New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources
Open-File Report No. OF-267
GEOCAEMICAL EVALUATION OF THE JAMES P. DUNIGAN
NO. 1 SANTA FE WELL, MCKINLEY COUNTY, NEW MEXICO
By
Wallace G. Dow
Robertson Research, Inc.
Houston, Texas
March 8, 1982
a
(U.S. 1 INC.
ROBERTSON RESEARCH
REPO-ST NO. 580
U"
GEOCHEMICALEVALUATION OF THE
JAMES P. DUNIGXN NO. 1 SXNTAFE,
MCKINLEY COUNTY, NEW AtEXICO
3/"/9/d"U
by
Wallace G. Dow
Project No. R R U S / 8 1 2 / I I / T / 1 2 7
UT
Prepared by:
RobertsonResearch
( U . S . ) Inc.
16730 Hedgecroft,Suite
30.6
Houston,Texas
77060-3697
Y
Prepared for:
Champlin Petroleun Company
5800 S. Quebec
Englewood, Color~do 80111
?,larch 8 , 1982
1
.Y
ROBERTSON
RESEAFCH [US.] INC.
TABLEOF
CONTENTS
PAGE NO.
11.
INTRODUCTION
111.
DISCUSSION
OrganicMatterConcentration
KerogenType
Kerogen Naturity
IV.
REFERENCES
V.
FIGURES
1.
Organic
Carbon
and
Visual
Kerogen
2.
Rock-Eva1 Pyrolysis
Plots
3.
Kerogen
Type
from Pyrolysis Data
4.
Kerogen
Maturation
Profile
5.
Zones of Oil and Gas Generation
6.
Lithology Symbols
'3
VI,
APPENDICES
I.
Organic
Carbon
Data
11.
Rock-Eva1 Pyrolysis Data
111,
Vitrinite
Reflectance
Data
1
5
Plots
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
17
ROBERTSON
RESEARCt-I [U.S.] INC.
...
GeochemicsII da.ta on sampIdes from the James P. Dunigan, No. 1 Santa Fe
well indicate ‘good tovery
good sourcequalitythroughoutth?Cretaceoussectionandvery
rocks.Thekerogenpresent
low organiccarboncontents
in all of the samplesanalyzed
dry gas-generatingandterrestrialinorigin,but
slightly
a
higher
convertabilitytoliquidhydrocarbonsoccursinthe
ceous
section.
The
organic-rich
Cretaceous
shales
are
enoughforgasgenerationatthelocation
..
in pre-Cretaceous
is primarily
lowermost Creta-
of thesubject
no: mature
well, but oil
could be generated below about 2,400 feet and preserved to about
7,200
feet.About
4,000 feet of erosionhasoccurredsince
ma.dmum burial
tookplace andhydrocarbongeneration
is, therefore, no longe-active.
Sourcebeddistributionandthe
timing of hydrocarbongenerationare
important variables which must be considered in any economic e-raluation
of the area.
I1
INTRODUCTION
.
Thirty-three very small bitcuttings samples from thesubject well were
analyzedaccording
to a programotitlinedbytheclient.Because
of
very low organic carbon contents in most pre-Cretaceous samples, RockEva1 pyrolysis could not be run and the number
vitrinite reflectance was considerably reduced.
of samples analyzed with
Analyticaldataaretabulated
in Appendices 1-111 andselectedparamerers are
plotted
on Figures 1-4.
Age and
lithology
designations
shown on thefiguresweretaken
from a sample logsuppliedbythe
client. Lithologysymbols used in generatingthecomputergraphicsare
illustrated on Figure 6.
-1-
ROBERTSON
RESEARCH [U.S.] INC.
111
DISCUSSION
'
OrganicMatterConcentration
Theorganiccontent
of rocks is relatedtotheweightpercent
carbontheycontain.Totalorganiccarbon
is quitehigh
Cretaceoussamplesanalyzed,dueprimarilytothepresence
organic
in moFt of the
of coal.
