.

@oloty-of Petrobun En#wwsj

SPE 27966

Barriers b How in TidaI Sandstone Reservoirs, Sun Ranch Field,

Wyoming
R,W.TMman,* Consulting
Geologist,
and E.D.Pittman,
Consulting
Geologist
●SPE Member

ccpvight WS4, society of Pewokm Ewinwa Inc.

miapaper was preparedfor prwaentetion

81the Wikereitj...{ m,~a
. . . @tinnI.SI ~twm Engineeringsymposiumhefd in TUk3.9,OK U.S.A., *31 Au9u* 1~.

This paper was selectedfor presentationby an SPE ProgramCommitteefollowingreview’of informationoomeinedin en ebetrec4SUbmm@W iii W@@). @n!e@ Qfthe P-!
se presented,have not been reviewedby the Sookty oi PelrofeumEngineersand are subjectto correctionby the author(s).The material,es Presented,dose not neCeeS@YWW
SIIYPOS~~ Ofth SOOW of P-m En9iwm, ~ MCW% w Mm-. PSPM P-nt@ at Sf’E -i- we S* to @l* r~~ W Ed~~l ~mw of the -W
of PetroleumEngineers.Permleaiontooopyisremrkted10en ebetmcfofnotmorethan310 words.Illuefretiorrsmaynotbe copied.The ebetrecfshouldcontainconapkuwe acknwledgmanf
~ ware end by whom the paper in presented.wr~e Libr@an, SPE. f’.o. ~ -, Rkh~~n, TX 7~, U.S.A, Telex, 163245 SPEUT.

ABSTRACT as baffles to flow; and (5) are the focus

of diagenetic clay formation. Because of
Tidal1y deposited valley-fi11 sandstones, the significant amounts of clay present in
when sourced from the sea, as is the case in some tidal and tidally-reworked fluvial
Sun Ranch field, Wyoming, general1y form sand valley fills, they have significantly lower
bodies which contain smaller pores, (finer porositv and Dermeabilitv and smaller “Port
grained) and contain significantly more pore sizes’’--than‘ most fl[vial and deltaic
throat plugging by detrital (and d’iagenetic) deposits.
clay than most superficially similar fluvial
or distributary channel sandstones. The INTRODUCTION
detrital clay occurs as thin beds, drapes,
clasts and “grains.“ Calculated log porosi- Sun Ranch fie d (Fig. 1), which produces
ties are significantly lower where clay from the Cretaceous ~ge Muddy Sandstone in
occurs in otherwise h igh quality reservoir the Wind River Basin of Wyoming, was dis-
sandstones. The quality of the reservoir is covered in March, 1987, by Sun Oil Company
comonly masked on 1ogs by the effect of the and its partners. The discovery well, the
clay clasts. Sun Ranch No, 1, initially produced 1048
STB/D. Within a year most of the 10 wells
Individual tidal valley-fil1 deposits are that produce in the field were completed
demonstrably separable laterally and gener- and a number of significant production pro-
ally have several locally continuous hori- blems were observed indicating the presence
zontal shaley beds which form baff1es or of reservoir heterogeneity. Production data
barriers that slow or prevent vertical flow. for Sun Ranch field is given in Table 1.
These very thin horizontal beds are: (1) dom-
inantly clay and fine sand and silts deposit- In Novembere 1988, the field was shut in by
ed during marine to brackish flooding events; the Wyoming Oil and Gas Commission, pending
(2) are easily recognizable in core but not unitization. Several events indicated sig-
on most logs; (3) have very low porosity and nificant compartmentation of the reservoir.
permeability; (4) prevent or deter vertical Following unitization, the field was re-
flow between reservoir compartments and act turned to production in Octobers 19893 and
gas injection was begun in the Sun 12-22
well. After seven months with no apparent
References and illustrations at end of paper. response in the down dip wells the 12-22

97
2 BARRIERS TO FLOW IN TIDAL SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS, SUN RANCH FIELD, WYOMING SPE 027966

