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James A. Peterson

Publications and source records attributed to James A. Peterson.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1985

Petroleum geology and resources of northeastern Mexico

Petroleum deposits (primarily gas) in northeastern Mexico occur in two main basins, the Tertiary Burgos basin and the Mesozoic Sabinas basin. About 90 gas fields are present in the Burgos basin, which has undergone active exploration for the past 30-40 years. Production in this basin is from Oligocene and Eocene nearshore marine and deltaic sandstone reservoirs. Most of the fields are small to medium in size on faulted anticlinal or domal structures, some of which may be related to deep-seated salt intrusion. Cumulative production from these fields is about 4 trillion cubic feet gas and 100 million barrels condensate and oil. Since 1975, about 10 gas fields, some with large production rates, have been discovered in Cretaceous carbonate and Jurassic sandstone reservoirs in the Sabinas basin and adjacent Burro-Picachos platform areas. The Sabinas basin, which is in the early stages of exploration and development, may have potential for very large gas reserves. The Sabinas basin is oriented northwesterly with a large number of elongate northwest- or west-trending asymmetric and overturned Laramide anticlines, most of which-are faulted. Some of the structures may be related to movement of Jurassic salt or gypsum. Lower Cretaceous and in some cases Jurassic rocks are exposed in the centers of the larger anticlines, and Upper Cretaceous rocks are exposed in much of the remainder of the basin. A thick section of Upper Cretaceous clastic rocks is partly exposed in tightly folded and thrust-faulted structures of the west-east oriented, deeply subsided Parras basin, which lies south of the Sabinas basin and north of the Sierra Madre Oriental fold and thrust belt south and west of Monterrey. The sedimentary cover of Cretaceous and Jurassic rocks in the Sabinas and Parras basins ranges from about 1,550 m (5,000 ft) to 9,000 m (30,000 ft) in thickness. Upper Jurassic rocks are composed of carbonate and dark organic shaly or sandy beds underlain by an unknown thickness of Late Jurassic and older redbed clastics and evaporites, including halite. Lower Cretaceous rocks are mainly platform carbonate and fine clastic beds with some evaporites (gypsum or anhydrite) deposited in two main rudist reef-bearing carbonate cycles. Upper Cretaceous rocks are mainly continental and marine clastic beds related to early development of the Laramide orogeny. This Upper Cretaceous sequence contains a marine shale and deltaic clastic complex as much as 6,000 m (20,000 ft) or more thick in the Parras basin, which grades northward and eastward to open marine, fine clastic beds. The Burgos basin, which is an extension of the Rio Grande embayment of the western Gulf of Mexico basin province, contains an eastward-thickening wedge of Tertiary continental and marine clastics. These beds are about 1,550 to 3,000 m (5,000-10,000 ft) thick in the outcrop belt on the west side of the basin and thicken to more than 16,000 m (50,000 ft) near the Gulf Coast.

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USGS1983

Petroleum geology and resources of southeastern Mexico, northern Guatemala, and Belize

