scholarly journals Spatial and stratigraphic distribution of water in oil shale of the Green River Formation using Fischer Assay, Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald C. Johnson ◽  
Tracey J. Mercier ◽  
Michael E. Brownfield
Keyword(s):  
Oil Shale ◽  
Green River Formation ◽  
Piceance Basin ◽  
Green River

Distribution of mineral phases in the Eocene Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, Colorado—Implications for the evolution of Lake Uinta

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Birdwell ◽  
Ronald C. Johnson ◽  
Michael E. Brownfield
Keyword(s):  
Oil Shale ◽  
Green River Formation ◽  
Piceance Basin ◽  
Geographic Variations ◽  
Alternative Source ◽  
Green River ◽  
Authigenic Minerals ◽  
Construct Maps ◽  
Near Shore ◽  
Indicator Minerals

The mineralogy of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin, Colorado, has been the subject of numerous studies since the 1920s. Most previous work has focused on the resource potential of these lacustrine mudrocks, which in addition to substantial oil shale potential (in-place resources of 353 billion barrels of synthetic crude oil for rocks yielding at least 25 gallons per ton, GPT), includes nahcolite, a currently utilized soda ash resource, and dawsonite, a potential alternative source of aluminum. Another reason to study the mineralogy in this system is that the geographic and stratigraphic distribution of various authigenic minerals may provide insights into the geochemistry and depositional environment of the long-lived Eocene Lake Uinta. In this study, legacy non-quantitative (presence/absence) X-ray diffraction (XRD) data recently published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for more than 9,000 samples collected from 30 coreholes in the Green River Formation, Piceance Basin were examined. These data were used to better define the stratigraphic and paleogeographic extent of a set of indicator minerals (illite, analcime, albite, dawsonite, and nahcolite) within the Piceance Basin lacustrine strata. This set of minerals was selected based on observations from previous work and variability in their occurrence and co-occurrence within the Piceance Basin. The USGS database has been used to (1) construct maps showing geographic variations in mineral occurrences for 14 stratigraphically defined rich and lean oil shale zones; (2) assess co-occurrences of indicator minerals; and (3) compare occurrence results with quantitative XRD datasets collected on Piceance Basin oil shales. Occurrences of many authigenic minerals (analcime, dawsonite, and nahcolite) varied in the lacustrine strata near and around the depocenter, but others, like quartz, dolomite, and feldspar (potassium + undifferentiated), were widely and consistently present (>90% of samples) across the basin. Shifts in the distribution of indicator mineral occurrences generally coincide with changes identified in previous lake history descriptions and indicate that the water chemistry of Lake Uinta varied significantly going from near-shore to the depocenter and through time.

scholarly journals In-place oil shale resources in the saline-mineral and saline-leached intervals, Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, Colorado

Fact Sheet ◽  
2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin E. Birdwell ◽  
Tracey J. Mercier ◽  
Ronald C. Johnson ◽  
Michael E. Brownfield ◽  
John D. Dietrich
Keyword(s):  
Oil Shale ◽  
Green River Formation ◽  
Piceance Basin ◽  
Green River

scholarly journals Assessment of in-place oil shale resources of the Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, western Colorado

Fact Sheet ◽  
2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald C. Johnson ◽  
Tracey J. Mercier ◽  
Michael E. Brownfield ◽  
Michael P. Pantea ◽  
Jesse G. Self
Keyword(s):  
Oil Shale ◽  
Green River Formation ◽  
Piceance Basin ◽  
Green River ◽  
Western Colorado

Stratigraphic Architecture of a Fluvial-lacustrine Basin-fill Succession at Desolation Canyon, Uinta Basin, Utah: Reference to Walthers’ Law and Implications for the Petroleum Industry

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Ford ◽  
David Pyles ◽  
Marieke Dechesne
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Oil Shale ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Green River Formation ◽  
Sand Content ◽  
Fluvial System ◽  
Uinta Basin ◽  
Green River ◽  
Lacustrine Basin ◽  
Basin Fill

A continuous window into the fluvial-lacustrine basin-fill succession of the Uinta Basin is exposed along a 48-mile (77-kilometer) transect up the modern Green River from Three Fords to Sand Wash in Desolation Canyon, Utah. In ascending order the stratigraphic units are: 1) Flagstaff Limestone, 2) lower Wasatch member of the Wasatch Formation, 3) middle Wasatch member of the Wasatch Formation, 4) upper Wasatch member of the Wasatch Formation, 5) Uteland Butte member of the lower Green River Formation, 6) lower Green River Formation, 7) Renegade Tongue of the lower Green River Formation, 8) middle Green River Formation, and 9) the Mahogany oil shale zone marking the boundary between the middle and upper Green River Formations. This article uses regional field mapping, geologic maps, photographs, and descriptions of the stratigraphic unit including: 1) bounding surfaces, 2) key upward stratigraphic characteristics within the unit, and 3) longitudinal changes along the river transect. This information is used to create a north-south cross section through the basin-fill succession and a detailed geologic map of Desolation Canyon. The cross section documents stratigraphic relationships previously unreported and contrasts with earlier interpretations in two ways: 1) abrupt upward shifts in the stratigraphy documented herein, contrast with the gradual interfingering relationships proposed by Ryder et al., (1976) and Fouch et al., (1994), 2) we document fluvial deposits of the lower and middle Wasatch to be distinct and more widespread than previously recognized. In addition, we document that the Uteland Butte member of the lower Green River Formation was deposited in a lacustrine environment in Desolation Canyon. Two large-scale (member-scale) upward patterns are noted: Waltherian, and non-Waltherian. The upward successions in Waltherian progressions record progradation or retrogradation of a linked fluvial-lacustrine system across the area; whereas the upward successions in non-Waltherian progressions record large-scale changes in the depositional system that are not related to progradation or retrogradation of the ancient lacustrine shoreline. Four Waltherian progressions are noted: 1) the Flagstaff Limestone to lower Wasatch Formation member records the upward transition from lacustrine to fluvial—or shallowing-upward succession; 2) the upper Wasatch to Uteland Butte records the upward transition from fluvial to lacustrine—or a deepening upward succession; 3) the Uteland Butte to Renegade Tongue records the upward transition from lacustrine to fluvial—a shallowing-upward succession; and 4) the Renegade Tongue to Mahogany oil shale interval records the upward transition from fluvial to lacustrine—a deepening upward succession. The two non-Waltherian progressions in the study area are: 1) the lower to middle Wasatch, which records the abrupt shift from low to high net-sand content fluvial system, and 2) the middle to upper Wasatch, which records the abrupt shift from high to intermediate net-sand content fluvial system.

17α(H) Hopane identified in Oil Shale of the Green River Formation (Eocene) by Carbon-13 NMR

Nature ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 242 (5400) ◽  
pp. 603-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. BALOGH ◽  
D. M. WILSON ◽  
P. CHRISTIANSEN ◽  
A. L. BURLINGAME
Keyword(s):  
Oil Shale ◽  
Green River Formation ◽  
Green River
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