A geologic assessment of natural gas from tight gas sandstones in the San Juan Basin. Final report, June 1989--June 1991

Technical Report · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10195407· OSTI ID:10195407

Haas, M R; Lombardi, T E

The authors conducted a detailed geologic appraisal, estimated gas in place and recoverable volumes, and evaluated the impact of technology improvements on potential Cretaceous (Pictured Cliffs, Chacra, Cliff House, Point Lookout and Dakota intervals) tight gas reserves of the San Juan Basin. This report summarizes the results of a disaggregated appraisal of the undeveloped San Juan tight gas resource in the context of current and near-term technology, project economics and market potential. A geologic data base was constructed based on location reservoir properties, and typical well recoveries were modeled on a township-specific basis. Project costing and cash flow economics were analyzed to derive potential reserves for various technology specifications and wellhead prices. These data provide a foundation for operators and pipelines to more closely examine these tight formations for development in the near future. Gas in place for the undeveloped tight portion of the five intervals studied was estimated at 17.2 Tcf, with the Dakota Formation accounting for two thirds of this volume. Using current technology, potential ultimate recovery for all intervals is 7.2 Tcf. Potential reserve additions are 1.1 Tcf at $1.50/Mcf, 2.3 Tcf at $2.00/Mcf, and 5.9 Tcf at $5.00/Mcf. The availability of the Nonconventional Fuels Tax Credit for eligible wells drilled in 1991 and 1992 could improve project economics by an after tax equivalent of $0.66/Mcf at the wellhead. Over 300 geophysical logs were evaluated to construct depth, overburden and isopach maps and a location-specific resource database. The database was analyzed using TGAS-PC{reg_sign}, an integrated engineering and economics model for tight sands that has the capability to do rapid sensitivity analysis of geological, technology and economic assumptions.

• Research Organization: ICF Resources, Inc., Fairfax, VA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC21-89MC26306
• OSTI ID: 10195407
• Report Number(s): DOE/MC/26306--3484; ON: DE94000012
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
030200
030600
58 GEOSCIENCES
580000
COLORADO
CRETACEOUS PERIOD
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMIC, INDUSTRIAL, AND BUSINESS ASPECTS
GEOLOGY
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
GEOSCIENCES
Geothermal Legacy
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NEW MEXICO
OVERBURDEN
PERMEABILITY
PROGRESS REPORT
RESERVES, GEOLOGY, AND EXPLORATION
SANDSTONES
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
WELLHEAD PRICES