Application of Landsat imagery to hydrocarbon exploration in Niobrara Formation, Denver basin

Conference · Fri Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1985 · Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5866871

Merin, I S; Moore, W R

The Niobrara Formation produces commercial quantities of oil from fractures in several places in the Denver basin. The Niobrara in this basin is an oil-prone, mature source rock having as much as 3.4% TOC, and has been in the generating window since early Eocene. This implies that hydrocarbon generation from the Niobrara is partly contemporaneous with the Laramide orogeny. The Laramide was a multiple-phase orogenic event that began with compression directed to the east-northeast during the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene and ended with compression directed to the northeast during the Eocene. The authors believe the Eocene phase activated northeast-trending extension fractures that may have acted as loci for storage and migration of hydrocarbons, locally generated in the Niobrara. The auto-fracing pressures related to hydrocarbon generation in the Niobrara theoretically would preferentially open and fill this northeast-trending fracture system. Examination of Landsat imagery shows that zones of northeast-trending lineaments are present throughout the basin. Numerous northeast-trending faults are present in the basin, and many overlie older zones that were reactivated during the Laramide. This suggests that these lineaments are previously unrecognized fracture zones. The authors have defined an exploration fairway within the basin based on subsurface isopach and resistivity mapping. The authors believe that mapping of northeast-trending fractures can help identify leads (within this fairway) prospective for Niobrara production. Support of this concept is the location of several apparently productive Niobrara wells along a zone of northeast-trending lineaments.

• Research Organization: Earth Satellite Corp., Chevy Chase, MD
• OSTI ID: 5866871
• Report Number(s): CONF-850322-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States) Journal Volume: 69:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020200* -- Petroleum-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
COLORADO
CRETACEOUS PERIOD
EXPLORATION
FEDERAL REGION VIII
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
LANDSAT SATELLITES
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
REMOTE SENSING
RESOURCES
SATELLITES
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
USA