Occurrence and Petrophysical Properties of Carbonate Reservoirs in the Rocky Mountain Region, 1988

27

Characterization of Carbonate Reservoirs

in the Lansing-Kansas City Groups
(Upper Pennsylvanian) in Victory Field,
Haskell County, Kansas'
W. LYNN WATNEY2
JOHN FRENCH2
'Received: July 26, 1988; Revised: August 3, 1988
2Kansas Geological Survey, Lawrence, Kansas

Victory Field, located in Haskell County, Kansas, was discovered in 1960 along
a south-plunging anticline utilizing subsurface geology. The multipay discovery followed
previous successes along the same structural trend to the north. The anticline is expressed in
rocks as young as the Lower Permian Chase Group. Structural mapping of these shallower
units where more well control is generally available provides an effective means of detecting
deep-seated structures. Reservoirs include the Virgilian Toronto Limestone, a series of pay
zones in the Missourian Lansing-Kansas City (410O-fty4400-ft, and 4600-ft zones), Desmoinesian
Marmaton Group pay (4700-ft zone), a Morrowan sandstone, and limestones in the
!,
Mississippian St. Louis Formation.
Petroleum accumulation occurs as the result of local structural closure on the
plunging anticline and porosity development in both limestones and sandstones. The porosity
is quite variable in the Lansing-Kansas City rocks, the predominant reservoir-bearing interval
of the field. The best reservoir rocks are bioclastic grainstones deposited in high-energy
environments. Distribution of these grainstones was partly controlled by early structural relief
and the resultant paleotopography, as revealed by structure, isopach, and porosity mapping.
Early freshwater diagenesis related to subaerial exposure following deposition of each of the
sequences in the Lansing-Kansas City was substantial. Primary porosity in oolitic grainstones
was typically destroyed during early diagenesis of this facies. Molds, vugs, and micropores
form a majority of the pore space in this depositional facies. Consequently, the ratio of effective
porosity to total porosity in these oolitic grainstones is proportionately low. However, the
bioclastic grainstone of the 4100-ft zone of the Lansing-Kansas City is an excellent reservoir
rock with well-preserved interparticle porosity in addition to molds and vugs.

INTRODUCTION
Victory Field in Haskell County, Kansas was one of a
series of discoveries made through the application of
subsurface geologic methods delineating closure along a
large, southerly-plunging anticline. The discovery well
1988

- CARBONATE SYMPOSIUM

for Victory Field, the Cities Service Company NO.B-1

Blair (SE NW Section 32, T30S-R33W) was completed
in November, 1960 for 192 BOPD in the 4100-ft zone
of the Upper Pennsylvanian Lansing Group.
The Toronto, Marmaton, Morrow, and Mississippian

2009 Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists ROCKY MOUNMIN ASSOCIATION OF GEOLOGISTS

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28

W. Lynn Watney and John French

RESERVOIR SUMMARY
Producing Intervals:
Geographic Location:
Present Tectonic Setting:
Depositional Setting:
Age of Reservoirs:
Lithology of Reservoirs:

Depositional Environments:
Diagenesis:
Pore Types:
Porosity:

Permeability:
Fractures:
Nature of Trap:
Entrapping Facies:
Source Rocks:
-

--.

Timing of Hydrocarbon Migration:

REPRESENTATIVE FIELD:
Discovery date:
Reservoir Depth:
Reservoir Thickness:

IP (Discovery Well):
Areal Extent:
Number of Producing Wells:
Original Reservoir Pressure:
1988

- CARBONATE SYMPOSIUM

Toronto Limestone (virgman), Lansing and Kansas City groups

(Missourian), Marmaton Group (Desmoinesian), Morrowan,
Kearney Formation, St. Louis Formation
South-central Haskell County, Kansas
Hugoton Embayment of Anadarko Basin (shelf flexure of hybrid
foreland basin)
Broad, low-relief ramp on edge of Anadarko Basin
Virgilian and Missourian (Upper Pennsylvanian), Desmoinesian
(Middle Pennsylvanian), Morrowan (Lower Pennsylvanian), Chester
and St. Louis (Upper Mississippian)
Lansing-Kansas City - Skeletal and oolitic packstones
and grainstones
Marmaton Group (4700-ft zone) - oolitic grainstone
Morrowan - quartz sandstone
Mississippian (St. Louis) - limestone
Missourian - Structurally induced paleotopographic relief;
overlain and flanked by elongate lobes (bars) of mobile grainstone
deposited in open marine conditions
Missourian - Early subaerial leading to extensive meteoric freshwater
carbonate cementation and dissolution; extensive late-stage
burial cementation
Missourian - Moldic (ooid and fossil) and vuggy porosity and
primary interparticle porosity
Missourian (from core analysis of Amoco #A-4 Cox)
4100-ft zone: upper grainstone, 10 to 30%, average = 15%
lower microspar, 13 to 29%, average = 21%
4400-ft zone: no core available
4600-ft zone: upper oolitic zone, 9 to 33Y0, average = 22%
4100-ft zone: upper zone, 0.01-790 md, average = 399 md
lower zone, 0.11-17 md, average = 12.7 md
4600-ft zone: 0.06-386 md, average = 84 md
Small discontinuous fractures are common. Fracture density
is unknown
Structural closure and porosity pinchouts
Non-porous carbonate, shales
Mississippian-Devonian Chattanooga (Woodford) Shale is a common - source rock for oils in this area; Pennsylvanian shales can
contribute a lesser proportion of oils.
Beginning in Cretaceous for source rocks within the Kansas portion of
Hugoton embayment; generation possibly as old as Mississippian in
central portions of the Anadarko Basin.
Victory Field (with Missourian, Desmoinesian, Morrowan, and
Meramecian reservoirs)
November, 1960
4100 ft (1250 m) to 5560 ft (1700 m)
Lansing Group - 4100-ft zone: 10-27 ft (3-8 m) (Stoner
Limestone equivalent)
Kansas City Group - 4400-ft zone: 0-17 ft (0-5 m)
4600-ft zone: 0-45 ft (0-14 m)
Marmaton - 4700-ft zone: under 10 ft (under 3 m)
Morrow - Not available
St. Louis - under 10 ft (under 3 m)
192 BOPD
2,340 acres, elongate trending north-northeast
78 oil, 34 gas, 5 abandoned
Not available
ROCKY MOUN7XIN ASSOCIATION OF GEOLOGISTS

