the Next 30 Years …………………………………………………… 30 Total Recovery per Cell for Untested Cells Having Potential for Additions to Reserves in the Next 30 Years …………………………………………………… 31 Assessment Results ……………………………………………………………… 31 Lewis Conventional Oil and Gas Assessment Unit (50370701) …………………………… 31 Assessment Results ……………………………………………………………… 32 References …………………………………………………………………………………… 32 Appendix A. Basic input data for the Lewis Continuous Gas Assessment Unit (50370761) FORSPAN ASSESSMENT MODEL …………………………………………………………… 36 Appendix B. Basic input data for the Lewis Conventional Oil and Gas Assessment Unit (50370701) SEVENTH APPROXIMATION DATA FORM (NOGA, Version 5, 6-30-01) ………… 38 III Figures 1. Map showing location of the Lewis Total Petroleum System, Southwestern Wyoming Province, Greater Green River Basin ……………………………………………………… 2 2. Chart showing formations and stratigraphic relations in the Southwestern Wyoming Province …………………………………………………………………………………… 4 3. Structure contour map constructed on the base of the Lewis Shale ……………………… 5 4. Map showing overburden thickness on top of the Lewis Shale …………………………… 6 5. Geophysical log signatures of the Lewis Shale …………………………………………… 8 6. Generalized paleogeographic map of the region containing the Lewis Total Petroleum System …………………………………………………………………………………… 9 7. Map showing location of assessment units in the Lewis Total Petroleum System ……… 11 8. Map showing thermal maturity of source rock of the Lewis Total Petroleum System …… 13 9. Graph showing timing of gas generation in the Lewis Shale ……………………………… 15 10. Map showing net sandstone thickness in the Lewis Shale ……………………………… 16 11. Map showing areas of Lewis Shale that have potential for stratigraphic traps …………… 18 12. Event charts showing timing of key events in the Lewis Total Petroleum System ………… 19 13. Map showing Lewis Continuous Gas Assessment Unit …………………………………… 22 14. Tested wells in Lewis Continuous Gas Assessment Unit ………………………………… 24 15. Graphs showing distribution of estimated ultimate recoveries (EURs) for wells in the Lewis Continuous Gas Assessment Unit ………………………………………………… 25 16. Map showing Lewis Conventional Oil and Gas Assessment Unit ………………………… 27 17. Graphs showing trends through time of gas accumulation discoveries in the Lewis Conventional Oil and Gas Assessment Unit ……………………………………………… 29 Tables 1. Fields that have produced gas and(or) oil from the Lewis Total Petroleum System ………… 21 2. Reservoir characteristics for selected fields that have produced from the Lewis Continuous Gas Assessment Unit ……………………………………………………………………… 23 3. Reservoir characteristics for selected fields that have produced from the Lewis Conventional Oil and Gas Assessment Unit ………………………………………………… 28 4. Undiscovered resources in the Lewis Total Petroleum System …………………………… 30 Plate 1. Stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous Lewis Shale in the eastern part of the Greater Green River Basin, Colorado, and Wyoming ……………………………………………………… 35 IV Lewis Total Petroleum System of the Southwestern Wyoming Province, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah By Robert D. Hettinger and Laura N.R. Roberts niques, and an improved understanding of the basin-centered Abstract system. As such, individual untested cells are expected to range from 20 to 200 acres in size (with a mean of 103 acres), The Lewis Total Petroleum System (TPS) within the total recovery per cell is anticipated to range from 0.02 to Southwestern Wyoming Province of Wyoming, Colorado, 15 BCFG (with a median of 0.6 BCFG), and drilling success Utah is a complex of marine strata that contains significant ratios are anticipated to range from 80 to 90 percent (with a quantities of gas sourced from dominantly Type-III kero- median of 85 percent). gen. Between 600 and 675 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG) In contrast, most of the significant hydrocarbon accumu- and minor amounts of oil have been produced since 1974. lations in the Lewis Conventional Oil and Gas Assessment The source rock, reservoir rock, and seals are distributed Unit might have already been found. However, in the next throughout most of the Maastrichtian Lewis Shale, which was 30 years, the conventional assessment unit has the potential deposited about 71 to 68 million years ago (Ma) in the eastern to provide between about 104 and 304 BCFG, with a calcu- half of the Greater Green River Basin. Previous investigations lated mean of about 195 BCFG. This undiscovered resource is reveal that the sandstone reservoirs have a net thickness of as anticipated to be distributed throughout 8 to 31 undiscovered much as 600 feet. The sandstones were deposited in deltaic gas accumulations (with a median of 18), and the accumula- and turbidite systems, and some basin-floor sand lobes extend tion sizes are expected to range from 3 to 90 BCFG (with a across as many as 30 townships. Gas generation began about median of 8 BCFG). 62 Ma, and peak gas generation and gas migration began about 52 Ma and probably persisted until about 5 Ma when the Lewis Shale attained its maximum depth of burial. Gas gen- eration may be continuing at the present, but at a significantly Introduction reduced rate. Two assessment units comprise the Lewis TPS: these This report documents the rationale used to assess undis- are the Lewis Continuous Gas Assessment Unit (50370761) covered hydrocarbon resources within the Lewis Total Petro- and the Lewis Conventional Oil and Gas Assessment Unit leum System (TPS) (503707), which is complete with source (50370701). The former encompasses approximately 3,310,000 rock, reservoir rock, and seals. The assessment was made acres and defines deeper basin regions that are characterized by using techniques and methodology described in Chapters an overpressured, gas-saturated basin-centered accumulation. 18–23 of this CD–ROM and is based on oil and gas field infor- The latter encompasses approximately 3,820,000 acres and mation provided by NRG Associates (2001), well history and defines shallower basin regions where gas accumulations are production data by the IHS Energy Group (2001), and critical within conventional-style traps. The assessment of both units geologic input described in this report. Included are discus- is based on stratigraphic and structural information and his- sions on (1) stratigraphy of the Lewis Shale, (2) the Lewis torical production data. Assessment results report hydrocarbon TPS, (3) source rock maturation, (4) hydrocarbon migration, resources that have the potential to be produced in the next 30 (5)