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Correlation of Niobrara-Equivalent Strata in the Eastern Uinta Basin, Utah Robert Ressetar 1 , Andrew McCauley 2 , Lauren Birgenheier 3 , and Jeffrey C. Quick 1 1 Utah Geological Survey , Salt Lake City, Utah 2 Apache Corporation, Midland, Texas 3 Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah REVISED ABSTRACT STRATIGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK METHODS INTRODUCTION LOCATION MAP Examination of geophysical logs from about 200 oil and gas wells allowed us to correlate the Late Cretaceous Niobrara Formation in Colorado to time-equivalent strata within the Mancos Shale of the eastern Uinta Basin, Utah. A structure map shows the top of the Niobrara equivalent (NE) deepens from near sea level at the Utah-Colorado line to more than 10,000 feet below sea level at the Wonsits Valley field, about 35 miles to the northwest. Along the same path, the NE thickens from 1150 to more than 1450 feet. Most of the thickening occurs in the upper part of the NE, which we interpret as a highstand sequence set. The lower and middle parts of the NE, represented by lowstand and transgressive sequence sets, respectively, maintain relatively constant thicknesses. Based on log character and limited core data from the NE, we suggest that the unit contains and is immediately adjacent to some of the more hydrocarbon-prospective parts of the Mancos Shale. Much of the upper NE consists of a sediment- starved shelf facies association (a primary target) and the base of the NE overlies a heterolithic organic-rich facies association (a secondary target). Given the thickness of the NE and variations in burial depth, organic maturation levels of the unit should also vary significantly. Applying our maturation model of the Uinta Basin, we predict vitrinite reflectance values for the top of the NE to range from 0.55 in westernmost Colorado to 1.55 northwest of the Natural Buttes oil field; predicted values at the base of the NE are 0.63 and 1.70 at the same locations. Further exploration should determine whether the NE in the Uinta Basin has petrophysical characteristics similar to those that make the typical Niobrara Formation so productive to the east. The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) and the University of Utah are concluding a four-year, multidisciplinary study of the Upper Cretaceous Mancos Shale in the Uinta Basin of eastern Utah. The goals of this project are to provide the industry with an assessment of the oil and natural gas potential of the Mancos and to define the most prospective zones within this 4000-foot-thick stratigraphic unit. In the Rocky Mountain region east of the Uinta Basin, the Coniacian-Santonian Niobrara Formation is a time-equivalent to much of Utah’s lower Mancos Shale. In light of recent hydrocarbon exploration success in the Niobrara, we thought it might be informative to attempt correlating the Niobrara from western Colorado into the Uinta Basin, in order to identify potential exploration targets, in the event these strata have some of the lithologic characteristics of the Niobrara farther east. However, at present we cannot speculate on the extent of Niobrara (sensu stricto) lithofacies in the Uinta Basin. Consequently, we use the term “Niobrara equivalent” (or NE) to avoid implying that the strata in the Uinta Basin host the same lithofacies as, or have geomechanical properties similar to, the Niobrara Formation in Colorado. An east-west chronostratigraphic section of the Mancos and adjacent units shows these relationships: • The Mancos represents over 15 million years of deposition. • The Late Cretaceous Sevier orogen to the west shed clastics to the foreland basin in the east. • Clastics became progressively finer-grained to the east and interfingered with deltaic and marginal marine sands (Ferron and Emery Members, and Blackhawk Formation), which in turn graded into the units of the Mancos Shale. • The Niobrara Formation is coeval with part of the lower Blue Gate Shale and Emery Sandstone Members of the Mancos. The starting point for the correlations was the stratigraphic framework for the Niobrara developed at the Colorado School of Mines (Fisher, 2007; Kuzniak, 2009; D. Anderson, written communication, 2011). In addition, Anderson and Harris (2006) correlated the base of the Niobrara in several wells in the southeast part of the study area. The data for the subsurface correlations come from ~200 well records in UGS and DOGM files, supplemented with data donated by our industry partners. We used IHS Petra software for the correlations. The Uinta Basin is located in northeastern Utah, and