Woodbine Formation Research Articles

Depositional Systems in Woodbine Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Northeast Texas: ABSTRACT

The Woodbine Formation (Upper Cretaceous) in northeast Texas is a sequence of terrigenous clastic rocks derived largely from Paleozoic sedimentary and mildly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks exposed in the Ouachita Mountains of southern Oklahoma and Arkansas and deposited in a complex of nearshore environments along the margins of a broadly subsiding basin. On the basis of a regional outcrop and subsurface investigation in which external geometry of framework sands was integrated with observations of lithology, sedimentary structures, fossil occurrence, and bounding relationships, 2 principal depositional systems are recognized in Woodbine rocks--a fluvial system and a highly destructive delta system. The tributary-channel facies and the highly meandering channel facies, both components of the fluvial system represented by massive sand and gravel bodies of the lower Woodbine (Dexter) lithosome, are dominant north and northeast of a line from Dallas to Tyler. On the south and southwest, the highly destructive delta system is persistent throughout the entire section. The 4 component facies of the delta system includes: progradational distributary-mouth bar facies; coastal-barrier sand facies, developed either lateral to or basinward of the distributary mouth; prodelta mud facies; and embayment-strandplain facies, developed laterally adjacent to principal deltaic facies. Following or near the end of deposition of Woodbine rocks and before their transgression by Eagle Ford Shale, emergence of the Sabine uplift resulted in erosion of Woodbine material and its redeposition along the margins of the uplift in a lithosome designated the Harris Sand. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1788------------

Depositional Systems in Woodbine Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Northeast Texas: ABSTRACT

The Woodbine Formation (Upper Cretaceous) in northeast Texas is a sequence of terrigenous clastic rocks derived largely from Paleozoic sedimentary and mildly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks exposed in the Ouachita Mountains of southern Oklahoma and Arkansas and deposited in a complex of nearshore environments along the margins of a broadly subsiding basin. On the basis of a regional outcrop and subsurface investigation in which external geometry of framework sands was integrated with observations of lithology, sedimentary structures, fossil occurrence, and bounding relationships, 2 principal depositional systems are recognized in Woodbine rocks--a fluvial system and a highly destructive delta system. The tributary-channel facies and the highly meandering channel facies, both components of the fluvial system represented by massive sand and gravel bodies of the lower Woodbine (Dexter) lithosome, are dominant north and northeast of a line from Dallas to Tyler. On the south and southwest, the highly destructive delta system is persistent throughout the entire section. The 4 component facies of the delta system includes: progradational distributary-mouth bar facies; coastal-barrier sand facies, developed either lateral to or basinward of the distributary mouth; prodelta mud facies; and embayment-strandplain facies, developed laterally adjacent to principal deltaic facies. Following or near the end of deposition of Woodbine rocks and before their transgression by Eagle Ford Shale, emergence of the Sabine uplift resulted in erosion of Woodbine material and its redeposition along the margins of the uplift in a lithosome designated the "Harris Sand." End_of_Article - Last_Page 1788------------

Geology of Woodbine Formation in East Texas Oil Field and Related Areas: ABSTRACT

The East Texas oil field is in the eastern part of Texas. It was discovered by random drilling by Columbus M. (Dad) Joiner, October 3, 1930, on completion of the No. 3 Daisy Bradford. The producing formation is the Upper Cretaceous Woodbine Sandstone. The geology of the Woodbine Sandstone in the East Texas field and related areas is comparatively simple. Regionally the field is on the western flank of the Sabine uplift, which controlled End_Page 532------------------------------ the deposition of the Woodbine Sandstone and the accumulation of oil in the field. The accumulation of oil is due to updip pinchout of the sandstone. This pinchout forms the eastern edge of the field. The western limit of the field is defined by an oil-water contact at a subsea depth of approximately 3,320 ft. The Woodbine is the basal stratigraphic unit of the Upper Cretaceous. The seals above the Woodbine are the Eagle Ford Shale and the Austin Chalk. In most of the field, the Austin Chalk is in direct contact with the truncated and updip edge of the Woodbine. Beneath the reservoir sandstone is shale of the Lower Cretaceous Washita Group. Just east of the field, the Austin Chalk overlies the Washita directly. The field has one of the largest proved oil reserves of any in the United States. This places it among the giant single oil pools of the world. The pool is 44.32 mi long (northeast-southwest) and 4.94 mi wide (east-west), and covers approximately 140,000 acres. The average net effective sandstone thickness is approximately 35 ft ranging from 0 to 102 ft. East Texas field has produced 3,860,000,000 bbl of oil to January 1, 1968, and has an estimated remaining recoverable reserve of approximately 2,000,000,000 bbl. The oil currently is selling for $3.15 per bbl in the field. The oil, gas, and liquid products produced from the field have an accumulated value of about $10,000,000,000. In the East Texas basin there are 83 separate oil pools producing from the Woodbine, having an estimated ultimate recoverable reserve of 7,700,000,000 bbl. Seventy-six (76) percent of this reserve is in the East Texas pool. End_of_Article - Last_Page 533------------

