Grant Canyon Oil Field, Nye County, Nevada

Harry K. Veal, Herbert D. Duey, Louis C. Bortz, Norman H. Foster

The Grant Canyon field is located on the east side of Railroad Valley, 8 mi south of the Eagle Springs oil field. The discovery well, 1 Grant Canyon Unit (SW¼ NW¼, Sec. 21, T7S, R57E), was completed by Northwest Exploration Co. on September 11, 1983, flowing 1,816 BOPD from the Devonian Simonson(?) dolomite (4,374-4,448 ft). Two additional wells have been completed in the field. Cumulative oil production through December 31, 1986, is 5,260,430 bbl of oil. During December 1986, wells 3 and 4 flowed an average of 5,189 BOPD. Well 4 averaged 4,065 BOPD for a recent monthly total. The discovery well (1) has been shut-in. The productive area is about 240 acres.

The trap is a "high" fault block in the boundary fault zone that separates Railroad Valley from the Grant Range to the east. The Devonian Simonson(?) reservoir is an intensely fractured, vuggy dolomite with some intercrystalline porosity. The top seal is the Tertiary valley fill which unconformably overlies the Simonson(?) dolomite.

The oil column is about 400 ft thick and the field apparently has an active water drive, inasmuch as the 1 Unit had to be shut-in because of water production. The oil is black, 26° API gravity, a pour point of 10°F and 0.5% sulfur. Estimated ultimate recoverable oil reserves are 13,000,000 bbl of oil.

The adjacent Bacon Flat field is a one-well field (SW¼ SW¼, Sec. 17, T7N, R57E) that was completed by Northwest Exploration Co. on July 5, 1981, for 200 BOPD and 1,050 BWPD from the Devonian Guilmette(?) limestone (5,316-5,333 ft). Cumulative production through December 31, 1986, is 209,649 bbl of oil, and this well averaged 215 BOPD during December 1986.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91040©1987 AAPG Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, Boise, Idaho, September 13-16, 1987.