BASIN ANALYSIS AND EXPLORATION METHODOLOGIES FOR THE SOUTH-CENTRAL MID-CONTINENT REGION

ABSTRACT To encourage hydrocarbon exploration activities in some of the unexplored and underexplored regions of the United States, the United States Department of Energy initiated the Basin Analysis Program in 1994. The program's goal is to recommend and/or develop cost-effective methodologies, techniques and tools for oil and gas exploration. This paper presents the status of research and the techniques used to evaluate the deep hydrocarbon potential of the south-central mid-continent region. Early studies of the region suggested that Precambrian sediments and a variety of structural and stratigraphic traps within the Mid-Continent Rift (MCR) system could contain substantial quantities of oil. Subsequent work revealed that information on the organic content of the Precambrian sediments within the southern portion of the rift system is sparse and discouraging, and that the tectonic history of the MCR did not favour the significant release of hydrocarbons. Possible sourcing and long-distance migration from mature sediments to the southeast in the Ozark region were therefore investigated. A variety of exploration techniques and methodologies, including basin modeling of fluid dynamics and hydrocarbon generation, remote sensing and surface fracture analysis, surface geochemistry and 3D seismic interpretation were used to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential of the south-central mid-continent region.