Comparison of Some Formation Water Classification Systems

Many reports of formation water analyses show determinations only for carbonate, bicarbonate, sulfate, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and sodium ions. Waters from various geological formations are classified by the systems of Palmer, Sulin, and Schoeller. These systems are compared and it is concluded that Sulin's system is more descriptive of petroleum formation waters than are the other systems. According to Sulin's system, waters known to be in contact with petroleum are of the following types: chloride-calcium > bicarbonate-sodium > chloride-magnesium >>> sulfate-sodium. In Schoeller's system, positive indications of base exchange are calculated for Sulin's chloride-calcium and chloride-magnesium types with negative indications for bicarbonate-sodium and sulfate-sodium types. Sulin's system shows changes in water type as infiltrated water moved downdip in Trenton and Woodbine formation waters.

Effects of Hydrodynamic Pressure Interference on Reservoir Performance, Buffalo Lake D-3 Pool

Abstract Articles in the literature have presented theoretical methods of solving the material balance equation (MBE) for partial water drive reservoirs. The theory and application of solving MBE by the straight line concept was an extension of the original idea presented by van Everdingen et al. In these solutions, the effects of hydrodynamic pressure interference from other pools located in the same aquifer were not considered. Mortada, Robinson and other authors investigated interference between pools, but unfortunately for the practicing reservoir engineer none of them published a complete factual field study of such an interference phenomenon. The present investigation examines qualitatively the physical effects of interference on the solution of the MBE, and particularly the effects of interference on a pool discovered some time after a reduction of its reservoir pressure had already occurred. It is emphasized that this particular solution may well surpass the limits of applicability of the MBE. This concept has no precedent (to the best of our knowledge) in the petroleum engineering literature, and therefore the contribution of this paper is in the physical definition and use of the interrelated physical parameters and the qualitative correlation of all the many necessary conditions imposed on the successful solution of the MBE. It is not expected that the basic assumptions or solutions are unique or that they will be entirely free of dispute. However, realizing these limitations, it is hoped that a practical method has been presented which will allow the handling of similar reservoir problems. Of subordinate importance is a re-emphasis of the simplicity of applying the constant terminal rate method and the superposition theorem for predicting pressures within the aquifer. The application uses the straight-line method approach for an explicit evaluation of the unknown parameters of the aquifer. Once these unknown parameters are determined (i.e., after obtaining a satisfactory match with the available pressure-production history), pressure performance for any future rate can be simply predicted using a desk calculator. Introduction The effects of hydrodynamic pressure interference between pools producing from a common aquifer have been described in general terms in the literature. The present study presents a field example of an interference problem and the solution of the expanded material balance equation (EMBE) while accounting for such effects. As pointed out by Mortada, the rate of propagation of the pressure decline can be such as to significantly reduce the pressure many miles from the producing pool. In his paper he referred to the Woodbine formation in East Texas where a dozen or more pools draw on that horizon for water drive. A similar situation also exists in Alberta, Canada, where many Devonian (Leduc) D-3 reef pools are developed on a common water bearing platform stratigraphically identified as the Cooking Lake formation (Fig. 2). A unique situation which complicates the simple interference problem occurs when the pool to be evaluated is discovered some time subsequent to a drop in its initial pressure due to interference from other pools (p (discovery) less than p i). The application of material balance principles to such a pool therefore requires adjustments of its pressure performance history to account for the effects of interference, not only during its exploitation life, but also before its discovery. Furthermore, because of the inherent limitations of the EMBE, heuristic criteria must be used to adequately describe such a complicated physical phenomenon. Independent principles such as geology, geophysics or even logic must be used to relate the material balance solutions. Such a non-mathematical approach admittedly renders the answers open to some question; however, realizing these limitations, the acceptability of such a semi-quantitative solution should not be impaired by the unknown exactness of the final results. Theory EMBE With Interference Term In a reservoir which suffers from hydrodynamic interference, the measured, instantaneous, effective pressure drops are numerically greater than those caused by the net withdrawals from that particular field alone. JPT P. 23ˆ

