A western thalweg of the Princeton Valley submarine canyon system as a reservoir and a trap near Willows, California

Conference · Tue May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA)

OSTI ID:6856786

Blake, R G ^[1]; Bainer, R W

---

1. Fleet Oil Co., Irvine, CA (USA)

The Princeton Valley submarine canyon system has long been an important reservoir and trapping mechanism in the northern Sacramento Valley, California. Recently a western thalweg of the system, identified north of Willows, California, has proven to be a significant trapping mechanism for gas in truncated Kione Formation sandstones. Both Upper Cretaceous Kione Formation and Paleocene Princeton Valley sandstones are exploratory objectives in the area and are productive in existing wells. The Kione Formation, a sand-rich deltaic sequence approximately 2,000 ft thick, has been truncated to the west by the Princeton Valley submarine canyon system. The canyon (gorge) has been subsequently filed with primarily impermeable shales, providing a trap for migrating gases in the truncated sands. The trend was discovered in 1977 by Shell Oil Company based on seismic and was the first substantiated evidence of a western thalweg of the Princeton Gorge in the Willows area. To date, four wells have been completed along the trend and current exploratory efforts are attempting to follow the gorge trend.

• OSTI ID: 6856786
• Report Number(s): CONF-900605--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA) Journal Volume: 74:5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
030200* -- Natural Gas-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
58 GEOSCIENCES
580000 -- Geosciences
CALIFORNIA
CENOZOIC ERA
CRETACEOUS PERIOD
EXPLORATION
FEDERAL REGION IX
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGIC TRAPS
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NORTH AMERICA
PERMEABILITY
RESERVOIR ROCK
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SANDSTONES
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SHALES
TERTIARY PERIOD
USA