is bounded by the Uinta Mountains to the north, which are a Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary Laramide uplift. The basin narrows and shallows to the west, and the basin fill gradually thins against the Wasatch Range where older Mesozoic and Paleozoic rocks crop out. The southern margin is the Book Cliffs where the Mancos crops out. The eastern margin is the Douglas Creek arch, which separates the Uinta from the Piceance Basin in Colorado. The Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining (DOGM) has identified about three dozen oil and gas fields with Mancos production or potential Mancos reservoirs. However, a number of these fields are inactive, and in the majority of the active fields Mancos production is comingled with production from lower reservoirs, commonly in the Dakota Sandstone, or overlying Cretaceous and Tertiary reservoirs, making it difficult to assess the Mancos productivity. RED WASH WONSITS VALLEY WHITE RIVER NATURAL BUTTES MONUMENT BUTTE PARIETTE BENCH BONANZA UTELAND BUTTE HELL'S HOLE HILL CREEK CASTLEGATE PETER'S POINT DRY BURN PINE SPRINGS SWEETWATER CANYON GORDON CREEK MAIN CANYON FLAT ROCK WOLF POINT MILLER CREEK BLACK HORSE CANYON BRYSON CANYON WESTWATER BUSHY FIELD MANCOS FLAT GREATER CISCO HELPER AGENCY DRAW UNNAMED 26-4S-1E ATCHEE RIDGE LONE SPRING SOUTH CANYON SWEETWATER RIDGE WHISKEY CREEK GATE CANYON PRICE DUCHESNE RAT HOLE CANYON HORSESHOE BEND Uinta Basin B o o k C l i f f s UTAH GREEN RIVER 0 10 20 5 Miles $ Duchesne Utah Carbon Emery Grand Uintah Limit of preserved post-Mancos strata. Rio Blanco Garfield 50 km 0 0 50 mi cross sections representative stratigraphic for correlations and Locations of wells used B B' A A' N STRATIGRAPHIC SECTIONS Two representative stratigraphic sections show the interval between the base of the Mancos B (datum) and the top of the Dakota Formation. The logs are normalized gamma-ray curves at a scale of 60 to 130 API units. Well names and API numbers are above the logs, and project well sequence numbers are below. Red diagonal patterns in wells 181 and 208 show locations of cores. Below the base of the NE, the F1 marker is a high-gamma-ray zone interpreted as a condensed section by Anderson and Harris (2006), who also correlated the overlying glauconitic, sand- rich unit to cuttings in the Larsen State-1 well southeast of the study area. The top of the glauconitic unit is the base of the NE. The informally named “Blue Gate silt” is a generally progradational unit, interpreted by Fisher (2007) as relatively sandy, distal deltaic sediments. In the central Uinta Basin, the Blue Gate silt has distinct, coarsening-upward intervals, consistent with Fisher’s interpretation. Conceivably, it might represent early, distal lobes of the Emery Sandstone Member, but the reported age of the Blue Gate silt (middle Coniacian; Fisher, 2007) predates the Emery. Fisher also reported an elevated Young’s modulus for the Blue Gate silt and concluded it is a candidate reservoir. Cores in the Glen Bench 16 well (#181 on section B-B') and Main Canyon 23-7 (#208 on section A-A') penetrate the top of the Blue Gate silt. Horton and others (2012) interpreted the core in the Glen Bench well as containing a sequence boundary between middle mudbelt deposits (the Blue Gate silt portion of the core) and overlying sediment-starved shelf deposits in the transgressive interval above the Blue Gate silt. The Main Canyon core is similar in that the lower, Blue-Gate-silt part of the core consists of sandy, proximal mudbelt deposits transgressively overlain by intermediate mudbelt claystone and siltstone (Horton and others, 2012). The NE can be identified in most of the wells, as shown in the two cross sections, but correlations become more tenuous towards the western Uinta Basin. This may in part be due to increased siliciclastic influx from the Sevier orogen to the west imparting its own log signature on that of the NE. PETERS POINT 6-7D-13-17 43007308590000 UTE 1-20-1319 43047369310000 DEL-RIO/ORION CR 32-13 43047334470000 PINE SPRINGS 15-16-14-22 43047309600000 MAIN CYN 23-7-15S-23E 43047377050000 CROOKED CYN 3 43047307730000 ENI-HATCH 15-6 43047312310000 DRAGON FEE 1-13 43047315970000 HELLS HOLE 1-12-11-25 43047318030000 HELLS HOLE 18-9 05103114070000 254 493 398 365 208 583 585 586 590 597 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 5 0 0 1 20 0 0 1 2 5 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 9 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 5 0 0 8 5 0 0 9 0 0 0 9 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 7 0 0 0 7 5 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 50 0 6 5 0 0 7 0 