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Peter D. Warwick

Publications and source records attributed to Peter D. Warwick.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS2012

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Powder River Basin, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska: Chapter B in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

This report presents ten storage assessment units (SAUs) within the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. The Powder River Basin contains a thick succession of sedimentary rocks that accumulated steadily throughout much of the Phanerozoic, and at least three stratigraphic packages contain strata that are suitable for CO 2 storage. Pennsylvanian through Triassic siliciclastic strata contain two potential storage units: the Pennsylvanian and Permian Tensleep Sandstone and Minnelusa Formation, and the Triassic Crow Mountain Sandstone. Jurassic siliciclastic strata contain one potential storage unit: the lower part of the Sundance Formation. Cretaceous siliciclastic strata contain seven potential storage units: (1) the Fall River and Lakota Formations, (2) the Muddy Sandstone, (3) the Frontier Sandstone and Turner Sandy Member of the Carlile Shale, (4) the Sussex and Shannon Sandstone Members of Cody Shale, and (5) the Parkman, (6) Teapot, and (7) Teckla Sandstone Members of the Mesaverde Formation. For each SAU, we discuss the areal distribution of suitable CO 2 reservoir rock. We also characterize the overlying sealing unit and describe the geologic characteristics that influence the potential CO 2 storage volume and reservoir performance. These characteristics include reservoir depth, gross thickness, net thickness, porosity, permeability, and groundwater salinity. Case-by-case strategies for estimating the pore volume existing within structurally and (or) stratigraphically closed traps are presented. Although assessment results are not contained in this report, the geologic information included herein will be employed to calculate the potential storage space in the various SAUs.

Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming↗
USGS2012

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Hanna, Laramie, and Shirley Basins, Wyoming: Chapter C in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110-140) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The methodology used for the national CO 2 assessment is non-economic and intended to be used at regional to subbasinal scales. This report identifies and contains geologic descriptions of twelve storage assessment units (SAUs) in six separate packages of sedimentary rock within the Hanna, Laramie, and Shirley Basins of Wyoming. It focuses on the particular characteristics, specified in the methodology, that influence the potential CO 2 storage resource in those SAUs. Specific descriptions of SAU boundaries as well as their sealing and reservoir units are included. Properties for each SAU, such as depth to top, gross thickness, net porous thickness, porosity, permeability, groundwater quality, and structural reservoir traps are provided to illustrate geologic factors critical to the assessment. Although assessment results are not contained in this report, the geologic information included herein will be employed, as specified in the methodology, to calculate a statistical Monte Carlo-based distribution of potential storage space in the various SAUs. Figures in this report show SAU boundaries and cell maps of well penetrations through the sealing unit into the top of the storage formation. Cell maps show the number of penetrating wells within one square mile and are derived from interpretations of incompletely attributed well data in a digital compilation that is known not to include all drilling. The USGS does not expect to know the location of all wells and cannot guarantee the amount of drilling through specific formations in any given cell shown on cell maps.

Wyoming↗
USGS2011

Gas shale/oil shale

The production of natural gas from shales continues to increase in North America, and shale gas exploration is on the rise in other parts of the world since the previous report by this committee was published by American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Energy Minerals Division (2009). For the United States, the volume of proved reserves of natural gas increased 11% from 2008 to 2009, the increase driven largely by shale gas development (Energy Information Administration 2010c). Furthermore, shales have increasingly become targets of exploration for oil and condensate as well as gas, which has served to greatly expand their significance as ‘‘unconventional’’ petroleum reservoirs. This report provides information about specific shales across North America and Europe from which gas (biogenic or thermogenic), oil, or natural gas liquids are produced or is actively being explored. The intent is to reflect the recently expanded mission of the Energy Minerals Division (EMD) Gas Shales Committee to serve as a single point of access to technical information on shales regardless of the type of hydrocarbon produced from them. The contents of this report were drawn largely from contributions by numerous members of the EMD Gas Shales Advisory Committee, with much of the data being available from public websites such as state or provincial geological surveys or other public institutions. Shales from which gas or oil is being produced in the United States are listed in alphabetical order by shale name. Information for Canada is presented by province, whereas for Europe, it is presented by country.

