Petroleum Geology of Wyoming - Rocky Mountain Landman Institute 2016
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Presentation given to the RMLI on the petroleum history of Wyoming. Using geologic time and field specific examples we cover the types of petroleum fields seen in Wyoming.
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Petroleum Geology of Wyoming - Rocky Mountain Landman Institute 2016
- 1. PETROLEUM GEOLOGY OF WYOMING MIKE BINGLE-DAVIS AND MARRON BINGLE-DAVIS
- 2. INTRODUCTION • Petroleum Geology Basics • Formations • Deposition • Examples POWDER RIVER BASIN BIGHORN BASIN WIND RIVER BASIN GREATER GREEN RIVER BASIN DENVER- JULESBURG BASIN
- 3. Low Permeability Very Low PermeabilityMod-High Permeability CONVENTIONAL UNCONVENTIONAL CONVENTIONAL VS UNCONVENTIONAL RESERVOIRS
- 5. UPPER CAMBRIAN (500 MA) • Flathead Sandstone – Produces in the Bighorn & Greater Green River Basins – Lost Soldier Field – Wertz Field
- 6. FLATHEAD SANDSTONE Deposited as a basal sheet sand during transgression = AKA The Beach Near Cody, WY Tasmania
- 7. LOST SOLDIER FIELD • Sweetwater County, Wyoming • Bighorn Basin • Asymmetrical anticline • Cambrian discovery – June, 1948 • Cumulative production in Cambrian Flathead Sandstone – 19.81 MMBO (1/1/1992) • Stacked pay (9 formations) • Total field has produced more oil per acre than any other field in the Rockies (all formations)
- 8. UPPER DEVONIAN (380 MA) • Jefferson Formation – Produces in the Bighorn Basin – Garland Field – Grass Creek Field • Bakken equivalent (Williston Basin)
- 9. JEFFERSON FORMATION Carbonate deposited in mineral- rich shelf waters Bahamas Bridger Range, MT Bighorn Mts, WY
- 10. GARLAND FIELD • Park and Bighorn Counties, Wyoming • Bighorn Basin • Asymmetrical anticline • Devonian discovery – February 1954 • Cumulative production in Devonian Jefferson dolomite – 106,000 BO – 13,000 MCF (5-1-1989) • Stacked pay (11 formations)
- 11. MISSISSIPPIAN (340 MA) • Madison Formation – Produces in the Bighorn, Wind River, Powder River, & Greater Green River Basins – Circle Ridge Field
- 12. Great Barrier Reef Bighorn Mts, WY MADISON FORMATION Carbonate deposited in shallow marine conditions rich with reef life
- 13. CIRCLE RIDGE FIELD • Freemont County, Wyoming • Wind River Basin • Asymmetrical anticline • Mississippian discovery – December 1946 • Cumulative production in Mississippian Madison Fm – 1,279,060 BO (12-1-1988) • Stacked pay (4 formations)
- 14. PENNSYLVANIAN (300 MA) • Amsden Formation – Produces in the Bighorn, Wind River, Greater Green River, & Powder River Basins – Bell Sandstone • Lance Creek Field • Tensleep Sandstone – Produces in the Bighorn, Wind River, Powder River, Greater Green River, & Hanna Basins – Sheldon Field
- 15. AMSDEN FORMATION Carbonates, Shales, Sandstones deposited in marine transgressive sequence Hawaii Bighorn Mts, WY TYPICAL TRANSGRESSIVE SEQUENCE
- 16. TENSLEEP SANDSTONE Cross-bedded dune sandstone with some sabkha dolomites Qatar Near Kaycee, WY
- 17. SHELDON FIELD • Freemont County, Wyoming • Wind River Basin • Anticline • Pennsylvanian discovery – January 1949 • Cumulative production in Pennsylvanian Tensleep Sandstone – 1,983,013 BO (4-1-1989) – 65,216 MCFG (4-1-1989) • Stacked pay (6 formations)
- 18. PERMIAN (340 MA) • Minnelusa (Leo) Formation – Produces in the Powder River Basin – Wolf Draw Field • Phosphoria Formation – Produces in the Bighorn, Wind River, Powder River, & Greater Green River Basins – Little Sand Draw Field
