Abstract: Future Petroleum Potential of Front Range Areas, Colorado

HEMBRE, DONALD R.

The Colorado Front Range Areas of this study are divided into five subareas, being: (1) Front Range Forelimb, (2) Southern Uplift Margins, (3) San Luis Valley Rift, (4) North and Middle Park Basins, and (5) South Park Basin. The Southern Uplift Margins include all or part of the Canon City Basin, Apishapa Uplift, Huerfano Park and northern Raton Basin.

Each of the five subareas has future petroleum potential.

The future petroleum potentials of the subareas are categorized as to reservoir stratigraphic age, lithology and accumulation trapping or sealing mechanism.

New and innovative exploration methods and production development practices are significant in the future potential of the Front Range Areas. These include 3-D Seismic surveys, horizontal drilling development, recognition of low resistivity pay opportunities, diagenetic clay seal trapping environments and basin center continuous gas accumulation opportunities. Detailed structural modeling and reservoir thin section analyses are traditional basic ingredients to several of these new methods.

Future petroleum potentials for each subarea are summarized.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90946©1997 AAPG Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, Denver, Colorado