gas injection pcir!t was moved to another sandstone being deposited in an incised
,.lal
1 the Sun 7-22. Gas injection in the
“=,,, valley (estuary) by tidal processes c!tiri
7-22 was slightly more successful than in the several relative sea ?evel rises. During
earlier well, however, numerous wells in the sea level rise the valleys were filled ini-
field had little or no response to the in- tially nearest the sea and with additional
jected gas. Numerous other production pro- sea level rises gradually back-filled up-
blems during the history of the field, in- valley.
cluding production of oil above gas, also
indicated significant reservoir heterogene- FIELD PARAMETERS
ity. In 1992, the authors of this paper
undertook a field-wide study of Sun Ranch During unitization of the field a net
field with the expectation that they could isopach map was constructed for the field
geologically characterize the field in such (Fig. 7). The initial oil/water contact on
a way that a historical reservoir simulation the northeast side of the field was estab-
could be carried out in a fashion that would lished to be at approximately -3800 feet.
better characterize the field than was done Within the Unit area the reservoir, as map-
at the time of the unitization. Detailed ped, thins from 67 to O feet. Subsequent
geological analysis, using seven cored wells, work, described below, indicates that this
indicated that the reservoirs in the field isopach map is exceedingly oversimplified.
were deposited primarily by tidal back-fill
of an incised valley. Erosion of the valley Mapping, during this project, indicates
occurred during a regional relative sea-level that the reservoir is larger and much more
drop in the Cretaceous seaway, which extended complicated than the unit map (Fig. 8) in-
from north to south through western North dicates (Tillman, et al5). There is abun-
America (Fig. 2). dant evidence for the necessity of faulting
in the Skull Creek Shale to provide accom-
BACKGROUND modation space for valley-fill deposits at
Sun Ranch field as well as other Muddy
The field is located on the steeply-dipping Sandstone fields in Wyoming as was summar-
(14=18° NE) southeast flank of the Wind River ized by Tillman, et a16.
Basin (Fig. 3) and produces from subsea
depths from -2400 to -4200’ (Fig. 4). The Using a flooding surface at the top of the
Muddy Sandstone producing interval in Sun valley as a datum, offsets on numerous
Ranch field is similar to that producing vertically distributed parallel and hori-
from Grieve field located approximately zontal marker beds observable in the Skull
eight miles to the southeast and in North Creek Shale on detailed stratigraphic cross
Grieve field which adjoins Sun Ranch field sections indicate pre-valley fill faulting.
(Fig. 5). All of these fields produce from Evidence for generation of accommodation
sandstone deposited in incised valleys, which space by faulting prior to valley filling
were eroded by rivers into the underlying includes: (1) marker beds initially depos-
“marine” Skull Creek Shale. The producing ited horizontally above and below the
sandstone in Sun Ranch field is called the valley fills have the greatest vertical
Grieve sandstone (Fig. 6) and within the separation where Skull Creek graben blocks
field area it ranges in thickness from O to are observed; (2) thicker valley-fil1 de-
at least 71 feet. posts accumulate in graben blocks bounded
by “crossing faults” with vertical separa-
Early interpretations for the depositional tions of 5 to 35 feet than in adjacent
environment of the reservoirs at Sun Ranch blocks; (3) faults terminate upwards at
field were primarily fluvial (river). Sub- the base of valleys as evidenced by lack of
sequent work by the co-authors and by Charles offset of markers within the open bay-fill
Pritchard2 have verified the fluvial origin in the upper portion of the valleys and
of the incision, however, the reservoirs in horizontality and parallelism of marine or
Sun Ran- are primarily the result of estuarine flooding surfaces overlying the

