The Salt Creek Oil Field is located in Natrona County, Wyoming. [2] By 1970, more oil had been produced by this field than any other in the Rocky Mountains region and accounted for 20 percent of the total production in Wyoming. [3]
Petroleum seeps in the area were known before 1880, but oil strikes near Lander led to claims by Schoonmaker and Cy Iba. [4] In 1889 the first well to strike oil was drilled in the Shannon pool by Philip M. Shannon, president of the Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Company, who in 1895 built an oil refinery in Casper to process the oil. [5] Dr. Porro, an Italian geologist working for the Dutch company Petroleum Maatschappij Salt Creek in 1906, located the Dutch No. 1 near a large oil seep south of the Shannon wells, which was drilled in 1908. [6] The "gusher" well reached an oil sand after drilling through 1,000 feet (300 m) of shale. [7]
In 1915, a portion of the Teapot Dome was made Naval Petroleum Reserve Number 3. [8]
Geology
The field is on an anticline with 1,500 feet (460 m) of closure, which formed in the Late Cretaceous or Early Tertiary. [3] The anticline has two distinct domes, the "Salt Creek Dome" to the north and the " Teapot Dome" to the south. [9] Production is from stratigraphic traps in the Lakota, Sundance and Tensleep formations plus two Frontier Formations, which is an offshore bar sandstone, all of which are interbedded with marine shales. [3] This second Frontier formation extends into the Teapot Dome to the south. [10] The Frontier lies between the Mowry Shale and Niobrara Formation. [3]
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![Salt Creek Oil Field Stratigraphy[11]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Salt_Creek_Oil_Field_stratigraphy.jpg/72px-Salt_Creek_Oil_Field_stratigraphy.jpg)
Salt Creek Oil Field Stratigraphy [11] -
![Shannon Oil Pool in Salt Creek Oil Field[12]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Salt_Creek_Oil_Field.jpg/105px-Salt_Creek_Oil_Field.jpg)
Shannon Oil Pool in Salt Creek Oil Field [12] -
![Geological section of Salt Creek Oil Field[13]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Geological_section_of_Salt_Creek_Oil_Field.png/200px-Geological_section_of_Salt_Creek_Oil_Field.png)
Geological section of Salt Creek Oil Field [13]
![Salt Creek Oil Field Stratigraphy[11]](/info/en/?search=File:Salt_Creek_Oil_Field_stratigraphy.jpg)
![Shannon Oil Pool in Salt Creek Oil Field[12]](/info/en/?search=File:Salt_Creek_Oil_Field.jpg)
![Geological section of Salt Creek Oil Field[13]](/info/en/?search=File:Geological_section_of_Salt_Creek_Oil_Field.png)
Enhanced Oil Recovery
In the Salt Creek field, Enhanced Oil Recovery with CO2 is used to increase oil production. The CO2 is captured in a natural gas facility in the nearby LaBarge field. [14]
In 2016, CO2 was leaking from an abandoned well in the field and led to the temporary closure of a school. [15]
Notes
- ^ Wegemann, Plate VII
- ^ Wegemann, 1911, p. 37
- ^ a b c d Barlow and Haun, p. 147
- ^ Wegemann, pp.6-7
- ^ Wegemann, p. 7
- ^ Wegemann, 1911, pp. 72-73
- ^ Wegemann, 1911, p. 73
- ^ Wegemann, p. 9
- ^ wegemann, p. 54
- ^ Barlow and Haun, pp. 148-149
- ^ Wegemann, p. 13
- ^ Wegemann, Plate III
- ^ E/MJ, Engineering and Mining Journal (Public domain ed.). McGraw-Hill. 1896. p. 60.
- ^ "Salt Creek EOR". zeroco2.no. Archived from the original on 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ Joyce, Stephanie (2016-11-05). "What Happened In Midwest? The Mysterious Gas Leak That Shuttered A School". Retrieved 2020-12-17.