Natural Resources Research↗
USGS2011

Development of an assessment methodology for hydrocarbon recovery potential using carbon dioxide and associated carbon sequestration-Workshop findings

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-140) authorized the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and requested that the USGS estimate the "potential volumes of oil and gas recoverable by injection and sequestration of industrial carbon dioxide in potential sequestration formations" (121 Stat. 1711). The USGS developed a noneconomic, probability-based methodology to assess the Nation's technically assessable geologic storage resources available for sequestration of CO 2 (Brennan and others, 2010) and is currently using the methodology to assess the Nation's CO2 geologic storage resources. Because the USGS has not developed a methodology to assess the potential volumes of technically recoverable hydrocarbons that could be produced by injection and sequestration of CO 2 , the Geologic Carbon Sequestration project initiated an effort in 2010 to develop a methodology for the assessment of the technically recoverable hydrocarbon potential in the sedimentary basins of the United States using enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques with CO 2 (CO 2 -EOR). In collaboration with Stanford University, the USGS hosted a 2-day CO 2 -EOR workshop in May 2011, attended by 28 experts from academia, natural resource agencies and laboratories of the Federal Government, State and international geologic surveys, and representatives from the oil and gas industry. The geologic and the reservoir engineering and operations working groups formed during the workshop discussed various aspects of geology, reservoir engineering, and operations to make recommendations for the methodology.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2011

Summary of the stratigraphy and structural elements related to plate convergence of the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi region, Balochistan, west-central Pakistan

Obduction of an ophiolite complex onto the northwestern continental margin of the India plate occurred during the Late Cretaceous to early Paleocene, followed by collision of the ophiolitic complex of the India plate with the Eurasia plate in the Eocene. Lower Eocene marine strata overlie the ophiolitic complex suggesting that suturing was completed by early Eocene time. The Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi region is a structurally complex area within west-central Pakistan characterized by broad and tight folds, and reverse, thrust, and strike-slip faults. In order to understand this complex deformation, we have divided this region into five structural domains which are separated by four major boundary faults formed during four major periods of deformation related to oblique convergence of the India and Eurasia plates. The five structural domains are (1) a foredeep, (2) a foreland fold-and-thrust belt, (3) a major deep trough that formed within the foreland fold-and-thrust belt and filled with collision molasse, (4) a thick flysch deposit, and (5) a subduction-obduction and related igneous rock terrane on the margin of the Eurasia plate (Afghan block). The four major faults that bound the structural terrane are the Frontal (F), Ghazaband-Zhob (GZ), Gwal-Bagh (GB), and Chaman (C) faults. Four major periods of deformation are recognized: (1) emplacement of ophiolitic rocks onto the continental margin of the India plate; (2) convergence of the India-Eurasia plates; (3) deposition of Tertiary-Quaternary molasse units followed by major folding and thrusting, and formation of strike-slip faults; and (4) deposition of Pleistocene molasse units with subsequent folding, thrusting, and strike-slip motion that continues to the present.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2011

A review of the lignite resources of Arkansas

This review of the lignite resources of Arkansas is a part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Coal Resource Assessment (NCRA) of the Gulf Coastal Plain Coal Province, which also includes coal-bearing areas in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky (see Ruppert et al., 2002 ; Dennen, 2009 ; and other chapters of this publication). Lignite mining is not planned in Arkansas in the immediate future, and the lignite resources of the state were not assessed in detail as part of the NCRA. This chapter includes reviews of the geology of the lignite-bearing units, historical mining, previous investigations of lignite resources, and coal quality. Palynological data for lignite samples collected in Arkansas as part of this work are presented in Table 1 .

Arkansas↗
USGS2011

A review of lignite resources of western Tennessee and the Jackson Purchase area, western Kentucky

This review of the lignite deposits of western Tennessee and the Jackson Purchase area in western Kentucky (Figure 1) is an updated report on part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Coal Resource Assessment of the Gulf Coastal Plain Coal Province (see Ruppert et al., 2002; Hackley et al., 2006; Dennen, 2009; and other chapters of this publication). Lignite deposits of western Kentucky and Tennessee are an extension of the Gulf Coastal Plain Coal Province (Cushing et al., 1964), and currently are not economic to mine. These deposits have not been extensively investigated or developed as an energy resource. This review includes a description of the geology of the lignite-bearing units, a discussion of the available coal quality data, and information on organic petrology. Palynological data for lignite samples collected in Kentucky and Tennessee as part of this work are presented in Table 1. Lignite trace element data originally presented in Hackley et al. (2006) are not included in this report due to potential laboratory quality control issues during the time the samples were analyzed (U.S. Geological Survey Energy Resources Program, 2010).