0 0 7 5 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 7 0 0 0 7 5 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 9 0 0 0 6 5 0 0 7 0 0 0 7 5 0 0 8 0 0 0 5 5 0 0 6 0 0 0 6 5 0 0 7 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 5 5 0 0 6 0 0 0 6 5 0 0 7 0 0 0 4 5 0 0 5 0 0 0 5 5 0 0 6 0 0 0 Rel Depth(ft) Rel Depth(ft) 0 0 500 500 1000 1000 1500 1500 2000 2000 2500 2500 3000 3000 3500 3500 Datum: Base of Mancos B Top Niobrara Equivalent "Blue Gate Silt" Base Niobrara Equivalent F1 Marker Top Juana Lopez Top Tununk Top Dakota Formation Coon Spring SS Bed Glauconitic Unit Top Dakota Formation A WEST A' EAST UTAH COLORADO Niobrara Equivalents W-E Stratigraphic Cross Section HS=1500 PETRA 7/3/2014 8:06:15 AM (2014 RMS Niobrara W-E section.CSP) TIE WELL THREE PINES 14-17-16-23 43019314570000 SNOWSHOE 4-15-16-22 43019315100000 CHERRY CANYON UNIT 1 43019108040000 CEDAR CAMP 1-1-16-22 43019314150000 FENCE CANYON UNIT 2 43047161980000 PINE SPRINGS 7-21-14-22 43047310420000 PINE SPRINGS 15-16-14-22 43047309600000 SEEP RIDGE UNIT 2 43047301350000 TEXACO-CHORNEY B NCT-1 43047301150000 TEXACO-SKYLINE-GOVT 1 43047301650000 BUCK CAMP 1 43047303570000 GRAYKNOLLS-FEDERAL 1 43047302260000 HILL CREEK UNIT 15-33F 43047374440000 HCU 12-29F 43047396110000 ISLAND UNIT 86 43047341370000 FEDERAL 14-31-9-19 43047362710000 CONOCO-FEDERAL 22-1 43047301110000 GB 16M-28-8-21 43047362600000 WONSITS VALLEY 11AML-14-8-21 43047380490000 TU 3-35-7-21 43047389950000 58 63 256 509 327 372 365 332 329 70 468 336 198 239 137 182 466 181 211 223 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 60 130 GR_NRM 7 0 0 0 7 5 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 7 5 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 9 0 0 0 7 5 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 9 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 7 5 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 6 5 0 0 7 0 0 0 7 5 0 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 7 5 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 7 0 0 0 7 5 0 0 8 0 00 8 5 0 0 7 5 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 9 0 0 0 9 5 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 9 0 0 0 9 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 9 0 0 0 9 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 9 0 0 0 9 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 5 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 5 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 3 5 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 3 5 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 4 5 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 3 5 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 4 5 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 1 5 5 0 0 1 3 5 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 4 5 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 1 5 5 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 1 2 5 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 3 5 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 4 5 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 1 5 5 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 3 5 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 4 5 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 1 5 5 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 1 3 5 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 45 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 1 5 5 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 1 6 5 0 0 1 4 5 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 1 5 5 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 1 6 5 0 0 1 7 0 0 0 1 7 5 0 0 1 8 0 0 0 Rel Depth(ft) Rel Depth(ft) 0 0 500 500 1000 1000 1500 1500 2000 2000 2500 2500 3000 3000 3500 3500 4000 4000 B' NORTH B SOUTH Datum: Base of Mancos B Top Niobrara Equivalent "Blue Gate Silt" F1 Marker Base Niobrara Equivalent Top Juana Lopez Top Mowry Shale Top Dakota Formation Glauconitic Unit Coon Spring SS Bed Tununk Top Dakota Formation Niobrara Equivalents N-S Stratigraphic Cross Section HS=1500 TIE WELL Tununk Member Cedar Mountain Formation Questar 1 & Questar 8 Questar 16 RGU-1 Dakota Sandstone Tununk Member Cedar Mountain Formation Uinta Basin Colorado Stratigraphy based on Young, 1955; Kirschbaum, 2003; Johnson and Roberts, 2003; Dubiel, 2003; Kuzniak, 2009. Emery Sandstone Member Mancos B (Prairie Canyon Member) Niobrara Equivalent Age in m.y. 75 — 80 — 85 — 90 — 95 — Mancos Shale Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America Location of Uinta Basin Fields with Mancos Shale Production