98
m 027965 RODERICK W. TILLMAN AND EDWARD D. PITTMAN 3

the valleys; (4) accommodationspace is not was deposited following a second major
proportional to the thickness of compressible valley-cutting erosional event that removed
mudrocks within, adjacent to, or below almost all of the sandstone units shown in
valleys; and (5) equivalent lateral thicknes- Figure 10. This second fill of the valley
ses beween subhorizontal mudrock markers be- followed a second relative sea level fall,
low and adjacent to valleys indicate a lack and occurred during a subsequent sea level
of significant differential compaction prior rise. Accommodation space for the later-
to incission of valleys. deposited valley-fill in the northeast part
of the field resulted from destruction of
Evidence for creation of significant valley- large portions of earlier deposited valley-
fill accommodationspace during filling of the fills by intense storm-tide and/or fluvial
valley by differential compaction is appar- erosion. This resulted in laterally and
ently lacking. However, differential compac- obliquely adjoining valley-fills, which at
tion has influenced the present geometric least locally were separated by low perme-
configuration of the mudrocks above, below, ability barriers and/or baffles.
within and lateral to the valleys. An isopach
map of the valley filling Grieve sandstone, PRODUCTION CHARACTERISTICS
constructed by the authors and including Sun
Ranch and North Grieve fields, indicates a Gravity drainage has greatly enhanced pro-
potential elongation of the Sun Ranch reser- duction in specific wells in the northeast
voir to the south and a separation between portion of the field, while at the same
the Sun Ranch and North Grieve field sand time several wells have watered out as a
bodies (Fig. 8). result of the rise ~n the oil/water contact.
Individual tidally deposited sand bodies
At the time of unitization, and until 1992, have mappable lateral boundaries (Figs. 11-
faulting within the field was considered to 13). Most of these sand bodies (designated
be unimportant. Subsequent work by the as 1 through 6 and A through G) have little
authors indicates that some of the grabens or no vertical communication and have
(low areas) created by faulting were areas of either baffles or barriers to flow at the
thickest reservoir sandstone accumulation margin of each individual sandstone.
(Fig. 9). The faults within and bordering
the field are mapped as normal faults and are The reservoir geometry and producing char-
p!’oba~lyrelated to deeper-seated strike slip acteristics of the tidally deposited
faultlng observed on seismic (Pritchard, per- valley-fill sandstones in Sun Ranch field
sonal cunmunication). differ from fluvially deposited valley-fill
sandstones observed in other superficially
GEOLOGIC ANALYSIS similar fields. Tidal deposits contain
significant amounts of clay, which was de-
Numerous detailed cross sections, supple- posited along with the sand during slack
mented by sedimentologic core interpreta- periods of the tidal cycle or during minor
tions, indicate that the southern part of sea level rises.
the reservoir is formed by a series of tid-
ally deposited vertically stacked sand- Tidal valley-fill deposits generally have
stones, which abut laterally against valley numerous locally continuous very thin low-
walls and are commonly separated vertically permeabil~ty horizontal barriers or baffles
by reservoir-wide, less permeable shaley to flow (Fig. 10). These surfaces are form-
sandstones and shales (Fig. 10). The lateral ed by erosion during storms or minor rela-
extent of individual sand bodies was mapped tive sea level rises within the valleys or
(Figs. 11-13). All except H1 and HZ are estuaries. These intervals are significant
primari”y tidal deposits. The highest pro- in that they: (1) are dominantly clay with
duction is from the northeast portion of minor amounts of fine sand and silts,
the fie’d (shaded area of Fig. 11). This all of which were deposited during
portion of the field, also tidally deposited, marine to brackish flooding events (Fig.

99
4 BARRIERS TO FLOW IN TIDAL SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS, SUN RANCH FIELD, WYOMING SPE 027966

14); (2) are easily recognizable in core but PETROPHYSICS

not on most logs; (3) have very low porosity
and permeability; (4) prevent or deter verti- When individual data points on the kill plot
cal flow between reservoir compartments and, (Fig. 16) are identified three areas of data
where they are discontinuous, act as baffles are observed. The best production charac-
to flow; and (5) are the focus of diagenetic teristics are above the oil water contact
clay formation in immediately adjacent sand- or in the oil/water transition zone in the
stones. G2 reservoir (a portion of G in Fig. 11).
Intermediate values in this figure are from
Detrital clay may also occur as drapes on the largely uneconomic G3 tidal-flat sand-
cross laminations and ripples (Fig. 14). The stone, which is locally 16 feet thick and
clay drapes form baffles to flow. If the occurs as the upper sandstone in several
clay drapes are eroded they may form clasts, wells in the northeast part of the field.
which are distributed throughout the sand The low values of porosity and permeability
(Fig. 14). Where clay clasts are abundant, are alnost all below the oil/water contact
in otherwise high quality reservoir sand- in the G2 sandstone. Many of the low
stone: the quality of the sands may be marked values are the result of cementation by
on logs by the effect of the clay clasts. kaol?nite and quartz; other low values in
the G2 sandstone are at least partially
PETROGRAPHY facies controlied and are 1ow-efiergyshaley
tidal deposits.
Nine cores were studied from Sun Ranch field
and the adjoining North Grieve field. Both A useful indicator of potential productiv-
fields produce from the Muddy (Grieve) Sand- ity is port size. Port size, as defined by
stone and both produce primarily from tidal Hartmann and CoalsonB, is the pore throat
back-filled sandstone facies. One hundred aperture (radius) corresponding to the 35th
thin sections from the two fields were stud- percentile of a mercury injection plot cal-
ied and selected X-ray diffractometry and culated using Winland’s equation:
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) studies
were carried out. Thin sections were taken Log R35 = 0.732 + 0.588*log k-O.864*log 0
from porosity and permeability plugs when
available or immediately adjacent to the plug Pittman7 compared the range of port sizes
1ocations. Quantitative data concerning rock in a large number of productive sandstones
composition, pore size and geometry and pet- and determined that all port sizes that
rophysical results were determined from the exceed 2.5 microns are high quality reser-
thin section, SEM and X-ray data. voirs. Figure 17 shows that a significant
number of values in Sun Ranch field exceed
Ninety-eight percent of the detrital miner- 2.5 microns and, hence, are regarded as
.ologyin the Grieve sandstone in Sun Ranch excellent reservoirs.
field is quartz with the remainder being
feldspar and rock fragments. Porosity is Port size, when compared to single porosity
intergranular and for values above 1 md or permeability plots, better illustrates
forms a pattern with little scatter when the relative difference is reservoir qual-
plotted against permeability (Fig. 15). ity between poor and excellent reservoirs
This is the common pattern for intergranular (Fig. 18). Shaley facies, although thin,
porosity (Pittman7). Scatter in this fig- form vertical barriers to flow within Sun
ure below 1 md is the result of shaley mater- Ranch field. As many as seven units in the
ial and mineral cements. Microporosity, Sun Ranch Federal A-2 well form vertica’
which is usually associated with clays, is barriers (or baffles) to flow (Fig. 18)
not important in the sandstones. In this well fluvial and tidal accretiol
bank sandstones form high quality reser-
voirs. Mean values for individual unit
in the A-2 well range as follows: Fluvial