Bibliography
- Barlow, J.A. Jr., and Haun, J.D., 1970, Regional Stratigraphy of Frontier Formation and Relation to Salt Creek Field, Wyoming, in Geology of Giant Petroleum Fields, Halbouty, M.T., editor, AAPG Memoir 14, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
- Wegemann, C.H., 1911, The Lander and Salt Creek Oil Fields, Wyoming, US Dept. of the Interior USGS Bulletin 452, Washington: Government Printing Office. (Public domain ed.)
- Wegemann, C.H., 1918, The Salt Creek Oil Field, Wyoming, US Dept. of the Interior USGS Bulletin 670, Washington: Government Printing Office. (Public domain ed.)
External links
The Salt Creek Oil Field is located in Natrona County, Wyoming. [2] By 1970, more oil had been produced by this field than any other in the Rocky Mountains region and accounted for 20 percent of the total production in Wyoming. [3]
Petroleum seeps in the area were known before 1880, but oil strikes near Lander led to claims by Schoonmaker and Cy Iba. [4] In 1889 the first well to strike oil was drilled in the Shannon pool by Philip M. Shannon, president of the Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Company, who in 1895 built an oil refinery in Casper to process the oil. [5] Dr. Porro, an Italian geologist working for the Dutch company Petroleum Maatschappij Salt Creek in 1906, located the Dutch No. 1 near a large oil seep south of the Shannon wells, which was drilled in 1908. [6] The "gusher" well reached an oil sand after drilling through 1,000 feet (300 m) of shale. [7]
In 1915, a portion of the Teapot Dome was made Naval Petroleum Reserve Number 3. [8]
Geology
The field is on an anticline with 1,500 feet (460 m) of closure, which formed in the Late Cretaceous or Early Tertiary. [3] The anticline has two distinct domes, the "Salt Creek Dome" to the north and the " Teapot Dome" to the south. [9] Production is from stratigraphic traps in the Lakota, Sundance and Tensleep formations plus two Frontier Formations, which is an offshore bar sandstone, all of which are interbedded with marine shales. [3] This second Frontier formation extends into the Teapot Dome to the south. [10] The Frontier lies between the Mowry Shale and Niobrara Formation. [3]
-
Salt Creek Oil Field Stratigraphy [11]
-
Shannon Oil Pool in Salt Creek Oil Field [12]
-
Geological section of Salt Creek Oil Field [13]
Enhanced Oil Recovery
In the Salt Creek field, Enhanced Oil Recovery with CO2 is used to increase oil production. The CO2 is captured in a natural gas facility in the nearby LaBarge field. [14]
In 2016, CO2 was leaking from an abandoned well in the field and led to the temporary closure of a school. [15]
Notes
- ^ Wegemann, Plate VII
- ^ Wegemann, 1911, p. 37
- ^ a b c d Barlow and Haun, p. 147
- ^ Wegemann, pp.6-7
- ^ Wegemann, p. 7
- ^ Wegemann, 1911, pp. 72-73
- ^ Wegemann, 1911, p. 73
- ^ Wegemann, p. 9
- ^ wegemann, p. 54
- ^ Barlow and Haun, pp. 148-149
- ^ Wegemann, p. 13
- ^ Wegemann, Plate III
- ^ E/MJ, Engineering and Mining Journal (Public domain ed.). McGraw-Hill. 1896. p. 60.
- ^ "Salt Creek EOR". zeroco2.no. Archived from the original on 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ Joyce, Stephanie (2016-11-05). "What Happened In Midwest? The Mysterious Gas Leak That Shuttered A School". Retrieved 2020-12-17.
Bibliography
- Barlow, J.A. Jr., and Haun, J.D., 1970, Regional Stratigraphy of Frontier Formation and Relation to Salt Creek Field, Wyoming, in Geology of Giant Petroleum Fields, Halbouty, M.T., editor, AAPG Memoir 14, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
- Wegemann, C.H., 1911, The Lander and Salt Creek Oil Fields, Wyoming, US Dept. of the Interior USGS Bulletin 452, Washington: Government Printing Office. (Public domain ed.)
- Wegemann, C.H., 1918, The Salt Creek Oil Field, Wyoming, US Dept. of the Interior USGS Bulletin 670, Washington: Government Printing Office. (Public domain ed.)