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Page 1: Correlation of Niobrara-Equivalent Strata in the Eastern

Correlation of Niobrara-Equivalent Strata in the Eastern Uinta Basin, Utah

Robert Ressetar1, Andrew McCauley2, Lauren Birgenheier3, and Jeffrey C. Quick1

1 Utah Geological Survey, Salt Lake City, Utah2 Apache Corporation, Midland, Texas

3 Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

REVISED ABSTR ACT

STR ATIGR APHIC FR AMEWORK

METHODS

INTRODUCTION

LOCATION MAP

Examination of geophysical logs from about 200 oil and gas wells allowed us to correlate the Late Cretaceous Niobrara Formation in Colorado to time-equivalent strata within the Mancos Shale of the eastern Uinta Basin, Utah. A structure map shows the top of the Niobrara equivalent (NE) deepens from near sea level at the Utah-Colorado line to more than 10,000 feet below sea level at the Wonsits Valley field, about 35 miles to the northwest. Along the same path, the NE thickens from 1150 to more than 1450 feet. Most of the thickening occurs in the upper part of the NE, which we interpret as a highstand sequence set. The lower and middle parts of the NE, represented by lowstand and transgressive sequence sets, respectively, maintain relatively constant thicknesses.

Based on log character and limited core data from the NE, we suggest that the unit contains and is immediately adjacent to some of the more hydrocarbon-prospective parts of the Mancos Shale. Much of the upper NE consists of a sediment-starved shelf facies association (a primary target) and the base of the NE overlies a heterolithic organic-rich facies association (a secondary target). Given the thickness of the NE and variations in burial depth, organic maturation levels of the unit should also vary significantly. Applying our maturation model of the Uinta Basin, we predict vitrinite reflectance values for the top of the NE to range from 0.55 in westernmost Colorado to 1.55 northwest of the Natural Buttes oil field; predicted values at the base of the NE are 0.63 and 1.70 at the same locations. Further exploration should determine whether the NE in the Uinta Basin has petrophysical characteristics similar to those that make the typical Niobrara Formation so productive to the east.

The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) and the University of Utah are concluding a four-year, multidisciplinary study of the Upper Cretaceous Mancos Shale in the Uinta Basin of eastern Utah. The goals of this project are to provide the industry with an assessment of the oil and natural gas potential of the Mancos and to define the most prospective zones within this 4000-foot-thick stratigraphic unit.

In the Rocky Mountain region east of the Uinta Basin, the Coniacian-Santonian Niobrara Formation is a time-equivalent to much of Utah’s lower Mancos Shale. In light of recent hydrocarbon exploration success in the Niobrara, we thought it might be informative to attempt correlating the Niobrara from western Colorado into the Uinta Basin, in order to identify potential exploration targets, in the event these strata have some of the lithologic characteristics of the Niobrara farther east. However, at present we cannot speculate on the extent of Niobrara (sensu stricto) lithofacies in the Uinta Basin. Consequently, we use the term “Niobrara equivalent” (or NE) to avoid implying that the strata in the Uinta Basin host the same lithofacies as, or have geomechanical properties similar to, the Niobrara Formation in Colorado.

An east-west chronostratigraphic section of the Mancos and adjacent units shows these relationships:

• The Mancos represents over 15 million years of deposition.

• The Late Cretaceous Sevier orogen to the west shed clastics to the foreland basin in the east.

• Clastics became progressively finer-grained to the east and interfingered with deltaic and marginal marine sands (Ferron and Emery Members, and Blackhawk Formation), which in turn graded into the units of the Mancos Shale.

• The Niobrara Formation is coeval with part of the lower Blue Gate Shale and Emery Sandstone Members of the Mancos.

The starting point for the correlations was the stratigraphic framework for the Niobrara developed at the Colorado School of Mines (Fisher, 2007; Kuzniak, 2009; D. Anderson, written communication, 2011). In addition, Anderson and Harris (2006) correlated the base of the Niobrara in several wells in the southeast part of the study area. The data for the subsurface correlations come from ~200 well records in UGS and DOGM files, supplemented with data donated by our industry partners. We used IHS Petra software for the correlations.

The Uinta Basin is located in northeastern Utah, and is bounded by the Uinta Mountains to the north, which are a Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary Laramide uplift. The basin narrows and shallows to the west, and the basin fill gradually thins against the Wasatch Range where older Mesozoic and Paleozoic rocks crop out. The southern margin is the Book Cliffs where the Mancos crops out. The eastern margin is the Douglas Creek arch, which separates the Uinta from the Piceance Basin in Colorado.

The Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining (DOGM) has identified about three dozen oil and gas fields with Mancos production or potential Mancos reservoirs. However, a number of these fields are inactive, and in the majority of the active fields Mancos production is comingled with production from lower reservoirs, commonly in the Dakota Sandstone, or overlying Cretaceous and Tertiary reservoirs, making it difficult to assess the Mancos productivity.