100
SPE 027966 RODERICK W. TILLMAN AND EDWARD D. PITTMAN 5

k = 100-300 md, o = 11-15%; tidal accre- barriers is required in at least one ‘we!l
tion-bank, k = 112-200 md, $ = 13-16%. where oil is produced above gas.
Port sizes exceed 12 microns in the
fluvial sandstone and range from 7 to 14 The initial oil/water contact was at about
microns in the tidal accretion-bank sand- -3800 feet and has moved slowly upward as
stones. fluids are produced during primary produc-
tion. Production on several of the most
In contrast, port sizes in the BHP Sun down-dip wells has been impaired by upward
Ranch federal well do not exceed 10 microns movement of the water. Little, if any,
in any of the facies (Fig. 19) and, as is water drive occurs in wells in the field.
discussed in a following section, the average However, once the oil/water contact rises
l.,--m+ffetion
monthly ~1vuuw.. . . for this well is less than so as to encounter the more updip wells
IOZ Of that in the Sun A-2 well. Production (tipdipof the F sandstone, Fig. 12) the
in this well is from the 5, 6, D and E2 relatively abundant compartments caused by
reservoirs in Figures 10-12. the thin shale and shaiey layers will fur-
ther complicate producibility.
Another way to visually represent reservoir
quality on a well to well basis is to plot As illustrated ~n Figure 21, the Sun A-2
cumulative kh vs porosity. In Figure 20A (Map Wel1 No. 7) has the highest average
and 20B high cumulative data indicate a good production over the life of the field. It
reservoir. In contrast, the low values in produces an average of 11,600 barrels of
Figure 20C indicate marginal to low produc- oil per month, while the adjacent wells
tion potential. produce only 7100 and 4500 barrels per
month. In the southwest part of the field
PRODUCTION individual wells average less than 1100
barrels per i~i)tith. ,,,,”wide variat’iOfl in
Thic
Production from individual wells varies producibility can be explained in part by
greatly in Sun Ranch field. In general, gravity drainage, but the decreased kh and
wells penetrating the G2 sandst~ne in the shale compartmentation and the lateral seg-
northeast part of the field (Fig. 11) pro- regation of the reservoir as a result of
duced the most oil because: (1) the G2 sand- numerous individual sand-body deposits are
stone has the best reservoir qualities of responsible for a significant portion of the
any sandstone; (2) is the most laterally decrease in reservoir quality in some of
continuous of any sandstone; (3) extends the up-dip wells.
well above the oil/water contact; and (4)
receives gravitv drainage because it is the The lack of communication among wells in the
lowest part of~he field. ~pdip ~r~~s is illustrated by the problems
encountered when the BHP 12-22 well (Hap
Reservoirs that are perforated in the F Well No. 20) was seiected for use as a gas
sandstone (Fig. 12) also receive some benefit injection well. After seven months of in-
from gravity drainage and have reasonably jection in the 12-22 well there was no
good reservoir properties. Sandstones that apparent response to the gas in any of the
produce from neither the F, G1 or G2 sand- down-dip wells. We can conclude then that
stones have inferior reservoir quality pri- this well was effectively sealed off from
marily due to absence of thick non-shaley the adjacent wells; probably in part by the
sandstones, thinner total sandstone thickness small fault inferred to exist north of the
and more abundant vertical compartinentaticfi well (Fig. 9) and in part due to the verti-
by thin relatively continuous shales. These cal separation of the reservoir sandstones
shales prevent or slow gravity drainage from by horizontal shale barriers (Fig. 10). The
updip of the wells and locally isolate com- gas injection well was relocated to well
partments from the perforated portions of the 7-22 (Fig. 1) and, as expected on the basis
well. Compartmentation by horizontally de- of our reservoir analysis (Fig. 22), better
posited (and structurally tilted) shale(?) pressurization results were achieved for
portions of the field.

