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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
AAPG Special Volumes
Abstract
Camp, W. K., Basin
-
centered
gas
or subtle conventional traps?, in S. P. Cumella, K. W. Shanley, and W. K. Camp, eds., Understanding, exploring, and developing tight-
gas
sands—2005 Vail Hedberg Conference: AAPG Hedberg Series, no. 3, p.
DOI:10.1306/13131049H33323
2008. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.
Basin
-
centered
Gas
or Subtle Conventional Traps?
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Wayne K. Camp
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, The Woodlands, Texas, U.S.A.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank JEBCO Seismic, L.P., for permission to publish seismic data from the JEBCO nonexclusive SE Jonah 3-D seismic survey; Anadarko Petroleum Corporation for permission to publish this chapter; and current and past colleagues at Anadarko: Thomas Griffith, Lee Shannon, Mark Bacon, Bob Heckman, Pete Coffin, Andrea Brown, Lindsay Poth, and Jerry Wristers. Without their inspired discussions and dedicated work, this chapter would not be possible. I also acknowledge Paul Devine and Lee Shannon for their constructive reviews, which have improved the composition and clarity of this chapter.
ABSTRACT
Basin
-
centered
gas
models have been proposed to characterize various low-permeability (tight) sandstone
gas
plays that are an important
gas
resource found in many Rocky Mountain basins. Recent drilling and three-dimensional seismic results indicate that modifications are required of the currently accepted
basin
-
centered
gas
models that were first introduced more than 25 yr ago. Current models of
basin
-
centered
gas
accumulations depict
gas
trapped below a relatively uniform, enigmatic pressure seal defined by a given structural elevation or thermal-maturation depth that cuts across stratigraphic boundaries. In the prevailing model, this surface separates normally pressured conventional traps from unconventional traps, which are characterized by anomalous reservoir pressure and lack of associated water production. These principles have led to a commonly held misconception that basinwide, commercial
gas
deposits may exist below this pressure boundary and, further, to predictions of overstated reserves and overly optimistic drilling success rates.
New studies of several gas
plays in tight sandstones from the Greater Green River Basin in southern Wyoming, reviewed in this chapter, suggest that the primary controls for the occurrence of these fields are better explained as conventional, although subtle, stratigraphic and structural traps. Subsurface data are described, which illustrate additional inconsistencies with the prevalent
basin
-
centered
gas
models, including the presence of downdip water, and natural fracture and stratigraphic variations that influence productivity. These subtle controls have previously been accepted as poorly understood areas of enhanced production or sweet spots. With a revised understanding, geologic methods can be applied to identify areas of improved reservoir quality, thereby increasing the probability of favorable economic development. More importantly, the key to future
exploration
success in the Rocky Mountain region and other tight-
gas
sandstone provinces is recognizing that subtle, conventional stratigraphic and structural traps provide controls on commercial
gas
deposits in these plays.
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