Carbonate Reservoirs; Lansing-Kansas City in Victory Field

Cumulative Production:
1987 Production:
Estimated Oil in Place:
Estimated Ultimate Oil Recovery:

29

90,944,837BO (through 1987)

26,638,495 MCF gas (through 1987)
245,538 BOY1,161,208MCF gas, 1,136,927BW
Not available
Not available

-THRUST
-HIGH

FAULT
ANGLE FAULT (hachurar on downthrown rids)

-UNCLASSIFIED FAULT

PRECAMBRIAN ROCKS (axpoiad)

PRECAMBRIAN SUPRACRUSTAL SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
(not ixpossd)

PALEOZMC FELSIC VOLCANIC ROCKS (not axpaad)

0 PALEOZMC WICHITA FACES

(binoath Cratacaoua rockd

0PRECAMBRIAN INTRUSIVE ROCKS

50

150

100

200

YlLES

Figure 1. Configuration of the Precambrian surface in the Midcontinent region (Rascoe and Adler, 1983).
eventually became additional pays in Victory Field and
elsewhere along the same anticlinal trend. Although
Victory Field is structurally defined with anticlinal
closure, the pay zones vary in thickness, porosity, and
permeability within the field.
A notable exploration and development effort continues in the Lansing-Kansas City groups in western
Kansas. Detecting and drilling structural closures (albeit
more subtle than the Victory structure) remains an
important exploration strategy as recent activity in
Lane, Gove, and Trego counties attests. Despite this
emphasis on structure, however, production from many
of these reservoirs occurs off the crest of the anticlines,
strongly suggesting that there is an important strati1988

- CARBONATE SYMPOSIUM

graphic component to many reservoirs in the LansingKansas City groups in western Kansas.
Lithologic information from cores in Victory Field
has provided valuable new insight into the nature of
depositional sequences and reservoir development within
Desmoinesian and Missourian strata in southwestern
Kansas. This paper focuses on the major producing
intervals and depositional cycles within the reservoirs
located in the Lansing-Kansas City groups, and assesses
the nature of reservoir development and distribution as
revealed by logs and cores. A regional geologic perspective is presented to permit the transfer of this information to other plays, particularly in the search for subtle
structural and stratigraphic traps that the authors>
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ASSOCIATION OF GEOLOGISTS

W. Lynn Watney and John French

30

.-

10

10

. -

_.
20 mile3

20 kilometers

Datum: Sea Level

Contour Interval 100 feet

(except as indicated otherwise by contour values)

Figure 2. Contour map of the configuration of the Precambrian surface for western Kansas (from Cole, 1976).
Contour interval is 50 ft (about 15 m). Dots represent both estimated depths to Precambrian and actual penetrations.
believe are widespread in western Kansas.
REGIONAL GEOLOGIC SETTING
Victory Field is located in the Hugoton Embayment
near the northern edge of the Anadarko Basin (Fig. 1;
Rascoe and Adler, 1983). The Hugoton Embayment is a
Late Paleozoic (post-Mississippian) depression extending
from the Anadarko Basin just to the south. The Hugoton Embayment is bounded on the east by the Central
Kansas Uplift and on the west by the Las Animas Arch.
1988 - CARBONATE SYMPOSIUM

The shelf flexure (downwarp) of the Hugoton Embayment diminishes to the north onto the positive remnant
of the Transcontinental Arch.
The subsidence history of the Anadarko Basin' and
vicinity was varied and episodic during the Late
Paleozoic. This subsidence .was driven by the late
Paleozoic collision of Gondwana and Laurentia as
described by Kluth and Coney (1981) and Kluth (1986).
Subsidence during the Permo-Pennsylvanian was
pronounced over much of the shelf north of the
Anadarko Basin in an area that includes southwestern
ROCKY MOUNWIN ASSOCIATION OF GEOLOGISTS

31

Carbonate Reservoirs, Lansing-Kansas City in Victory Field

I
L
I

-.-----

VICTORY
iI .__._..___..__..
FIELD]I
"
i
i

II

I
I

I ._._.._"_._._.___.
!
I

_
_
_
I
_

1
-_.._-_..----.-------.-.-

25

-0

50mi

.?.-.-.-..-.------.1*---------

Figure 3. Structural contour map of the top of the 4600-ft zone (K-Zone) regressive (upper) carbonate. Contour
interval is 25 ft (about 8 m). North edge of map is Kansas-Nebraska border.

Kansas. Long and short-term sea level changes coupled

with this subsidence led to marked spatial and temporal
facies variations within the carbonate units that now
make up the reservoirs in Victory Field (Watney,
1985a,b).
The configuration of the Precambrian surface in
western Kansas (Fig. 2) reveals the southerly plunging
anticline on which Victory Field is located (Cole, 1976).
A structure contour map of the top of the 4600-ft zone
in the Lansing Group in Victory Field (Fig. 3) also
shows the same anticlinal trend on which two other
fields (Pleasant Prairie and Eubank) are located.
Pleasant Prairie has produced more than 20 MMBO and
Eubank more than 11.5 MMBO and 39 BCFG. These
fields produce from the same pay zones as Victory
Field, including the Mississippian (St. Louis), Morrowan, Desmoinesian, and the Lansing-Kansas City.
Structural relief extends at least through the top of the
Lower Permian Chase Group, which is the pay in the
giant Hugoton Field.
1988

Evolution of the shelf during Pennsylvanian time in

western Kansas is complex and is not adequately characterized by structure maps, Some local structural anomalies appear to have persisted in spite of the regional
changes, as indicated by an interval isopach from the
base of the Hushpuckney Shale (an areally extensive
black shale marker in the Kansas City Group near the
base of the 4600-ft zone) to the base of the Pennsylvanian (Fig. 4). The thickness of this interval increases to
the southwest in southwestern Kansas, and markedly so
immediately west of Victory Field (Fig. 4). The area of
Victory Field is marked by slight thinning of this interval. The Central Kansas Uplift, which underwent
significant uplift at the end of the Mississippian, is outlined by the heavy black line to the northeast, which
represents the truncated edge of Mississippian strata.
Most of the thickness variation represented on this map
is in the Lower Pennsylvanian Morrow section. Accordingly, the isopach thick in western Kansas represents an
area of relatively thick Morrow, including prolific oil

- CARBONATE SYMPOSIUM

ROCKY MOUNUIN ASSOCIATION OF GEOLOGISTS

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W. Lynn Watney and John French

Figure 4. Shaded isopach map of the interval from the base of the 4100-ft zone to the base of the Pennsylvanian.
Lower surface is a major unconformity. This interval includes the Morrowan, Atskan, Desmoinesian, and lower
Missourian reservoir rocks. Variable shading denotes intervals of 100 ft (30 m) with darker areas representing thicker
- strata. Heavy black line surrounds the location of the truncated margin of the Mississippian strata on the Central
Kansas Uplift (CKU) and-Cambridge Arch (@A). Hatchured, segmented lines are Precambrian basement faults (from
Cole, 1976). Downthrown side of the faults is hatchured. Light dashed rectangles outline counties in western Kansas.
Northern border is the Kansas-Nebraska state line.
and gas reservoir sandstones. Morrowan strata were
deposited during a period of slowly rising sea level that
was punctuated by short term oscillations similar to
those which occurred during the remainder of the Pennsylvanian and into the Early Permian (Ramsbottom,
1979; Ross and Ross, 1985; Veevers and Powell, 1987).
Prior to the rise of sea level in the early Pennsylvanian the Mississippian surface underwent weathering and
erosion which led to the formation of valleys and cuestas. During initial sea level rise, siliciclastics were
deposited on this surface, and the stratigraphic traps
that are so prevalent in the Morrowan interval formed.
As sea level continued to rise through the Pennsylvanian, marine sedimentation predominated throughout the
area, and marine strata covered even the Central Kansas
Uplift by Middle and Late Pennsylvanian time.
In addition to sea level rise, patterns of tectonic subsidence changed through the Pennsylvanian and into the
Permian as tectonic activity associated with the Anadar1988 - CARBONATE SYMPOSlUM

ko Basin increased. As a result, the strike of the shelf

gradually rotated from a northwest-southeast trend to a
northeast-southwest orientation. The thickness of the
Stone Corral (Lower Permian) to the top of the 4400-ft
zone (upper Kansas City Group) in western Kansas
(Fig. 5 ) reveals significant reorientation of the basin,
with thickening to the southeast during accumulation of
this interval. Thinning in the area of the Central Kansas
Uplift indicates continued structural growth during
deposition of this interval (although subdued relative to
the original tectonic feature). Subtle thinning and
inferred structural growth is also indicated during this
period on the anticline on which Victory Field is located. The present configuration of the Precambrian surface reflects primarily Permo-Pennsylvanian subsidence
that is linked to downwarping of the Anadarko Basin.
The paleogeography, lithofacies, and thickness of the
Missourian Stage are described by Rascoe and Adler
(1983; Fig. 8). The area of southwestern Kansas in the
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ASSOClATlON OF GEOLOGISTS

Carbonate Reservoirs, Lansing-Kansas City in Victory Field

33

__---I
I

_ _ _ _ - _ II

I
I
I

__---

__----

I
-I
I

I
I

I
I

!- - - - -- I
!

I
I
KILOMETERS I

MILES
.-L

- - - - - - -I

I
I

Figure 5. Shaded isopach map of the interval from the top of the Stone Corral Formation (Leonardian, Lower
Permian) to the top of the H-Zone. Intervals are shaded increments of 200 ft (60 m) and labeled contours are at 400ft intervals (122 m). Outlines of the counties and the Central Kansas Uplift and Cambridge Arch are shown.
vicinity of Victory Field was part of a broad, carbonatedominated shelf that had a west-northwest strike and
dipped toward the Anadarko Basin. During deposition
of the lower Kansas City Group the southern shelf was
the site of recurrent development of extensive tracts of
oolitic sediments (Watney, 1984). Victory Field occurs
within this facies belt, and several of the reservoirs consist primarily of ooid grainstone (e.g. the 4600-ft zone).
Siliciclastics are an important component of Missourian
rocks only in far-western Kansas, having been shed
from the Apishapa-Sierra Grande Uplift farther west.
Watney (1984, 1985a) inferred that this area of southwestern Kansas was undergoing active subsidence and
flexure during lower Kansas City Group sedimentation,
such that a broad ramp conducive to ooid shoal
development formed.
The facies and structure of Missourian through Permian rock units in Victory Field show evidence that
movement along the Victory structure was episodic,
and influenced sedimentation. The effects of this interplay on reservoir development and distribution within
the Missourian section in Victory Field are a major
1988

- CARBONHE

SYMPOSIUM

theme of this paper. Such effects have been documented

elsewhere; e.g., in the Mississippian St. Louis Limestone
reservoir in neighboring Pleasant Prairie Field, where an
oolitic grainstone built up locally on highs associated
with the Pleasant Prairie structure (Ball, 1966).
A geologic timetable and Kansas rock chart showing
the stratigraphic intervals that produce in Victory Field
is depicted in Figure 6. Oil and gas reservoirs are concentrated above and below the basal Pennsylvanian
unconformity. If most or all of the oil is from
Devonian-Mississippian source rocks (as many oils are
in the area; J.R. Hatch, pers. comm., 1988), this oil
must have originated from a site to the southeast where
these source rocks are sufficiently rich in organic matter. However, Upper Pennsylvanian black shales in Victory Field are also sufficiently organic-rich, and of at
least marginal thermal maturity to have yielded some oil
and gas. Further study is warranted in order to determine details within the source-carrier-trap system containing these reservoirs.
A production map illustrating the location of wells in
western Kansas which produce from the Lansing-Kansas
ROCKY MOUNMIN ASSOCIATION OF GEOLOGISTS

34

W. Lynn Watney and John French

PERIOD

STAGE

SERIES
(where

MAJOR PEIROLEUM-

Quaternary

1.6

Terliary

M
Cretaceous

144

Juass4c

208

Tn'OrSlC

Custeilon
Clmarronlan

Permlan
Gearyon

Virgllian
Upper
Pennrylvanlan
hlissaurian

Middle

245
Sumner GlOUD
Council Grove Group
Chase Group
Admlre Group
Wabaunsee Group
Shawnee Group
Douglas Group
Lowing Group
Kanras City Group
Pleasanton Group

Desmalnesian
Atam
'Aiokan rocks'
'Morrowon rocks'
Morrowan
basal Pennsyl. cangi.
Chesteran
(oge is varloble)

