Basin-wide evaluation of the uppermost Green River Formation's oil-shale resources, Uinta Basin, Utah and Colorado, Uinta Basin (SS-128)

By: M. D. Vanden Berg

Due to the recent increase in crude oil prices and concerns over diminishing conventional reserves, the Utah Geological Survey has reexamined the Uinta Basin’s oil-shale resource, primarily in the Mahogany zone of the Green River Formation. Past assessments, the first conducted in 1964 and subsequent studies continuing through the early 1980s, concentrated on the Eocene Green River Formation’s Mahogany zone in the southeastern part of the Uinta Basin, and were limited in the amount of drill hole data available at the time. We have broadened the investigation to include the entire Uinta Basin, taking advantage of the hundreds of geophysical logs from oil and gas wells drilled over the last two decades.

Contains a 19-page report, 8 plates, and GIS data. Provided are detailed isopach maps, along with overburden contours, showing the thickness of a continuous sequence of oil shale averaging 50, 35, 25, and 15 gallons of oil per ton of rock. Newly calculated oil-shale resource estimates, both total and constrained, are also included.

Other Information:
Published: 2008
Location: Duchesne and Uintah Counties
Media Type:CD-ROM Publication
GIS Included