Pay Distribution and Basin Architecture of the Wolfcamp Shale in the Delaware Basin

The Delaware Basin can be divided into two GOR thermal regimes; low GOR to the east and high GOR to the west. Multiple hypotheses may explain this segregation; chromatographic migration, basin inversion, heat flow fluctuation, etc. This review will explore these alternatives to thermal maturity and demonstrate the potential for fluid flow in low permeability systems not only at a local scale, but more regionally.