Basement paleotopography key in Colorado Morrow channel oil play
Journal Article
·
· Oil and Gas Journal; (United States)
OSTI ID:5453307
- Thomas and Associates, Denver, CO (United States)
The Lower Pennsylvanian Morrow channel sandstone play in southeast Colorado has proven to be a lucrative one. With wells to 5,000--6,000 ft, oil recoveries of 150,000--300,000 bbl/well and relatively inexpensive drilling costs, investment returns are some of the highest to be found in the US onshore. Delineating the meandering Morrow channels, however, has proven difficult. They can vary in width from one well to four wells and often take unexpected turns and twists. One of the problems in delineating Morrow channels and developing channel fields in Southeast Colorado may be the industry's widespread belief that in the Morrow's fluvial plain paleoenvironment of extremely low slope, channel path is a random process with meanders or sudden turns being related only to the mechanics of water wandering down an almost-flat regional slope and therefore, unpredictable. One purpose of this article is to show that such a belief is fallacious, being more the result of academic abstract reasoning than of actual observational data. And far from being unpredictable, paleostream channels with all their turns and twists are positionally influenced by an ever-present factor too often ignored, i.e., basement paleotopography. To support this premise, the relationship between basement paleotopography in Southeast Colorado and such Morrow channel fields as Sorrento, Stockholm, Flank, and Interstate (in Southwest Kansas) will be examined.
- OSTI ID:
- 5453307
- Journal Information:
- Oil and Gas Journal; (United States), Journal Name: Oil and Gas Journal; (United States) Vol. 91:29; ISSN OIGJAV; ISSN 0030-1388
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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