Detailed cross sections of the Eocene Green River Formation along the north and east margins of the Piceance Basin, western Colorado, using measured sections and drill hole information

Johnson, Ronald C.

doi:10.3133/sim3276

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Johnson (1985) suggested that the transgression occurred rapidly because the Long Point Bed did not appear to climb stratigraphically toward the margins of the Uinta and Piceance Basins. Recently published cross sections in the Piceance Basin by Self and others (2010) and Johnson (2014) also failed to detect any noticeable stratigraphic climb of the Long Point Bed toward the margins of the Piceance Basin. It is thus possible that external drainage was lost quite rapidly, possibly by a catastrophic event.…”

Section: Early Eocene Freshwater Lacustrine Minimummentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A south-to-north structural cross section across the Uinta Basin, simplified from Johnson (2014), is shown in figure 8. The three units used to generate the two isopach maps and the structure contour map are marked with heavy dashed lines in ascending order: (1) top of Cretaceous/base of lower Tertiary, (2) base of the Long Point Bed, and (3) top of the Mahogany oil shale bed.…”

Section: Subsidence Patterns In Green River Lacustrine Basinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The detailed south-to-north cross section across from the south flank of the Uinta Basin to the deep basin trough published by Johnson (2014) included two vitrinite reflectance levels: (1) R 0 0.5 percent and (2) R 0 0.75 percent. The positions of these two vitrinite reflectance levels are included on the simplified version of the cross section shown in figure 8.…”

Section: Variations In Thermal Maturity Of the Freshwater Lacustrine mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geology of tight oil and potential tight oil reservoirs in the lower part of the Green River Formation, Uinta, Piceance, and Greater Green River Basins, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming

Johnson¹,

Birdwell²,

Mercier³

et al. 2016

Scientific Investigations Report

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For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment-visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS.For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://store.usgs.gov/ Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.Suggested citation: Johnson, R.C., Birdwell, J.E., Mercier, T.J., and Brownfield, M.E., 2016, Geology of tight oil and potential tight oil reservoirs in the lower part of the Green River Formation, Uinta, Piceance, and Greater Green River Basins, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5008, 63 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20165008. and Lake Gosiute (Greater Green River Basin informal Uteland Butte member of the Green River Formation, defined here as a pressure gradient of greater than 0.5 pounds per square inch per foot, and total oil production for the first full 3 months of production for all horizontal producers identified as completed in the Uteland Butte member . AbstractThe recent successful development

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Section: Early Eocene Freshwater Lacustrine Minimummentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Subsidence Patterns In Green River Lacustrine Basinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Variations In Thermal Maturity Of the Freshwater Lacustrine mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geology of tight oil and potential tight oil reservoirs in the lower part of the Green River Formation, Uinta, Piceance, and Greater Green River Basins, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming

Johnson¹,

Birdwell²,

Mercier³

et al. 2016

Scientific Investigations Report

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Stratigraphic Intervals for Oil and Tar Sand Deposits in the Uinta Basin, Utah

Johnson

Birdwell

Lillis

2017

MT GEOL

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To better understand oil and bitumen generation and migration in the Paleogene lacustrine source rocks of the Uinta Basin, Utah, analyses of 182 oil samples and tar-impregnated intervals from 82 core holes were incorporated into a well-established stratigraphic framework for the basin. The oil samples are from the U.S. Geological Survey Energy Resources Program Geochemistry Laboratory Database; the tar-impregnated intervals are from core holes drilled at the Sunnyside and P.R. Spring-Hill Creek tar sands deposits. The stratigraphic framework includes transgressive and regressive phases of the early freshwater to near freshwater lacustrine interval of Lake Uinta and the rich and lean zone architecture developed for the later brackish-to-hypersaline stages of the lake. Two types of lacustrine-sourced oil are currently recognized in the Uinta Basin: (1) Green River A oils, with high wax and low β-carotane contents thought to be generated by source rocks in the fresh-to-brackish water lacustrine interval, and (2) much less common Green River B oils, an immature asphaltic oil with high β-carotane content thought to be generated by marginally mature to mature source rocks in the hypersaline lacustrine interval. Almost all oil samples from reservoir rocks in the fresh-to-brackish water interval are Green River A oils; however four samples of Green River A oils were present in the hypersaline interval, which likely indicates vertical migration. In addition, two samples of Green River B oil are from intervals that were assumed to contain only Green River A oil. Tar sand at the P.R. Spring-Hill Creek deposit are restricted to marginal lacustrine and fluvial sandstones deposited during the hypersaline phase of Lake Uinta, suggesting a genetic relationship to Green River B oils. Tar sand at the Sunnyside deposit, in contrast, occur in marginal lacustrine and alluvial sandstones deposited from the early fresh to nearly freshwater phase of Lake Uinta through the hypersaline phase. The Sunnyside deposit occurs in an area with structural dips that range from 7 to 14 degrees, and it is possible that some tar migrated stratigraphically down section.