RED WASH

WONSITSVALLEY WHITE

RIVER

NATURALBUTTES

MONUMENTBUTTE PARIETTE

BENCHBONANZA

UTELANDBUTTE HELL'S

HOLE

HILLCREEK

CASTLEGATE

PETER'SPOINT

DRY BURN

PINESPRINGS

SWEETWATERCANYONGORDON

CREEK

MAINCANYON

FLAT ROCKWOLFPOINTMILLER

CREEK BLACK HORSECANYON

BRYSONCANYONWESTWATER

BUSHYFIELDMANCOS

FLAT

GREATERCISCO

HELPER

AGENCYDRAW

UNNAMED26-4S-1E

ATCHEERIDGE

LONESPRING

SOUTHCANYON

SWEETWATERRIDGE

WHISKEYCREEK

GATECANYON

PRICE

DUCHESNE

RAT HOLE CANYON

HORSESHOE BEND

U i n t a B a s i n

B o o k Cl i f

fs

UTAHGREENRIVER

0 10 205 Miles $

DuchesneUtah

Carbon

Emery

Grand

Uintah

Limit of preserved post-Mancos strata.

Rio Blanco

Garfield

50 km0

0 50 mi

cross sectionsrepresentative stratigraphic

for correlations andLocations of wells used

B

B'

A

A'

PETRA 7/9/2014 1:24:06 PM

N

STR ATIGR APHIC SECTIONSTwo representative stratigraphic sections show the interval between the base of the Mancos B (datum) and the top of the Dakota Formation. The logs are normalized gamma-ray curves at a scale of 60 to 130 API units. Well names and API numbers are above the logs, and project well sequence numbers are below. Red diagonal patterns in wells 181 and 208 show locations of cores.

Below the base of the NE, the F1 marker is a high-gamma-ray zone interpreted as a condensed section by Anderson and Harris (2006), who also correlated the overlying glauconitic, sand-rich unit to cuttings in the Larsen State-1 well southeast of the study area. The top of the glauconitic unit is the base of the NE.

The informally named “Blue Gate silt” is a generally progradational unit, interpreted by Fisher (2007) as relatively sandy, distal deltaic sediments. In the central Uinta Basin, the Blue Gate silt has distinct, coarsening-upward intervals, consistent with Fisher’s interpretation. Conceivably, it might represent early, distal lobes of the Emery Sandstone Member, but the reported age of the Blue Gate silt (middle Coniacian; Fisher, 2007) predates the Emery. Fisher also reported an elevated Young’s modulus for the Blue Gate silt and concluded it is a candidate reservoir.

Cores in the Glen Bench 16 well (#181 on section B-B') and Main Canyon 23-7 (#208 on section A-A') penetrate the top of the Blue Gate silt. Horton and others (2012) interpreted the core in the Glen Bench well as containing a sequence boundary between middle mudbelt deposits (the Blue Gate silt portion of the core) and overlying sediment-starved shelf deposits in the transgressive interval above the Blue Gate silt. The Main Canyon core is similar in that the lower, Blue-Gate-silt part of the core consists of sandy, proximal mudbelt deposits transgressively overlain by intermediate mudbelt claystone and siltstone (Horton and others, 2012).

The NE can be identified in most of the wells, as shown in the two cross sections, but correlations become more tenuous towards the western Uinta Basin. This may in part be due to increased siliciclastic influx from the Sevier orogen to the west imparting its own log signature on that of the NE.

PETERS POINT 6-7D-13-1743007308590000

UTE 1-20-131943047369310000

DEL-RIO/ORION CR 32-1343047334470000

PINE SPRINGS 15-16-14-2243047309600000

MAIN CYN 23-7-15S-23E43047377050000

CROOKED CYN 343047307730000

ENI-HATCH 15-643047312310000

DRAGON FEE 1-1343047315970000

HELLS HOLE 1-12-11-2543047318030000

HELLS HOLE 18-905103114070000

254

493

398

365

208

583585 586

590597

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

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Datum: Base ofMancos B

Top NiobraraEquivalent

"Blue Gate Silt"

Base NiobraraEquivalent

F1 Marker

Top Juana Lopez

Top Tununk

Top Dakota Formation

Coon SpringSS Bed

Glauconitic Unit

Top Dakota Formation

A

WEST

A'

EASTUTAH COLORADO

Niobrara Equivalents W-E Stratigraphic Cross Section

HS=1500

PETRA 7/3/2014 8:06:15 AM (2014 RMS Niobrara W-E section.CSP)

