Heat flow and thermal history of the Anadarko Basin and the western Oklahoma Platform

Abstract

The average geothermal gradient in the Anadarko Basin and the Oklahoma Platform estimated from 856 corrected bottom-hole temperatures (BHTs) is 21°C/km. Analysis of previously published thermal maturation data indicates that the Anadarko Basin has undergone from 1 to 3 km of erosion starting about 40 to 50 Ma. The average thermal gradient at the time of maximum burial was in the range of 22 to 25°C/km. There is no evidence that the thermal state of the Anadarko Basin has changed significantly since the late Paleozoic (250 Ma). To estimate heat flow in the Anadarko Basin and the Oklahoma Platform, we made 652 thermal conductivity measurements on drill cuttings from 9 oil and gas wells. All measurements were corrected for the effects of anisotropy, temperature, and porosity. Matrix conductivities perpendicular to bedding at 22°C range from 1.7 W m −1 K −1 for Permian age sandstone and shale, to 2.6 W m −1 K −1 for Devonian–Silurian age limestone and shale. In-situ thermal conductivities vary from 1.3 W m −1 K −1 to 1.9 W m −1 K −1. Estimated heat flow (±20%) ranges from 30 mW/m 2 to 42 mW/m 2, with a mean of 36 mW/m 2. We found no evidence for heat flow to increase significantly from the Anadarko Basin in the south to the Oklahoma Platform to the north. These results contradict a previous study which found heat flow increases from south to north, with heat flow in the Oklahoma Platform as much as 50% greater than heat flow in the Anadarko Basin. At the present time, we do not know if these differences are related to spatial variations or reflect methodological errors. If our results are averaged with those reported in previous work, mean heat flows in the Anadarko Basin and Oklahoma Platform are 39 mW/m 2 and 51 mW/m 2, respectively.