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Controls on organic matter distributions in Eocene Lake Uinta, Utah and Colorado

Johnson

Mercier

Birdwell

2018

MT GEOL

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The Green River Formation deposited in Eocene Lake Uinta in the Uinta and Piceance Basins, Utah and Colorado, contains the largest oil shale resource in the world with an estimated 1.53 trillion barrels of oil in place in the Piceance Basin and 1.32 trillion barrels in the Uinta Basin. The Douglas Creek arch, a slowly subsiding hinge-line between the two basins, created separate deep depocenters, one in each basin with shallow water conditions near the crest of the arch. Lake Uinta was a saline lake throughout its history with a lower saline to hypersaline layer (monimolimnion) and an upper less saline layer (mixolimnion). Most of the organic matter in the Green River Formation was derived primarily from algae that lived in the photic zone of the lake and is very hydrogen-rich and oil-prone. In many modern large and deep lakes, rates of organic matter production are highly variable due to differences in nutrient supply. However, cyclonic circulation often leads to winnowing out of organic and mineral matter in the mixolimnion leading to organic matter and fine-grained mineral matter being deposited in increasing amounts toward hydro-dynamically dead zones in the center of the circulation producing concentric bands of increasing organic matter content. Organic matter transport through the dense, hypersaline monimolimnion may have been facilitated by low density organic matter attaching to more dense clay mineral particles. Most of the oil shale intervals deposited in Lake Uinta display similar patterns in their organic matter distributions, increasing in very regular fashion toward the central areas of the lake’s two depocenters. This concentric feature is particularly prominent in the most laminated oil shale zones. Here, we propose that cyclonic circulation was present in Lake Uinta. Each basin appears to have had its own circulation currents, separated by shallow water conditions near the Douglas Creek arch, and one hydrodynamically dead zone in each basin. Sediment gravity flow processes were also very active in some strata of Lake Uinta, leading to the reworking and re-depositing of sediments. Two general types of sediment gravity flows are recognized: (1) organic-rich sediment gravity flows that reworked and may have concentrated organic-rich material closer to the two deep depocenters, and (2) sandstone- and siltstone-rich organic-poor mass movement deposits that originated on marginal shelves. Mass movements could have been triggered by various natural processes and/or possibly by the movement of dense brines that evolved on marginal shelves and moved along the bottom of the water column toward the deep part of the lake. The uppermost, poorly consolidated sediment layer was incorporated in sediment gravity flows as they moved, and in many cases sediment gravity flows scoured down significantly into the more consolidated underlying sediment producing large rip-up clasts of laminated sediments. Truncation of more than 100 ft occurs at the base of a sequence of sediment gravity flows in one well, indicating a significant incised channel. Coarser-grained sediment gravity flows terminated before reaching the lake’s deepest areas, forming thick concentric buildups of organically lean sediment near the base of the marginal slopes. Intervals dominated by organic-rich fine-grained sediment gravity flows have tightly concentric bands of increasing organic matter toward the deepest parts of the lake and can be organically richer than the richest laminated intervals. There is some evidence that the hydrodynamically quiet zones did not always correspond closely to the deepest areas of the lake, extending in some cases into some shallower areas.

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Detailed cross sections of the Eocene Green River Formation along the north and east margins of the Piceance Basin, western Colorado, using measured sections and drill hole information

Cited by 6 publications

References 8 publications

Geology of tight oil and potential tight oil reservoirs in the lower part of the Green River Formation, Uinta, Piceance, and Greater Green River Basins, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming

Geology of tight oil and potential tight oil reservoirs in the lower part of the Green River Formation, Uinta, Piceance, and Greater Green River Basins, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming

Stratigraphic Intervals for Oil and Tar Sand Deposits in the Uinta Basin, Utah

Controls on organic matter distributions in Eocene Lake Uinta, Utah and Colorado

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