TIE WELL

THREE PINES 14-17-16-2343019314570000

SNOWSHOE 4-15-16-2243019315100000

CHERRY CANYON UNIT 143019108040000

CEDAR CAMP 1-1-16-2243019314150000

FENCE CANYON UNIT 243047161980000

PINE SPRINGS 7-21-14-2243047310420000

PINE SPRINGS 15-16-14-2243047309600000

SEEP RIDGE UNIT 243047301350000

TEXACO-CHORNEY B NCT-143047301150000

TEXACO-SKYLINE-GOVT 143047301650000

BUCK CAMP 143047303570000

GRAYKNOLLS-FEDERAL 143047302260000

HILL CREEK UNIT 15-33F43047374440000

HCU 12-29F43047396110000

ISLAND UNIT 8643047341370000

FEDERAL 14-31-9-1943047362710000

CONOCO-FEDERAL 22-143047301110000

GB 16M-28-8-2143047362600000

WONSITS VALLEY 11AML-14-8-2143047380490000

TU 3-35-7-2143047389950000

58

63

256

509

327

372365 332

32970

468

336

198

239

137

182

466

181 211

223

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

7000

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RelDepth(ft)

0 0

500 500

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3000 3000

3500 3500

4000 4000

B'

NORTH

B

SOUTHDatum: Base ofMancos B

Top NiobraraEquivalent

"Blue Gate Silt"

F1 Marker

Base NiobraraEquivalent

Top Juana Lopez

Top Mowry Shale

Top Dakota Formation

Glauconitic Unit

Coon Spring SS Bed

Tununk

Top Dakota Formation

Niobrara Equivalents N-S Stratigraphic Cross Section

HS=1500

PETRA 7/9/2014 1:42:32 PM (2014 RMS Niobrara N-S section.CSP)

TIE WELL

Cedar Mountain Fomration

Tununk Member

Cedar Mountain Formation

Questar 1 &

Questar 8

Questar 16

RGU-1

Dakota Sandstone

Tununk Member

Cedar Mountain Formation

Uinta Basin Colorado

Stratigraphy based on Young, 1955; Kirschbaum, 2003; Johnson and Roberts, 2003; Dubiel, 2003; Kuzniak, 2009.

Emery Sandstone Member

Mancos B(Prairie Canyon Member)

Niobrara Equivalent

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Mancos Shale

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Location of Uinta Basin Fields with Mancos Shale Produc tion

Page 2: Correlation of Niobrara-Equivalent Strata in the Eastern

Duchesne

Carbon

Emery

Grand

Uintah Rio Blanco

Garfield

1. 35

1. 1

1.1

1. 2

1.2

1

1

0. 9

0.9

0. 8

0. 8

0. 7

contours in % Ro

Top of Blue Gate SiltPredicted Vitrinite Ro

0

0

20 km

20 mi

B

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A'

PETRA 7/7/2014 10:38:18 AM

Duchesne

Carbon

Emery

Grand

Uintah Rio Blanco

Garfield

1. 35

1. 2

1. 1

1.1

1

1

1

10. 9

0.9

0. 8

0. 8

0.8

0. 7

0. 7

contours in % Ro

Base of Niobrara EquivalentPredicted Vitrinite Ro

0 20 km

0 20 mi

B

B'

A

A'

PETRA 7/7/2014 10:13:35 AM

0

0

20 km

20 mi

Duchesne

Carbon

Emery

Grand

Uintah Rio Blanco

Garfield

CI = 1000 ft

Blue Gate SiltStructure on top of

- 9000

- 9000

0005-

0005-

- 1000

- 1000

- 100

0

3000

3000

0003

B

B'

A

A'

4000300020001000

0-1000-2000-3000-4000-5000-6000-7000-8000-9000

-10000-11000-12000-13000

RR_STR - NIO_3 [KK_2009] - Top Blue Gate silt

PETRA 7/7/2014 12:42:57 PM

0

0

20 km

20 mi

Duchesne

Carbon

Emery

Grand

Uintah Rio Blanco

Garfield

CI = 1000 ft

Niobrara EquivalentStructure on top of

- 10000

- 6000

- 6000

- 2000- 2000

2000

2000

2000

0002

B

B'

A

A'

7000600050004000300020001000

0-1000-2000-3000-4000-5000-6000-7000-8000-9000

-10000

RR_STR_NIOBRARA EQUIV

PETRA 7/7/2014 12:40:42 PM

DM

SSS

SSS

DM

PPM

DM HOR

DM

PETERS POINT 6-7D-13-1743007308590000

UTE 1-20-131943047369310000

DEL-RIO/ORION CR 32-1343047334470000

PINE SPRINGS 15-16-14-2243047309600000

MAIN CYN 23-7-15S-23E43047377050000

CROOKED CYN 343047307730000

ENI-HATCH 15-643047312310000

DRAGON FEE 1-1343047315970000

HELLS HOLE 1-12-11-2543047318030000

HELLS HOLE 18-905103114070000

254

493

398

365

208

583585 586

590597

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

60 130GR_NRM

1000

010

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011

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012

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011

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DM

SSS

SSS

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PPM

DM HOR

DM

RelDepth(ft)