Most of the Cretaceous samples are rated as
.good to very good PI source
low inorganic
quality(Figure 1). Pre-Cretaceoussamplesareallvery
carbonandarerated
as nonsourcesforproducableamounts
of oil or
gas.
If thin,
source
quality
intervals
exist
in
the
pre-Cretaceous
section,theyhavebeenmaskedbydilutionwithorganic-leanmaterial.
Even if this is true, the volume of any possiblesourcequalitysection
'9
which may bepresentandthe
amount of petroleum generated would be
limited unless more favorable
source
facies
are
present
in
other
portions of the basin.
KerogenType
Thetype of kerogenpresent,andhence
its capability to generate oil
o r g a s , w a s determined by Rock-Eval pyrolysis and by visual examination
with reflectedlightmicroscopy.
Both techniquesindicate
a predominance of gas-generating,
terrestrial
organic
matter
in
all of the
samples
analyzed.
Poor source
potential
(data
from pyrolysis S2
peak,Figure
2 1 , low hydrogenindexvalues(Figure
31, and low visual
percentages of oil-generating
amorphous
and
exinite
organi?
matter
(Figure l), all are
characteristic
of low hydrogen,
gas-generating
kerogen, Somewhat more favorableconvertability to, oil define,lbythe
.
, 3 )
pyrolysis S2/S3 ratios
(Figure
2) is believed to be
due
to
solid
bitumen in the samples (Appendix
111) and to unusually low oxygen index
values
(Figure
3).
This
ratio,
therefore,
is probably
not
a good
kerogentypeindicatorforthesubjectsamples.Thebestpetroleum
ROBERTSON
RESEARCH [U.S.]lr\NC:
)' ,
convertabjlity
appears
be
to
in lowermost
Cretaceous
samples
3 , 7 0 0 and 4,100 feet.Pennsylvanian
Vetween
samp'les were too low in organic
contain primarilyterrestrialkerogen
carbonforpyrolysisbut
from
v i s u a l analysis.
KerogenMaturity
Kerogen maturity was determinedwith Rock-Eval pyroIysis(T-max)
vitrinite
reflectance
(Ro).
Pyrolysis T-mas
values
are
ne:lrly
and
all
the same throughout the Cretaceoussectionandareveryclose
to the
top of theoil-generationzone(Figure
2 ) . Theapparentlack of maturity increase with depth nay be due
to the presence of caving from the
coal-rich interval
near
the top of the
Cretaceous
section.
This is
supported by the presence of low-rank vitrinite of uniform maturity in
nearly all 'of theCretaceoussamplesanalyzed(Appendix
tanceanalysis,however,alsorevealedthepresence
vitrinite
population
in addition
to
the
caving,
and
these
Reflecof anindigenous
da.ta were
111).
used in constructing
the
maturation
profile
(Figure
4).
In spite of
contaminationproblems and poor qualitydata from most pre-Cretaceous
samples, we believe the maturity profile
to bereliable.
zone (0.6-1.4
Ro)
Figure 4 indicatesthattheoil-generationmaturity
occursbetweenabout
2 , 3 5 6 and 7 , 1 6 4 feetandthatdrygas
s'louldbe
generated below about 5 , 2 5 6 feet (1.0 Ro).
Crude oil could be
preserved toabout 7 , 1 6 4 feetand wet gas/condensate could svrvive to
8,188 feet ( 2 . 0
Ro).
Projection of the
maturity
profile
to 0.2
Ro
demonstratesthatabout
3 , 8 7 7 feet of sectionhasbeenlosttoerosion
since maximum burial took place. Cooling associated with thi3 loss of
overburden has caused hydrocarbon generation
to become suspelded and
anysourcebedspresent
would not beacrivelygenerating
oil o r gasat
the
present
time.
Expulsion,
migration,
and
accumulation
of hydrocarbons may have occurred during maximum burial but they would have had
LO survive
the
period of uplift and
erosion.
