RECONNAISSANCE STUDY OF BITUMINOUS SANDSTONE DEPOSITS, TRANS*DIRTY DEVIL WAYNE AND GARFIELD COUNT JES, by Hellmut H. Doelling

November, 1966

ABSTRACT

This report is the result of preliminary and reconnaissance investigations of the E1aterite Basin and Te~ot Rock bituminous sandstone ocourrences . Six samples were analyzed for their bitumen content and seven sections were measured in the Teapot Rock area. Up to 200 feet of varying degrees of saturation ~~re noted in both areas.

A REPORT OF THE UTAH GEOLOGICAL AND MINERALOGICAL SURVEY 103 Utah Geologioal Survey Building University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 RBCONNAISSANC STUDY OF BITUMINOUS SANDSTONE DEPOSrrS. TRANS-DIRTY DBVIL YNE AND GARFIELD COUNTIES. UTAH by Hellmut H. Doelling

INTRODUCT lCN •

Bituminous sandstone deposits are located in the extreme northeastern corner of Garfield County and the southeastern cor.ner of ayne County near

Canyonlands National Park. The deposits are found below the Orange Cliffs I esoarpment mainly in Townships 30 and 31 south, Ranges 16 and 17 .East. The area is one of the more remote regions of southern Utah and oan be reaohed only by a 75-mile series of dirt roads and jeep trails from Hanksville, Utah.

The best aooess is found by traveling Utah Highway 95 south from Hanksville to a point one-half mile southeast of the Dirty Devil River bridge. Here a jeep road ~ads easterly along the rim of Cataraot Canyon skirting the deeply- inoised of age. large grassy area is enoountered at terhole Flat Where the road branohes. Examination of the maps. figures 4 and 5_ should then aid in finding the deposits. Those t:: deposits looated just north of aterhole Flat will be referred to as the

Teapot Rock bituminous sandstone deposits (Garfield County) and t hose further north as the laterite Basin bituminous sandstone de posits ( arne County).

The road skirting the ~st side of Teapot Rook trom terhole Flat Aontinues northerly to laterite Basin.

This report represents a reoonnaissance type study) 8ACLfield vo rk was oonduoted during the latter part of September 1966 in oonneotion . th a Garfield

County study. Tlie author was assisted by K. C. Thomson, M. Fishert'J and C.

Se ibert in obtait.D.ing measurements.

GENERAL GEOLOGY t

Rooks of Permian to age orop out in the mapped areas. A generalized list of formations is presented below, the information modifill from Baker, 19461 UTAH GEOLOGICAL SUR VEY 1966 D A H 114' 113' 112' o 42',:/ ~ 'S 17_' '5 " 13 '0 9 I 2 R'W,~ ' E 2 J i~:t 7R6E,:4 2'

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10 5 0 10 20 30 4 0 50 1,111111111 I I I I I SC A LE IN MI LES Formation Thiokness Desoription

Jurassic Navajo Sandstone Incomplete Massive cross-bedded buff to gray sand- in area stone with a few lenses of sandy lime- stone. Kayenta Formation 280t Irregularly bedded fine- to ooarse-grained red to gray thin-bedded to massive, in part oross-bedded sandstone, locally con­ glomeratio, li. th some red, gray, and green shale. Wingate Sandsto~ 280t Massive cross-bedded buff to bro~ish red medium-grained sandstone, which weathers into oliffs oharaoterized by vertioal joints. Triassio (forms Orange Cliffs). Chinle Formation 400· Variegated shale with some interbedded red , to gray sandstone, oonglomerate, and a few beds of sandy limestone; oontains fossil wood. Shinarump 6onglomarate 60 - 100' Gray medium- to ooarse-grained oross-bedded and irregularly bedded sandstone ~th lenses and streaks of oonglomerate. Contains fossil wood. Forms the Blaok Ledges. 360' Thin and regularly bedded red-brown and greenish-gray siltstone ~th thin beds of Permian ripple-marked gray to red-bro'Wll sandstone. Upper Organ Rock Tongue ~60t Gray to tan, thin- to medium-bedded, medium­ to ooarse-grained friable sandstones ~th some reddish siltstones, sandy shales, arid arkosic sandstones. 0-230' Massive cross-bedded tan to light gray, medium­ to ooarse-grained sandstone. This formation is saturated in part wth bituminous substanoe. Organ Rock Tongue 95-2oo t Red siltstone, silty more or less arkosio sandstone, and sandy shale, weathering into fluted surfaoes. Fraotures often oontain tar. and occasionally the ooarser sands are bituminous. Cedar Mesa Sandstone 750' Light gray to tan friable, fine- to ooarse­ grained thick-bedded and cross-bedded sand­ stone, oooasionally saturated with bituminous substance in its upper part.

