The Herd Viola Trend, Comanche County, Kansas

Larry Richardson

The central portion of Comanche Co., Kansas prior to the year 2000 was primarily a Mississippian St. Louis producing area. In April of that year, everything changed with the drilling of the Thoroughbred Associates #1 Herd. The #1 Herd was completed in the Viola dolomite flowing 500 BOPD which resulted in an unprecedented leasing and drilling boom in the area and not only expanded the area of Viola production along with the other, more traditional, producing zones but furnished much valuable information that has aided in the understanding of the geologic conditions that control Viola dolomite oil and gas production. This study demonstrates that Viola oil production is not necessarily structurally controlled but more importantly by the preservation of that portion of the upper Viola that contains the productive dolomite porosity that lies beneath a difficult to recognize but extremely important erosional unconformity between the Viola and the overlying Maquoketa/Kinderhook section. As a result, the Viola produces from a classic "paleotopographic" trap. The study also shows subsurface mapping techniques that have proven useful in predicting the optimum conditions for porosity preservation. Regional studies also show the relationship between the geologic conditions in the Herd pool and other Viola pools in Comanche and Clark Counties. The Herd Viola trend has produced in excess of 1.1 MMBO along with 208 BCFG from the Viola, Mississippian and Marmaton. The discovery well has produced, by itself, in excess of 560,000 BO along with 330 MMCFG. 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90176©AAPG Mid-Continent Meeting, Wichita, Kansas, October 12-15, 2013