--> Abstract: Mid-Continent Natural Gas Reservoirs and Plays, by D. G. Bebout; #90991 (1993).

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BEBOUT, DON G., Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

ABSTRACT: Mid-Continent Natural Gas Reservoirs and Plays

Natural gas reservoirs of the mid-continent states of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas (northern part) have produced 103 trillion cubic ft (tcf) of natural gas. Oklahoma has produced the most, having a cumulative production of 71 tcf. The major reservoirs (those that have produced more than 10 billion ft3) have been identified and organized into 28 plays based on geologic age, lithology, and depositional environment. The Atlas of Major Midcontinent Gas Reservoirs, published in 1993, provides the documentation for these plays. This atlas was a collaborative effort of the Gas Research Institute; Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin; Arkansas Geological Commission; Kansas Geological Survey; and Oklahoma Geological Survey.

Total cumulative production from 530 major reservoirs is 66 tcf associated and nonassociated gas. Oklahoma has the highest production with 39 tcf from 390 major reservoirs, followed by Kansas with 26 tcf from 105 major reservoirs. Most of the mid-continent production is from Pennsylvanian (46%) and Permian (41%) reservoirs; Mississippian reservoirs account for 10% production, and lower Paleozoic reservoirs, 3%. The largest play by far is the Wolfcampian Shallow Shelf Carbonate-Hugoton Embayment play with 26 tcf cumulative production, most of which is from the Hugoton and Panoma fields in Kansas and Guymon-Hugoton gas area in Oklahoma. A total of 53% of the mid-continent gas production is from dolostone and limestone reservoirs; 39% is from sandstone reservoirs. The remaining 8% is fro chert, conglomerate, and granite-wash reservoirs.

Geologically based plays established from the distribution of major gas reservoirs provide important support for the extension of productive trends, application of new resource technology to more efficient field development, and further exploration in the mid-continent region.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90991©1993 AAPG Mid-Continent Section Meeting, Amarillo, Texas, October 10-12, 1993.