Petroleum deposits in southeastern Mexico and Guatemala occur in two main basinal provinces, the Gulf Coast Tertiary basin area, which includes the Reforma and offshore Campeche Mesozoic fields, and the Peten basin of eastern Chiapas State (Mexico) and Guatemala. Gas production is mainly from Tertiary sandstone reservoirs of Miocene age. Major oil production, in order of importance, is from Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Jurassic carbonate reservoirs in the Reforma and offshore Campeche areas. Several small oil fields have been discovered in Cretaceous carbonate reservoirs in west-central Guatemala, and one major discovery has been reported in northwestern Guatemala. Small- to medium-sized oil accumulations also occur in Miocene sandstone reservoirs on salt structures in the Isthmus Saline basin of western Tabasco State, Mexico. Almost all important production is in salt structure traps or on domes and anticlines that may be related to deep-seated salt structures. Some minor oil production has occurred in Cretaceous carbonate reservoirs in a buried overthrust belt along the west flank of the Veracruz basin. The sedimentary cover of Paleozoic through Tertiary rocks ranges in thickness from about 6,000 m (20,000 ft) to as much as 12,000 m (40,000 ft) or more in most of the region. Paleozoic marine carbonate and clastic rocks 1,000 to 2,000 m (3,300 to 6,500 ft) thick overlie the metamorphic and igneous basement in part of the region; Triassic through Middle Jurassic red beds and evaporite deposits, including halite, apparently are present throughout the region, deposited in part in a Triassic graben system. Upper Jurassic (Oxfordian) through Cretaceous rocks make up the bulk of the Mesozoic regional carbonate bank complex, which dominates most of the area. Tertiary marine and continental clastic rocks, some of deep water origin, 3,000 to 10,000 m (10,000 to 35,000 ft) thick, are present in the coastal plain Tertiary basins. These beds grade eastward into a carbonate sequence that overlies the Mesozoic carbonate complex on the Yucatan platform. During the past 10 years, about 50 large oil fields were discovered in the Reforma and offshore Campeche areas. Oil is produced from intensely microfractured Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Upper Jurassic dolomite reservoirs on blockfaulted salt swells or domes. Most fields are located in the Mesozoic carbonate-bank margin and forebank talus (Tamabra) facies, which passes through the offshore Campeche and onshore Reforma areas. Oil source rocks are believed to be organic-rich shales and shaly carbonate rocks of latest Jurassic and possibly Early Cretaceous age. At least six of the Mesozoic discoveries are giant or supergiant fields. The largest is the Cantarell complex (about 8 billion to 10 billion barrels (BB)) in the offshore Campeche area and the Bermudez complex (about 8 BB) in the Reforma onshore area. Oil columns are unusually large (from 50 m to as much as 1,000 m, or 160 ft to 3,300 ft). Production rates are extremely high, averaging at least 3,000 to 5,000 barrels of oil per day (bo/d); some wells produce more than 20,000 bo/d, particularly in the offshore Campeche area, where 30,000- to 60,000-bo/d wells are reported. Tertiary basin fields produce primarily from Miocene sandstone reservoirs. About 50 of these are oil fields ranging from 1 million barrels (MMB) to 200 MMB in size, located on faulted salt structures in the Isthmus Saline basin. Another 30 are gas or gas-condensate fields of a few billion cubic feet to 3 trillion to 4 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) located on salt structures or probable salt structures in the Macuspana, Comalcalco, Isthmus Saline, and Veracruz basins. Source rocks for the gas are believed to be carbonaceous shales interbedded with the sandstone reservoir bodies. Identified reserves in the southeastern Mexico-Guatemala area, almost all in the Mesozoic fields, are about 53 BB of oil, 3 BB of natural gas liquids, and 65 Tcf of gas. The estimat

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USGS1983

Petroleum geology and resources of the Volga-Ural province, U.S.S.R.

