Petroleum plays in Summit County, Utah (OFR-321)

By: T. C. Chidsey Jr.

Over 159 million barrels of oil and 2 trillion cubic feet of gas have been produced from oil and gas fields in the Cordilleran thrust belt and southern Green River basin in Summit County, Utah. However, the county still contains large, promising areas that are virtually unexplored. Potential prospects are within the economic and technical capabilities of both major and independent operators. These potential prospects are structurally and stratigraphically analogous to producing fields in the county or elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain region. Prospects are grouped into petroleum plays to aid petroleum companies in determining exploration and land acquisition strategies. Each play area is shown on a separate plate. These petroleum plays also serve as an informational or planning guide to pipeline companies, petroleum engineers, landowners, investors, government agencies, and other groups or individuals who have a vested interest in the prudent development of Summit County's hydrocarbon resources.

Summit County, Utah contains at least ten major petroleum plays which contain drilling targets grouped by common geologic parameters such as structural setting, depositional environment, or petroleum trapping mechanism. These plays represent the maximum extent of petroleum potential in a geographical area as defined by producing reservoirs, hydrocarbon shows, and untested hypotheses. Most plays have multiple potential reservoirs which range in age from Ordovician to Cretaceous. Several plays overlap to create areas with numerous vertically stacked traps and reservoirs. Oil companies will use seismic reflection methods, well control, dipmeter information, high-quality surface geologic maps, and detailed analyses of structural geometry and petroleum migration history to select specific drilling targets within these plays. Wildcat well density in these play areas is relatively sparse, averaging 10.5 square miles per well, leaving large portions of the county unexplored.

Other Information:
Published: 1995
Pages: 25 p.
Plate: 10 pl.
Location: Summit County
Media Type: Paper Publication