An exwmination of Figure 4 reveals the geologio situation in Elaterite

Basin. The Orange Cliffs indioate the ingate Sandstone and Chinle Formati ons and the Blaok Ledges indioate the . The heavy outcrop line and the haohured area indio ate the apIr oximate outorop area of the i te

Rim Sandstone and Upper Organ Rock Tongue. Most of the bituminous sandstone in

lateri te Basin is found in the Upper Organ Rook Tongue and the ite Rim

Sandstone. Minor wmounts are found in the Moenkopi Formation and the Organ Rock ~ :- 0 0 T ", 28 ...... S " "

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TRANS- DIRTY DEVIL WAYNE AND GARFIELD COS., UTAH

State lands Faults

White Rim outcrop

T hickness of saturation penetrated by well

o 2 3 4 5 Miles

14 E R 15 E Figure 3s View looking so th at Teapot Rook. Upper view shmvs stra.tigraphic relationshi ps

Figure 6, Jeep trail along the Cedar Mesa Sa.ndstone. The road and outcrops to the left a.re saturated wi th bituminous substance.

Tongue. In Elaterite Basin the best exposures oocur near the con taot of the

White Rim Sandstom and the Upper Organ Rock Tongue. The beds themselves have a 2 to 4 degree regicnal dip to the north~st end are generally undisturbed by faulting.

All post~Fer.mian formations are located in the northwestern part of the Teapot Rock area (see Figure 5) and the Cedar Mesa Sandstone orops out in the southeastern portion. The bituminous sandstone area orops out in a northeast-southwest trending pattern. The post-Permian formations oonsist of a series of oliff and slope~formers; the most prominent cliff is formed by the Wingate Sandstone (Orange Cliffs) which is unsealable in most areas by ncr-mal means . The White Rim Sandstone normally forms a oliff, is thickest in the southern portion and thins rapidly northward. The Organ Rock Tongue forms the base of the same cliff and the Cedar Mesa Sandstone, being espeoially resistant, forms an inoised table-land over the southeastern portion of the map-area. The Upper Organ Rock Tongue was not reoognized in the Teapot Rook area. The formations dip approximately 2 to 3 degrees to the northwest and appear to be essentially flat lying. A series of three east-west trending faults cut the formations to the south. In places up to 100 feet of displaoe~~ oan be noted. The faulting has weakened a portion of the Orange Cliffs in the vioinity forming Sunset Pass and the pioturesque Gunsight Butte (just to the west of the map area). BITUMINOUS SANDSTONE DEPOSITS:

At the southern end of the exposures in Elaterite Basin the bitumin­ bearing zone is exposed entirely in a gray to tan sandstone in the Upper

Organ Rook Tongue. A minor amount may also be found in the lo~rmost Moenkopi

Formation units. This sandstone ismedi um- to coarse-graire d, thin.... to medium.... bedded and friable. The saturation does not seem complete, the biuminous matter merely coating the sand grains. No measurements of sections were made in Elaterite Basin but the zones exposed in Section 17. T. 30 S., R. 17 E. AV6. /96S

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Outcrop and area underlain by bituminous sandstone.

CI iff formed by Wi ngate 5s. T 30% Cli ff formed by Moss Bock 5 . Mbr. of Chinle Fm. CI iff formed by Wh ite Rim s. -4- seem to be the thi nest and those zones in sections 4, 5, md 8 of the same

Township seem to be the thickest in Elaterite Basin,. The degree of saturation varies vertically. In Section 33 , T. 29 S., R. 17 E. the bituminous sandstones are located along the White Rim Formation and Upper Organ Rock Tongue contact.

Here the petroliferous material extends at least 15 feet into the upper part of the hite Rim, a massive light .... colored cross-bedded sandstone. Bituminous sandstones in both units appear slightly darker and in ~me places have a reddish tinge when compared to non-bituminous sandstone (oaused by minor wmounts of red silt trapped by the tar along outcrops). eathered bituminous sandstone surfaoes are light-gray or light-brown, but fresh surfaoes are dark-bro m to gray-blaok. The writer noted only surface occurrenoes ~ere some of the bituminous matter could have been lost due to exposure. Saturation might possibly be oonsiderably better baok of the outcrops. No samples were collected at Elaterite Basin.