Recently
formed struc-
-3 -
ROBERTSON
R E S E A R C ' i [U.S.) INC.
'9
.
tures,
therefore,
takenplace.
may not
contain
petroleum
unless
remigrati3n
has
We recommend that a more detailedgeologlcal/geochedcd
study of the basin
be undertaken to more accurately define Source bed
distribution,capacity,andthe
tion,andaccumulation.
time of hydrocarbongeneration,migra-
-4-
ROBERTSON
RESEARCH [US.] INC.
I
V
REFERENCES
Clementz, D. M.,
1979, Effect of oil andbitumensaturationassource
rockpyrolysis:
Dow,
W.
Bull., AAPG, vol.
63,
pp. 2227-2232.
Kerogen
studies
and
geological interpretations:
Jour. of Geochem. Expl., vol. 7 , pp. 79-99.
G.,
1977,
of southerm San Juan Bal-Jin, New
AAPG, vol. 64, p. 682 (abstract).
Bryant, A. C . , 1980, Entradafields
Xexico:
Bull.,
Ross, L. M., 1980, Geochemical correlation of San Juan Basin oils
study: Oil and Gas Journal, Nov. 3, pp. 102-110.
-
a
Silver, C., 1968, Principles of gas
occurrence,
San Juan Barin: in
Natu.ral Gases of North America: XAPG
Memoir
9 , pp. 94e-960.
-5-
ROBERTSON
RESEARC"I [ U S . ] INC.
JAHES P DClNIGAN #I, SANTA FE
t'
L
3
-
I .
..
,.
..
..
..
..
..
1.
!
,
I
;
\
;
....
..
..
..
-....
!
..
..
..
,..
I
I I
I
:
I . .
I
I"L
FIFJRE I : SUWARYPLOTS
SHOVING XE!?CGE?I TYPES,nATURITY,
AND SOURCE ZiCHNE3S (SEE AFFE>IDiCES I AND i I I )
-6-
ROBERTSON
RESEARCH [U.S.] INC.
JAMES ? DUNIGAN # I , SANTA FE
"
1L- .-
JAEES P OCNICAN
I a00
'
H
Y
800
f
SANTA FE
81,
IlOlL
I
0
R
--
c 630
N
*
N
4a0
-X
0
280
0
E
25
50
75
laa
OXYGEN
125
150
: 75
200
INCEX
FIGL'RE 3 ; KERCGEX TYPE OETSR!lINATICN
PYROLYSIS G A T A
FZatl i70CK-EVAL.
(APPENOIX 111.
-8-
ROBERTSON
\
.""
.""_
1
L
-""
".
-10-
ROBERTSON
RESEARG-I [U.S.) INC.
LIST OF LITHOLOGY SYMBOL'S USED IN FIGURES
I0
t
GAP
220
:
SNDY MRL
20
:
CLY/CLYST
230
:
MG LST
31
:
HOST
240 : M6 OCL
41
:
SH
.-
Ez
250
:
SNDY LST
260
:
SEmY OFL
50 : SLTST
.x.:.>:.:.
:::::::::::::
61
,$;;$;;2
,
r
@
E
SST,fn
J
:
.....
.....
.....
62
:
SST,ned
63
I
SST,ers
:
ca+
.%?.
..." 70
"
"
7IGURE:
280
:
SLTY OK
291
I
DOL
LST
:
BRECCIA
292
:
CALC
3OL
8 0 : CGL-
170
:
SLTY CLYISTI
300
:
Mri LST
n m
180
t
SNDY XYIST)
31I1
:
ANH DCL
171
:
SLTY SH
340
I
I/B $ST/%
1st
:
SNDY SH
368
:
I/B SST/liCJMST
360
:
I/B SST/CLYST
$0
E
LST
161
?E?.*
-
=
270
:
Iaa
:
LST
110
:
DOL
320
:
CHK
820
:
SHELL DEBRIS
120
:
ANH
-2:.
