Salt dissolution in oil and gas test holes in central Kansas. Part III. Salt dissolution oil and gas test holes in the Chase-Silica Oilfield, Barton and Rice Counties, central Kansas
In the 135.3 square mile area of the Chase-Silica Oilfield, Barton and Rice Counties, Kansas, all of the 4,845 oil and gas test holes drilled completely through the Hutchinson Salt Member of the Permian Wellington Formation encountered at depths near 900 feet on the east to near 1000 feet on the west. No salt dissolution takes place after drilling ceases in either cased oil wells or dry holes, however plugged or if plugged at all, because fresh water aquifers in Quaternary and Cretaceous are sealed off by surface casing permanently cemented in place and plugged internally. Exceptions to this statement are three holes where excessive post-drilling salt dissolution caused slow surface subsidence. In the Panning No. 11-A which drilled 90 feet of alluvial sand and gravel, subsidence was followed by 12 hours of sudden dramatic collapse during which the cone shaped hole swallowed a 500-barrel redwood tank, four large concrete rig corners, and all evidence of 190 feet of 10-3/4 inch surface casing cement in place, leaving a circular lake 300 feet in diameter which is still 64 feet deep sixteen years later. These three subsidence areas, studied in detail, involve salt water disposal (SWD) wells moving large volumes (100+ barrels water per hour or 70+ gallons per minute) of corrosive brine, undersaturated as to chlorides, into an excellent outlet reservoir, the Arbuckle dolomite, permitting brine flow across the salt face through casing leaks caused by corrosion. The head differential of about 800 feet plus the gravity drop to 3500 feet provided a tremendous energy input. The 694 remaining oil wells in this 260 million barrel oilfield are nearing depletion; they average only 4.68 barrels of oil per day per well (BOPDPW). With the holes properly plugged as now required under state supervision, it is concluded that no additional areas of surface subsidence will form.
- Research Organization:
- Walters Drilling Co., Wichita, KS (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26-SUB-78X-38283V
- OSTI ID:
- 7214157
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/Sub-75/38283/3; TRN: 77-011722
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
02 PETROLEUM
KANSAS
OIL FIELDS
GROUND SUBSIDENCE
SALT DEPOSITS
DISSOLUTION
NATURAL GAS WELLS
OIL WELLS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MIDWEST REGION
NORTH AMERICA
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESOURCES
USA
WELLS
052000* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Management
020300 - Petroleum- Drilling & Production