Occurrence Of Natural Gas Research Articles

Biogenic and Thermogenic Origins of Natural Gas in Cook Inlet Basin, Alaska

Two types of natural gas occurrences are present in the Cook Inlet basin. The major reserves (1.8 x 10/sup 11/m/sup 3/) occur in shallow (less than 2300 m), nonassociated dry gas fields that contain methane with ..delta.. /sup 13/C in the range of -63 t -56 per mil. These gas fields are in sandstones interbedded with coals of the Sterling and Beluga Formations; the gas fields are interpreted as biogenic in origin. Lesser reserves (1.1 x 10/sup 10/ m/sup 3/) of natural gas are associated with oil in the deeper Hemlock Conglomerate at the base of the Tertiary section; associated gas contains methane with ..delta.. /sup 13/C of about -46 per mil. The gases associated with oil in the Hemlock Conglomerate are thermogenic in origin.

Gas Versus Oil in Far East and Middle East: ABSTRACT

The Far East, including Australia, is largely a gas province (the USSR and China are excluded from our study). The Middle East is largely an oil province with respect to Tertiary and Mesozoic reservoirs, and a gas province with respect to lower Mesozoic and Permian reservoirs. The geologic and geochemical parameters which determine the predominance of gas over oil or oil over gas are well known. They include type of source rock, source rock position in the total sedimentary sequence, burial history, temperature gradients, timing of hydrocarbon generation, and trap formation, retention, and related geologic factors. In the Far East, the relation between coal or coaly matter as source rocks and the occurrence of natural gas is obvious. Australia is a striking example. In th Middle East, the Sargelu formation is one of the most prolific source rocks. It is of Middle to Late Jurassic age, kerogenous and fully marine, which, in combination with other factors, explains the predominance of oil in Tertiary and Mesozoic reservoirs in and around the Arabian Gulf. At deeper stratigraphic levels, huge quantities of gas are ascribed to Paleozoic sources, the nature of which has not yet been fully assessed. Much of this gas, especially in southwest Iran, can be regarded as thermally degraded oil. In areas of intense Neogene deformation (Tertiary basins of Indonesia and Burma), a large part of the gas phase has probably escaped, whereas the oil phase was largely retained. Many examples illustrate the validity End_Page 459------------------------------ of the general principles without ignoring the complexity of the gas versus oil problem. End_of_Article - Last_Page 460------------

Natural Gas Stability in Deep Subsurface: ABSTRACT

The trend from oil to gas with increasing reservoir depth is well established, but depth limitations on the occurrence of natural gas (methane) have yet to be determined. The controlling factor at depth is the chemical stability of the methane and its reactions with water and the rock matrix. This problem has been studied using a computer program which calculates the equilibrium composition in a multiphase, multicomponent system that simulates the rock-water-gas combination in deep reservoir. The program accepts thermodynamic data, rock mineralogy, and gas-water ratios as input data. Within these constraints all possible combinations of compounds are considered and the equilibrium composition established using minimum free energy criteria. Methane alone has considerable thermal stability but in the natural system it occurs in a water-wet environment that decreases its stability. At 30,000 ft (9,000 m) approximately 5% of the methane is destroyed, but for high geothermal gradients this can be as much as 40%. Reservoirs that contain methane derived from the breakdown of crude oil contain a carbonaceous residue. This residue can interact with the water in clastic reservoirs and produce increased amounts of carbon dioxide. However, in carbonate reservoirs (or clastic reservoirs with carbonate cement), methane is destroyed with increasing depth, although carbon dioxide remains a major component in the gas phase. Free sulfur and many sulfur compounds dramatically reduce the stability of methane and generate high concentration of hydrogen sulfide. Computer calculations help define the role of rock composition in controlling the stability, and therefore the distribution, of natural gas in the deep subsurface. This understanding will become more important as the average well depth increases. End_of_Article - Last_Page 414------------

Characterization of Production Mechanism in Devonian Shale and Its Sensitivity to Change in Various Reservoir Parameters: ABSTRACT

