Abstract

The study area is located in south central Palo Pinto County, Texas. All but one of the fields in this area produce gas from lower Pennsylvanian stratigraphic traps where porous conglomerates of Big Saline (Bend) age have been deposited along a prominent structural ridge. Conglomerates of Marble Falls (Bend) age also have trapped minor amounts of gas within the study area. Also minor amounts of gas have been trapped in shallow Strawn sand lenses. The only exception to Pennsylvanian production is a small local reefing in the Mississippian limestone where gas has been trapped to form the one well Santo, South (Mississippian) field.

The fields here produce from several different sands and conglomerates of lower Pennsylvanian age that are erratically distributed over the entire study area. Even though the production in the area has been assigned to several different fields, most of the producing zones in one field are stratigraphically equivalent to a producing zone in another nearby field. This is very similar to the Boonsville (BCG) field of Jack and Wise Counties, Texas, where gas production from the entire Atoka formation has been comingled in each well over most of the area and has been combined into one field.

The Deaton (Conglomerate) field is an example of the inconsistency in field designation. The area covered by wells that have been assigned to the Deaton field is approximately 10 1/4 by 3 1/2 miles (16.4 x 5.6 km), or an area of approximately 35 square miles (90.6 km²); whereas, the area of the bulk of the field is 1 1/2 by 1 mile or 1 1/2 square miles (3.6 km). Within the overall area of the Deaton field some 7 different Pennsylvanian conglomerate fields have been established and 1 Mississippian reef field. Some 89 wells have produced approximately 21 BCF gas to January 1, 1980.