Abstract

The Parkway-Empire area is located on the Northwest Shelf in central Eddy County, approximately 15 miles northeast of Carlsbad, New Mexico. This area produces oil and gas from the lower and middle Morrow sandstones, Atoka sandstones, and Strawn limestones. Oil is also produced from the Queen and Seven Rivers sandstones, and the Grayburg, San Andres, and Wolfcamp dolomites. All of these zones are productive from stratigraphic traps.

The lower Morrow sandstones occur at a depth of about 11,400 feet. They are interpreted to be a prograding fluvial-deltaic sequence of channels and point bars sourced from the northwest. They trend toward the southeast, normal to depositional strike. The lower Morrow sandstones are separated from the middle Morrow sandstones by a widespread, dark gray, organic, lagoonal shale. In the Parkway area, the middle Morrow sandstones are thought to be a transgressive series of marine beaches and submarine bars which trend toward the northeast, parallel to depositional strike. Stratigraphic traps are created in the lower and middle Morrow sandstones by variations in cementation and depositional patterns. Productive Atoka sandstones occur at a depth of approximately 10,700 feet. These sands are thought to be a series of prograding beaches with a northeast trend. Strawn limestones produce from a series of small, low-relief algal banks developed along depositional strike to the northeast. The Strawn limestone is about 300 feet thick and occurs between 10,250 and 10,500 feet.

Wells in this area have typical ultimate recoveries of between 1.0 and 3.0 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG). The combination of stacked reservoirs and good production makes this area of the Morrow trend especially attractive.