The U.S. Department of Energy is supporting cooperative research for enhanced gas recovery in a major effort to help reverse our country's decline in natural gas reserves. A potential major source of natural gas is the Devonian shale of the Appalachian region, estimated to contain hundreds of trillion cubic feet of natural gas. As part of the DOE's Eastern Gas Shales Project, we undertook the task of making a comprehensive analysis of the production of natural gas from the Devonian shales. Two reservoir-stimulation models were validated and used in characterizing the production mechanism of the Devonian shale. There are two widely held theories on the occurrence of natural gas in the Devonian shales. One theory, the single-porosity theory, is that the gas is present as free gas in a macrofracture system and is produced as Darcy law type flow through these fractures. The second, the dual porosity theory, assumes a macrofracture porosity of smaller magnitude and that, in addition to free gas in the fracture system, there exists a volume of gas present as an adsorbed phase within the shale matrix which diffuses into the fracture system and is produced as pressure drops. The likelihood of one system being present as opposed to the other was studied. Sensitivity analyses were conducted on various reservoir parameters. The validity of conventional transient-pressure-analysis techniques in the Dev nian shale was also investigated. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1578------------

Stratigraphy of Mesaverde Group and Occurrence of Natural Gas in Northwest Colorado: ABSTRACT

Stratigraphy of Mesaverde Group and Occurrence of Natural Gas in Northwest Colorado: ABSTRACT

The Natural Gas Occurrences in the Niigata Jedimentary Basin

The occurrences of natural gas are considered to be very similar to those of oil. Herein the writer discusses them from the viewpoint of geology, geochemistry and geophysics.1) The distribution of the oil and gas fields can be illustrated closely related to the isopach, lithofacies and restored section maps.2) The chemical analysis of the organic matters in the source rocks are introduced. They can be the valuable indices to the origin of the natural gas.3) The chemical properties of the natural gas in the various fields are considerably different and the mature evolution of the natural gas is the very interesting problem.4) The geothermal distribution in the geologic structures are investigated.5) The reservoir pressure distribution or the pressure gradient are examined. The causes of the abnormal reservoir pressure are considered.

Improved High Pressure Capillary Tube Viscometer

Published in Petroleum Transactions, AIME, Volume 216, 1959, pages 85–91. Abstract An apparatus and a procedure for determining the viscosity behavior of hydrocarbons at pressures up to 10,000 psia and temperatures between 77 and 400°F are described. The equipment is suitable for measuring viscosity of either the liquid or vapor phases or the fluid above the two-phase envelope for systems exhibiting retrograde phenomena, according to the phase state of the system within these ranges of temperature and pressure. Equations are developed for calculation of viscosity from the experimental measurements, and new data for the viscosities of ethane and propane at 77°F are reported. Introduction With the advent of higher pressures and temperatures in industrial processes and deep petroleum and natural gas reservoirs, demand has increased for accurate values of physical properties of hydrocarbons under these conditions. Proportionately, more frequent occurrence of natural gas and condensate-type fluids is encountered as fluid hydrocarbons are discovered at greater depths. This increases the importance, to the reservoir engineer, of being able to predict accurately the physical properties of light hydrocarbon systems in the dense-gas and light-liquid phase states. Reliable gas viscosity data are limited primarily to measurements made on pure components near ambient temperature and at low pressures. Few investigations have been reported for high pressures, and except for methane, data on light hydrocarbons are subject to question. This is demonstrated by the large discrepancy between sets of data on the same component reported by different investigators. For mixtures in the dense gas and light liquid regions and for fluids exhibiting retrograde behavior there are very few published experimental data. Viscosity data for methane have been reported by Bicher and Katz, Sage and Lacey, Comings, et al, Golubev, and Carr, with good agreement among the last three sets of data. Comings, Golubev and Carr utilized capillary tube instruments for which the theory of fluid flow is well established. The theory permits calculation of the viscosity directly from the experimental data and dimensions of the instrument alone.

Geology and Occurrence of Natural Gas in Oriskany Sandstone in Pennsylvania and New York

The Oriskany sandstone and Onondaga formation are the principal producing formations in the 66 gas pools in the Appalachian area. Accumulation is due to favorable structural conditions in most of the pools. However, the areas of accumulation caused by stratigraphic trapping are more extensive and more than half of the total reserve of gas is in a large field in West Virginia which is productive because of interruption in porosity in an updip direction. Total reserves developed to date in the Oriskany and Onondaga gas pools are approximately 1½ trillion cubic feet. Regional conditions have been important to accumulation. Early migration made some parts of the Appalachian basin more favorable than others for accumulation of gas in the Oriskany sand. Favorable structure seems to have had some effect on sand conditions, as well as providing a means of trapping. In northern Pennsylvania and southern New York a producing province, including 34 pools, has been developed since 1930. These pools are structural traps caused by doming and thrust faulting along a series of prominent anticlines. The province is described in some detail, and a structure map of the area is presented.

