Study of hydrogeologic trends in exploration for Devonian-shale gas in the Midway-Extra gas field of Putnam County, West virginia

Technical Report · Sat Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1979

OSTI ID:6326509

Beebe, R R

A hydrogeologic study was conducted in the Midway-Extra gas field where gas wells tap Devonian shales in northern Putman County, West Virginia. Lineaments were mapped and shallow ground water was surveyed for physical and chemical parameters, to determine if lineaments or ground water may be useful for shale gas exploration. Landsat lineaments, defined from satellite imagery, have no apparent effect on water well yield and are associated with low gas well yields. Short photolineaments, defined from low-altitude stereo photography, are excellent sites for high-yielding water wells and good sites for high-yielding gas wells in general. These lineaments appear to represent permeable zones about 400 feet wide at shallow depth. The density of photolineaments orientated N60/sup 0/W-N30/sup 0/E is especially well associated with high-yielding gas well trends. Final open flow is especially great for gas wells near water wells or springs having high bicarbonate or nitrate concentrations. High bicarbonate content is in part likely to be caused by oxidation of methane gas in shallow ground water. Photolineaments and ground water chemistry may well prove to be valuable exploration tools for Devonian shale gas in other areas. 20 figures, 21 tables.

• Research Organization: West Virginia Univ., Morgantown (USA). Dept. of Geology and Geography
• DOE Contract Number: AC21-76ET12138
• OSTI ID: 6326509
• Report Number(s): DOE/ET/12138-1272; ON: DE83008487
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
030200* -- Natural Gas-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040100 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Reserves & Exploration-- (-1989)
58 GEOSCIENCES
580100 -- Geology & Hydrology-- (-1989)
AERIAL SURVEYING
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
BLACK SHALES
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHATTANOOGA FORMATION
DATA
DEVONIAN PERIOD
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
EXPLORATION
FEDERAL REGION III
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGY
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROLOGY
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NATURAL GAS FIELDS
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
OIL SHALES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PALEOZOIC ERA
RESOURCES
USA
WATER
WEST VIRGINIA