Regional microseep survey of part of the productive Wyoming-Utah thrust belt

Journal Article · Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:5465271

Dickinson, R G ^[1]; Matthews, M D ^[2]

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1. Texaco Exploration and Production Inc., Denver, CO (United States)
2. Texaco Frontier Exploration Dept., Bellaire, TX (United States)

A regional microseep survey of a 1280 mi[sup 2] area of the Wyoming-Utah thrust belt clearly identified anomalously high surface occurrences of light hydrocarbons associated with productive trends that include the Clear Creek, Ryckman Creek, and Whitney Canyon-Carter Creek fields. Anomalies were identified by individually calculating, the percentage of samples within a moving window which were above the median value of the entire survey, and by stacking them to create a composite map. This technique smooths the spatial information and transforms the data from an unknown distribution into a binomial distribution. This permits statistical tests of significance, which have been substantiated with Monte Carlo simulations. The use of regional microseep data emphasizes the identification of broad areas of interest, rather than the direct identification of drilling locations often associated with surface geochemical surveys. The resulting broad surface patterns must then be combined with available subsurface data to develop probable plays. This technique is one of the few tools that analyze directly for hydrocarbons. It provides the explorationist with unique information to help reduce economic and geologic risk in frontier areas.

• OSTI ID: 5465271
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Journal Name: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States) Vol. 77:10; ISSN 0149-1423; ISSN AABUD2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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