Surface thermal maturity map of Uinta, Piceance, and Eagle basins area, Utah and Colorado

Conference · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6135678

Nuccio, V F; Johnson, R C

Knowledge of thermal maturity is essential for basin analysis studies because heat and heat flow play major roles in mineral formation, hydrocarbon generation and destruction, ground-water flow, and petroleum reservoir quality. The authors studied the thermal maturity of several hundred outcrop samples of coal and carbonaceous shale from Pennsylvanian through Quaternary rocks in the area encompassing the Uinta, Piceance, and Eagle basins of Utah and Colorado. All samples were analyzed for mean random vitrinite reflectance (R/sub m/); thus, thermal maturity is defined by R/sub m/ for this study. The authors' data show that R/sub m/ generally increase with age of the rock, reflecting increase burial depth and residence time at maximum temperature. Some coals show local anomalously high maturities because of proximity to Tertiary intrusives. Rocks of the same age show a general decrease in maturity from south to north in all three basins, which probably results from a decrease in geothermal gradients from south to north. In the Uinta basin, R/sub m/ values range from about 0.40 to 0.70% around the margins of the basin to 0.45% in the Altamont-Bluebell oil field near the basin center. In the Piceance basin, R/sub m/ values range from about 0.50 to 0.70% around the margins to about 0.25 to 0.35% in the center. The Eagle basin shows the widest range of R/sub m/ values, from 0.30 to 0.50% around the margins to values in the 4.0% range near the center.

• OSTI ID: 6135678
• Report Number(s): CONF-880301-
• Resource Relation: Conference: Annual meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Houston, TX, USA, 20-23 Mar 1988
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
02 PETROLEUM
04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
COAL
THERMAL ANALYSIS
COLORADO
OIL FIELDS
OIL SHALES
UTAH
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GEOTHERMAL GRADIENTS
HEAT FLOW
MACERALS
PICEANCE CREEK BASIN
SAMPLING
UINTA BASIN
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
DATA
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION VIII
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESOURCES
TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS
USA
011000* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
020200 - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
040500 - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Properties & Composition