RelDepth(ft)

0 0

500 500

1000 1000

1500 1500

2000 2000

2500 2500

3000 3000

3500 3500

Datum: Base ofMancos B

Top NiobraraEquivalent

"Blue Gate Silt"

Base NiobraraEquivalent

F1 Marker

Top Juana Lopez

Top Tununk

Top Dakota Formation

Coon SpringSS Bed

Glauconitic Unit

Top Dakota Formation

A

WEST

A'

EASTUTAH COLORADO

DM

HIGH-

STAND

SEQUENCE

SET

LOW-

STAND

SEQUENCE

SET

TRANS-

GRESSIVE

SEQUENCE

SET

HIGH-

STAND

SEQUENCE

SET

TRANS-

GRESSIVE

SEQUENCE

SET

LITHOFACIESPPM: Progradational proximal mudbelt

DM: Distal mudbelt

HOR: Heterolithic organic-rich shelf

SSS: Sediment-starved shelf

SSS

SSS

DM

PPM

DM HOR

DM

Sequence Sets and Lithofacies

HS=1500

PETRA 7/8/2014 2:13:45 PM (2014 RMS Niobrara W-E no fill.CSP)

Duchesne

Carbon

Emery

Grand

Uintah Rio Blanco

Garfield

contours in % Ro

Top of Niobrara EquivalentPredicted Vitrinite Ro

1. 35

1. 1

1. 2

1

0. 9

0.9

0. 8 0.8

6.0

0. 7

0. 7

0 20 km

0 20 mi

B

B'

A

A'

PETRA 7/7/2014 10:56:58 AM

SUMMARY

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

• Strata equivalent to the Niobrara Formation of Colorado are about 1200 feet thick in the eastern Uinta Basin of Utah, and occur within the lower Blue Gate Shale Member of the Mancos Shale.

• The depositional environment for most of the NE was a distal marine shelf mudbelt. The most shoreward environment was a prograding proximal mudbelt (represented by the “Blue Gate silt”). The deepest-water environments were just above storm wave base (heterolithic, organic-rich-shelf) and below it (sediment-starved shelf).

• The predicted vitrinite %Ro of the NE ranges from 0.6 to 1.35% in most of the eastern Uinta Basin, indicating the NE is presently in the oil- and gas-generating zone.

• On the basis of mechanical, geochemical, and mineralogic properties, we suggest that prospective hydrocarbon reservoirs in the NE are:

○ the heterolithic, organic-rich-shelf facies just below or at the base of the NE, ○ the relatively sand-rich Blue Gate silt in the lower NE, and ○ the sediment-starved shelf facies in the upper NE.

For additional information about the UGS/University of Utah Mancos Shale project, please visit the UGS exhibit booth or the project website at: http://geology.utah.gov/emp/shalegas/cret_shalegas/index.htm.

We thank Donna Anderson (Colorado School of Mines/EOG Resources) for sharing her insights on the Niobrara Formation in western Colorado. Nikki Simon (UGS) assembled and designed the poster.

Funding for this project is provided by RPSEA through the “Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources” program authorized by the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005. RPSEA (www.rpsea.org) is a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to provide a stewardship role in ensuring the focused research, development and deployment of safe and environmentally responsible technology that can effectively deliver hydrocarbons from domestic resources to the citizens of the United States. RPSEA, operating as a consortium of premier U.S. energy research universities, industry, and independent research organizations, manages the program under a contract with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Anderson, D.S., and Harris, N.B., 2006, Integrated sequence stratigraphic and geochemical resource characterization of the lower Mancos Shale, Uinta Basin, Utah: Utah Geological Survey Open-File Report 483, compact disk.

Dubiel, R.F., 2003, Geology, depositional models, and oil and gas assessment of the Green River total petroleum system, Uinta-Piceance Province, eastern Utah and western Colorado, in USGS Uinta-Piceance Assessment Team, Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the Uinta-Piceance Province, Utah and Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series DDS–69–B, compact disk.

Fisher, R., 2007, Stratigraphic, geochemical, and geomechanical analysis of the lower Mancos Shale, Douglas Creek arch, northwest Colorado, U.S.A: Golden, Colorado School of Mines, M.S. thesis, 164 p.

Horton, B.K., Birgenheier, L.P., Johnson, C., Rowe, H., Taylor, J.S., Kennedy, A., and McLennan, J., 2012, Litho- and chemofacies variability in a siliciclastically dominated shale/mudstone system—heterogeneities of the developing Mancos Shale gas play [abs.]: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Conference & Exhibition Abstracts Volume, compact disk.

