Tag Archive for: Utah Geological Survey

Utah Geological Survey

REPORTS OF INVESTIGATION 264

RI-264WETLANDS IN THE FARMINGTON BAY AREA, DAVIS COUNTY, UTAH- AN EVALUATION OF THREATS POSED BY GROUND-WATER DEVELOPMENT AND DROUGHT
Charles E. Bishop, Mike Lowe, Janae Wallace, Richard L. Emerson, and J. Scott Horn

This CD contains a 36-page report of an evaluation by the Utah Geological Survey of threats to the Farmington Bay area wetlands posed by changes in climatic conditions and by increased ground-water withdrawals accompanying population growth. To evaluate the potential impacts of drought and increased development on the wetlands, we used existing data to estimate a water budget for the wetlands area. To determine the potential impacts posed by increased ground-water development and further drought, we used two regional, three-dimensional, steady-state and transient MODFLOW models for the east shore area of Great Salt Lake to evaluate water-budget changes for the wetland areas. The modeling suggests that subsurface inflow into the wetland areas would be most affected by decreased subsurface inflow due to long-term (20-year) drought conditions, but subsurface inflow would also decrease due to increased municipal and industrial well withdrawals over the same time period. Therefore, the worst-case scenario for the wetlands would be a combination of both conditions.

CD (36 p.)

RI-264………$14.95

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Utah Geological Survey

OPEN-FILE REPORT 538

OFR-538Applicability of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery to reservoirs in the Uinta Basin, Utah
Zhiqiang Gu and Milind Deo

This Open-File Report presents the results of compositional simulations of CO2 floods of the Monument Butte Northeast unit and the Glen Bench field. Both fields produce oil from the Tertiary Green River Formation and both are currently in water flood. The Glen Bench field in the eastern Uinta Basin is an extension of the Wonsits Valley and Red Wash fields. Monument Butte Northeast in central Uinta Basin, is a waterflood unit within the Greater Monument Butte field.

The simulation study is a preliminary investigation of the CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) potential. The study attempts to: (1) estimate the post waterflood incremental oil recovery for the two fields using CO2 injection and water-alternating-gas injection, (2) determine CO2 utilization factors (mcf CO2/incremental barrel of oil recovered), and (3) determine the CO2 sequestration potential of EOR for the fields.

Crude oil analysis was performed using the simulated distillation procedure on a gas chromatographic column, and minimum miscibility pressures were calculated. All simulations were performed using the compositional simulator GEM, from the Computer Modeling Group, Calgary, Canada.

This work was funded by the Utah Geological Survey under the “Characterization of Utah’s Hydrocarbon Reservoirs and Potential New Reserves” program (FY 2007).

CD (13 p.)

OFR-538………. $6.95 (print on demand)……….$14.95 (CD)

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Utah Geological Survey

OPEN-FILE REPORT 543

OFR-543RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION OF CLASTIC CYCLE SEQUENCES IN THE PARADOX FORMATION OF THE HERMOSA GROUP, PARADOX BASIN, UTAH
Bruce D. Trudgill and W. Curtis Arbuckle

This extensive report includes maps and correlations of the evaporite facies within the Pennsylvanian Paradox Formation throughout the northern Paradox Basin. This includes correlation of individual evaporite cycles and their respective clastic zones. The resulting associations are used to better understand the cyclicity of the Paradox Formation and its relationship to the structural development and evolution of the Ancestral Rocky Mountain Uncompahgre uplift.

The report includes a discussion of regional geology; evaporite depositional cycles and environments, regional correlations, clastic interbeds and salt (halite) lithologies; climate controls on evaporate cyclicty; well and outcrop data analysis including QEMSCAN analysis; structural and sequence stratigraphic discussions of the Paradox Basin and Uncompahgre uplift. The report includes five tables, 70 figures, and appendices of well database, isopach maps, and evaporate cycle age estimates. This work was funded by the Utah Geological Survey under the “Characterization of Utah’s Hydrocarbon Reservoirs and Potential New Reserves” program (FY 2007).

CD (106 p. + 39 p. appendices)

OFR-543………$14.95

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Utah Geological Survey

OPEN-FILE REPORT 544

OFR-544MULTIPROXY ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION OF LAKE LEVEL CYCLES IN THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION OF UTAH AND COLORADO
Jessica H. Whiteside and Marc A. Van Keuren

The Eocene Green River Formation represents the largest unconventional petroleum resource in Utah. While oil shale has figured prominently in the literature for the past century, surprisingly little basic knowledge of the geochemistry of these deposits exists, especially within the context of the characteristic and permeating lacustrine cyclicity. This research documents the ecosystem context of this cyclicity using sedimentary facies, oil-shale yield, total organic carbon, bulk nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon isotopic (δ13C) signatures of organic matter, and specific biomarker hydrocarbons (δ13Calk) sampled at millennial resolution through a series of cycles at multiple localities in core and outcrop. This project should lead to a greater understanding of the most fundamental aspects of the depositional history of these oil shales and the predictive power of facies models, all of which should ultimately play a part in Utah’s hydrocarbon potential. Also included are high-resolution photographs of the core studied during this project.

CD (22 p.)

ORF-544………. $7.95 (print on demand)………. $14.95 (CD)

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Utah Geological Survey

Western States Seismic Policy Council Names 2009 Awards in Excellence Winners

The Utah Geological Survey was selected for a 2009 WSSPC Award in Excellence in Research for their Wasatch and Sevier Faults Paleoseismic Research. The Awards will be given at the joint WSSPC-Earthquake Engineering Research Institute annual conference at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center in Salt Lake City, Utah at a banquet Friday February 13, 2009. The WSSPC Awards in Excellence program was started in 1996 to recognize achievement in different areas of earthquake mitigation, preparedness and response.

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Utah Geological Survey

Comprehensive Handbook on Earthquakes in Utah is Now Available

roots_earthquake_page_01Living in Utah means living with earthquakes. Do you know where earthquakes are likely to occur in Utah and what kind of damage they can cause? If a large earthquake occurred right now, what would you do? Do you have a disaster plan and supplies? Have you taken simple steps, such as strapping down your water heater, to reduce your earthquake risk at home?

These questions and others are now addressed in a new publication released by the Utah Seismic Safety Commission (USSC) called Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country – Your Handbook for Earthquakes in Utah. The “Roots” handbook is a comprehensive resource that provides a variety of information on earthquakes in Utah in an easy-to-read format.

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Utah Geological Survey

New Estimates of Utah’s Potential Oil Shale Resource Released

According to a new study just released by the Utah Geological Survey (UGS), Utah’s potential economic oil-shale resource equals approximately 77 billion barrels of shale oil. While the estimate is considerably smaller than numbers frequently quoted, it is still deserving of attention. “A domestic resource of this size is very significant; a conventional field with just 1 billion barrels is considered a ‘giant’,” says Michael Vanden Berg, UGS Project Geologist.

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Utah Geological Survey

Fly By the Wasatch Fault with GoogleEarth on YouTube

labelThe Utah Geological Survey (UGS) has uploaded a new and intriguing video about the Wasatch fault on YouTube. “The video is a great example of merging technology and knowledge,” said Rick Allis, UGS director. “To our knowledge, this is a first-of-its-kind video.”

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