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Improving the Availability and Delivery of Critical Information for Tight Gas Resource Development in the Appalachian Basin

This three-year U.S. DOE-sponsored project, begun in fall 2005 by the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey and the Pennsylvania Geological and Topographic Survey, is providing public access to well-specific data and region-wide products for six significant, regional, tight gas accumulations in the central Appalachian Basin.

It is expected that the improved understanding of these reservoirs will enable operators to expand their resource recoverability through more cost-effective exploration of new areas and more efficient infill drilling and recompletion programs in existing fields.

Via the Internet, this project is providing easier access to scanned well records, scanned wireline logs, digitized wireline logs, production data, core analysis reports, digital photographs of cores, scanned maps and cross-sections, and related data on tight gas plays through an interactive website. Wireline logs have been scanned and database entries have been updated for use in system queries.

Two main objectives to this project have been to:

  • Collect a broad range of data and information in public records and published sources and convert it to digital format. The work has concentrated on the Lower Mississippian/Upper Devonian Berea/Murrysville gas play, the Upper Devonian Venango, Bradford, and Elk gas plays, and the Lower Silurian Tuscarora play in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and the Lower Silurian Medina/"Clinton" gas play in Pennsylvania.
  • Design and implement an on-line, interactive digital and geospatial website that consolidates a broad range of existing information about tight gas reservoirs, and has the potential to be extended to any tight gas reservoir in the future. This website includes scanned images of logs, selected digitized wireline logs, photomicrographs of thin-sections, digital photographs of core slabs, selected basic well data, and digital regional maps and cross-sections.

Partial support from U.S. DOE is appreciated. DOE Award Number: DE-FC26-05NT42661. 

Download the project's Final Report (bookmarked version):

Basic Stratigraphy for the Appalachian Tight Gas Reservoirs Project--Draft

Note: Formal lithostratigraphy terminology is shown in bold font; drillers' terms are shown in regular font.
 
Age
 
Play Name (Abbreviated) West Virginia Southwestern Pennsylvania Northwestern Pennsylvania
Pennsylvanian Allegheny   
Salt Sands 
Mississippian Mauch Chunk 
Greenbrier 
Big Injun 
Weir 
Berea/Murrysville
Sunbury Shale Berea-Murrysville Berea-Corry
Devonian Berea Sandstone Cussewago Sandstone Cussewago Sandstone
Bedford Shale  
Venango
Gantz Gantz First Venango
Fifty-foot Hundred-foot Red Valley
Thirty-foot Fifty-foot Second Venango
Gordon Stray Thirty-foot Third Venango Stray
Gordon Nineveh-Snee Third Venango
Fourth Gordon Stray-Gordon First Warren
Fifth Fourth  
Bayard Fifth/McDonald
Elizabeth Bayard
Warren Elizabeth
  Sweet Richard
First Warren
Bradford
Speechley Upper Warren Second Warren
Tiona Lower Warren Third Warren
Balltown Speechley Stray First Bradford/Glade
Bradford Speechley Clarendon Stray
Riley Tiona Clarendon
  First Balltown Balltown
Second Balltown Cherry Grove
Sheffield Speechley/Tiona
First Bradford Copper Stray
Second Bradford Second Bradford
Third Bradford Harrisburg Run
Riley Sliverville
  Third Bradford
Lewis Run
Kane
Elk
Benson First Elk Elk
Alexander Second Elk Sartwell/Haskill
Leopold Fourth Elk Humphrey
Brallier    
Bruceton
Elk
Haverty
Fox
Sycamore
Fractured Devonian Shales
Black Devonian Shales
 
 
Oriskany - Fractured
Oriskany - Structural
Oriskany - Combination
Oriskany - Pinchout
Silurian Newburg 
Lockport 
Medina/"Clinton"
    Medina Group
Tuscarora
Tuscarora Sandstone Tuscarora Sandstone  
Ordovician Trenton