- 19. MINNELUSA FORMATION Alternating dune sandstones and sabkha dolomites Algeria Black Hills, SD
- 20. PHOSPHORIA FORMATION Shallow marine shales with some carbonates and silts with minor sandstones Persian Gulf Near Jackson, WY Mountain Building Foreland Basin Fill
- 21. LITTLE SAND DRAW FIELD • Hot Springs County, Wyoming • Bighorn Basin • Anticline • Phosphoria discovery – August 1949 • Cumulative production in Permian Phosphoria Fm – 9 MMBO • Stacked pay (3 formations)
- 22. TRIASSIC (245 MA) • Dinwoody Formation – Produces in the Bighorn & Wind River Basins – Fourbear Field • Chugwater/Spearfish Formation – Produces in the Bighorn, Wind River, & Greater Green River Basins – Ferris Field
- 23. CHUGWATER FORMATION Resitricted marine or nonmarine brick-red shales and sandstones Near Kaycee, WY British Virgin Islands Great Salt Lake, UT
- 24. FERRIS FIELD • Carbon County, Wyoming • Rawlins Uplift • Anticline • Triassic discovery – February 1928 • Cumulative production in Triassic Chugwater Formation – 11,142 BO (12-1-2006) • Stacked pay (4 formations)
- 25. JURASSIC (160 MA) • Nugget Sandstone – Produces in the Wind River, Greater Green River, & Hanna Basins • Sundance Formation – Produces in the Bighorn, Wind River, Powder River, Greater Green River, & Hanna Basins – Poison Spider Field
- 26. CROW MOUNTAIN, NUGGET, SUNDANCE (CANYON SPRINGS), CURTIS FMS Production mainly from sandstones but series includes shales and limestones all from Sundance Sea sequence Ossabaw Island, GA Alcova, WY TYPICAL TRANSGRESSIVE SEQUENCE
- 27. POISON SPIDER FIELD • Natrona County, Wyoming • Wind River Basin • Anticline • Jurassic discovery – 1917 • Cumulative production in Jurassic Sundance Formation – 1,838,946 BO (1-1-1956) • 2 formations
- 28. JURASSIC (150 MA) • Morrison Formation – Produces in the Bighorn, Wind River, Powder River, Greater Green River, & Hanna Basins – Greasewood Field
- 29. MORRISON FORMATION Varicolored floodplain mudstones and fluvial channel sandstones Sleeping Bear Dunes, MI Near Kaycee, WY Meander scar Oxbow lake Levees Dunes
- 30. GREASEWOOD FIELD • Niobrara County, Wyoming • Powder River Basin • Stratigraphic pinchout • Jurassic discovery – 1983 • Cumulative production in Jurassic Morrison Formation – 2,761,325 BO (1-1-2015)
- 31. LOWER CRETACEOUS (100 MA) • Muddy Formation – Produces across Wyoming – Osage Field • Dakota Formation – Produces across Wyoming – Donkey Creek Field • Lakota Formation – Produces across Wyoming – Lance Creek Field
- 32. DAKOTA-LAKOTA FORMATIONS Channel sandstones with conglomerates, siltstones, and some mudstones Bolivia Lakota Fm, Alcova, WY
- 33. DONKEY CREEK FIELD • Crook County, Wyoming • Powder River Basin • Stratigraphic Trap • Dakota discovery – March 1953 • Cumulative production in Cretaceous Dakota Formation – 12,070,000 BO • 2 formations
- 34. MUDDY FORMATION Basal channel sandstones and floodplain sediments getting more marine up-section Australia Newcastle, WY
- 35. OSAGE FIELD • Weston County, Wyoming • Powder River Basin • Stratigraphic Trap • Muddy discovery – September 1919 • Cumulative production in Cretaceous Muddy Formation – 32 MMBO • 1 formation (maybe 2)
- 36. UPPER CRETACEOUS (70 MA) • Mowry Shale – Produces across Wyoming – Typically wild cat wells • Frontier/Turner/Codell formations – Produces across Wyoming – Boggy Creek Field (Turner SS) • Niobrara Shale – Produces in the Powder River, D-J, Greater Green River, & Hanna Basins – Teapot Dome • Teapot, Sussex, Parkman, Shannon sandstones – Produces everywhere but the Bighorn Basin – Several fields in western Powder River Basin (e.g., Hartzog Draw)
- 37. MOWRY SHALE Highly organic-rich shales and bentonites Mediterranean Sea Gas Hills, WY
- 38. FRONTIER/TURNER/ CODELL FORMATIONS Deltaic and marginal marine sandstones and shales TURNER FRONTIER CODELL Mississippi Delta Turner SS Near Lusk, WY
- 39. NIOBRARA FORMATION Organic-rich shales with some carbonates Guam Near Ft. Collins, CO
- 40. SHANNON, SUSSEX, PARKMAN, AND TEAPOT FORMATIONS Marine bar/marginal marine sandstones within shales Virginia Coast Shannon Fm Near Edgerton, WY
- 41. BOGGY CREEK FIELD • Niobrara County, Wyoming • Powder River Basin • Stratigraphic Trap • Turner discovery – October, 1972 • Cumulative production in Cretaceous Turner Sandstone – 1,175,803 BO – 2,764,248 MCFG • 2 formations
- 42. PALEOGENE (50 MA) • Fort Union Formation (Paleocene) – Produces liquids in the Wind River & Greater Green River Basins, but only gas/CBM in the Powder River, Bighorn, & Hanna Basins – Madden Field – Coal production/CBM
- 43. FORT UNION FORMATION Channel sandstones, floodplain, and lake deposits with abundant coals Amazon Near Thunder Basin Grasslands, WY Meander scar Oxbow lake Levees Dunes
- 44. MADDEN FIELD • Freemont County, Wyoming • Wind River Basin • Asymmetrical anticline • Ft. Union discovery – April 1968 • Cumulative production in Ft. Union – 106,000 BO – 13,000 MCF (5-1-1989) • Stacked pay (11 formations)
- 45. PRESENT DAY - SUMMARY • Oil noticed since 1832 – Oil seeps • Oil sales since 1863 • First well drilled in 1884 at Dallas Dome near Lander • In 1978 (peak oil production) – 136 MMBO (373,000 BOPD) – 350 BCFG – ~140 reported reservoirs • In 2015 – 79 MMBO (216,000 BOPD) – 1.8 TCFG – ~500 reported reservoirs • Oil is found in reservoirs from ~60 to 540 Ma and produces from every basin but Teton
Editor's Notes
- Hello and thank you for inviting us to the Rocky Mountain Landman Institute. When my wife, Marron was approached she initially asked me if she should accept, I said absolutely and that if possible, I would like to speak as well. Here we are, given the task of presenting to you the Petroleum History of Wyoming With the age of the Earth estimated at 4.5 billion years – this means, with a talk length Of 50 minutes, leaving time for questions, we only have to cover 90 million years per Minute, so we should get started.
- Today we will be focusing on the petroleum history of Wyoming and thankfully you all Should have a copy of the talk in your handouts – there is a lot of material We will be discussing some basics of petroleum geology, the formations that host The petroleum, how exactly it got there, and some examples from around Wyoming This slide illustrates the five major basins where a person can find petroleum as well As the geologic time scale, with the formations that contain the petroleum. Rather quickly, we will begin with the oldest know petroleum deposition and move Towards the present day. While we do this, we will be bouncing between the different basins, so feel free to Follow along on your map
- Modern petroleum geology separates itself into two major categories, conventional And unconventional. Conventional is what most people think of when they think oil and gas, that you drill a Horizontal well bore, there is a deposit of petroleum or gas, and you pull the resource Out. This was the case until we discovered how we can retrieve oil and gas from the tighter And less permeable rocks – in most cases, the source rock for the conventional Resources.
