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Recent Activity in the Floyd, Neal
, and Chattanooga
Shale Plays, Black Warrior Basin, Alabama and Mississippi*
By
Kent A. Bowker1
Search and Discovery
Article #10162 (2008)
Posted October 31, 2008
*Adapted from oral presentation at AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, TX, April 20-23, 2008
1Bowker Petroleum, LLC, The Woodlands, TX. ([email protected])
Several operators are currently
active in the Black Warrior basin in an effort to establish commercial
production in the Floyd (term used in Alabama), Neal
(Mississippi), and Chattanooga shales. At least 23 vertical and four horizontal wells have been drilled with
the primary target being one or more of these formations since Denbury made the
first completion attempt in the
Neal
Shale in 2002. There has been no economic
production established to date, but all of the geologic factors believed
necessary for an economic venture are present in the Floyd,
Neal
, and Chattanooga shales in at least a portion of the Black Warrior basin. The Mississippian
Neal
and Floyd shales are nearly stratigraphic equivalent, and both formations
incorporate the same black-shale facies which is the target of much of the
recent drilling in the basin. The black shale of the
Neal
and Floyd was
deposited at the same time and in nearly the same environment as the Fayetteville (Arkoma basin) and Barnett (Fort Worth basin) shales. There are facies
changes within the Floyd/
Neal
that need to be understood in order to be
successful in the play. Gas content, thermal maturity, and mineralogy of the
shale in portions of the basin appear more than sufficient to support an
economic drilling program. The Devonian Chattanooga Shale is equivalent to the
productive Woodford Shale of the Arkoma basin. The Chattanooga appears to be
too thin in much of the basin to be prospective; however, in the areas where it
is over 50-ft thick, the Chattanooga should be an excellent exploration target.
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· No commercial production to date. · Many operators in play, with no company clearly taking the lead in developing the Floyd. · Denbury, David Arrington, Murphy, Noble, Bankers Petroleum, W&B, Marlin, Cabot, Carrizo, Lario, Resolute, Anadarko, and others have staked and drilled wells and/or have acreage in the play. · Primary reason play is not working to date: concentrated and sustained effort within the correct region by one organization to develop the proper technique to exploit the Floyd Shale. |