The Use Of Vertical Seismic Profiles And Surface Seismic Profiles To Investigate The Distribution Of Aquifers In The Madison Group And Red River Formation, Powder River Basin, Wyoming-Montana

In June 1982 Geophysics, the correct authors of “The use of vertical seismic profiles in seismic investigations of the earth” are A. H. Balch, M. W. Lee, J. J. Miller, and R. T. Ryder. R. T. Ryder was incorrectly listed as R. T. Taylor on the cover. The first two sentences of the caption for Figure 17 of the above paper (p. 917) should read “First Leo sand reflections and Minnekahta reflections from two wells in the eastern Powder River basin, Wyoming, from vertical seismic profiles (a) 50 ft thick Leo section, (b) Leo section 10 ft thick or less. Note the reduced relative amplitude of the Leo in (b).”

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Seismic amplitude anomalies associated with thick First Leo sandstone lenses, eastern Powder River basin, Wyoming

Geophysics ◽

10.1190/1.1441158 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 46 (11) ◽

pp. 1519-1527 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

A. H. Balch ◽

M. W. Lee ◽

John J. Miller ◽

Robert T. Ryder

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

Surface Profile ◽

Seismic Profile ◽

Powder River Basin ◽

Seismic Profiles ◽

Surface Reflection ◽

Model Studies ◽

Seismic Amplitude ◽

Amplitude Anomaly ◽

Middle Member

Several new discoveries of oil production in the Leo sandstone, an economic unit in the Pennsylvanian middle member of the Minnelusa formation, eastern Powder River basin, Wyoming‐Nebraska‐South Dakota, have renewed exploration interest in this area. Vertical seismic profiles (VSP) and model studies suggested that a measurable seismic amplitude anomaly is frequently associated with the thick First Leo sandstone lenses. To test this concept, a surface reflection seismic profile was run between two wells about 12 miles apart. The First Leo was present and productive in one well and thin and barren in the other. The surface profile shows the predicted amplitude anomaly at the well where a thick lens is known to exist. Two other First Leo amplitude anomalies also appear on the surface seismic profile between the two wells, which may indicate the presence of additional lenses.

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Cultural Exchange in the Red River Basin

Anthropology News ◽

10.1525/an.2008.49.3.4 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 4-5

Author(s):

Siobhán M Mattison

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

Cultural Exchange ◽

Red River ◽

Red River Basin

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Split Estate and Wyoming’s Orphaned Well Crisis: The Case of Coalbed Methane Reclamation in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming

Case Studies in the Environment ◽

10.1525/cse.2017.000455 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kathryn Bills Walsh

Keyword(s):

Natural Gas ◽

River Basin ◽

Technological Innovation ◽

Coalbed Methane ◽

Powder River Basin ◽

Gas Wells ◽

Mineral Rights ◽

Split Estate ◽

Legal Condition

This case presents the stakeholder conflicts that emerge during the development and subsequent reclamation of abandoned natural gas wells in Wyoming where split estate, or the separation of surface land and mineral rights from one another, occurs. From 1998 to 2008, the Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming experienced an energy boom as a result of technological innovation that enabled the extraction of coalbed methane (CBM). The boom resulted in over 16,000 wells being drilled in this 20,000 square-mile region in a single decade. As of May 2017, 4,149 natural gas wells now sit orphaned in Wyoming as a result of industry bankruptcy and abandonment. The current orphaned wells crisis was partially enabled by the patchwork of surface and mineral ownership in Wyoming that is a result of a legal condition referred to as split estate. As the CBM boom unfolded in this landscape and then began to wane, challenges emerged most notably surrounding stalled reclamation activities. This case illuminates these challenges highlighting two instances when split estate contributed to issues between landowners and industry operators which escalated to litigation.

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