Kentucky, Tennessee↗
USGS2011

Paleocene coal deposits of the Wilcox Group, Northeast Texas

The surface exposure of the Paleocene Wilcox Group in northeast Texas varies in width from 9 to 27 mi along an arcuate outcrop that extends southwest approximately 156 mi from the Texas-Arkansas State line to 32° latitude. Parts of Bowie, Camp, Cass, Franklin, Henderson, Hopkins, Morris, Navarro, Rains, Titus, Van Zandt, and Wood Counties are included in this outcrop belt (Figure 1). This area forms the northwestern flank of the East Texas Basin (Figure 2), the axis of which separates northeast Texas from the Sabine uplift structural area. The Wilcox Group dips south and southeast at 2° or less toward the axis of the East Texas Basin, with the exception of local salt-dome structures and a transcurrent structural high that extends from Monticello to Martin Lake (Figure 1).

Lousiana, Oklahoma, Texas↗
USGS2011

Paleocene coal deposits of the Wilcox group, central Texas

Coal deposits in the Wilcox Group of central Texas have been regarded as the richest coal resources in the Gulf Coastal Plain. Although minable coal beds appear to be less numerous and generally higher in sulfur content (1 percent average, as-received basis; table 1) than Wilcox coal deposits in the Northeast Texas and Louisiana Sabine assessment areas (0.5 and 0.6 percent sulfur, respectively; table 1), net coal thickness in coal zones in central Texas is up to 32 ft thick and more persistent along strike (up to 15 mi) at or near the surface than coals of any other Gulf Coast assessment area. The rank of the coal beds in central Texas is generally lignite (table 1), but some coal ranks as great as subbituminous C have been reported (Mukhopadhyay, 1989). The outcrop of the Wilcox Group in central Texas strikes northeast, extends for approximately 140 mi between the Trinity and Colorado Rivers, and covers parts of Bastrop, Falls, Freestone, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Milam, Navarro, Robertson, and Williamson Counties (Figure 1). Three formations, in ascending order, the Hooper, Simsboro, and Calvert Bluff, are recognized in central Texas (Figure 2). The Wilcox Group is underlain conformably by the Midway Group, a mudstone-dominated marine sequence, and is overlain and scoured locally by the Carrizo Sand, a fluvial unit at the base of the Claiborne Group.

Texas↗
USGS2011

Wilcox group (Paleocene to Eocene) coals of the Sabine Uplift area, Texas and Louisiana

The Wilcox Group (Paleocene to Eocene) of the Sabine uplift, a structural arch in northeastern Texas and northwestern Louisiana (Figure 1), has lignite zones that approach subbituminous rank (see Chapter 4, this publication). These coals are among the highest quality resources known within the Gulf Coastal Plain because of their low ash yield and sulfur content. The surface expression of the Sabine uplift is defined by the contact between coal-bearing rocks of the Wilcox Group and overlying fluvial rocks of the Carrizo Sand, which is the basal unit of the Claiborne Group (Figures 2, 3). The Sabine uplift study area includes parts of Harrison, Marion, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, and Shelby Counties in Texas and Bossier, Caddo, De Soto, Natchitoches, Red River, and Sabine Parishes in Louisiana (Figure 1). Adjacent counties and parishes that include the subsurface Wilcox Group extend the regional Sabine uplift area. The Wilcox in the subsurface is underlain by the Midway Group (Figure 3), a mudstone-dominated marine sequence of Paleocene age. Quaternary alluvium and terrace deposits overlying the Wilcox Group at the surface are limited to areas of modern drainage. The total thickness of the Wilcox Group within the Sabine uplift area ranges from approximately 400 ft on outcrop to 2500 ft in subsurface (Kaiser, 1990). In a few places, the contact between the overlying Carrizo Sand and Wilcox Group is erosional, but in other places, the contact is gradational.