101
6 BARRIERS To FLou IN TIDAL SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS, SUN RANCH FIELD, WYOMING SPE 027966

RESERVOIR HETEROGENEITY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Reservoir heterogeneity characteristics are Funding for this field study was primarily
as follows: from S6 IR/DOEproject DE-FG05-90ER80976.
In-kind support was provided by BHP
1. Reservoir thickness and continuity are (Americas).
highly variable from well to well in tidally
back-filled valley-fill reservoirs. Discussion on the nature and history of
2. Several thin “shales” (<1.0’), which have Sun Ranch field with Phil Schenewerk and
nearly field-wide extent, occur as vertical Charles Pritchard was especially helpful.
flow barriers in many wells. James Hopper contributed to construction
3. More than one valley-filling event has of reservoir maps and cross sections. Dick
occurred in wells in the northeast part of Banks, from SCA, produced the final
~~e f~~~~o computer-generatedmaps.
4. Faulting with offsets of less than 50
feet influences the production and reservoir REFERENCES
thickness in many wells.
5. The character of subsurface gamma-ray 1. Lawson, D.E., “Sun Ranch field, Sym-
logs are locally misleading due to the pre- Oil and Gas Fields,
sence of clay in a variety of forms within
the sands. Association, 1989,
6. Some parts of the valley-fill are non- p* 491.
productive siltstones and shales. Some
wells within and ad.iacentto the Sun Ranch 2. Pritchard, C., “Sequence analysis of
unit contain no ~andstones and are non- North Grieve and Sun Ranch fields,
productive (Pritcha d2). Eastern Mind River Basin, Wyoming”, in
Strock and Andrews (eds), Wvomi~
CONCLUSIONS

1. Tidal back-fil”ed incised-valley reser-

voirs vary from we”1 to well in: a. Thick-
ness; b. porosity and permeability; c. oil
in place. 3. Keefer, W. R., “Geology of Petroleum
2. There is more than one valley-filling in Wind River Basin, Central Wyoming”,
event in the area of highest production (NE Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bulletin,
part of field). 1979, p. 1839-1865.
30 Small faults (<50 ft.) influence reservoir
thickness and lateral boundaries of valley- 4. Mitchell, G. C., “Grieve Oil field: A
fill. lower Cretaceous estuarine deposit”.
4. Barriers and baffles to flow occur on at in R. C. Boyd (cd.), Field-6u~de:
least three scaies in valley-fill: a. Marine ~sources of the Wind River Basin,
~ha~e~ form ~~tera~ seals at edge of valley- Wyoming Geolo~
fill; bl. individual sand bodies (A-G, 1-6) Annuai-Field Conference !iu~c!ebook$
are laterally defined and some sand-body 1978, p. 147-165.
margins are barriers or baffles to flow; b2.
thin “field-wide” tidal or open-bay shales 5 Tillman, R. W., E. O. pittman, p.
form barriers to vertical flow; c. relatively Schenewerk, M. EMalik, B. Kara, NC
abundant clay drapes on cross-laminations and Navarette and Kasap, “Sun Ranch
ripples form baffles to flow. field and Muddy S~ndstone outcrops;
5. Variability of production rates of indi- multiple scale valley-fill sandstone
vidual wells is controlled by: a= Gravity heterogeneities
..and geologic and engin-
* -;w3+”fin
eering reservoir characberr~ablvf. a al-
~n-.
segregation (15° dip); b. water encroachment;
c. primary and injected gas. ysis, Phase II”, Annual Report to DOE

102
SPE 027966 RODERICK W. TILLMAN AND EDWARD D. PITTMAN 7

for project DE-FG05-90ER880976, December,

1992.

6. Tillman, R. W., J. F. Hopper, J. Cole,

“The necessity for faulting in providing
accommodationspace for some valley-fill
deDosits in the Cretaceous of the Western
ln~erior”, in Program and Abstracts VOl-
ume, Geologfi Society of Amerlca Annual
w, Boston, Massachusetts, 19939
● .

7* Pittman, E. D., “Relationship of porosity

and permeability to various parameters
derived from mercury injection-capillary
pressure curves for sandstone”, Amer.
Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull., 1992, V. 76,
p. 191-198.

R
-: Hartmann$ D.J. and E. Coalson, ‘iEvaluation
of the Morrow Sandstone in Sorrento field,
Cheyenne County, Colorado”, ~ Morrow
Sandstones of Southeast Colorado a-

-’
of Geo oglsts,‘ocky
1990, ‘oun’a’n ‘Ssoc’at’on
p. 91-100.