- In order to have a oil and gas accumulation, there needs to be three things, a source A host rock, and a trapping mechanism. So the oil has to come from rock that is already Saturated and migrates into a rock that can host it, and that host needs to have Something about it that causes the oil to become trapped. During the early days of oil and gas exploration, these traps were found visibly, because Many of them can be seen at the surface. These also represent many of our Conventional oil plays. Unconventional accumulations tend to be from the source rock directly and are larger Now lets get to the petroleum reservoirs of Wyoming…
- Geologic time is best described as the rising and falling of the oceans combined with How the earth’s plates are interacting with eachother – folding and faulting the earth As we move through the earth and Wyoming geologic history, this slide will look very Familiar, with the time changing along with what is occurring in Wyoming Approximately 500 million years ago, Wyoming is mostly covered by a shallow sea, With small exposures occurring and creating beaches, depositing the Flathead Sandstone.
- A good example of the environment that deposited the Flathead sandstone is depicted Here, as seen in Tasmania. Here is an outcrop of the Flathead sandstone seen near Cody, Wyoming.
- Here is a structural map of the Lost Soldier Field, it’s basic information seen to the left This is a classic example of a structural trap and when you look at the geologic map, try To envision an inverted bowl and that the oil and gas migrating to the top of that Structure. While the Flathead is mostly a sandstone, the Gros Venture, which is on top, Is a shale. Which, if you remember is not very permeable and will help trap the oil in The Flathead sand. Since the Flathead sandstone is so old, it is also deeper, and those two things, when Combined with it being a structural trap make this field great for stacked pay – or Having many formations above the Flathead SS that also contain oil.
- Fast forwarding around 120 million years, we can see that Wyoming, which was once Covered by ocean is now mostly terrestrial, or above sea level. This paleogeography Map makes Wyoming look completely dry, but during this period, the sea was moving Back and forth across the state, depositing carbonates. Carbonates are excreted from Once living organisms, like corals, algae's, skeletons, and are chemically active, which is Different than the sandstone we just looked at.
- When thinking of the Jefferson Formation, think of the environment type you see in the Bahamas, shallow, warm oceans with reefs and as seen in the upper left, Stromatolites. Stromatolites are mats of algae that are all growing on top of one another. When one mat dies, another grows on top of it and continues in this way. This makes the Jefferson formation porous. Carbonates are like the limestone that you see in caves or a dolomite – as you see in The Jefferson formation. The only real difference between a limestone and dolomite is Changing out some of the calcium with magnesium.
