Economic Aspects of Uinta Basin Gas Development

Abstract

Abstract A large available and recoverable reserve of natural gas now has been proved by drilling in the Uinta basin of western Colorado and eastern Utah. Early in November 1961, Mountain Fuel Supply Company and Utah Natural Gas Company cooperatively completed construction of the 20-in, 104-mi, intrastate Uinta Basin gas pipeline. It will furnish a ready outlet for previously shut-in gas reserves and will make further concentrated exploration economically feasible. Natural gas reserves in the Uinta basin currently are estimated to be more than 1 trillion cu ft. Projected development and exploratory drilling should prove reserves equal to or even exceeding the most optimistic estimates given to date. Most commercial gas production is from stratigraphic traps of the nonmarine Wasatch Formation. Minor production has been found in the Uinta Formation, the Mesaverde Group, the Dakota Formation, and the Morrison Formation. The intriguing possibility of additional commercial oil production from Tertiary and Cretaceous formations adds incentive for exploratory and development drilling. Market-area projections indicate an initial average transmission of 100 million cu ft in 1966. More than 600,000 leased acres currently are committed to the Uinta Basin pipeline by ownership or by gas-purchase contracts providing for 16½ cents per thousand cubic feet at 15.025 psia pressure base. At this price and at higher prices anticipated in coming years, the gas from the Uinta basin can be marketed competitively.