Geology and Occurrence of Natural Gas in Oriskany Sandstone in Pennsylvania and New York

Geology and Occurrence of Natural Gas in Oriskany Sandstone in Pennsylvania and New York

Geology and Occurrence of Natural Gas in Oriskany in Faulted Anticlines with Particular Reference to Northern Pennsylvania and Southern New York Producing Area: ABSTRACT

The Oriskany sandstone, which has been important as a source of natural gas in the Appalachian area, has been productive in 66 different pools throughout the appalachian area. Many of the pools are small, and some of them were discovered many years ago when the Oriskany was not recognized as the producing formation. Most of the pools have resulted from structural trapping, although more than half of the total reserve of gas has been found in a large pool in West Virginia which is productive chiefly because of an interruption in porosity in an updip direction. Over 1½ trillion cubic feet of gas reserves have been discovered in the Oriskany since 1930. In northern Pennsylvania and southern New York a producing province including 34 pools has been developed between 1930 and the present. Practically all of these pools result from structural traps caused by doming and thrust faulting along a series of prominent anticlines. The province is described and a structure map of the area is presented. One of the most prominent producing trends (the Hebron-Harrison-Woodhull area), involving a complicated faulting pattern and the merging of two anticlines, is described in detail by means of surface and subsurface structure maps and cross sections. End_of_Article - Last_Page 2154------------

A Review of the Stratigraphy, Structure and Geological History of the Szechuan red basin and the Occurrence of Natural Gas, Oil, Brines and Rock Salt Contained Therein with Special Discussions of their Origin and Future Prospects

A Review of the Stratigraphy, Structure and Geological History of the Szechuan red basin and the Occurrence of Natural Gas, Oil, Brines and Rock Salt Contained Therein with Special Discussions of their Origin and Future Prospects

Methane in Ground Waters

Methane has been occasionally observed for many years in water wells in Illinois and its source has been held to be the decay of organic matter, principally vegetable, in glacial drift or similar formations. The absence of detectable amounts of ethane or higher hydrocarbons is in contrast to composition and the occurrence of methane in water wells shows little if any relation to the occurrence of oil and natural gas. The amount of water well gas has usually been insignificant, sometimes being used in a limited way for household consumption and occasionally causing difficulty in pumping, the liberation of the gas on reduction in pressure breaking the suction of the pump. Recently, however, a number of more or less serious explosions have occurred as the result of pumping water from such wells into a more or less enclosed reservoir or to lack of ventilation in the pump housing. As a result of these accidents this laboratory was asked to cooperate with the Departments of Public Health, and Mines and Minerals in a study of the general situation. The task assigned this laboratory was the collection of data on the location of methanebearing water wells and the amount of methane present in such waters.

Natural Gas Occurrences in Russia (U.S.S.R.)

There are 15 known gas fields in European Russia, five of which (Stavropol, Melitopol-Bierdiansk, Astrakhan, Dergachevsky, Sochy) produce only gas; one (Daghestanskie Ogni) is accepted as such for purposes of conservation; and the remaining areas produce both gas and oil (Baku, Grozny, Maikop, Cheleken, trans-Caspia, and Ural-Emba). Taman, Kerch, and Ukhta consist of proved and prospective oil lands. The most prolific gas-bearing horizons are found in the oil-bearing series of Tertiary age. Fields in southern Russia that produce gas only, are scattered over a large territory extending from the northwestern shore of the Asov Sea and from the vicinity of Stavropol to the northern coast of the Caspian Sea, and even far north of the latter. There are several gas-bearing horizons in the formations of Tertiary age, but only in a single area (Dergachevsky) in this gas-bearing province are the gas pressures and the yield of wells greater. While gas has been utilized in the oil fields in increasing amounts since 1925, nevertheless the natural gas industry in Russia as a whole does not fully utilize this natural resource. Occurrences of gas in Asiatic Russia are exceedingly scarce.

Rattlesnake Hills Gas Field, Benton County, Washington

The Rattlesnake Hills gas field, located in eastern Washington, is an unusual occurrence of natural gas at extremely low pressures, but in commercial amounts. It produces a high methane type of gas from 16 wells completed in one or both of two zones of porous basalt flows capped or intercalated with shales. The original well pressure, taken at the casinghead, as nearly as can be determined, was slightly more than 2 pounds, but present field pressures average slightly less. The daily capacity of the wells, as of October 2, 1930, ranged from 25 to 1.5 million cubic feet, and the entire open flow of 10 wells, then constituting the field, was about 5,190,000 cubic feet. Sales of gas in October, 1903, averaged 368,000 cubic feet daily. The field lies on a northeast plunging an icline developed on the north flank of a major northwest-southeast trending belt of anticlinal folding, known as the Rattlesnake range of hills.