296

s
c

I
2

nm
d

~~~~~~~~~~

tower

Misirripplan

upper

I-

Devonian

upper
Middle
tower

Sllurlon-

Upper
towar

Oraglon

Lower

k2

>

s
320 1
E

'chesferan' rocks
'chat: Miss. limestones

Kinderhookion Mlsener.'Klnderhwkion'
sandstone
'Hunfari limesfope

360
408

'Hunton. limestone

438
Maquoketa Formation
Viola Formation
SimpsonGroup

Ordovician

Arbuckle Group
Reagan. tarnone Sandstone

Cambrian
Lower

Precombrian

505

570
fractured basement rocks

Figure 6. Geologic timetable and Kansas rock chart

(after Newell et al, 1987).

- _

City groups is shown in Figure 7. In Victory Field,

producing zones within the Lansing-Kansas City groups
generally have only informal unit names and they are
referred to in this paper simply by their approximate- .
measured depths in the field: the 410O-fty 440O-ftyand
4600-ft zones. These are equivalent to the B, G, and J
Zones of Brown (1984). The 4400-ft and 4600-ft zones
are equivalent to the H-Zone (Dewey/Drum limestones)
and K-Zone (Swope Limestone) of Watney (1984) who
described the regional distribution of these units in
western Kansas.
The reader is referred to Newell et a1 (1987) for additional maps and discussions regarding the areal and
stratigraphic distribution of oil and gas in Kansas. The
Toronto Limestone (Virgilian) produces from only one
well in Victory Field, but has been important in the
area; e.g., Snake Creek Field (Rine, 1985). The LansingKansas City groups provide the most significant production from Victory Field, and will be the focus of the
remainder of this paper.
CHARACTERISTICS OF LANSING-KANSAS CITY
RESERVOIR ROCKS AT VICTORY FIELD
The Lansing-Kansas City groups produce throughout
western Kansas (Fig. 7), but are much more prolific
petroleum reservoirs in some areas than in others. The
1988

- CARBONATE SYMPOSIUM

characteristics of these reservoirs vary considerably

across western Kansas. In northern Kansas, porosity
occurs most commonly as vugs and within microspar in
carbonate wackestones. In contrast, moldic, intergranular , microporosity and fracture porosity occur primarily
in ooid and skeletal grainstones in the southern part of
the state. Primary porosity in these rocks has been
affected variably during diagenesis, having been
preserved, enhanced, or progressively destroyed through
time.
The Amoco Cox A-4 core (Section 8, T30S-R33W) in
Victory Field offers a look at a complete succession of
Lansing-Kansas City (LKC) strata and augments information provided by the Cities Service/Oxy cores. This
long core confirms the existence of numerous subaerial
exposure surfaces which bound depositional sequences
within the LKC and the cored portion of the underlying
Desmoinesian Marmaton Group. These subaerial unconformities, which separate times of sea level lowstand
from subsequent marine inundations, are believed to
extend across the entire western Kansas shelf (Watney,
1984; Watney et al, 1988) and are the subjects of continuing research. The intervening depositional sequences
are composed predominately of carbonates whose
specific lithologies reflect an initial rapid marine inundation followed by relatively gradual shallowing. The vertical core profile of the interval shown in Figure 9
contains the 4400-ft and 4600-ft reservoirs (referred to
as the H and K intervals by Watney, 1984) and includes
a water depth curve. The surfaces that bound individual
depositional sequences are noted in this figure. Most
sequences reflect initial abrupt deepening, followed by
an overall upward-shallowing that was interrupted by
minor episodes of rapid deepening. These episodes
produce a unique character to each sequence and appear
to produce notable segregation in characteristics of the
reservoir rocks.
The depositional sequences are correlative on gamma
-rays logs and some-have been mapped over most of the
western Kansas shelf. Figure 10 is a regional wireline
log cross section of the same stratigraphic interval as
illustrated in the Cox A-4 core (Fig. 9) and shows the
variability in these units along a west-east traverse
through Eubank Field, located about 10 miles northwest
of Victory Field.
As observed in the cross section, black radioactive
shale near the base of the 4600-ft zone aids considerably
in correlation, where present. The sequences grade westward from carbonate-dominated to more detrital-rich
strata at the west edge of the section. These siliciclastics
were probably derived from the Sierra Grande Uplift in
southeastern Colorado. Porosity is particularly well
developed in the 4400-ft and 4600-ft zones in wells 3
and 4 in the vicinity of Victory Field.
These individual depositional sequences are correlative
across the shelf into southern Nebraska. The surfaces of
subaerial exposure that bound them persist, while the
intervening lithofacies vary in thickness and composition. The maximum water depth and great lateral extent
that characterize each unit indicate significant (perhaps
hundreds of meters) relative sea level rise. The magniROCKY MOUNTAIN ASSOClATlON OF GEOLOGISTS

35

Carbonate Reservoirs, Lansing-Kansas City in Victory Field

WELLS PRODUCING F R O M L N S G - K G GROUP IN WESTERN KFlNSRS

M i les

50

Figure 7. Maps showing locations of wells producing from the Lansing-Kansas City groups in Kansas.

tude of these rises, coupled with the short duration of

geologic time encompassed by each sequence, strongly
suggest that eustatic change was the major influence on
sequence development (Watney, 1985b). This conclusion
was also reached by Heckel (1986) from studies of
equivalent outcrops. The character of these sequences,
their depositional history and diagenesis, and the identification of local and regional mechanisms contributing
to relative sea-level change continue to be areas of
active research. Early diagenesis and its effect on
porosity and permeability vary considerably among the
sequences, and each must be treated individually.
Producing Zones

The 4100-ft, 4400-ft, and 4600-ft zones are the main

producing intervals within the Lansing-Kansas City
groups in Victory Field. Interpretation of each zone will
be considered with reference to maps of structure,
sequence thickness, and thickness of porous carbonate
exceeding 8%. Most of this map information has been
derived from gamma ray-sonic logs, along with a relatively small number of recent neutron-density logs.
Information from four cores has also been integrated.
4100-Ft Zone

The 4100-ft zone is the major Lansing-Kansas City

reservoir in Victory Field, and over 90% of the roughly
70 wells that are productive from the Missourian in this
1988

- CARBONATE SYMPOSIUM

field produce from this interval. Porosity in the 4100-ft

zone is particularly widespread, and occurs most frequently as two zones that are found near the top and
bottom of the unit (Fig. 9). Porosity in the upper zone
is most commonly interparticle in shallow-water skeletalpeloidal grainstones and packstones. It tends to be
irregularly distributed, ranging from 0 to over 15 ft (4.5
m) in thickness. About 60% of the production from the
4100-ft zone is from this upper porosity interval.
Porosity in the lower zone is mainly intercrystalline in
recrystallized lime mud (microspar) in bioclastic packstones; this lower porosity zone is continuous across the
field and typically ranges between 6 and 10 ft (2-3 m) in
thickness. Porosity is also variably developed between
these main zones.
The best reservoir rocks in Victory Field are leached
bioclastic grainstones in the 4100-ft zone with permeabilities locally exceeding 700 md (measured in the Amoco No. A-4 Cox core). Grains are heavily micritized,
rounded, sorted, fine to medium-sized skeletal grains
including fusulinids and crinoids. Sediment underwent
moderate compaction before being lightly cemented.
Porosity consists of molds, vugs, and interparticle
pores. Petrographic details are illustrated and discussed
on Plate 1.
Most of the production from the 4100-ft zone is
associated with two elongate structural highs that trend
northwest-southeast (note productive wells from 4100-ft
zone in Fig. 11). Maximum thicknesses of porous carROCKY MOUNMIN ASSOCIATION OF GEOLOGISTS

36

W. Lynn Watney and John French

Figure 8. Generalized paleogeographic map of the western Midcontinent during the Missourian illustrating major
depositional facies and provenance areas for the siliciclastic sediments (from Rascoe and Adler, 1983). Contours
shown represent thickness of Missourian strata in feet. Dominant terrigenous clastic source is the uplifted Ouachitas
Mountains (OM) in southeastern Oklahoma and Arkansas. Amarillo-Wichita-Arbuckle uplifts (A-W-A), Ancestral
Rocky Mountains (AR), and Cimmaron Arch (CIA) provided coarse-grained terrigenous debris only locally. The only
seaway permitting easy access of open marine waters onto the craton during the Late Pennsylvanian was the
approximately 100-mile (160-km) wide pass between the Amarillo-Wichita-Arbuckle uplifts and the Ancestral Rocky
Mountains (Rascoe and Adler, 1983; Heckel, 1977). Heavy dashed line in Anadarko Basin area is general region of
maximum subsidence and deeper basin conditions during Missourian.
bonate tends to occur on the flanks of these highs (Figs.
11, 12). The interval thickness trends parallel the structure and are thinnest over the structurally highest areas
in the south-central areas of the field. The interval is
thicker over the structure in the northwest (Fig. 13).
In comparing the Heebner structure map to the 4100ft zone structure map the changing carbonate thicknesses apparently modify the local structural development,
and in particular the area of closure or lack thereof.
The actual productive area is delimited by structural
closure. Drillstem tests indicate a definite water leg in
the 4100-ft zone. Few wells lack porosity and permeability in the 4100-ft zone based on the available DST
information.
4400-Ft Zone
Production from the 4400-ft zone is markedly restricted compared to the 4100-ft zone. Thickness of porous
carbonate is also less than the 4100-ft zone and the
porosity is more laterally restricted. Porosity is associat1988 - CARBONATE SYMPOSIUM

ed with ooid grainstones in oomolds and vugs developed

at the top of the carbonate. Non-effective porosity
occurs in portions of the carbonate that are mapped as
porous.
Thick porous carbonate is developed as elongate bodies that most frequently flank the structural highs and
trend obliquely to the axis of the structure (Figs. 14, 15,
16). A concentration of producing wells are located on

Figure 9. Wireline log suite and graphic log interpretation of Amoco Cox No. A-4 core for the interval 4400ft through the 4600-ft zone. Arrows along the core
description denote deepening events. Relative water
depths are shown on the left margin of the core description with depth increasing to the right in the column.
Wavy lines in this column denote subaerial exposure
surfaces which bound the depositional sequences containing each reservoir. Wireline logs are very useful in
distinguishing and characterizing the sedimentary
sequences of the Lansing-Kansas City. Depth is in feet
below the earth's surface.
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Carbonate Reservoirs, Lansing-Kansas City in Victory Field

i

II
I
I

4100-Ft Zonc

TOP Lansinv

4400-Ft Zone

4600-Ft Zone

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ASSOCIATION OF GEOLOGISTS

W. Lynn Watney and John French

38
0-

-500-

-1000-

-1 500-

-2000-

-2500-

20 m i

-3000-

vertical exaggeration = 400 X

50 kin

EAST

WEST

zone

10

11

4400-11zone

4600-11 zone

Figure 10. West-east structural and stratigraphic cross sections along A-A for the interval including the 4400 to 4600ft zones (H and K). Structural cross section includes additional datums: H = Heebner and BP = base of
Pennsylvanian. Note expanded section of lower Pennsylvanian toward the west coinciding with location of restricted
northwest-southeast structural trough.
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Carbonate Reservoirs, Lansing-Kansas City in Victory Field

39

in the

Figure 12. Thickness of porous carbonate above 8% porosity in 4100-ft zone. Shading indicates thickness greater than
20 ft (6 m).
1988

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I,.

"

W. Lynn Watney and John French

40

T.

'. 30s

T. 31s

Figure 13. Thickness of 4100-ft zone (top of the carbonate to the base of sequence). Shading indicates areas thicker
than 48 ft (15 m).

. 31
status in the

1988

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Carbonate Reservoirs, Lansing-Kansas City in Victory Field

41

Figure 15. Thickness of 4400-ft zone (top of the carbonate to the base of sequence). Shading indicates thickness
greater than 24 ft (7 m).
R34W

R33W

04

03

4400 ZONE
Total porosity >a%
Victory field

2%40

T30S

T31S
R34W

R33W

Figure 16. Thickness of porous carbonate with above 8% porosity in 4400-ft zone. Shading indicates areas thicker
than 8 ft (2.4 m).
1988 - CARBO~+UE

SYMPOSIUM

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42

W. Lynn Watney and John French

T.

30s

T.

31s

Figure 17. Structure contour map on top of 4600-ft zone carbonate. Well symbols denote production status in the
zone. Shading indicates areas with elevations above -1610 ft.
the northeastern edge of the field where flanking porosity rapidly diminishes onto the structural crest.
The oolitic grainstones which serve as reservoirs in the
4400-ft zone show no significant compaction, in contrast to those in the 4100-ft zone. Parts of the zone in
the Thompson E-2 core (Section 30, T30S-R33W) show
no evidence of early marine cement, but rather an early
meteoric, probably phreatic cement around ooids which
were later dissolved. Inter-ooid pore space and oomolds
are partly occluded by coarse calcite and dolomite spar
cements (Plate 1).
4600-ft Zone
Oomoldic and inter-ooid porosity in an oolitic grainstone make the 4600-ft zone a modest reservoir rock.
Permeability is in excess of 300 md in the Amoco No.
A-4 Cox well. A lower porous wackestone interval
includes both moldic and microgranular pores. The
ooids are mostly dissolved and the inter-ooid porosity
cemented. The biggest problem for permeability maintenance in the 4600-ft zone is the lack of stable
allochems which apparently led to greater amounts of
dissolved calcium carbonate and enhanced cementation
(Plate 1).
The 4600-ft zone contains areas of very thick, porous
carbonate, particularly along the southern and northeastern crests of the structure (Figs. 17, 18, 19). According to drillstem test results, areas of tight carbonate
occur mainly along the southwestern edge of southern
porosity lobe (Fig. 15). As with the porous oolitic facies
1988

- CARBONATE SYMPOSIUM

of the 4400-ft zone, what is mapped as porous carbonate with more than 8% porosity is not always effective. This is most likely related to the lack of
permeability between oomoldic pores and probably
explains the poorer performance of this zone relative to
the 4100-ft zone, in spite of the substantial thickness of
porous carbonate.
-

Interval isopach-of 4100 to base of 4600-ft zones

- .-

Figure 20 is an interval isopach of the top of 4100-ft

to base of 4600-ft zones. The interval thickens over the
present structure. The mapping of individual zones indicates that this interval is a diffuse composite of intervening sequences and does not delineate individual
trends. The map suggests that the present structure
offered some component of paleostructural relief which
influenced deposition and probably diagenesis. Fracturing may have enhanced porosity and permeability over
the structure, but this can not be proved from available
data. Additional cores are needed in off-structure locations to provide a clearer assessment of porosity
development and preservation in off- versus on-structure
positions in order to evaluate the potential for stratigraphic traps or the influence of structure on reservoir
development.
Producing Zones Beneath Lansing-Kansas City
The structure map on the top of the St. Louis (Mississippian (Fig. 21) is annotated with wells distinguishing
production from Mississippian, Morrowan, and MarmaROCKY MOUNTAIN ASSOCIATION OF GEOLOGISTS

43

Carbonate Reservoirs, Lansing-Kansas City in Victory Field

T. 30s

'. 30s

T.

. 31s

31s

Figure 18. Thickness of 4600-ft zone (top carbonate to base of sequence). Shading indicates areas with thickness
above 60 ft (18 m).
R34W

R33W

T30S

t305

T31S

t315
R34W

R33W

Figure 19. Thickness of porous carbonate with above 8% porosity in 4600-ft zone. Shading indicates areas with