103
 2
r
.——-!
-...
SUN RANCH UNIT

4!
5

I-:AF?
+ \ --- . ,
4$16

VALLEY

1: I
12 13 ~., I
3-22

16 17
.
~ EDGE OF SAND-
. . ..
SIN.f\ ~ 6--Z G-Z 7:z ~ FILLED VALLEY
I
-:9 [

1+
I

r-
/

10 (MAP WELL NUMBER)

●
~
4-22 (VNK WELLNUMBER) o MILE

Fig. 1 sun Ranch field. Unit boundary markedby

dashed line. Unit well numbers are below well loca-
tion, map well numbers are above well location. Edges
of valley containing reservoir sandstones are shown.

\L

Fig. 2 Western interior seaway paleogeography. Seaway

during portions of Cretaceous time extended from Alaska
to the Gulf of Mexico. Muddy reservoir sandstone wa$
deposited in valleys cut during drop in sea level in
this seaway.

104
 TABLE 1, SUN RANCHFIELD RESERVOIR DATA

F.*-.+<
rurmabiGR: Muddy (Grieve Sand); Lower Cretaceous

Lithology: Sandstone

Discovery Date: November 3, 1987

Porosity: 11.5% (Mean Core%)

Permeability: 83.5 md (Mea!?Core %)

Average Pay Thickness: 35 feet

Oil/Gas Column: 1700+ feet

Oil/WaterContact: 3800’ (Initial)

Gas/Oil Ratio: Variable; 931:1

Initial Pressure: 4300psi (@ 10,100 feet)

Drive Mechanism: Gas expansion, gravity, water invasion

Rw and/or Salinity: 1.4 @ 60°F

Bottom Hole Temperature: 150°F @ 10,240 feet

Character of Hydrocarbons: Gravity 35.9° API @ 60°F. Gas BTU-1132 drya

83% Methane. 11% Ethane. 3% Propane

Continuity of Reservoir: Limited. Two periods of estuarine valley-fill. Laterally

la ~aye~s fgrm barriers to vertical flow and
cont~nuotissha,=
individual laterally and obliquely related sand bodies have
lateral barriers and baffles to flow.

Cumulative Production (Primary; 1992) 1,033,522B0,

5,569,943 FCFG, 52,4112BW

Secondary Recovery: None (1992)

Estimated Ultimate Recovery: Unknown

(Table based on Lawsonl)

105
 of Sun Ranch field (hachured
Fig. 3 Outline of Wind River Basin and location
square) west of Casper, Wyoming. Structure contours are on Permian age rocks.
(Modifiedfmm Keefer3)

Dipbelow
of valley; top of Skull Creek Shale,‘base of the
Fig. 4 Structure map at base The elevation at the
and within unit is to NE. C.l: =.100 f$et”
reservoir decreases 2000 feet w~thln a mile.

106
 11

MUDDY ISOPACH NIERVAl-

conmuf Intewal 20’
5 miles
‘* ‘~
, p’l- 1 I
ii i I l-. ~ .

Fig. 5 Isopach map of Muddy (Grieve) Sandstone valley-

Wind River Basin, WyMing.
fill estuarine reservoirs,
(Modifiedfrom Mitchel14).

aw.lumll
SUNEXPLORAW ANOPROOU-N
SUNRANCHFED.NO.Z SUNRANW FIEO
SWNESEC.1S733NRS4W(NON-DEVWW WELL).NA~OM COUWf, WVOMWO
. Cbven n ,.cm

SNSLL
Cnlmu
mp#
P&Mm

TOP
Gmsvs
smo=~~’
——-

sKULL
cum

Fig. 6 Sun Ranch fl--- ..,.

level
stone is valley-fill reservoir ;n yalley cut uring
Intodl
: .-*..
Creek Shale during dropValley
in relatlve seaduring closely
was filled
early Cretaceous ti~..
following sea level rise.
107
 I t ~—= 11
I I II II
12 I

., .=, I *9CI I

I I

Fig. 7 Sun Ranch unit net-pay isopach map compiled ~

1988 by the Sun Ranch unitization c~mit:ee. Wells ate
numbered according to unit well designation.

1
-.-.-k

Fig. 8 Grieve (Muddy) Sandstone grossOutllne san$ ~sopacrl

of Sun
map, Sm Ranch and North Grieve fle~ds”
Ran~h field is dashed. ‘a? ?r!p!!Y.!{.$?.a~~Rr~~
LOCaL.lon UI t,Iw=- -------
Wells have unique numbers.
A’ is indicated. Compare with Figure 7.
 Y .———-. s

,....,
~..—. : I I
\—OfW CONTACT
/

?ALEOTIIMGRAPHIC

s
EOGC OF V/$LLtW
ti
=
MOIW’MORIEW
~
Fig. 9 Faulting (lines with ‘teeth’) in western portion of Sun Ranch field
(T33NR86w). Offsets are indicated at Dakota silt marker designated Iby
Mitchellq as URB.
/1 Id Ular *

Bottom Hole Location

Cored wall
I-u d.”.
Faults (listed in order of occurrence; sawteeth point down fault plane)

Vertical separation across fault at that location.