A New Sawfish from the Woodbine Formation (Cretaceous) of Texas

Sawfish rostral teeth from the Woodbine Formation near Arlington, Texas, bear three or more barbs along the posterior edge and a lack of ribbing along peripheral keels. Otherwise they are similar to Onchopristis numidus Haug, in which rostral teeth are characterized by a single large terminal barb and ribbing. The complete absence of the latter in the Woodbine faunule suggests the multiple barbs and ribbing are specific properties; therefore these forms are described as 0. dunklei n. sp.

New Evidence for Marine Phase of Raritan Formation (Cretaceous) in New Jersey Coastal Plain: GEOLOGICAL NOTES

Stratigraphic correlation and electric logs of wells drilled in Burlington and Ocean counties, New Jersey, show a distinctive subsurface marine phase of the Raritan Formation that contrasts with the alternating sand and clay representative of the formation9s outcrop. Marine fossils from the subsurface Raritan Formation are closest related to the fauna from the Woodbine Formation of Texas. A downdip and oceanward facies change from nearshore and shoreline sediments to marine deposits is indicated.

A Reservoir Analyzer Study of the Woodbine Basin

Abstract This paper presents a reservoir analyzer study of the performance of the Woodbine formation in the East Texas basin. The study was made possible by the compilation of available information on the configuration, thickness and the pressure drawdown of the formation. The investigation was made of the pressure variations in the basin incident to production from the several Woodbine reservoirs. In addition, the apparent compressibility of Woodbine water was evaluated so that the potential water yield of the formation could be determined. The distribution of permeability of the Woodbine sand and the interference between producing areas were also investigated. In conjunction with this basic study of the Woodbine sand, an acceptable match of the production-pressure relationship in the East Texas Field was established on the analyzer. Introduction When production is taken from a reservoir contiguous to an aquifer, the resultant pressure gradient causes a water influx into the reservoir. For some years it has been the practice to predict the performance of water drive reservoirs with mathematical equations that relate the water influx into reservoirs to their pressure behavior. A rigorous solution of these equations is quite complex; hence, the conventional method requires the simplifying assumptions that the formation have constant thickness, permeability and porosity, and that it have a known and regular shape. It is necessary to use performance records of the reservoir in question to determine the equation constants that make the results of the mathematical calculations duplicate the reservoir history. The values of the constants determined in this manner sometimes differ so greatly from theoretical or measured values that the constants appear unreasonable. The equation constants comprise such factors as the thickness, porosity and permeability of the formation, and the viscosity and compressibility of water. Usually the thickness, porosity and viscosity are known within a reasonable degree of certainty, whereas the formation permeability and the water compressibility are known with considerably less certainty. Hence, permeability and compressibility values are arbitrarily selected that will make the mathematical equations duplicate the reservoir behavior. In many reservoir studies the value of the compressibility of water thus selected has exceeded the reported value by a factor of from severalfold to manyfold.

Developments in East Texas in 1946

Eight new oil-producing areas and 4 new gas-producing areas were discovered in East Texas during 1946. Three of the new oil discoveries produce from the Woodbine formation. These are North Gallatin and William Wise in Cherokee County and Norman Paul in Wood County. Oil production in the sub-Clarksville sand of the upper Eagle Ford was also discovered in the Norman Paul field. Production in the South Flynn field in Leon County is considered to be from an undifferentiated Woodbine-Eagle Ford section. Two of the new oil discoveries produce from the Paluxy formation. These are Boynton and Mt. Sylvan, both situated in Smith County. Two new oil fields were discovered in the Travis Peak formation, namely, Elysian Fields in Harrison County and Lassater in Marion County. The four new gas-producing areas are Pine Hill and South Henderson in Rusk County, which produce from the Travis Peak; Flower Acres in Bowie County, which produces from the Smackover, and Huxley in Shelby County, which produces from the Pettit zone of the lower Glen Rose. During the year, new producing zones were discovered in 6 older fields. Exploratory drilling was characterized by a continuation of the trend toward deeper drilling which has been in progress for several years.