@
191 : SLTY XDST
201
I
WY HDST
210
I
SLTY M L
-2
"
6
-11-
ROBERTSON
RESEARCH [US.] INC.
T
APPENDIX I
.
.
TOTALORGANICCARBONDATA
Total organiccarbon is determinedbypulverizingthesaaple,treating
a carefully weighed portion with warn hydrochloric acid to remcve
carbonateminerals,andanalysingtheresidue
for carboncontent with a
Leco carbonanalyser.It
is generallyacceptedthatsamples
with less
thanabout
0 . 5 percent T O C cannot yield sufficient petroleumto
form
commercial depositsandarethereforeconsiderednonsources;samples
with between 0 . 5 and 1.0 T O C are rated as marginal in source quality;
and samples with more than 1.0 T O C are considered to be gocd in source
quality.
.
.
-12-
ROBERTSON'
RESEARC'i [US.] INC.
TOTAL O R G A N I C C.G.~ON
J A M E S P DUNICAN # 1 .
"
'c
DElTH
(Feet')
._
W
11'
DATA
S X N T X E2
DEPTH
(Feet)
TOC
(%)
TO C
(Yo>
535
92s
1375
1795
2185
1.10
1.27
2.29
2.31
1.03
6115
6655
7275
7525
7945
0.03
2655
2855
3165
3435
3745
0.93
0175
8215
8405
8525
8565
0.17
0.21
0.21
0.19
0. LO
2865
8615
0.11
Ed25
0.18
4145
457s
492s
1.79
1.27
1.87
0.14
0.06
a675
8795.
a965
0.11
0.22
0 . 1 1
5145
5165
5305
4755
0 . 1 6
0.16
0.25
0.04
8955
0.18
0.10
0.10
4065
0.79
5.83
I . 73
I .5?
9055
9195
-13-
0.1c
0.0:
0.03
0 . 1 3
APPENDIX I1
ROCK-EV-AL PYROLYSIS DATA
.
.'
Rock-Eval data are expressed as mglg of rockandinclude
f o r basic
parameters: 1) SI representsthequantity
of freehydrocarbors present in therock
and is roughlyanalogous
to thesolventextractable
portion of the organiamatter;
2) S 2 representsthequantity
of hydrocarbonsreleasedbythekerogen
in the sample duringpyrolysis;
3)
S3 is relatedtothe
amount of oxygenpresent in the kerogen; and 4)
T-max, in "C, is the
temperature
at
which the maximum rate of
generation (of the S2 peak)occursand
can beused as anestimate of
thermal maturity.
r
'3
.
In addition, the ratio S 2 / S 3 provides
general
a indicat'on
of
kerogenquality(type)andrevealswhether
oil or gas are Likely to be
S l / ( S l + S z ) , or the
productivity
index,
is
generated.
The
ratio
an indication of therelative. amount of freehydrocarbons (in place or
nigrated) present in the sample. Hydrogen and oxygen index vattes are
in n g of hydrocarbons (S2 peak) or carbon
dioxide
( S 3 peak)
per
gram of organiccarbon.
\Yhen plottedagainsteachother
on avan
Krevelen-type diagram, information on kerogen type and maturity can be
obtained.
Data are interpreted in the following manner:
Source
Potential
Petroleum Type
- values
-
of 5 2
value of S 2 / S 3
Generation Zones - values of T-max
:
(2.5
: dry gas
2.5-5.0
>5.0
: wet gas
:
oil
1435
435-470
:
:
immature
450 +
ProductivityIndex
hydrocarbons.
-
high'values
-14-
poor
(2.5
2.5-5.0
>5. 0
: marginal
:
good
OS
: gas
of S l / ( S l + S 2 ) indicaterigrated
ROBERTSON
RESEARCH [US.) INC.
.-
.DEPTH ( F E E T )
433
...
.-
2185
2455
2855
3145
3435
3745
3865
XOCK-EVAL PV?-!oLVSiS
RAW DATA
JAMES ? DUNICAN t i l .
S A m A FE
51
S2
53
2.734
3.109
3.699
7.017
0.484
4 3 4 0 . 1 74 0. 7 7 4
0.161
0 03:
435
43 1
0 .0 8 8
435
2.005
2.803
a .287
0.180
0.103
0,082
0 ,093
0 . 1 1 7
435
434
429
433
436
0.16d
0.11a
a . 084
433
432
434
0 :273
1 . 425
1.698
0.179
0 .a 1,03930 2. 7 3 52 . 7 1 2
3.394
0.328
01..340435
a . 297
0 .521
0.820
0,
.3
93
48
7
11.283
2.737
3.285
0.409
0.180
0.l o a
1.010
a . 279
0 .4 3 6
0.572
0.325
0.328
2 . a28
2 . 4
0 2. 74 3 2
3 .s a 6
T-MAX
5 15 /2 (/ 54 13 + 5 2 )
0.546
1 . 362
0.415
a5 .. 63 17 21
6.5?8
05 3. 23 76 7
5.614
0.404
-15-
8. 880
ROBERTSON
RESEARCH [ U S . ] INC.
H Y D R O G E N AND O X Y G E N INDICES FROM R O C K - E V X L
P Y R O L Y S I S D A T A . WITd T O C D A T A
JAMPS P D U N I C X N
DEPTH
( F E E T )'
#1.
HYDROGEN INDEX
(nq H C l q T O C )
S X N T XP 3
OXYGEN I H D 5 5
<ma CO21a T O G )
44
43
535
92s
1375
3
.2
.
TOC
(96)
1.19
1.27
2.29
21
29
2.31
2185
2655
44
2855
3165
3435
3745
23
23
39
9.93
0.79
5.83
1.73
1795
3865
4065
4145
43
159
30
191
34
22
192
1.03
I .59
1.78
1.27
1.87
.
.
-16-
ROBERTSON
RESEARCI-I [US.] INC.
XPPENDIX 111
REFLECTEDLIGHTLlICROSCOPY
DATA
A sample of groundrock is treated successively with hydrochlo-ic and
hydrofluoric acids to concentrate the kerogen, freeze-dried, mounted in
an epoxy plug,andpolished.Kerogentype
is identified with the aid
of blue light fluorescence.
contains visualpercentageestiThevisualkerogenanalysisdatasheet
mates of eachprinciplekerogen
type, notes on vitrinitedesc-fption,
and kerogen fluorescence data.
Y
a
'9
-r
Thehistograms show measuredreflectance
values of allvitrinitepresent
and
on all material with the visual appearance of ritrinite.
Shadedvalues are thoseusedtocalculatetheinterpretedvitrinite
reflectancematurities.Unshadedvalues
are interpretedtobe
oxidized
vitrinite,
recycled
vitrinite,
or possibly
misidentified
material
such
as solid
bitumen.
pseudo-vitrinite,
or semifusinite.
Sometines
the
samplesanalpsedcontain
no vitrinite or have an fnsufffcientnu-ber
of
readings to allow a reliable maturity determination to be made. Alternatematurirycalculations
are possible on a few samples.Thehistograms we identified by a sequence number and depth or notation.
W
-17-
ROBE=ITSON
RESEARCH (U.S.] INC.
.U
*-
ROB€RTSON RESEARCH (US.) INC.
REFLECTED LIGHT
VISUAL KEROGEN ANALYSIS
ROBERTSON
RESEARCH [US.] INC.
JAnES P OUNIGAN 1 1 .
25
IO I
c
*0
2 4
i
i
SANTA FE
OEPTH
2a . a3
R
F
535.0 FT
163.1n
L
0.41
0 . a.3
0.42
a.45
70.40 30.47
10.40 30.49
x0.40 70.51
=0
OEPTH
22[
F
x
9 z . a FT
282.0 n
Ro ZATURITY
OROEREJ REFiECT.*NCE VAL'dES a
r0.33 10.43
'I0.53
m . 3 4 78.43 :0.5a
-19-
ROBERTSON
RESEARC'i [U.S.) INC.
DEPTH
1375.0 FT
419.2 H
= Ro flATURITY
X
18.e~
e VALUES
%AN
0.48
0.m
a.48
ST0 DEV
HEJ r A N
XOCE
a.45
HIS TOG RAP^ a-4
ca.11
JAttES P OUNIGAN *I. SANTA fE
25-
0
8
ro
a[
4
OEPTH
F
X
1795.0 FT
547.3 X
= Ro tlA7URITY
t
-20
-
,
ROBERTSON
RESEARC'I [US.) INC.
25
0
F
jS!
c 15[
R
c
2185.0 FT
666.2 fl
I
E VALUES
MEAN
S T 0 OEV
VED IAN
nCOE
CAVE ?
I!.
2s.a0
0.44
0.05
0.44
0.45
I ,
!-
a
1a
I/' I
1
2
3
V I T R ! N i T E RE,?LECT.ANCE lFlANC3fl X I
4
OROERED ?EFCICTANCEVALSES=
a.43.. a.48
a 48
a.43
a.44 a.49
a.44
0.50
a.40
a.45 a . 5 1
0 . 4 1 0.45
a.52
a.42
a.46
8.43
a.46
0.30
a.37
a.3;
8.39
J A ~ E SP OUNICAN
25-
E
I , SANTA Fi:
IO 6
DEPTH
-21-
2655.0 Fl
mc.5 n
ROBERTSON
RESEARCH [U.S.] INC.
JADES
P
CUNIGAN D l .
SANTA FE
IO 7
DEPTH
2855.0 FT
870.4 D
:= Ro DATURITY
8 VALUES
nEAN
ST0 DEV
HEJIAN
VOOE
CAVE ?
A .
0 ’
I
N
C
s
5:
a B.
7.00
0.70
0 . I0
0.73
0.75
[
k h - lI L
. l
2
3
4
V I T R I N I T E REFLECTANCE IRANCOD X I
m.36
0.46T0.84
0.46 a.94
a.46 0.58
1.a2
a.48
a.Ja ~ 0 . 5 3 1.a2
1.08
0.41 ra.st
1.26
E . 4 1 X0.68
0.42 x0.73 1.31
0.44 70.76
0.37
0.37
a.37
fl
VALLES
NAN
L!
‘F-
Si0
CAVE ?
CEV
nED I AN
nOOE
j
34. a0
0 . 5a
0.as
0.49
0.45
I
OROEF(E0 ?Eil-ECTANCEVALUES:
a.39
0.45
0.50
0.58
-22
-
ROBERTSON
RESEARCH [U.S.j INC.
25
C
CAVE ?
-
GX:gAT[ON
?
n VALUES
nEAN
STD JEV
nEDIAN
VCDE
27.80
0.61
0.23
0.51
a.45
OROERED REFLECTANCE VALUES:
a.37
8.38
0.44
, . .
a.44
0.44
0.46
I
4.46
a.48
0.48
0.85
0.a9
'
a . ~ a a.91
a.a2
a- . 5
.1
0.52
0.52
0.53
1.a7
1.67
1.14
.
JAMES
P
DUNIGAN s1. SANTA
FE
ID 10
DEPTH
3745.0 FT
1141.8 n
0.43 T0.78
0.43 ra.78
3 44 T O . 80
-23-
ROBERTSON
RESEARCH [US.] INC.
25
S
I:
I
t
F 20\
0
R 15\
E
a.4a
n
VALUES
PEIN
S T 0 OEV
'rEJ I AN
PCOE
E
CAVE 7
40
6.00
0
'
. 84
0.08
53.87
a.95
0.56
0.BE
'3
20
0
F
z = R oC A T U R I T Y
k
s VALUES
nEIN
CEV
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?Ei)iAN
'3
r3.77
-24
-
13.m
a.96
a. 1 4
a.83
a.75