Johnson, R.C., and Roberts, S.B., 2003, The Mesaverde total petroleum system, Uinta-Piceance Province, Utah and Colorado, in USGS Uinta-Piceance Assessment Team, Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the Uinta-Piceance Province, Utah and Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series DDS–69–B, compact disk.

Kirschbaum, M.A., 2003, Geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Mancos/Mowry total petroleum system, Uinta-Piceance Province, Utah and Colorado, in USGS Uinta-Piceance Assessment Team, Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the Uinta-Piceance Province, Utah and Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series DDS–69–B, compact disk.

Kuzniak, K., 2009, New stratigraphic interpretations, geochemistry, and petrophysics of the lower Mancos Group, Douglas Creek arch, northwestern Colorado: Golden, Colorado School of Mines, M.S. thesis, 145 p.

McCauley, A.D., 2013, Sequence stratigraphy, depositional history, and hydrocarbon potential of the Mancos Shale, Uinta Basin, Utah: Salt Lake City, University of Utah, M.S. thesis, 173 p.

Quick, J., McCauley, A.D., and Ressetar, R., 2013, Prediction of organic maturation by vitrinite reflectance regression in units of the Mancos Shale, Uinta Basin, Utah [abs.]: Official Meeting Program, Rocky Mountain Section-American Association of Petroleum Geologists, p. 63.

Weimer, R.J., 1960, Upper Cretaceous stratigraphy, Rocky Mountain area: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 44, p. 1–20.

Young, R.G., 1955, Sedimentary facies and intertonguing in the Upper Cretaceous of the Book Cliffs, Utah-Colorado: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 66, p. 177-202.

SEQUENCE SETS AND LITHOFACIES

STRUCTURE CONTOUR MAPS THERMAL MATUR ATION

The transgressive nature of the Niobrara Formation in the Rocky Mountain basins to the east has long been known (e.g., Weimer, 1960). The diagram at right superimposes our correlations of the NE in the Uinta Basin on the model of sequence sets and lithofacies in the Mancos Shale developed by McCauley (2013). The lithofacies, from shoreward to basinward are:

Progradational proximal mudbelt, confined to the Blue Gate silt; Distal mudbelt; Heterolithic organic-rich shelf, deposited above storm wave base; and Sediment-starve shelf, deposited below storm wave base.

The Mancos Shale below the NE consists of a highstand sequence set that culminated in deposition of heterolithic, organic-rich-shelf and glauconitic sediments. The lower part of the NE, represented by a lowstand sequence set, appears from the gamma-ray-log patterns to be the most lithologically diverse part of the NE. This interval includes the Blue Gate silt. The middle of the NE generally displays less variable, overall transgressive log patterns characteristic of a transgressive sequence set. However, the wells to the west show progressively more distinct progradational packages within the transgressive backdrop. The upper NE forms the lower part of a highstand sequence set, which includes zones with the highest gamma-ray readings in the Mancos Shale, interpreted as sediment-starved shelf deposits.

On the basis of relatively high gamma-ray logs and organic carbon contents, McCauley (2013) suggested that the heterolithic and sediment-starved shelf deposits represent the most promising hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Mancos Shale of the Uinta Basin.

Structure contours on the tops of the NE and the Blue Gate silt show relatively uniform gradients, deepening northwestward toward the Uinta Basin interior. Structure elevations range from about 3000 feet above sea level along the basin’s southern margin to more than 10,000 feet below sea level at the Wonsits Valley field. Northwestward-trending structural highs are apparent near Main Canyon, Pine Springs, and Flat Rock fields.

Earlier in this project, Quick and others (2013) collected vitrinite reflectance (%Ro) data for the Mancos and other Uinta Basin strata, and by regression analysis obtained a formula to predict %Ro based on location and structural depth (elevation):

%Ro = 14.9X + 33.2Y – 80.1Z + 0.0847X2 – 0.264Y2 + 29.3Z2 – 0.364XY – 2.48YZ – 642.3

where: X = UTM easting/100,000Y = UTM northing/100,000Z = 1,000,000/(300,000 + elevation [ft])

Applying the formula to depths to the Niobrara equivalent in the database wells indicates that thermal maturation in the NE ranges from 0.6 %Ro on the basin’s southern margin to 1.78% in the north of the study area. Because of different kerogen types in the NE lithofacies, we have not determined depths to oil and gas “windows.” It is apparent, however, that the NE is in the oil and gas generating zones in most of the eastern Uinta Basin.

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WONSITS VALLEY

WONSITS VALLEY

FL AT ROCK

FL AT ROCK

PINESPRINGS

PINESPRINGS

MAIN C ANYON

MAIN C ANYON


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