Re-evaluation of Trenton exploration strategies on the LaSalle Anticline in Illinois; is it all about the position on the crest?

Abstract

Established Trenton production on the LaSalle Anticlinorium in Illinois is primarily associated with wells on the crest of the structural domes along a 60-mile or longer regional trend in eastern Illinois, extending from Lawrence County in the southeast, to Douglas County in the north. Are there other considerations that might be important in strategies to expand this play? We will look at relatively recent tests and completion strategies and consider other factors that may come in to play that may impact exploration, re-exploration, and development strategies. Several indicators suggest that different strategies may lead to successes in the Trenton, such as studies that indicate offset of structure with depth, where deeper structural features and closures may not parallel closures mapped on shallower structural horizons (such as described by Brenizer, Leetaru, and Freiburg of ISGS), as well as observations of oil shows in off-structure tests, and a new look at potential productive facies within the Trenton will be discussed.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90195 © 2014 Eastern Section Meeting, London, Ontario, Canada, September 27-30, 2014