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Geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Cherokee Platform area of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri

Ronald M. Drake·Joseph R. Hatch
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Abstract

In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a geology-based assessment to estimate the volumes of undiscovered, technically recoverable petroleum resources in the Cherokee Platform Province area of southeastern Kansas, northeastern Oklahoma, and southwestern Missouri. The U.S. Geological Survey identified four stratigraphic intervals that contain petroleum source rocks: (1) thin shales in the Middle to Upper Ordovician Simpson Group, (2) shales within the Upper Devonian to Lower Mississippian Woodford Shale and stratigraphically equivalent Chattanooga Shale, (3) coals and coal-associated shales and mudstones in the Middle Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) Cherokee and Marmaton Groups, and (4) thin marine shales within the Marmaton Group and the Upper Pennsylvanian (Missourian) Kansas City and Lansing Groups. Based on the nature of the petroleum accumulations, the characterization of the compositions and thermal maturity of the organic matter in the rocks, and the compositions of the produced petroleum, the U.S. Geological Survey identified three total petroleum systems (TPS) containing four assessment units (AU): the Paleozoic Composite TPS with the Paleozoic Conventional Assessment Unit (AU), the Woodford/Chattanooga TPS with the Woodford Shale Oil AU and the Woodford Biogenic Gas AU, and the Desmoinesian Coal TPS with the Desmoinesian Coalbed Gas AU. Assessment unit summaries follow 1. Three source rock intervals have contributed geochemically distinct oils to reservoirs within the Paleozoic Conventional AU. These intervals are the Simpson Group; the Woodford and Chattanooga Shales; and the Marmaton, Kansas City, and Lansing Groups. The major petroleum source rocks are the Woodford and Chattanooga Shales. The Paleozoic Conventional AU includes reservoirs that range in age from the Upper Cambrian Arbuckle Group to the lower Permian Chase Group. Most oil production in the province has been from Pennsylvanian sandstone reservoirs. Estimated undiscovered petroleum resources for this AU are a mean of 3 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 140 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG), and 4 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL). 2. The Woodford Shale Oil AU contains undiscovered continuous petroleum resources within the Woodford Shale and Chattanooga Shale. The geologic model for the AU assumes that petroleum resources remain trapped within the shale following petroleum migration. For most of the AU, organic matter within the Woodford Shale and Chattanooga Shale is thermally mature with respect to petroleum generation as shown by vitrinite reflectance values between 0.6 and 1 percent. Petroleum has been produced from the Woodford Shale and Chattanooga Shale. Estimated undiscovered petroleum resources for this AU are means of 460 MMBO, 640 BCFG, and 7 MMBNGL. 3. The Woodford Shale Biogenic Gas AU contains undiscovered continuous petroleum resources in the east-central portion of the Cherokee Platform Province near the Ozark uplift where the Woodford Shale and Chattanooga Shale are at depths of 1,250 ft or shallower. At those depths, methanogenesis and(or) biodegradation of thermogenic natural gases can be found where the shale may be more fractured and more susceptible to groundwater penetrations. The mean assessed volume of undiscovered gas for this assessment unit is 416 BCFG and 1 MMBNGL. 4. The Desmoinesian Coalbed Gas AU contains undiscovered continuous petroleum resources within the Middle Pennsylvanian coals and coal-associated shales and mudstones. The boundaries for the Desmoinesian Coalbed Gas AU are, in part, defined by the extent, depth, and thickness of the coals. Within the Desmoinesian Coalbed Gas AU, a sweet spot area was delineated based on a 10 foot or greater net coal thickness. Gas analytical data show that natural gas produced from the coals has a mixed biogenic and thermogenic origin and that there is significant migration of natural gas into the coals from adjacent conventional sandstone reservoirs. The estimated mean volume of undiscovered gas is 10.0 trillion cubic ft of gas (TCFG), and 23 MMBNGL. For the three continuous (unconventional) assessment units and one conventional assessment unit in the Cherokee Platform Province, total mean volumes of undiscovered petroleum resources are estimated to be 463 MMBO, 11.2 TCFG and 35 MMBNGL.

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Ronald M. Drake, Joseph R. Hatch. 2021-02-16. Geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Cherokee Platform area of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20205110

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