The Niobrara Play

An Overview
Philip H. (Pete) Stark IHS Energy
Robert J. Coskey Rose Exploration
QEP Energy
Borie 16-4H
04-13N-68W
October 2010
Denver Petroleum Club
Breakfast Talk
February 10
th
2011
Except this one
11/25/2010 near Arlington, WY
The Niobrara Seaway
The World About 90 Million Years Ago
R C Blakey
You are here
And seriously
under water!
Coccosphere/Coccoliths
1 micron
Niobrara
Chalk, Marl
& Shale
Middle Niobrara Time
Paleo-environments
and
Production
Topic Area
Teapot
Salt Creek
Rangely
Wattenberg
Silo
Beecher Island
Puerto Chiquito
Marine
Sh
Marine Limestone
Marls & Chalk
Non-Marine
deposits
Non-Marine
deposits
Paleo-depositional systems
Approx 86 Ma
Roberts & Kirschbaum, 1995
Gas Fields
Oil Fields
Niobrara Fm
Niobrara Play Oil Production & Shows
Colorado
W
yom
ing
Area of Niobrara
Carbonate
Deposition
(all benches)
Denver Basin Regional Map
Area of Effective Oil Generation
Denver Basin
Basinal Cross-section
Modified from Matuszczak, 1973
Biogenic
Gas Oil
Gas
Niobrara Organic Richness (TOC)
Cornford, 1994
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
TOC (wt%)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
S
a
m
p
l
e
C
o
u
n
t
TOC Cores
TOC Cuttings
TOC from cuttings
1.5-2.0 wt%
TOC from cores
2.5-3.0+ wt%
3%
~5%
Adjust to Original TOC
Measured Total Organic Carbon (TOC)
Niobrara vs Bakken TOC
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
TOC (wei ght %)
R
e
l
a
t
i
v
e
F
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
TOC (wei ght %)
R
e
l
a
t
i
v
e
F
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
Niobrara
TOCs
Bakken
TOCs
All Maturities
Niobrara Rock-Eval Profile
Gill Land Associates
Golden Buckeye 2
se nw 22-6N-64W
B Zone
Rock-Eval S1 TOC Cross-over
(low TOC & high S1)
indicates migrated oil
S1
S2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
TOC (wt %), S1 & S2 (mg/g)
6900
6850
6800
6750
6700
6650
6600
D
e
p
t
h
(
f
e
e
t
)
TOC
S1
S2
Thermal Maturity Vitrinite Reflectance
1
2 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2
(Vitrinite Reflectance (%Ro)
10000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
-1000
-2000
-3000
-4000
-5000
D
r
i
l
l
i
n
g
D
e
p
t
h
(
f
t
)
- Tertiary
- Fox Hills
- Pierre
- Hygiene
- Niobrara
- Codell
- Skull Creek
Surface
Vitrinite Reflectance* (%Ro)
vs Depth
Amoco 344A
sw sw 25-10N-64W
Oil
Window
* Vitrinite reflectance is a measure
of the thermal maturity of organic
material or how cooked it is
Resistivity to Maturity %Ro
V
i
t
r
i
n
i
t
e
R
e
f
l
e
c
t
a
n
c
e

(
%
R
o
)
T
h
e
r
m
a
l

M
a
t
u
r
i
t
y
Resistivity (ohm-m)
Smagala, et al, 1984
Niobrara Vitrinite Reflectance (%Ro)
Vs
Resistivity
Increasing
Resistivity
Increasing Depth & Temperature
Thermal Maturity %Ro Mapping
~250
Miles
Modified from Matuszczak, 1973
Niobrara
Maturity
(calc %Ro)
Smagala,
et al, 1984
0.0 0.6 1.0 1.4 2.0
Vitrinite Reflectance (%Ro)
i mmature oi l window wet gas dry gas
Silo
Wattenberg
Wyoming
Nebraska
Colorado
Relatively Cool Relatively Warm
DJ Basin
Geothermal
Gradient
(deg F/depth)
Silo
Wattenberg
Basin
Outline
Burial History and Oil Generation
Time (Ma)
Landon, et al, 2001
Generation Potential
210 BO/Ac-ft
150+/- ft shale
~20 MMBO/Sq Mile
Tertiary
Pierre Sh
Niobrara
Davis Oil 1 Berry
nw sw 13-16N-66W
Burial History
Plot
Time (Ma)
D
e
p
t
h

