Point bar origin of Fall River sandstone reservoirs, northeastern Wyoming
Proven oil reserves of more than 40 million bbl have been found in the Lower Cretaceous Fall River Sandstone on the NE. flank of the Powder River basin. Most of the oil occurs in stratigraphic traps located on gentle regional dip of about 2$SW. Fall River reservoir sandstone was formerly believed to have been deposited as barrier bars with the updip permeability barriers provided by lagoonal shales. A new interpretation at West Moorcroft Field (Mettler, 1966) suggests the origin as point bar sand deposited in a meandering stream channel with the updip permeability barrier provided by a clay-filled, abandoned channel. This interpretation is applicable to other Fall River oil fields as shown by distribution of sand at Coyote Creek and Miller Creek. Based on thickness of permeable sand, a pattern is present which is remarkably similar to point bar, swale, and channel deposits of recent stream meander belts. Recognition of these distinct facies will aid in exploration for new fields, in development drilling within fields, and in planning for secondary recovery projects. (14 refs.)
- OSTI ID:
- 6172523
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 42. annual SPE of AIME fall meeting, Houston, TX, USA, 1 Oct 1967; Related Information: SPE-1953
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
EXPLOITATION
WYOMING
CRETACEOUS PERIOD
DATA
EXPLORATION
GEOLOGIC TRAPS
GEOLOGY
LITHOLOGY
OIL FIELDS
PERMEABILITY
PETROLEUM
POROSITY
RESERVES
SANDSTONES
STRATIGRAPHY
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
INFORMATION
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
RESOURCES
ROCKS
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
USA
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production
020200 - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration