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Journal ArticleDOI

Regional Fractures II: Fracturing of Mesaverde Reservoirs in the Piceance Basin, Colorado (1)

John C. Lorenz, +1 more
- 11 Nov 1991 - 
- Vol. 75, Iss: 11, pp 1738-1757
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TLDR
In this paper, a regional set of west-northwest extension fractures was observed in abundant vertical and deviated core from the U.S. Department of Energy's Multiwell Experiment and Slant Hole Completion Test wells.
Abstract
Cretaceous strata in the east-central Piceance basin of northwestern Colorado were subjected to several phases of stress due to horizontal tectonic compression, burial, and uplift. These rocks contain a regional set of west-northwest extension fractures, observed in abundant vertical and deviated core from the U.S. Department of Energy's Multiwell Experiment and Slant Hole Completion Test wells. Time-depth relationships, fracture orientation, and fluid inclusion analyses indicate that the fractures formed at about 36-40 Ma, during a phase of increased Laramide west-northwest compression, and in a pressure-temperature regime compatible with the geologically reconstructed maximum burial depths. This regional fracturing is an example of load-parallel extension fracturing and basinwide dilatancy at depth, under conditions of high pore pressure and anisotropic, tectonically created, horizontal stress.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI

Sublinear scaling of fracture aperture versus length: An exception or the rule?

TL;DR: In this paper, a nonlinear aperture-to-length relationship is derived, still based on linear elastic fracture mechanics in a homogeneous body, but incorporating subcritical and critical (equilibrium law) fracture propagation criteria.
Journal ArticleDOI

Fractures in sandstone reservoirs with ultra-low permeability: A case study of the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation in the Ordos Basin, China

TL;DR: In this article, the authors studied the effect of different successive tectonic stress fields on the formation of high-angle tectonics in the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation in the Ordos Basin.
Journal ArticleDOI

Scaling relationships of joint and vein arrays from The Burren, Co. Clare, Ireland

TL;DR: In this paper, a study of the systematics of veins and joints in Carboniferous limestones of The Burren, Ireland is presented, where scaling relationships were established for fracture arrays mapped from low elevation aerial photographs that image fractures on numerous limestone pavements for areas up to ca 1 km2.
Journal ArticleDOI

Prediction of lithofacies and reservoir quality using well logs, Late Cretaceous Williams Fork Formation, Mamm Creek field, Piceance Basin, Colorado

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify 12 lithofacies based on sand-grain populations, cement types, and clay matrix content, and show that careful petrographic assessment of the heterogeneity can be upscaled by correlation with log properties to yield tools for field-scale reservoir quality prediction.
Journal ArticleDOI

Testing the basin-centered gas accumulation model using fluid inclusion observations: Southern Piceance Basin, Colorado

TL;DR: The basin-centered gas accumulation model was applied to the Piceance Basin by determining the timing of fracturegrowth and associated temperature, pressure, and fluid-composition conditions using microthermometry and Raman microspectrometry of fluid inclusions trapped in fracture cement that formed during fracture growth as discussed by the authors.
References
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Book

Fundamentals of rock mechanics

TL;DR: In this article, Mecanique des roches and Analyse des contraintes were used to construct Elasticite Reference Record (ER) and Elasticite reference record (ER).
Journal ArticleDOI

Experimental Deformation of Sedimentary Rocks Under Confining Pressure: Pore Pressure Tests

TL;DR: In this article, a triaxial compression test was conducted on various types of porous rocks, including Beerea sandstone, Marianna limestone, Hasmark dolomite, Repetto siltstone, and Muddy shale, in which the external confining pressures and internal pore pressures were measured independently.
Journal ArticleDOI

The great transgressions of the Late Cretaceous

TL;DR: Facies analysis in both the Western Interior of the USA and in NW Europe reveals simultaneous major oscillations in sea level that controlled the principal transgressions and regressions except in regions of rapid contemporaneous tectonics.
Journal ArticleDOI

Contemporary tectonics and seismicity of the Western United States with emphasis on the Intermountain Seismic Belt

TL;DR: In this paper, a comparison of the calculated and observed rates of the motion for the Yellowstone plume with respect to that for the North American plate was made, and it was concluded that the Yellowstone plate has remained stationary relative to the Hawaiian plume.
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