Louisiana, Texas↗
USGS2011

Eocene bituminous coal deposits of the Claiborne group, Webb County, Texas

Two bituminous coal zones, the San Pedro and the Santo Tomas, in the middle Eocene Claiborne Group of Webb County, south Texas (Figure 1), are among the coal resources that are not evaluated quantitatively as part of the current Gulf Coastal Plain coal resource assessment. Coal beds within these zones were mined by underground methods northwest of Laredo until 1939 and have been intermittently mined at the surface since 1979. These coals have long been regarded as unique within the Gulf Coast Tertiary coal-bearing section because they are high-volatile C bituminous in rank and because their physical characteristics resemble upper Carboniferous cannel coals of the Appalachians and Europe. Discontinuous exposures of the Santo Tomas and the underlying San Pedro coal zone extend northwestward from Dolores for approximately 15 to 21 mi along the breaks of the Rio Grande and its tributaries in Webb County (Figure 1). This part of south Texas lies along the southwestern flank of the Rio Grande Embayment, which extends south and southeastwardly through the Mexican States of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas (Figure 1). Within the embayment, the lower to middle part of the Claiborne Group consists of marine mudstones (Reklaw Formation) in the east and northeast and sandstones and mudstones (Bigford Formation) in the south and southwest (Figure 2). The marine mudstones coarsen upward into fluvial-deltaic sandstones (Queen City Sand) that prograded gulfward across eastern and central Texas (Guevara and Garcia, 1972). To the west and southwest, the interval overlying the Bigford Formation becomes less sandy, and claystones (El Pico Clay) predominate. Although the San Pedro coal zone has been placed traditionally near the top of the Bigford Formation and the Santo Tomas coal zone near the base of the El Pico Clay, recent work has failed to validate a mappable contact between these formations (Warwick and Hook, 1995). The coal beds dip northeast at less than 2 degrees towards the synclinal axis of the basin. The following summary is based upon published and unpublished reports; drillhole records (geophysical logs, descriptions of cores and cuttings); coal-quality data obtained from the permit files of the Railroad Commission of Texas and recent sampling by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); a preliminary review of proprietary data acquired recently by the USGS; and field work conducted by the USGS since 1994. A total of approximately 200 drillhole records was examined.

Texas↗
USGS2011

Upper Cretaceous bituminous coal deposits of the Olmos Formation, Maverick County, Texas

This report describes the bituminous coal deposits of the Olmos Formation (Navarro Group, Upper Cretaceous; Figures 1, 2) of Maverick County in south Texas. Although these were not evaluated quantitatively as part of the current Gulf Coastal Plain coal-resource assessment, a detailed review is presented in this chapter. Prior to the late 1920s, these coal beds were mined underground on a large scale in the vicinity of Eagle Pass, Texas (Figure 1). Since the 1970s, Olmos Formation coals have been mined extensively in both underground and surface mines in nearby Coahuila, Mexico, to supply mine-mouth fuel for power generation at a plant nearby. A tract northeast of Eagle Pass was permitted in the late 1990s for surface mining. In east-central Maverick County, a coalbed methane field is being developed in coal beds of the lower part of the Olmos Formation (Barker et al., 2002; Scott, 2003).

Texas↗
USGS2011

Eocene Yegua Formation (Claiborne group) and Jackson group lignite deposits of Texas

The lignite deposits within the upper Eocene Yegua Formation (Claiborne Group) and the overlying Jackson Group are among the coal resources that were not quantitatively assessed as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Coal Resource Assessment (NCRA) program in the Gulf Coastal Plain coal province. In the past, these lignite-bearing stratigraphic units often have been evaluated together because of their geographic and stratigraphic proximity (Fisher, 1963; Kaiser, 1974; Kaiser et al., 1980; Jackson and Garner, 1982; Kaiser, 1996) (Figures 1, 2). The term “Yegua-Jackson trend“ is used informally herein for the lignite-bearing outcrops of these Late Eocene deposits in Texas. Lignite beds in the Yegua-Jackson trend generally are higher both in ash yield and sulfur content than those of the underlying Wilcox Group (Figure 2 ). Recent studies (Senkayi et al., 1987; Ruppert et al., 1994; Warwick et al., 1996, 1997) have shown that some lignite beds within the Yegua-Jackson trend contain partings of volcanic ash and host elevated levels of trace elements that have been identified as potentially hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in the United States Clean Air Amendments of 1990. Lignite beds within the Yegua Formation are thin (less than or equal to 6 ft) and laterally discontinuous in comparison with most Wilcox Group deposits (Ayers, 1989a); in contrast, the Jackson Group lignite beds range up to 12 ft in total thickness and are relatively continuous laterally, extending nearly 32 mi along strike.

