--> Abstract: Identifying Areas of Enhanced Natural Fracturing in the Ferron Coal Trend of Central Utah Using Satellite Imagery, Regional Geophysical Grids, and Subsurface Data, by J. F. Amos and D. J. Campagna; #90937 (1998).

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Abstract: Identifying Areas of Enhanced Natural Fracturing in the Ferron Coal Trend of Central Utah Using Satellite Imagery, Regional Geophysical Grids, and Subsurface Data

AMOS, JOHN F., and DR. DAVID J. CAMPAGNA, Advanced Resources International, Incorporated

Remote imagery, potential field data and subsurface information can be rapidly and economically integrated to identify geologic structures that control natural fracture distribution, using widely available digital image processing technology. We isolated areas with enhanced natural fracturing for coalbed methane exploration in the Upper Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone of central Utah. This technique can be broadly applied to improve the understanding of petroleum systems, and the economics of hydrocarbon exploration, in fractured and compartmentalized settings.

A fluvio-deltaic assemblage of sandstone, siltstone, and coal, the Ferron hosts significant amounts of methane: production in Drunkards Wash field exceeds 500 MCFD per well, with cumulative production expected to top 1 TCF. Production relates to secondary permeability caused by natural fractures. Fracture distribution corresponds with abrupt changes in basement composition, suggesting that basement structures have exerted persistent influence on structural styles and depositional patterns throughout the Cretaceous section. Our exploration methodology integrates geomorphic mapping and fracture detection to discover these regional, basement-related structures. Alignments of linear geomorphic features on remote imagery are compared with potential field and subsurface data to determine their structural relevance. In the Ferron trend, regional ENE-oriented basement-related structures emerged by comparing geomorphic alignments with potential field and isopach data. These previously unmapped structures define compartments that exhibit distinct fracture trends and distributions, and correspond with new production.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90937©1998 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Salt Lake City, Utah