Cavernous reservoir and large potentials in Ordovician Ellenburger carbonates at north Texas

Abstract

Exploration and production in Asia has provided many new knowledge on Paleozoic carbonate reservoirs. 1) Seismic anomalies “string beads” or “pair beads” in carbonates indicates high productive cavernous reservoirs in tight matrix. 2) Lacking knowledge on them has led to high uncertainty in drilling and production, leaving many potential unrecognized in Paleozoic carbonate plays. Similar seismic characters have been observed in Lower Ordovician Ellenburger carbonates at northern Texas. “Pair beads” are evident and extensive in thick seismic section. But the Carbonates has been regarded as tight basement and penetrated only at top by a few wells. The quality cavernous reservoirs have basically been unrecognized, forming a frontier play below conventional and unconventional plays in this area, which suggests large unexplored potential in the Lower Ordovician – Upper Cambrian carbonate bank covering large areas of the midcontinent US.