Texas↗
USGS2011

Paleogene coal deposits of the Wilcox group and the Indio formation of south Texas

Coal deposits of the undivided Wilcox Group and its southern equivalent Indio Formation (Paleogene) of south Texas are among the coal resources that are not evaluated quantitatively in the current Gulf Coastal Plain coal re-source assessment. South Texas Wilcox and Indio coals have not been extensively mined, nor have they been mined commercially for at least the past 60 years. These coals constitute only about 1 percent of the demonstrated coal resources within the Texas Gulf Coastal Province. In contrast to the Wilcox coal resources of the assessed areas of the Sabine uplift of Texas and Louisiana, and of northeast Texas and central Texas (see Warwick et al., 2011a, b, c), Wilcox and Indio coal beds of south Texas are few in number, each generally less than 5 ft thick, and highly discontinuous. Furthermore, analytical data indicate that the sulfur content and ash yields of south Texas Wilcox and Indio coals generally exceed those of other Texas coals. Although these and other factors preclude the likely development of Wilcox or Indio coal resources in the near future, the comparatively elevated rank of these deposits has attracted recent interests related to coalbed methane production (SanFilipo, 1999; Warwick et al., 2002a, 2007b).

Texas↗
USGS2011

Coal resources for the Chemard Lake (Naborton No. 2) coal zone of the lower Wilcox group (Paleocene), northwestern Louisiana

The lower part of the Wilcox Group of northwest Louisiana contains shallow (less than 500 ft) coal deposits that are mined for use in mine-mouth electric power-generating plants. The coal deposits, which are lignite A in apparent rank (Pierce et al., 2011), occur on the eastern part of the Sabine uplift (Figure 1). The coal zones and associated strata in the assessment area generally dip away from the axis of the Red River-Bull Bayou dome that is located in the north-central part of the Louisiana Sabine assessment area (Figure 1). This assessment area includes parts of four parishes: De Soto, Red River, Natchitoches, and Sabine (Figure 2). The assessment area was selected because of its proximity to current mining areas and the availability of stratigraphic data in the area. The assessment area is roughly 60 miles long and 15 miles wide and generally extends across the central-eastern part of the Sabine uplift in northwest Louisiana (Figure 2). More than 950 stratigraphic records from rotary and core drill holes were used to assess the coal resources of the Louisiana Sabine area. Of these, 210 are public data points and are located in or near the areas that have been permitted or proposed for surface mining (Figure 2; Appendix 1). Most of the stratigraphic data used for this assessment were provided to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on a confidential basis by various coal companies for use in regional studies.

Louisiana↗
USGS2011

Coal resources for part of the Wilcox group (Paleocene through Eocene), central Texas

The Wilcox Group of central Texas contains shallow (less than 500 ft) coal deposits that are mined for use in mine-mouth electric power generating plants. These coal deposits range in apparent rank from lignite to sub-bituminous (Pierce et al., 2011) and are similar in rank and composition to shallow coal deposits in the northeast and south Texas areas (Figure 1). The coal zones and associated strata in the central Texas assessment area generally dip to the southeast toward the Gulf of Mexico coastline and basin center. The central Texas resource assessment area includes parts of eight counties (Figure 2). The assessment area was selected to encompass current mining areas and areas with available subsurface stratigraphic data. The assessment area is roughly 160 miles long and 5 to 25 miles wide and generally follows the outcrop of the Paleocene to Eocene Wilcox Group in central Texas (Figures 1, 2). Approximately 1800 subsurface stratigraphic records from rotary and core drill holes were used to assess the resources of the central Texas assessment area. Of the 1800 drill holes, only 167 are public data points and are primarily located in the areas that have been permitted for surface mining (Figure 2; Appendix 1). The remaining 1632 drill holes, which are distributed throughout the assessment area, were provided to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on a confidential basis by various coal companies for use in regional studies.

Texas↗
USGS2011

Coal resources for part of the Wilcox group (Paleocene-Eocene), northeast Texas

The Wilcox Group of northeast Texas contains shallow (less than 500 ft) coal deposits that are mined for use in mine-mouth electric power generating plants. The coal deposits, which are lignite in apparent rank (Pierce et al., 2011), are separated from similar shallow coal deposits in the Sabine uplift area by the East Texas Basin (Figure 1). The coal zones and associated strata in the northeast assessment area generally dip to the south and southeast at 28 or less toward the axis of the East Texas Basin. The northeast Texas resource assessment area includes parts of nine counties (Figure 2).

Texas↗