The Volga-Ural petroleum province is, in general, coincident with the Volga-Ural regional high, a broad upwarp of the east-central part of the Russian (East European) Platform. The central part of the province is occupied by the Tatar arch, which contains the major share of the oilfields of the province. The Komi-Perm arch forms the northeastern part of the regional high, and the Zhigulevsko-Pugachev and Orenburg arches make up the southern part. These arches are separated from one another by elongate downwarps. The platform cover overlies an Archean crystalline basement and consists of seven main sedimentation cycles. (1) Riphean (lower Bavly) continental sandstone, shale, and conglomerate beds, from 500 to 5,000 m thick, were deposited in aulacogens. (2) Vendian (upper Bavly) continental and marine shale and sandstone are up to 3,000 m thick. (3) Middle Devonian-Tournaisian transgressive deposits, which are sandstone, siltstone, and shale in the lower part and carbonates and abundant reefs in the upper part, range from 300 to 1,000 m in thickness. The upper carbonate part includes the Kamsko-Kinel trough system, which consists of narrow, interconnected, deepwater troughs. (4) The Visean-Namurian-Bashkirian cycle began with deposition of Visean clastic deposits, which draped over reefs of the previous cycle and filled in an erosional relief that had formed in some places on the sediments of the previous cycle. The Visean clastic deposits are overlain by marine carbonate beds. The cycle is from 50 to 800 m thick. (5) The lower Moscovian-Lower Permian cycle consists of 1,000 to 3,000 m of terrigenous clastic deposits and marine carbonate beds. (6) The upper Lower Permian-Upper Permian cycle reflects the maximum growth of the Ural Mountains and the associated Ural foredeep. Evaporite deposits were first laid down, followed by marine limestones and dolomites, which intertongue eastward with clastic sediments from the Ural Mountains. (7) Continental red beds of Triassic age and mixed continental and marine clastic beds of Jurassic and Cretaceous age were deposited on the western, southwestern, and northern margins of the Russian Platform; they are generally absent in the Volga-Ural province, however. Approximately 600 oilfields and gasfields and 2,000 pools have been found in the Volga-Ural province. Nine productive sequences are recognized; these are, in general, the same as the sedimentation cycles, although some subdivisions have been added. The clastic section of Middle and early Late Devonian age contains the major recoverable oil accumulations, including the supergiant Romashkino field. Cumulative production to 1980 is estimated at 30 to 35 billion barrels of oil equivalent, identified reserves at about 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent, and undiscovered resources at about 7 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Identified reserves of natural gas are estimated at 100 trillion cubic feet and undiscovered resources at 63 trillion cubic feet.

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USGS1983

Geology of the Volga-Ural petroleum province and detailed description of the Ramashkino and Arlan oil fields

The Volga-Ural petroleum province is in general coincident with the Volga-Ural regional high, a broad upwarp of the east-central part of the Russian (East European) platform. The central part of the province is occupied by the Tatar arch, which contains the major share of the oil fields of the province. The Perm-Bashkir arch forms the northeastern part of the regional high, and the Zhigulevsko-Orenburg arch makes up the southern part. These arches are separated from one another by elongate downwarps. The platform cover overlies an Archean crystalline basement and consists of seven main sedimentation cycles as follows: 1) Riphean (lower Bavly) continental sandstone, shale, and conglomerate beds from 500 to 5,000 m thick deposited in aulacogens. 2) Vendian (upper Bavly) continental and marine shale and sandstone up to 3,000 m thick. 3) Middle Devonian-Tournaisian transgressive deposits, which are sandstone, siltstone, and shale in the lower part and carbonates with abundant reefs in the upper; thickness is 300-1,000 m. In the upper carbonate part is the Kamsko-Kinel trough system, which consists of narrow interconnected deep-water troughs. 4) The Visean-Namurian-Bashkirian cycle, which began with deposition of Visean clastics that draped over reefs of the previous cycle and filled in an erosional relief that had formed in some places on the sediments of the previous cycle. The Visean clastics are overlain by marine carbonates. Thickness of the cycle is 50-800 m. 5) Early Moscovian-Early Permian terrigenous clastic deposits and marine carbonate beds 1,000-3,000 m thick. 6) The late Early Permian-Late Permian cycle, which reflects maximum growth of the Ural Mountains and associated Ural foredeep. Evaporites were first deposited, then marine limestones and dolomites, which intertongue eastward with clastic sediments from the Ural Mountains. 7) Continental redbeds of Triassic age and mixed continental and marine elastic beds of Jurassic and Cretaceous age, which were deposited on the southern, southwestern, and northern margins of the Russian platform; they are generally absent in the Volga-Ural province, however. The Volga-Ural oil and gas basin is a single artesian system that contains seven aquifers separated by seals. The areas of greatest hydraulic head are in the eastern parts of the basin near areas where the aquifers crop out on the western slopes of the Ural Mountains. The Peri-Caspian basin is the principal drainage area of the artesian system. Approximately 600 oil and gas fields and 2,000 pools have been found in the Volga-Ural province. Nine productive sequences are recognized as follows: 1) Upper Proterozoic (Bavly beds), which are promising but not yet commercial. 2) Clastic Devonian, which contains the major reserves and includes the main pays of the super-giant Romashkino field. 3) Carbonate Upper Devonian and lowermost Carboniferous, which is one of the main reef-bearing intervals. 4) Visean (Lower Carboniferous) elastics, which are the main pays in the super-giant Arian field. 5) Carbonate Lower and Middle Carboniferous. 6) Clastic Middle Carboniferous Moscovian. 7) Carbonate Middle and Upper Carboniferous. 8) Carbonate-evaporite Lower Permian, which contains the major gas reserves and the lower part of the Melekess tar deposits. 9) Clastic-carbonate Upper Permian, which contains the major part of the Melekess tar deposits. The Volga-Ural province is divided into several productive regions on a basis of differences in structure, distribution of reservoir and source-rock facies, and general composition of the petroleum accumulations. These regions are the Tatar arch, Birsk saddle, Upper Kama depression, Perm-Bashkir arch, Ufa-Orenburg monocline, Melekess-Sernovodsko-Abdulino basin, Zhligulevsko-Orenburg arch, Ural foredeep, and north borders of the Peri-Casplan depression. Exploration activity has declined in recent years; however, interest remains high in several parts of the province, particula