- One of the few locations that have
- This was a time of major change – - Pangea breaking up - climate drier - increased CO2 Not much Triassic production mostly in the Bighorn and Wind River Basins, but the red beds are the prettiest outcrops in Wyoming Dinwoody deposited in hypersaline conditions
- Debate about the Chugwater – was it deposited like the Dinwoody in hypersaline conditions or had the sea regressed and it was deposited in a great salt lake with rivers - very few fossils to tell for sure - many beds this age around the world are red
- Ferris Field near Rawlins has produced 11 MBO from the Chugwater Most production from Cretaceous fms
- End of Triassic kicks off a major transgression that ended with the K-T boundary, with a minor regression during the Morrison Nugget are sand dunes in SW Wyoming Sundance reservoirs goes by several names but is mostly marine and produces everywhere else – Sundance Sea
- Names get a little fuzzy in the Sundance and go from Lower Sundance to Canyon Springs to Curtis, but they are sands in a sequence as the water was rising in Wyoming Most of these are really good reservoirs with high porosity and permeability but are hard to track
- Right in our back yard Some geologists think the Lower Sundance produces off the top of the anticline unlike other formations, watch your leasing
- Morrison is a temporary return to nonmarine – vast sand dunes and floodplains Generally mudstones with the various sand that produces
- One of the more noticeable outcrops, has some of the most famous dinosaur deposits I always pictured it to be like the Great Lakes sand dunes
- Greasewood is one of the few Morrison fields In the vast wasteland between Newcastle and Lusk Isolated pod, no production around it
- Transgression of Western Interior Seaway , although coastline was going back and forth creating some marine shales in between nonmarine sands Muddy probably one of the biggest producers in the state, can be called Muddy, Newcastle, Muddy J, Recluse, etc. depending on where you are
- Best wells are thick channel sands, but you can go 40 acres over and have nothing – also trapping is an issue and you may often have the sand but no oil – water common
- Near Moorcroft True companies discovery Dakota often produces a lot of oil but also a lot of water
- Muddy starts out nonmarine but gets more marine as you go up Several fields only have one producing sands and others can have up to 7-8 Since the fluvial sands have lots of clays, they can have some problems especially when waterflooding There are several major channel trends trending NE-SW, like Clareton and Fiddler Creek, that formed in paleo lineaments Recently companies have tried horizontal wells to both capture the coming and going sands and the fact that the whole section can be productive – quite successful
- One of the first oil fields in the state and has continually produced for almost 100 years Found because of oil seeps at surface near outcrop Since it is so old and has continually produced, there are little to no surface use agreements in place, just mutual respect
- The height of the Western Interior Seaway, again the coastline goes back and forth slightly Responsible for not only some of the biggest producers in the state but also the main source rocks for the at least the Cretaceous if not the rest of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Most of the horizontal activity is in these formations
- One of the main source rocks because it was deposited in waters rich with life Could be one of the biggest producers in the state but can’t seem to figure out how to produce it, likely a bentonite problem where they will expand and close off any fractures and cause drilling problems Lots of geologists are trying to figure it out
- Big delta in the seaway deposited sands mixed with shelf muds – closer to shore equals better sand (Frontier (near Wright)/Codell (Wyoming-Colorado border), further offshore equals more mud (Turner (between Newcastle and Lusk) – Argument over whether these are all part of the same delta, some think the Turner has a separate source from the east Horizontals drilling in all formations – connecting the sand laminations and/or chasing sand benches Companies are getting by calling these formations one thing when it should be called another, watch for this
- Another big source rock Really making it work down in the D-J Basin, but it can produce in the Powder, like near Douglas and Teapot Dome – best producers make use of preexisting fractures
- These marine bars make for some of the best horizontal wells especially all along the western half of the Powder River Basin – can have quite a bit of water Kind of the last ditch effort of the Western Interior Seaway before it began retreating toward the end of the Cretaceous
- Boggy Creek lies just south of the big Finn-Shurley Field that also produces from the Turner – in between Newcastle and Lusk Some really big wells in this area for the Turner (>200,000 BO on vertical) when Finn-Shurley wells usually 40-60 MBO Some companies, Vermilion Energy, are targeting the Turner horizontally in this area
- Western Interior Seaway all but gone – return to vast floodplains and nonmarine conditions but tropical – imagine palm trees in Wyoming This time is known for coal formation, which includes CBM Fort Union does produce some oil but only in SW Wyoming
- Imagine the Amazon, big rivers in a tropical landscape, with huge coal swamps associated Crocodiles and other more tropical animals were common Almost half of the country’s coal comes from PRB – estimated 170 billion short tons of coal exists in PRB with only 6% recoverable (10 billion short tons)
- One of the few fields that produces oil from the Ft. Union 106,000 BO as of 1989 but a lot more – most other formations produce gas
- We have known there was oil in our state since the 1830s with the first sales being that collected from natural oil seeps and sold as wagon grease Since the first well was drilled, we have continued our pursuit of oil and gas 2015 permits – almost 7000 261 wells spudded in 2015; 214 were horizontal