1. THE OIL AND GAS RESOURCE PLAY REVOLUTION
AND HOW IT AFFECTS THE ECONOMY OF THE RIO GRANDE REGION
Michael L Davies - October 17, 2012

2. Agenda
• Introduction
• What are Oil and Gas Resource Plays
• How Oil and Gas Resource Plays are Exploited
• The effect of Resource Play development on
the Rio Grande Region
• Acknowledgements

3. What is a Resource Play
The Continuous (Unconventional) Hydrocarbon Trap
(East Texas Field)
The location of many Continuous accumulations of oil and gas have been known for many years due to previous exploration efforts for
Conventional hydrocarbon deposits. Advances in horizontal drilling and fracture stimulation technologies have made these resources
economically accessible to the industry. The job of the exploration geologist is to find areas within the continuous deposit where the
hydrocarbons can extracted economically .

4. How do Oil and Gas Companies Exploit Resource Plays
(Continuous Reservoirs)

5. Oil and Gas Well Production Depends on
Several Factors
• The Thickness of the Reservoir Rock open to the well bore
• The Permeability of the rock material that contains the oil
and gas (The Reservoir Rock) – How easy is it for fluids to
flow the rock material
• The viscosity of the fluid that is flowing through the
reservoir rock – water flows through a permeable medium
more easily than cold molasses.
• Reservoir Pressure – The deeper the reservoir rock is buried
the more pressure it contains and the more push that can
be applied to fluid movement.
Advances in Horizontal Drilling and Fracture Treatment Technologies have allowed the
oil and gas industry to target and improve the first two production parameters shown
above.

6. INCREASING RESERVOIR THICKNESS
Using specialized tools, operators can drill the reservoir horizontally rather than
vertically, effectively increasing the thickness of the reservoir section open to the well
bore. Also where geologic conditions exist, thickness can be increased by stacking a
sequence of resource reservoirs in a vertical well bore.

7. INCREASING RESERVOIR PERMEABILITY (HYRAULIC FRACTURING)
Fluids and Sand are pumped into the well under high pressure which fractures the reservoir
rock. The fluid carries the sand into the fractures, propping them open, so that oil and gas can
flow from the reservoir into the well.

8. What is the Impact of Resource Play
Development on the Rio Grande Corridor

9. San Juan Basin
Resource Play Development
in the San Juan Basin of NW
New Mexico
Paleo-Geography of North America
during the Late Cretaceous (85 MYPB)
Ron Blakey, Colorado Plateau Geosystems

10. San Juan Basin
Cretaceous Dakota Structure
6000
Durango
& Outcrop
CI: 1000’ (500’)
40
00
0
-1
50
0
40
00 Aztec
4000
Shiprock
Bloomfield
-50 -10
0 00
0
1000
2000
Oil Prod. Gas Prod.
Area Area
3000
San Juan Basin Production
San Juan Basin
00
60
40
6000
00 120,000 6,000
50
Liquids, MBbls/Month
00
100,000 5,000
Gas, MMCFPM
00 80,000 4,000
60
60,000 3,000
600 40,000 2,000
Gallup
0
20,000 1,000
0 0
40
01/70 01/76 01/82 01/88 01/94 01/00 01/06
00
MCFPM BOPM BWPM
Grants
Cum: 31 TCFG & 364 M²BL
The majority of SJB production is from the
Cretaceous with minor contributions from
Jurassic and Pennsylvanian Rocks.

11. Gallup Target Section
Niobrara Age
4800’ – 5500’ TVD
Upper Cretaceous Time-Startigraphic Section – San Juan Basin
NW New Mexico and SW Colorado

12. Activity
• A few horizontal wells have been drilled in the
gas area of the San Juan Basin that have found
huge amounts of natural gas reserves, but,
because Natural Gas prices are so low
development is on hold.
• The oil prone area is under active
development by several companies including
Hunt Oil. So far the results are positive but the
play is not yet considered commercial.

13. Greater Permian
Basin
Resource Play Development
in the Greater Permian Basin
SE New Mexico and SW Texas
Paleo-Geography of the Western US
during the Early Permian (287 MYPB)
Ron Blakey, Colorado Plateau Geosystems

14. GREATER PERMIAN BASIN RESOURCE PLAY MAP
STRATIGRAPHIC COLUMN
YESO
SHELF 1st BONE SPRING
ABO
SHELF
Cline Sh
Map
Area

15. EAST TO WEST CROSS-SECTION ACROSS GREATER PERMIAN BASIN
A
A’
EL Capitan
Present Day Surface
Sea Level
Resource Plays
Central Basin
Platform
West East
The resource plays in the greater Permian
A’ Basin are concentrated in Lower Permian
A (Leonardian & Wolfcampian) and
Pennsylvanian aged Rocks.

16. 499
Greater Permian Basin
Drilling Activity
Oil Gas
Map
Area

17. Acknowledgements
• I wish to thank my colleagues at Hunt Oil Co.
without who’s help this presentation would
not be possible.
• I also want to thank the Re-Energize Americas
Conference and New Mexico State University
for the invitation to give this presentation.