CHAPTER 7 AREA AND DEPTH WORKSHOP

• Jurisdiction: United States

Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Pooling and Unitization
(Nov 2006)
CHAPTER 7
AREA AND DEPTH WORKSHOP
Larry Claypool
Senior Petroleum Engineer
Bureau of Land Management
Wyoming State Office
Reservoir Management Group
Casper, Wyoming
Leo P. Kozola
Petroleum Engineer
Bureau of Land Management
Wyoming State Office
Reservoir Management Group
Casper, Wyoming
Armando Lopez
Regulatory Agent
Yates Petroleum Corporation
Artesia, New Mexico

LARRY CLAYPOOL

Larry Claypool is a Senior Petroleum Engineer for the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Wyoming State Office Reservoir Management Group, in Casper, Wyoming. He has worked for the BLM for 23 years and began his career in Rawlins, Wyoming working on approval and monitoring of Federal oil and gas operations. Larry has over 20 years of experience in Federal agreements and is currently involved in the administration of Federal Oil and Gas Agreements in Wyoming and Nebraska which includes over 600 Federal Unit Agreements; over 2,500 Communitization Agreements; 8 Gas Storage Agreements; and 6 Development Contracts. He graduated from the University of Wyoming with Bachelor of Science degrees in Microbiology (1974), Medical Technology (1975), and Petroleum Engineering (1984). In addition, Larry is an instructor in Federal Oil and Gas Agreements for the Bureau's National Training Center.

LEO P. KOZOLA

Leo P. Kozola is a Petroleum Engineer with the Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office Reservoir Management Group, in Casper, Wyoming.

ARMANDO LOPEZ

Armando A. Lopez is Chief, Regulatory Agent for Yates Petroleum Corporation in Artesia, New Mexico. He graduated from New Mexico State University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 1975. He worked in the Hobbs District Office of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as a staff Petroleum Engineer (1976-78), Agreements Section of USGS Roswell and Albuquerque Offices as Staff Petroleum Engineer (1978- 80), Supervisor of the Agreements Section USGS Albuquerque (1980-81), Production Unit Supervisor USGS, and Minerals Management Service Roswell (1981-83), Chief, Branch of Fluid Minerals, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Roswell (1984-91), Assistant District Manager for Minerals BLM Roswell (1992-94), Lead Technical Expert for Lands and Minerals Division BLM Roswell (1995-05). From 1984-05 was directly involved in the administration and approval process of operations and agreements for the of Southern half New Mexico.

Area and Depth Workshop

Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation

Special Institute: Federal Onshore

Pooling and Unitization

November 8-10, 2006

Larry Claypool, BLM - WY

Leo Kozola, BLM - WY

Armando Lopez, Yates Pet. - NM

Fred Crockett, BLM - WY

Pinedale Anticline south end of the Mesa looking southeast with New Fork River in background. Closest well is Ultra Petroleum's.
Mesa # 9-33 Well, next closest is a Shell Oil Company well drilling from the # 12-34 well pad	BLM photo 2004

[Page 7-2]

A Few Basic Geologic Principles

• Layering and rock types

• Porosity and permeability

• Folds, faults, & pinchouts

• Trapping mechanisms

Sediment is deposited horizontally with youngest layers on top.

[Page 7-3]

Porosity and Permeability

Are the most important properties of reservoir rocks.

Porosity: fluid filled space in a rock.

Permeability: how readily fluid moves through a rock.

Folds and Faults

[Page 7-4]

[Page 7-5]

Strike Slip Faults

Strike slip faults have little or no vertical offset.

Trapping mechanisms

Anticline with four way closure

[Page 7-6]

Anticlines

Simplest and most prolific oil and gas trap.

Can be complicated by faulting and stratigraphic changes.

[Page 7-7]

[Page 7-8]

Area and Depth Workshop

UNIT SCENARIOS

Scenario 1, Patriot Prospect: (See geologic map on next page)

This prospect showed up unexpectedly near the edge of a 3D seismic survey. It is a sandstone buildup which has been faulted out on the northwest side. The sandstone thickness lines should be considered approximate values that were interpreted from the seismic data. The ten (10) foot line indicates the thinnest target sandstone interval that was detected by the available seismic data. A marine sandstone at about 10,000 feet filled with natural gas is the main target. None of the wells penetrated reservoir quality sandstone. Well spacing in this area for natural gas is typically one well per quarter section. The earliest lease expiration date is 2009.

1. Draw in a reasonable unit boundary on the attached map.

2. Are there any issues that the unit operator needs to be aware of as this prospect goes through the designation and final approval process?

...