(
f
t
)
Niobrara
Porosity &
Permeability
Reduction
Porosity Reduction
40% to < 10%
Crushing
Compaction
Cementation
Chalk/Marl Porosity
8-10%
In main DJ
Play Area
Pollastro & Scholle, 1986 Modified from Lockridge & Scholle, 1978
Permeability (md)
The Paleo Niobrara Play pre 1990
Teapot Dome
Boulder(?)
Loveland
Puerto Chiquito Berthold
Rangely Buck Peak
Silo Tow Creek
Rangely Buck Peak
Silo
The Paleo Niobrara Play Buck Peak
Buck Peak Field
Disc: 1956
Top Niobrara Structure
Modified from Vincelette and Foster, 1992
9
0
W
8
9
W
6
N
North
High Productivity
Area
Niobrara Prod
4.8 MM BO
The Paleo Niobrara Play Rangely
Rangely Field
Niobrara Disc: 1901
Top Niobrara Structure
Modified from Vincelette and Foster, 1992
Niobrara Prod ~14 MM BO
N
o
r
t
h
High Productivity
Area
The Paleo Niobrara Play Silo
Vertical
Drilling
Horizontal
Drilling
~1990
St Mary Land 1-19H (2010)
IP: 1,075 BOEPD
Aug 2010: 500 BOPD
>50,000 BO in 9 months
Stone Energy B-3 (1983)
IP: 37 BOPD
Total Prod: 2,370 BO
Abandoned
Modified from Sonnenberg and Weimer, 1993
New Horizontal
Drilling 2010
Silo Field
Disc: 1981 Hybrid Development Process
Niobrara Prod ~10 MM BO
LL Couple?
The Paleo Niobrara Play Structure
Rangely (CO)
Buck Peak (CO)
Silo (WY)
Production is Isolated
to areas of
Structural Deformation
Vincelette & Foster, 1992
Vincelette & Foster, 1992
The Paleo Niobrara Play Structure
Folded anticlines
Plunging structural noses
Faulted anticlines
Monoclinal dip changes
Cross-folded monoclines
The game was to look for curvature anomalies
Murray, 1968
Fracture Pore Volume
The Neo Niobrara Play
The Incomplete Petroleum System
High quality source rocks
Appropriate thermal history
Adjacent porous, low perm & brittle rocks
Minimal tectonic fractures and faults
Abundant generative fractures
Absence of effective carrier beds
The Niobrara Play Stratigraphy
Primary Target
Secondary Target
Organic rich shales
Chalk/Marl Reservoir
Chalk/Marl Reservoir
Chalk/Marl Reservoir
Organic Shale
Organic Shale
Oil Movement
This Niobrara system
has the potential
to generate
10~20+ Million Barrels
of Oil / Square Mile
Depending on
Richness and
Level of
Maturation!!!
Silo Area
Regional DJ
Industry
Activity
Source: Lewis, R., CSM 2011
Wyoming
Nebraska
Colorado
RKI Exploration
Chesapeake / CNOOC
East Resources (Shell)
Bill Barrett Corp
EOG Resources
Noble Energy
TARC
Anadarko MBI
Slawson Exploration
Rubicon Oil & Gas
Whiting Petroleum
SM Energy & Others
Silo Field
Wattenberg Field
Acreage Holdings by Operator
From Peggy Williams, Hart Energy Publishing 10/2010
~5200 square miles
Niobrara Acreage Price History
Wyoming & Colorado
Northern DJ Basin Lease Bonus History
D
o
l
l
a
r
s

/

A
c
r
e
Niobrara
Effect
EOG Jake well
completed
9/5/2009
Courtesy: Pat Jackson
COGCC website: 02/04/2011
Niobrara Colorado Industry Activity
Permits
Pending Permits
12N
10N
5N
65W
60W 70W
Denver Post, 02/01/2011
Niobrara Regional Industry Activity
Cnooc, Chinas largest
offshore energy producer, has
agreed to pay $570 million
for a one-third stake in
Chesapeake Energys
Niobrara shale project
Cnooc, also agreed to pay as
much as $697 millionto drill
and complete wells in the
area
Will the Regional Niobrara Play Work?
Tectonic induced
fractures
Hydrocarbon generation
Induced fractures
Courtesy Rob Sterling
200X
White Light Epi-fluorescence
First, it depends onGeology
Original source richness (Percent fat)
Thermal maturity (Rare, medium or well done)
(the DJ basin did not cook uniformly)
Reservoir quality & quantity (The buns)
(fresh sourdough bread or wheat toast)
Big Cracks or Little Cracks (or both)
WHAT WE HAVE
10-20+ MMBO Generative Capacity / sq mile
Large generative area
Large oil-in-place potential
Horizontal Drilling
Staged Fracs
Ever Improving Technology
WHAT WE MAY HAVE
A Billion+ Barrel Play?
The Real Game Changers
The Neo Niobrara Play
Where can it go from here?
Thank You!