Geology topics

M.M. Abbott

Publications and source records attributed to M.M. Abbott.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2011

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Anadarko Basin Province of Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and Colorado, 2010

The U.S. Geological Survey, using a geoscience-based assessment methodology, estimated mean technically-recoverable undiscovered continuous and conventional resources that total 495 million barrels of oil, 27.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 410 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the Anadarko Basin Province; this assessment includes the Las Animas arch area of southeastern Colorado. The province is at a mature stage of exploration and development for conventional resources. Mean undiscovered continuous resources are estimated at 79 percent of oil, 90 percent of natural gas, and 81 percent of natural gas liquids in the province.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2007

Use of dissolved chloride concentrations in tributary streams to support geospatial estimates of Cl contamination potential near Skiatook Lake, northeastern Oklahoma

Releases of NaCl-rich (>100 000 mg/L) water that is co-produced from petroleum wells can adversely affect the quality of ground and surface waters. To evaluate produced water impacts on lakes, rivers and streams, an assessment of the contamination potential must be attainable using reliable and cost-effective methods. This study examines the feasibility of using geographic information system (GIS) analysis to assess the contamination potential of Cl to Skiatook Lake in the Hominy Creek drainage basin in northeastern Oklahoma. GIS-based predictions of affects of Cl within individual subdrainages are supported by measurements of Cl concentration and discharge in 19 tributaries to Skiatook Lake. Dissolved Cl concentrations measured in October, 2004 provide a snapshot of conditions assumed to be reasonably representative of typical inputs to the lake. Chloride concentrations ranged from 5.8 to 2300 mg/L and compare to a value of 34 mg/L in the lake. At the time of sampling, Hominy Creek provided 63% of the surface water entering the lake and 80% of the Cl load. The Cl load from the other tributaries is relatively small (<600 kg/day) compared to Hominy Creek (11 900 kg/day) because their discharges are relatively small (<0.44 m3/s) relative to Hominy Creek (3.1 m3/s). Examination of chemical components other than Cl in stream and lake waters indicates that many species, such as SO4, cannot be used to assess contamination potential because they participate in a number of common biogeochemical processes that alter their concentrations. GIS estimates of well density, well proximity to tributaries (wells within 200 m), and subdrainage area identified tributaries with the most potential for Cl contamination. Tributaries with large measured Cl concentrations (>150 mg/L) were generally in subdrainages with greater well density (>15 wells/km2), relatively large numbers of petroleum wells in close proximity (>2 proximity wells/stream km), and relatively small discharge (<0.005 m3/s). GIS calculations of subdrainage areas can be used to estimate the expected discharge of the tributary for each subdrainage. GIS-based assessment of Cl contamination potential at Skiatook Lake and at other lakes surrounded by oil fields can proceed even when direct measurements of Cl or discharge in tributary streams may be limited or absent.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2005

Environmental impacts of oil production on soil, bedrock, and vegetation at the U.S. Geological Survey Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research site A, Osage County, Oklahoma

The U.S. Geological Survey is investigating the impacts of oil and gas production on soils, groundwater, surface water, and ecosystems in the United States. Two sites in northeastern Oklahoma (sites A and B) are presently being investigated under the Osage–Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research project. Oil wells on the lease surrounding site A in Osage County, Oklahoma, produced about 100,000 bbl of oil between 1913 and 1981. Prominent production features on the 1.5-ha (3.7-ac) site A include a tank battery, an oil-filled trench, pipelines, storage pits for both produced water and oil, and an old power unit. Site activities and historic releases have left open areas in the local oak forest adjacent to these features and a deeply eroded salt scar downslope from the pits that extends to nearby Skiatook Lake. The site is underlain by surficial sediments comprised of very fine-grained eolian sand and colluvium as much as 1.4 m (4.6 ft) thick, which, in turn, overlie flat-lying, fractured bedrock comprised of sandstone, clayey sandstone, mudstone, and shale. A geophysical survey of ground conductance and concentration measurements of aqueous extracts (1:1 by weight) of core samples taken in the salt scar and adjacent areas indicate that unusual concentrations of NaCl-rich salt are present at depths to at least 8 m (26 ft) in the bedrock; however, little salt occurs in the eolian sand. Historic aerial photographs, anecdotal reports from oil-lease operators, and tree-ring records indicate that the surrounding oak forest was largely established after 1935 and thus postdates the majority of surface damage at the site. Blackjack oaks adjacent to the salt scar have anomalously elevated chloride ( 400 ppm) in their leaves and record the presence of NaCl-rich salt or salty water in the shallow subsurface. The geophysical measurements also indicate moderately elevated conductance beneath the oak forest adjoining the salt scar.

Oklahoma↗