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USGS1978

Subsurface geology and porosity distribution, Madison Limestone and underlying formations, Powder River basin, northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana and adjacent areas

To evaluate the Madison Limestone and associated rocks as potential sources for water supplies in the Powder River Basin and adjacent areas, an understanding of the geologic framework of these units, their lithologic facies patterns, the distribution of porosity zones, and the relation between porosity development and stratigraphic facies is necessary. Regionally the Madison is mainly a fossiliferous limestone. However, in broad areas of the eastern Rocky Mountains and western Great Plains, dolomite is a dominant constituent and in places the Madison is almost entirely dolomite. Within these areas maximum porosity development is found and it seems to be related to the coarser crystalline dolomite facies. The porosity development is associated with tabular and fairly continuous crystalline dolomite beds separated by non-porous limestones. The maximum porosity development in the Bighorn Dolomite, as in the Madison, is directly associated with the occurrence of a more coarsely crystalline sucrosic dolomite facies. Well data indicate, however, that where the Bighorn is present in the deeper parts of the Powder River Basin, it may be dominated by a finer crystalline dolomite facies of low porosity. The 'Winnipeg Sandstone' is a clean, generally well-sorted, medium-grained sandstone. It shows good porosity development in parts of the northern Powder River Basin and northwestern South Dakota. Because the sandstone is silica-cemented and quartzitic in areas of deep burial, good porosity is expected only where it is no deeper than a few thousand feet. The Flathead Sandstone is a predominantly quartzose, slightly feldspathic sandstone, commonly cemented with iron oxide. Like the 'Winnipeg Sandstone,' it too is silica-cemented and quartzitic in many places so that its porosity is poor in areas of deep burial. Illustrations in this report show the thickness, percent dolomite, and porosity-feet for the Bighorn Dolomite and the Madison Limestone and its subdivisions. The porosity-feet for the 'Winnipeg' and Flathead Sandstones and four regional geologic sections are also shown.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1953

Stratigraphic sections of the Phosphoria formation in Montana, 1951

The U.S. Geological Survey has recently measured and sampled the Phosphoria formation at many localities in Montana and other western states. These data will not be fully synthesized and analyzed for several years, but segments of the data, accompanied by little or no interpretation, are published as preliminary reports as they are assembled. This report, which contains abstracts of the sections measured in southwestern Montana (fig. 1), during 1951, is the fifth Montana report of this series. The field and laboratory procedures adopted in these investigations are described in a previous report (McKelvey and others, 1953). Many people have taken part in this investigation. Crushing and splitting of the samples in the field were done by T. K. Rigby. The laboratory preparation of samples for chemical analysis was done in Denver, Colo., under the direction of W. P. Huleatt. The P 2 0 5 and acid insoluble analyses were made for the Survey by the U.S. Bureau of Mines at the Northwest Electrodevelopment Laboratory, Albany, Oreg., under the direction of S. M. Sheldon and M. L. Wright.

Montana↗