Eagle Ford Outcrops in West Texas: Guide to Evaluation for the Resource Play

Brian Lock and Nick Whitcomb
University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Louisiana 70504

Outstanding outcrops of the Eagle Ford Formation in Val Verde and Terrell counties, Texas, have been studied and samples analyzed for TOC and evaluated by pyrolysis, x-ray diffraction, and vitrinite reflectance techniques, to determine kerogen type, richness, degree of maturation and suitability for hydraulic fracturing. The outcrops also provide a view of the strata which is not possible in the subsurface, to indicate degree of lateral variability and extent and characteristics of natural fracturing. The suband superjacent strata have been included in the field study.