Natural Gas Occurrences of Germany

The occurrences of natural in Germany are closely related to the occurrences of oil. The writer discusses five principal types of occurrence. 1. Natural occurs in the salt region of northwest Germany. As salt-dome structure is potentially productive of oil and gas, the writer lists 64 Saxon Zechstein salt occurrences. The most important oil fields, which also produce gas, are Wietze-Steinforde, Hanigsen-Nienhagen, Oelheim-Berkhopen, and Oberg. The principal producing horizons are in the Comanche, Jurassic, and Liassic. Gas does not occur as a gas cap above the oil, but the oil itself is rich in gas. 2. Natural occurs at Volkenroda in Thuringia in nearly flat or only slightly arched beds. The overlies the oil in Middle Zechstein dolomite below the pot sh deposits. 3. Natural occurs in the Pechelbronn oil field in the Rhine Valley graben. There are 13 producing horizons in the sandy Oligocene Pechelbronn beds. 4. Natural occurs within the area of the North German coal formations. In most places it is in the Upper Cretaceous overlying the coal-bearing Carboniferous beds. 5. Natural occurrences in Quaternary deposits are somewhat difficult to explain satisfactorily.

Geology and Occurrence of Natural Gas in Amarillo District, Texas

Natural gas is found throughout an almost continuous belt extending from central Beckham County, Oklahoma, northwestward to northern Moore County, Texas, and thence northward to and including Morton and Stevens counties, Kansas. This belt of productive gas territory is more than 200 miles in length and ranges from 5 miles to 40 miles in width and embraces an area of proved and semi-proved gas territory of more than 2 million acres, one of the largest and most important gas areas in the world. Gas is produced from beds of Permian and Pennsylvanian age. Accumulation of gas is closely associated with deposition and folding of these beds in relation to a buried mountain range known as the Amarillo Mountains. Natural gas has been known to exist in this area since 1918. From th t time it has developed in economic importance until to-day it occupies first place in production of natural gasoline and carbon black and is rapidly becoming the largest producer of natural gas for domestic and industrial use. Natural gas is now being transported from this district by pipe lines to such distant points as Chicago, Indianapolis, Denver, and Fort Worth. The writers discuss the geologic occurrence of the gas and set forth production data in connection with its utilization.

Petroleum: A Treatise on the Geographical Distribution and Geological Occurrence of Petroleum and Natural Gas

Petroleum: A Treatise on the Geographical Distribution and Geological Occurrence of Petroleum and Natural Gas

Petroleum: a Treatise on the Geographical Distribution and Geological Occurrence of Petroleum and Natural Gas; the Physical and Chemical Properties, Production and Refining of Petroleum and Ozokerite; the Characters and Uses, Testing, Transport, and Storage of Petroleum Products; and the Legislative Enactments relating thereto; together with a Description of the Shale Oil and allied Industries Le Pétrole, I'asphalte et le

AS frontispiece to his first volume, Mr. Redwood has adopted a map of the world; and thereupon are indicated by red spots, the known localities of the occurrence of petroleum: so treated, only a few parts of the map remain undotted, and these are mostly those which, in the world, are either permanently ice or ocean-covered, or those which, such as Central Asia, Central Africa, and Central Brazil, are still but little explored. The universality, far from being confined to the geography of petroleum, is one of the main distinguishing features of this unique subject: the chemistry, geology, mining, technical applications, and legal and fiscal aspects, all demand, for their due elucidation, the most experienced experts, inasmuch as each of these aspects is of a quito special character, a peculiarity which, in its turn, arises from the fundamental fact that petroleum is unlike anything else among the world's chief products. Petroleum: a Treatise on the Geographical Distribution and Geological Occurrence of Petroleum and Natural Gas; the Physical and Chemical Properties, Production and Refining of Petroleum and Ozokerite; the Characters and Uses, Testing, Transport, and Storage of Petroleum Products; and the Legislative Enactments relating thereto; together with a Description of the Shale Oil and allied Industries. By Boverton Redwood, assisted by G. T. Holloway, Assoc.R.Coll.Sc, F.I.C., and others. 2 vols. 4to. 900 pp. (London: C. Griffin and Co., Ltd., 1896.) Le Pétrole, I'asphalte et le bitume, au point de vue géologique. By A. Jaccard. Professeur Geologie à I'Académie Neuchâtel. 1 vol., 8vo., 292 pp. (Paris: F. Alcan, 1896.) Petroleum: its Development and Uses. By R. Nelson Boyd 1 vol. 8vo, 85 pp. (London: Whittaker and Co., 1896.)