Journal of Petroleum Geology, Vol.10, No.4, pp. 415-424, 1987

©Copyright 2000 Scientific Press, Ltd.

HELIUM-NITROGEN-METHANE SYSTEMATICS IN NATURAL GASES OF TEXAS AND KANSAS

T. Gold and M. Held*

* Centre for Radiophysics & Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA.

Abstract

Gas-mixing ratios of samples from 1,038 natural gas wells of the Hugoton/Panhandle fields of West Texas and Kansas are examined, and well-defined regional systematics are noted. The helium-nitrogen ratio of all the Texas fields has a nearly constant value (0. 077) and a very sharply-defined upper boundary. In the Kansas fields, a different value is found for that ratio (0.021), but it is also well-defined over a large region. The proportion of methane, the principal gas in all the wells, shows a regional dependence within each of the areas. The observed distribution places constraints on the origin of the three gases, and suggests that they all derive from sources deeper than the sedimentary layer.