In the Teapot Rock area deposits ~re noted in the White Rim Sandstone from the southernmost fault exposed in the mapped area northward to Red Cove.

South of the faulted area only a cursory examination was made and therefore is still unexplored. Ho~~ver, no saturation was noted in this superfioial observation. To the north of Red Cove. the thinning of the White Rim ooincides with a diminution of the saturation. Still further north the White Rim disappears over a short interval and reappears in Elaterite Basin where good saturation has been noted. The Organ Rook Tongue is normal 1y barren. but occassionally a sandstone unit will be saturated to a slight degree. Vertical fraotures in the Organ Rock often contain tar indicating perhaps a leakage of bituminous substance from the overlying vVhite Rim into the Cedar Mesa Sandstone below. The de osits in the Cedar Mesa Sandstone are not areally as extensive as those in the 'ihite Rim, but in plaoes the t hickness of "1he deposit exoeeds that of the upper formation. Best saturation for the Cedar Mesa is in the cove formed by the upper tributary canyons to Calf Canyon between Teap ot Rook and TEAPOT ROCK BITUMINOUS SANDSTONE DEPOSIT

~ White Rif!l 55. outcrop. ~______5aturatlon . ---'" Cedar Mes a - Organ Rock 5 s. ~_ contact -----saturation ® Sect ion ( see text) o 1/2 1 1/2 Miles ~------~I------~------~I 36 Drafted by JiDoefl! 9 ' File lNo . 500 A. ifj·tlle J;,-­ ! \ Red Cove.

Field examination of the Teapot Rock deposits was made by color, the amount of petroliferous matter presumably inoreasing towards the black and darker colors:

Black Dark brown Light brov.n Gray Light gray

Not all workers agree to the color soheme (~. Gwynn, perronal communication) and believe that on oocasion the sandstones vdth the lighter oolors contain more bituminous matter. Seven sections were examined at random locations in the Teapot Rock area and the results are tabulated below: (Section numbers match the encircled numbers of Figure 5.)

Section 1. In the faulted area the saturation is poor and sporadic. The zone is approximately 5 to 6 feet thick and seemingly near the top of the hite Rim For.mation ~ The top itself is not exposed. A thin ltmestone unit near the top (possibly reworked ) has a strong Petroleum odor and contains some small white nodules of chert. About two feet of the saturated seotion is dark-brown to black.

Seotion 2. The saturated zone at location 2 is just above the Organ Rock contaot. The saturation is ~ll over 30 feet thick and most is dark-grSf to black. Two-thirds of the section is dark-brown.

Seotion 3: (Teapot Rock) White Rim Sandstone saturation: Lower 40 feet--dark-gray to black. Organ Rook Tonguet 105 t barren, tar in fractures 6 t -- gray saturation 11' barren Cedar Mesa Sandstone: 17' gray saturation

Seotion 4: White Rim Sandstone: Lower 60· dark-gray to dark-brovm saturation Organ Rock Tongue: 116' barren, tar in fractures Cedar Mesa Sandstone. Upper 130 t ~- upper half brown to black, lower half consists of gray saturation. Section 5: ihite Rim Sandstone: 6.5' gray saturation 5.5 t bro'\1vn saturation l3.0t dark-brown and blaok saturation 1.0' barren 1.0' gray saturation 4.5' - brown streaky saturation 12.0' light-gray saturation 16.5' brown to dark-bro.m saturation 3.0' gray saturation 2.5 1 - brown saturation 2.5 t gray saturation 3.0t light-brown saturation 8.0' dark-brown saturation 6.0' light-brown saturation t 5.5 ' -- dark-bro~ saturation 15.5' -- light-brown saturation 51.0' ... - dark~brown to black saturation 5.5' barren 1 5.5 -- light-brown saturation 3.0' dark-brown saturation 7.0' barren 5.5' brown streaky Organ Rock Tongue~ 97.5' barren. ~cept for tar in fractures Cedar Mesa Sandstone: gray saturation darkwbrown saturation covered

Section 6: ~ite Rim Sandstone: Lov~r 5.0' light ... brom saturation Or gan Roc k Tongue. 133.0t barren, exoept for a litt~ tar in fractures Cedar Mesa Sanistone: 12.0' dark-brown saturation 33.0' barren 1 covered

Section 71- White Rim Sandstone: Upper 20.0' barren 5.0' light-gray saturation 2.0t dark-brown saturation 1.Of barren 5.5' light- to dark-bro~~ saturation. streaky 7.5' barren Organ Rook Tongue and Cedar Mesa ~andstone barren except for a little tar in fractures.

