Abstract:

“Syndepositional Sandstone Channels”

The Singleton field in Banner Co., Nebraska was acquired by Elk Petroleum in response their tertiary recovery business model. Several other fields in Wyoming and Colorado were also evaluated based on waterflood success and reservoir heterogeneities. An aggressive transportation plan would pipe CO2 from Midwest ethanol plants to Singleton and points west including the Powder River Basin. A reservoir study was conducted to determine the nature of reservoir heterogeneities between the Singleton and adjoining Raymond fields. Correlations suggest fluvial and esturarine sandstone reservoirs may be associated with syndepositional structural lows. Paleovalleys apparently formed along linear depressions, possibly related to Permian salt dissolution along basement fracture zones. Work in the Powder River Basin suggests salt dissolution and attendant downwarping occurred in the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods.

A recent WGA-SPE field trip visited a similar syndepositional channel in the Muddy Fm. at Jones Draw in western Wind River Basin. The channel geometry suggests reservoir-quality sandstone development within an actively downwarping paleovalley. The channel sandstone is oil-saturated and may correlate with the Grieve field located 15 miles to the east.

Bio:

Currently, Mark is a geologist with Triangle G Consulting LLC. He is also a geology and history instructor at Casper College, and ski instructor at Hogadon Basin. Mark and Sandra's son Eric and wife Jenna have grandchildren Claire and Andrew. Mark has worked as a geologist since 1974, after having served in the U. S. Air Force. His professional fields have included engineering geology, petroleum geology, and field geology.

Helium in Wyoming: from geology to production.

Abstract

Helium has been recognized as a critical and strategic element since World War I, and it is indispensable to a variety of industries ranging from healthcare to aerospace. Wyoming is one of the largest producers of helium in the world—all of it a by-product of natural gas and carbon dioxide production from the LaBarge platform. Increasing demand for helium, coupled with major shifts in the industry, natural gas production, and global geopolitics, have driven a series of worldwide supply shortages and price spikes over the past two decades. These shortages underscore the necessity of helium for advanced manufacturing and research, and have propelled a new wave of interest in this resource. In 2023 the Wyoming State Geological Survey published a report on helium in Wyoming, providing an overview of the state’s helium development and what is known about other occurrences of helium across the state. The report is accompanied by a digital dataset of helium concentrations, sampled from oil and gas wells across Wyoming, for use in future resource evaluation and exploration.

Bio

Kelsey Kehoe is a project geologist on the energy and minerals team at the Wyoming State Geological Survey. Her work focuses on the geology of Wyoming’s energy mineral and mineral industries. Since joining the WSGS in 2018, she has worked on a variety of projects, including investigating critical mineral occurrences, estimating coal resources, compiling mineral production and historic mining data, and bedrock mapping. Kelsey grew up on the California coast between the San Andreas and San Gregorio faults. She received her B.S. in Geology from San Francisco State University and her M.S. in Geology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her background is in analytical geochemistry, petrography, thermal maturity, and isotope geochemistry.

Using Chemical Tracers to Fast-Track CCS Permitting and Meet to Class VI MRV Requirements

Abstract

As every potential CCS project operator discovers in the early evaluation of a disposal and storage project, the rigors of Class VI permitting and the ability to demonstrate to governance full compliance with MRV requirements can be unwieldy, and in some cases, seemly impossible. Potential operators quickly learn that compliance is extremely challenging and may be cost prohibitive to meet regulations under Class VI guidelines and rules.

This presentation will focus on blending widely used and well-accepted reservoir technologies that can be applied at a lower cost, in a timelier fashion with higher definition for meeting Class VI MRV compliance requirements. The advantage of using integrated technologies is a shortened cycle-time for monitoring, reporting and, consequently, early detection and fail-safe validation. An early response enhances the opportunity for viable emergency response pathways.

Assuring MRV compliance is an essential process and ensures that Q45 Carbon Credits are being granted and applied appropriately. Class VI requirements dictate that a CCS operator monitor, report, and validate a project’s progress with periodic updates on the success and, perhaps even more importantly, failures. As such, timely project tracking is mission critical. Critically, early detection of a CO2 leak or earlier than expected migration of the sequestered CO2 plume is essential to managing a project and avoiding a potential catastrophic event. Early detection and responsive mitigation may head off a total project failure and ultimate termination at any time in the life of a sequestration project.

Unified technologies for meeting MRV requirements and ensuring the success of any CCS project to be presented include:

•Subsurface: 4D seismic and tensor arrays for processing, simulation and storage modeling; fiber deployed DTS/DAS, advanced logging (triple-combo and pulse neutron logs), and chemical tracers for quantitative plume arrival data collected at monitoring wells,

•Near-surface: soil samples using sorbent materials, domestic water wells, aquifers, high-resolution tensors, etc. and looking for evidence of chemical tracers in samples for leak confirmation, and

•Surface: air monitoring sentry systems with carbon dioxide sensors that are currently used for meeting methane emissions compliance requirements in most US jurisdictions, LIDAR, continuous injection of chemical tracers for atmospheric testing sentries

Bio

KC Oren has over 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry with Bachelor's degrees in Chemistry (’77) and
Mathematics (’79) from Michigan State University, and MBA studies from Mays Business School at Texas A&M (College
Station).

KC’s career has spanned drilling, geological, petrophysical and geophysical domains by providing services and applications to the oil and gas industry. Oren has worked for Halliburton (3X), Schlumberger (Smith Bits), Baker (Teleco), GeoGraphix, Horizontal Solutions International and, today, GeoStar Energy Partners.

Recently, KC has blended his early career and D&C background with the geosciences by providing interdisciplinary support to the industry. His industry-sponsored tours have featured his storytelling of the virtues of “Drilling the Perfect Horizontal Well” while assisting operating companies that are looking for new and edgy, emerging technologies for use in their own E&P projects.

KC’s most recent foray is in helping the oil and gas industry leverage existing technologies and expertise now for Carbon
Capture and Sequestration, primarily for Class VI permitting, CCS monitoring (MRV) standards and meeting the rigors of
environmental compliance for qualifying 45Q carbon tax credit projects. This will be the focus for his presentation.

Lunch and boat tour costs TBD in 2024. The WGA will also offer a combined lunch and boat tour at a reduced rate.