Hawkins Field, Wood County, Texas

This paper presents a summary of the history, geology, and development of the Hawkins oil field, southeast Wood County, Texas, from its discovery in December, 1940, to September, 1945, when regulations of the Petroleum Administration for War were rescinded. Active field development followed completion of the discovery well, and although drilling was restricted by war emergency regulations, 415 oil wells have been completed, producing from the Woodbine formation at an average depth of 4,850 feet. The Hawkins field occurs on a large northeastward-trending, faulted anticline situated near the north-central part of the East Texas geosynclinal basin. A major fault downthrown toward the northwest and trending northeast-southwest crosses the east part of the field. A pronounced gravity minimum indicates that the field is underlain by a deep-seated salt mass. Structural growth increases progressively with depth to the point where the Woodbine producing formation has structural closure approximating 1,200 feet. The Woodbine oil and gas reservoir, which is 5 miles long and 4 miles wide, underlies 8,774 acres. The estimated ultimate recovery from the oil-productive area, which contains 8,372 acres, is 449,717,500 barrels. Cumulative production to September, 1945, was 43,134,613 barrels. The oil produced from the field is a predominantly asphaltic mixed-base crude with a brownish black color, and the gravity ranges from 16 to 31°. Gas occurs above the Woodbine in the sub-Clarksville sand of the Eagle Ford formation, where porosity is developed. Extensive coring, together with modern development methods, have made possible an intensive study of the reservoir characteristics which may be unparalleled in any other field. Detailed reservoir information is, therefore, far superior to that available in any other Woodbine field in the East Texas basin. Surface mapping of geologic structure first directed attention to this area, and core-drill information later supplemented and confirmed the earlier surface work. It is noteworthy that until the time of the discovery of the field, the activities of the principal operator were not influenced by geophysics.

Developments in East Texas in 1942

Five new oil fields, one oil and gas field, and one gas field were discovered in East Texas in 1942 Three of these discoveries produce from the Woodbine formation, two from the Paluxy formation, and two from the lower Glen Rose formation. There was a decline of approximately 70 per cent in the number of wells drilled in producing areas. Important exploratory tests were directed to the Wilcox, Woodbine, Paluxy, lower Glen Rose, Travis Peak, and Smackover formations.

Developments in East Texas During 1941

The marked increase in exploratory tests in East Texas during 1941 resulted in the discovery of three oil fields. Two of these fields are producing from the Woodbine formation and one from the Rodessa zone of the lower Glen Rose formation. In the Hawkins field, which was the major 1940 discovery, a rapid development program took place and 243 oil wells, 3 gas wells, and 8 dry holes were drilled. The number of completions in other proved fields exceeded that of 1940.

Developments in East Texas during 1941: ABSTRACT

The marked increase in exploratory tests in East Texas during 1941 resulted in the discovery of three oil fields. Two of these fields are producing from the Woodbine formation and one from the Rodessa zone of the lower Glen Rose formation. In the Hawkins field, which was the major 1940 discovery, a rapid development program took place and 243 oil wells, 3 gas wells, and 8 dry holes were drilled. The number of completions in other proved fields exceeded that of 1940. End_of_Article - Last_Page 905------------

Boggy Creek Salt Dome, Anderson and Cherokee Counties, Texas

Boggy Creek salt dome is located near the axis of the East Texas geosyncline in Anderson and Cherokee counties. It is of interest principally because it is the only interior salt dome in East Texas or Louisiana on which an oil field has been developed. Surface geology first attracted attention to this area, and later exploration was carried on by core tests and geophysical work. This dome has many of the physiographic and structural features characteristic of other interior domes, but is unusual in shape, size, and other respects. A structurally low central area is found on top of the dome. Faulting is present near the south end of the uplift. The salt movement probably occurred contemporaneously with that of other East Texas domes, being most pronounced between middle Wilcox and Carrizo times. In the central and northern portions of the dome, salt movement also occurred after the deposition of the Lower Claiborne beds. Oil and gas is produced from the Woodbine formation in a long, narrow area on the southeast flank of the dome. The oil-producing area contains about 200 acres and the gas area about 50 acres. Present average daily production is about 1,000 barrels. Ultimate recovery from this field is not expected to exceed 4,000,000 barrels.