Datapages, Inc.Print this page

Updated Source Rock Geochemical Data and Maps for the Point Pleasant-Utica Play in Ohio

Matthew S. Erenpreiss, Lawrence H. Wickstrom, Ronald A. Riley, and Christopher J. Perry
Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey, Columbus, OH
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

As interest in Ohio’s Upper Ordovician Point Pleasant Formation and Utica shale has grown, so has activity at Ohio’s core and cuttings repository, the Horace R. Collins Laboratory, which preserves and provides public access to the collection. The core collection consists of nearly 900 boreholes, totaling 300,000 drilled feet in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The well cuttings collection consists of over 3,100 well suites; 1,100 duplicate suites; and 1,700 lithologic strip logs, all of which are available to the public and the industry alike.

With renewed interest in shale exploration, numerous oil-and-gas companies have sampled Upper Ordovician black shale well cuttings and core from the core repository during the past year to obtain source rock analyses. Many of these analyses are no longer confidential and are available for public distribution and evaluation. Over 220 wells have analyses targeting the Point Pleasant-Utica interval. Of these, over 150 are source rock geochemical analyses used to create and update the state’s source rock potential and thermal maturity maps of the Upper Ordovician shales.

Additional samples and analyses continually are being collected from both new and older wells, allowing the state to review methods to normalize evaluations of historic wells, thus providing the public with a comprehensive look at the hydrocarbon potential across the state. This data compilation and mapping project are a result of Ohio Geological Survey efforts to provide information to the public and industry to assist in exploration and evaluation of this important, potentially prolific, unconventional oil-and-gas play.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90154©2012 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, Cleveland, Ohio, 22-26 September 2012