]&s ——-—
-------

i ‘-----

Fig. 11 Sand body location map. Individual tidally-

deposited sand bodies (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, G) have demon-
strable lateral extent and at margin of sand body there
may be a barrier or baffle to flow. Most of the oil
production in the field is from sand body G (see text).
Refer to Fiaure 10 for vertical extent of some of the
sand bodie!s.
Iw
‘W
 A’
INORTH
A
SOUTti
8HP PETR. AMERICAS INC.
BHP PET?%AMERICAS INC. SUN FtANCH FEDERAL #4-22
BHP PEITL AMEfWICAS INC.
SUN RANCH FIEDERAL #5-22 ,10
SUN RANCI{ FEDE13AL #12-22
●115
@ 20
160~ ~ — 1200.—~1350’ —
——-
GR DEN f!
GR DEN Ji
GR DEN g
/
J
<
?OP Muoor
SANOS1OME
r-
.. .
—— —

<

sunrluti
top * *fAut!r

k’
lc#l&
—. —

msti {W vuL-
:.

.-
.

.——

TOP Owo?a
$ANOS1ON6
FMXJNDAFIV

@ O [1 <
cross section through a portion of Sun Ranch
Fig. 10 North-south stratigraphic have low porosit,yand
I)iaglonally
h achured intervals are shaley and..
field.
permeability. Individualsand layers have defined vertl(-alextents= The 10~;
base of the valley and a !SequenceBoundary.
wavy lime is the unconformable units 3 and 4 is a within-the-llalley
unconformabllesurface (wavy 1ine) betwe:en
erosion surface. Individualsandstones are d%ignatedl th~oughl$ . and
Lociit’iOII
A ‘[hroughOf
G. Pre-vallley-filling faults are on both sides of well .
this cross-$ectionshown in Figure 8.
 R86W
R86W 19 14

,s
~ “1
\ “NCONFORhl~y W

WNRANCM ~--,

:
/
d
/
/ I m

.,A,.EoT(J?OORAFt8 Ic
EUGE OF VALLMY

“ %#+i-si---;-----; !,
0
--------------J *

m i-

- .!!
*
. 01
---- - --1
IALEOTO~;RArlfiC * I
. 1
s I
0 L

~
n
.
/1 u s
.
m
v
e
.ex

“
e

——---
_.. —..-
1, ------. ”-- _. -----
,, — --—
~ _-..—

Fig. 13 Sand body location map” Individual tidally depositd sand bodies A
Refer to Figure 10 for vertical extent
Individual tidallY
Fig. 12 Sand Body 1ocation map. and C andlmarine sand bodies HI and H2.
deposited sand bodies (1),E2 E3, F and J) have demon- of some c~fthe sand bodies.
strable lateral extent and at margin of sand body there
maybe a barrier or baffle to flow. Refer.to Figure 10
for vertical extent of some of the sand bodies.
 BAFFLES
SHALE BARRIERS AND
16
——-- -.. ,R =HALE
e. .. .-— ON
— ---
sHALE BEDS ANU sHALE CLA= S
CROSS-LAMINAE
SHALEY SANDSTONE

. . . . . .
: .. . . . . .
. \
.“.
. . . .
. . . .-

. .
. . . . . . .
..” - .
. . . .. . . . . ..
.. . . . .

ERODED INTO
EDGE OF VALLEY VALLEY FILL
sILTY SHALE
sHALE ON RIPPLES CUT INTO MARINE SHALE

. .. . . . . . .. .
. . . ..”..
. . . .. . .. .
. .
. . .. .
. . ..-Z . / . - -. /
“. / . . .. . . . ./
.. . .. . . ---- MM, . . . ---
. . ..-, * // . “. . .
. . ..- ,Z . . . J ~ ‘.
. . .
. . ..~, ..-
.
mm

@b=

Fig. 14 Shale barriees and baffles to f1ow typical of Sun Ranch f1eld reser-
voirs.