DEVELOPMENT , QUALITY, AND FUl'URE:

The first report of development ocourred in 1912 when several shallow assessment wells were drilled in Elaterite Basin (Baker, 1946, p. 107). Since that time several lavge oil companies have engaged in exploratory drilling

(E. Heylmun, personal communication). No oommercial production has been achieved at this . ting at Elaterite Basin. As far as is known no development work has been done in the Teapot Rock area. Both Elaterite Basin

;;:5 ~a.fl and the Teapot Rook area are a part of what is known as the French Seep area, " which enoompasses much of Trans-Dirty Devil ~yne and Gar field Counties. r 4 e l~r"16'r ;=;- ~ .... ?,; J~~t'~ . t present (1966) much of~t~ ar ea has been core-drilled and is being core- drilled by several major oil companies intent on determining its potential as a possible steam- flooding project. The r esults of tests carried on by these oil oompanies is presently held as confidential, but it is kno m that the oil-bearing targets are the same as those exposed at Elaterite Basin and

Teapot Rock . Laboratory analysis of samples from surfaoe outcroppings of the

White Rim show 7 to 26. 7% porosity, 88 to 900 md permeability, and bitumen analyses indicated oil recovered ~ before retorting had an I gravity of 200 (Covington, 1965) . A few samples were collected in the Teapot Rock 6; 1-4e £//4-4 ~~~7~c-e _ fi .5.... y ~'- area and analyzed~for petroleum oontent. ost yielded low values, the samples ranging from light-gray to brovm .

Location (Fig. 5) %by weight gals.!ton

1 . 0. 72 1. 82 3 . 0. 95 2. 40 3a. (small seep) 41. 09 103 . 96 4. 1. 78 4. 50 4a. (Cedar Mes&) 3. 27 8. 27 7. 1. 48 3 . 74

It is not known how far behind the outcrop the saturation persists.

Schiok, 1966, reports that various operators have reported from 50 to 300 feet of oil saturation and that rome holes have encountered no saturation from the larger Frenoh Seep area. Formations from the Cedar Mesa to the Moenkopi are involved. Some of these wells are tabulated below and located on the map, figure 2. ... 8-

el l Looation Saturation DeEth

Continental Oil Co. Sec. 20, T. 29 S., R. 15 • 50' 2205' Phillips Petroleum Co . Sec. 27, T. 30 S ., R. 16 E. 150r 1394' Mobil Producing Co. Sec. 33 , T. 3~ s ... R. 16 E. 140' l462 t Standard Oil Co . of Cal. Sec. 13 , T. 31 S., R. 13 • 50' 513 t Super ior Oil Co . Seo . 19. T. 31 S ., R. 15 • 52 ' 198'

The nearness of the Phillips and Mobil wells to the Blaterite Basin and

Teapot outcrops might indioate that the best saturati on is not yet exposed.

It is therefore presumed that both yields per ton and thickness of saturation would increase westerly back of the present exposures.

At present the remoteness of the area hinders its development . A

Canyonlands National Park access road has been proposed (Salt Lake Tribune,

June 1, 1966) which would link Hanksville and Moab by a direct route. Suoh a road vrould oertainly influenoe development of the entire Trans-.Dirty Devil area.

BAKER, A.A ., 1946, Geology of the Green River Desert-Cataraot Canyon Region, Emery, Wayne , and Garfield Counties, Utah: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull 951 .

COVINGTON, R .E., 1965, Some Possible Applioations of Thermal Recovery in Utah" Journal of Petroleum Technology, vol. 17, no . 11, p. 1277-1281.

SALT LAICN TRIBUNE, June 1, 1966, Moab-Hanksville route promises oil field tie.

SCHICK , R.B., 1966, Driller s probing Utahts French Seep area: Oil and Gas Journal, vol. 64, no . 6, p. 134-136.