Abstract

The Red Oak Gas Area is centered five miles northeast of the town of Red Oak; it is on the prominent Brazil Anticline that extends east-west across eastern Latimer and western LeFlore Counties.

McAlester sands and shales outcrop on the central portion of the Brazil anticline. The overlying Savanna sandstones form prominent hogbacks flanking the structure. The Hartshorne subsurface structure closely resembles the surface structure with 600 Ft. of mapped closure. Surface faulting is not evident; however, all the deep wells have encountered one or more thrust faults with repeated sections ranging to 800 feet. All of the wells in the field have spudded in the McAlester formation. The deep wells penetrate McAlester shales and sands, the Hartshorne sand, and the thick Atoka formation with the holes reaching total depth in Morrow beds.

Shallow gas production was found in 1912 from the Hartshorne sand at approximately 1, 500 feet. Fifty-five wells were drilled through the Hartshorne sandstone. Deep gas production was discovered in 1959 from the Atoka Red Oak sand at 7, 200 feet and the Basal Atoka sand (Spiro) at 11, 500 feet. The Red Oak gas area is currently being developed with three large rotary rigs. Four deep offsets have been drilled and found gas production in the deep zones.

The large size of the Brazil anticline, with the high pressure reservoir sands, and the large open flows encountered in the deep wells will undoubtedly result in increased drilling activity in the Red Oak Gas Area.