SUN RANCH FIELD, WYOMING

A OA

A A

A!!
8 AA
A A

-_J
i 5 10
poRoSln (%)
20

five cored WI Is ●

“ig. 15 Porosity vs permeability,Sun Ranch field. Data from

112
 1000.M
“SANDSTONE G2
(OIL &
TRANSITION
100.00-
ZONE)

.RESERVOIR G3
~CHANNEL G2
(FED. A2)
● (FED.2}

:iiz!=!d
● (GARFIELD)

QCHANNEL F

● CHANNEL G1
0 5 ?0 15 20
PoROSITY %

Fig. 16 Po?osity vs permeability from five wells in Sun Ranch Field. Separa-
tion of values in G2 reservoir is based on location relative to oil/ water
contact; highest values are within and above the oil/water transion interval in
the field. The G3 Reservoir is non-economic tidal-flat sandstone which is 16
feet thick eve? the northeast part of the field.

1000

100

10

.1

.0?

05 10 15 20 25 30 35

POROSITY(%)

F~g. 17 Port sizes (curved lines) plotted against porosity and permeabilityin
flve cord wel1s in Sun Ranch field. Port sizes are related to the sizes of
the pore throats. Values above 2.5 microns are excellent reservoirs (Pittman7)
Port sizes are innsicrons.

113
 l--
~—
-.-— - ~— 03
ENvIRONMENT
NO. K $
SUN E &P, SUN RAN-=H~Eb-ERAL A-2 m
PERMEABILITY (red) PoROSITY ~/0) PORT SIZE (microns)

~j+y~

pi!& p -rIn
, At AWRFfi)N
“Nl;~m
TIDAL FLAT !3ANIDSTONE

‘- BANK sANDSTONE
I
15 B,C 1112 13
,“fi&. ““... .-. . -– --
II All .xii-
m el o

l=~~*ELSANDSTONE lit, “;i ‘i’

: :,6

rm:~:$!z$:::~’
PEN~~ SHALE : 2,3A
~ z 25 6
cd
o ~—
~~ Sun Ranch Federal A-2
Exploration and Production,
as are environmentsof deposition.
Fig. 18 Port size, core pororsity and permeability plots for Sun
contribute to vertical compartmentati(on
(tqapNo. 7) well. Average porositY and average permeabilityfor units a~e given,
all shale y shaley ‘andstOnfwJ~h,qote that the port-size plot accentuates
Units 2, 3A, ~, 5* 6, 12, 13, 148 arehave permeabllitlesexceeding
of reservoir. None of the “shales” , and baffle to barrier (sealing) facies.
the relative differencesbetween hlighquallty reservoirs

-------------
BHP SUN RANCH FEDERAL 12-22
POROSITY(%) PORT SIZE (microns)
HORIZONTALKMAX (red)

1000 4 6 810121416
g.ol
ul
o
.1

--.------
10

:
3
--------~
-----------------
‘r? TIDALSILTSTONE
Fig. 19 Port size, core porosity and permeability plots
Federal 12-22 (Map Nlo. 20).
for Sun BHP Sun
. . Ranch
Maximum port sizes in this ‘ell<,are‘ignl~~~e~~~
smaller (<10 microns) than those in the Sun Federal A-2 (Fig.
18).

Id
ANDSHALE
w (s-8) “ cored is through the best pay in this well.
m / ..
ol
0 ~ TIDAL AcCRETION

(4)
co r oQIDAL;:K
co
4 (1,2)
0

H
 .

19

CUMULATIVE kh VS. POROSITY

SUN E & P SUN RANCH BHP FEDERAL 7“22

SUN E & P SUN RANCH

! Z* :m :17

g3 ‘I*, o ,..,[. 1 ‘;lB 0 , ~<(;, .1 2’%.,,,{!

0 5 10 15 .1
20
z 0 5 1’ 15 2’
= 0 5 1’ 15 *o
o PnRt3SiTY
.-. .-— ( %’.)
POROSITY ( ~0)
POROSln ( %)
for individual wells.
Fig. 20 Plot of cumulative kh (md ft) vs porosity

——-— —.— *
5000+ STB

2000-5000 STB
1 1 1 r- I <ZOOO STB

VALLEY

:+
I I
--l
o I Mile
within Sun Ranch Unit through
Fig. 21 Per well average monthly oil production
January, lg93. C.1, =1000S~.

115
20

\l R86W

411
39
. ~1
----
a
—.. %mO:A% ●
lml-. -—-.

EDGE OF SANQ e

16
17
2a
a Mu
33 *
y
M
J..

in which individualtidal sand bodies are perforated”

Fig. 22 Location of wells Square wells produce from F
P<-.1-A IJ-llSoroduce from G2 (and ‘3) ‘a.nd~tlnhe.s ”e=m~=+nnad~sianated as 5 as
~~’J~wn~-iti \iiangular wells produce ~rO’”~a~d~t&&{Fi9~j il-13) for out-
well as others” Refer to maps of lndlvldual
line of producing sand bodies.

116