Western Williston Basin Lodgepole Source Rock and Oil Evaluation

The study has now been completed in the western portion of the Williston Basin. The study area covers the eastern portion of Montana and incorporates data from wells in fields along the northwest extension of the Cedar Creek Anticline, westward to McCone County and north to the Canadian border. This proposal was a natural extension of the study of the source potential of the Lodgepole in the Williston Basin of North Dakota which is also completed. Samples were collected primarily from well cuttings available from the Amstrat collection housed at the USGS Core Research Facility in Denver, Colorado. These samples were supplemented with samples from wells containing Lodgepole, Bakken, Mission Canyon, and Charles (Ratcliffe Member) formation cores. Although only a few cores are available through these intervals at the time of this report, the samples collected from them are of great importance to our interpretations because of their greater size, higher sample quality, and the precise depth that can be assigned to these cores.

The total number of samples was 173 from 38 different wells. All samples were described lithologically and analyzed for TOC/Rock-Eval parameters; of these, 87 were represented by select, hand picked well cuttings from 24 wells, and 86 from thin intervals in cores from 14 wells. 30 GC/MS samples were run; 15 on whole oils and 15 on rock samples. 15 whole oils were analyzed for C7 hydrocarbon fingerprints.

Summary of Reports

38 Wells

173 Samples

15 Gas Chromatographic Samples

30 GC/MS Samples

173 TOC/Rock-Eval^*

View the Evaluation Study Area Map for the Williston Basin

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