Subsurface Core and Analogous Outcrop Characterization of the Muddy/Newcastle Formation for the Bell Creek Oil Field, Powder River County, Montana
The Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership led by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) conducted several field trips to a Cretaceous Muddy (Newcastle) Formation outcrop in Wyoming which is analogous to the nearby Bell Creek oil field reservoir. Regional uplift in the area of the Black Hills during Tertiary time, and subsequent erosion, has exposed significant outcrops of the Muddy Formation in northeastern yoming. The proximity of these outcrops to their deeply buried (~4500 ft) equivalents in the Bell Creek oil field provides an excellent opportunity to understand the potential heterogeneities in the reservoir system. Ongoing work to prepare for a carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery projectincludes characterizing 61 subsurface cores, analyzing whole core and sidewall plugs collected from an observation well, and exploring additional miles of analogous outcrop.Although numerous wells and core are available in the field, many cores had poor recovery; thus only 25 cores were available to interpret vertical and horizontal variations in facies and internal structure. Because of the reduced number of core, there are subtleties in the 3-D geologic model framework that occur at a finer resolution than the well control. Outcrop examination provides a source of extensive geologic data in the X, Y, and Zdirections. This assists in gaining an understanding of regional structure, facies, and heterogeneities that can be correlated back to core and the 3-D geologic models.The investigation has shown good sedimentological correlation between outcrop and subsurface core. Three formations and five facies have been described from the subsurface core, and the same three formations and four of the five facies are seen inView/Download Document
Event/Meeting Information
American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Convention & Exhibition Pittsburgh
5/19/2013
Pittsburgh, PA