--> Abstract: Application of Paleogeomorphic Mapping Technique to the Subsurface Evaluation of the Appalachian Basin of New York, by A. J. Pyron; #90930 (1998).

Datapages, Inc.Print this page

Abstract:Application of Paleogeomorphic Mapping Technique to the Subsurface Evaluation of the Appalachian Basin of New York

PYRON, ARTHUR J.
Pyron Consulting, Pottstown, PA

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the author were partners on an 18 month demonstration project using Pyron Consulting's paleogeomorphic mapping technique to evaluate and identify stratigraphic traps in New York's Appalachian Basin. This technique has been successfully used on a variety of lithologies and reservoir types in both domestic and international basins, and has revealed itself to be a sensitive indicator of economic accumulations of hydrocarbon reserves.

Given the economics of exploration in a maturing basin like the Appalachian Basin, efficient use of exploration capital prior to drilling is mandatory. Pyron Consulting developed its paleogeomorphic technique as a tool that small independents could use to identify reservoirs where entrapment is associated with stratigraphic or diagenetic processes. The paleogeomorphic technique can be used as a primary decision maker to select the optimum locations for well placement or lease acquisition, to guide the investment of capital, to maximize the potential for success, and to reduce the cost of purchasing seismic by limiting the purchase to the area of ultimate drilling.

Having developed a mapping tool that is sensitive enough to identify stratigraphic trapping, Pyron Consulting then attempts to address a larger question - can this technique be a viable tool in determine whether a given prospect is economically and technically viable. This question is critical to the future of development of mature basins, whose future has been left to small to medium sized independents with less access to capitalization.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90930©1998 AAPG Eastern Section, Columbus, Ohio