thickness above 29 ft (8.8 m).
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ROCKY MOUN7AIN ASSOCIATION OF GEOLOGISTS

W. Lynn Watney and John French

44

30s

Figure 20. Interval isopach from top 4106-ft zone to base of 4600-ft zone. Shading indicates areas with thickness
above 520 ft (160 m).

T.

305

T.

31s

Figure 21. Structure contour map on top of St. Louis (Mississippian) limestone. Wells producing from Mississippian,
Morrowan, and Desmoinesian strata are identified. Shading indicates elevations above -2380 ft.
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Carbonate Reservoirs, Lansing-Kansas City in Victory Field

ton reservoirs. The 4700-ft zone of the Marmaton
Group is an oolitic grainstone positioned at the top of
the carbonate. It is moderately permeable due to moldic
and fracture porosity. The sequence is identical to those
in the LKC including a paleosol overlying the carbonate. The Morrowan strata include lenticular sandstone reservoirs which are very productive in the region.
Morrow wells produce on the flanks of the structural
high. The Mississippian St. Louis Limestone is productive over structural highs in the field.
Productivity Mapping In Victory Field

The areal distribution of cumulative oil and gas

production closely coincides with the axis and closure of
the Victory Field anticline. Both oil and gas are
produced from the 4100-ft and 4600-ft zones. Separate
gas caps are indicated by the large volumes of gas
produced and evidence from wireline logs that a
separate gas phase exists in these reservoirs. Offstructure wells have recovered substantial amounts of
water from the 4100-ft zone indicating that a water
drive probably exists in at least some parts of the field.
The production decline curve for the field indicates
oil production peaked in 1966 at 763,947 BO and gradually fell through 1976 to 217,571 BO and then increased
somewhat before declining again in the early 1980s. The
current production of 245,538 BO is comparable to that
of the late 1970s. Reservoir pressure in the field is
apparently being maintained by the gas cap and to some
degree by a water drive. Fluid recovery, at least in
terms of the reservoir energy, is efficient.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Victory Field is a large, structurally controlled

accumulation of oil and gas involving multiple reservoirs ranging in age from the Mississippian through the
Upper Pennsylvanian. Oil column, effective permeability, and productivity are greatest in the widespread Lansing 4100-ft zone. Grainstones in the upper 4100-ft,
440O-fty4600-ft and Marmaton 4700-ft zones form the
best reservoir rocks. However, the optimum permeability is associated with non-oolitic grainstones found in the
4100-ft zone. Interparticle porosity which connects
molds and vugs enhances the permeability in this interval. Chemically resistant bioclasts such as fusulinids and
crinoids in this interval did not dissolve as readily as the
aragonitic ooids and apparently resulted in less cementation. Thus, diagenesis was more detrimental to porosity
preservation and development in the oolitic zones.
Paleotopography associated with Victory Field
influenced local grainstone accumulations. Variations in
productivity of the reservoirs involve a combination of
porosity distribution and structural elevation. Diagenesis
is as important to reservoir development in these carbonates as the sedimentation process. Although both
processes are imprecisely understood, study of the rela-

45

tionship between them and the nature of sedimentary

sequence development and burial history can aid in
exploration for and development of fields such as
Victory.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Amoco Production Company in Denver
and Amoco Research Core Facility in Tulsa and Cities
Service (Oxy) in Tulsa for access to cores and related
data from Victory Field. We are particularly grateful
for the time and effort that Sandy Rushworth, Mark
Pelzman, and Butch Oliver of Amoco provided to
accommodate our examination of the core. Appreciation
is extended to Jan-Chung Wong for his expert assistance
in computer mapping and to Robert Sampson for
implementing modifications in his new beta version
of Surface I1 graphics software to accommodate our
needs. Thanks also to Lea Ann Davidson for typing the
manuscript and to Pat Acker and Mark Schoneweis for
drafting. Mark Longman reviewed an early draft of the
manuscript.
REFERENCES CITED
Ball, S. M., 1966, Prediction of effective porosity in some marine oolite
deposits: Kansas Geological Survey Open File Report 66-6.
Brown, H. A., 1984, Lansing-Kansas City carbonate reservoirs of Haskell
County, Kansas: in N. J. Hyne, ed., Limestones of the Mid- Continent,
Tulsa Geoloaical Societv. Soecial Publication No. 2, D. 75-86.
Cole, V., 1976, FrecambriL structure of Kansas, Kansas Geological Survey
Map M-7, 1:500,000.
Heckel, P. H., 1986, Sea-level curve for Pennsylvanian eustatic marine
transgressive-regressivedepositional cycles along Midcontinent outcrop belt,
North America: Geology, v. 14, p. 330-334.
Kluth, C. F., 1986, Plate tectonics of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains, in J. A.
Peterson, ed., Paleotectonics and sedimentation in the Rocky Mountain
Region, United States: AAPG Memoir 41, p. 353-369.
Kluth, C. F., and P. J. Coney, 1980, Plate tectonics of the Ancestral Rocky
Mountains: Geology, v. 9, p. 10-15.
Newell, K. D., W. L. Watney, S. W. L. Cheng, and R. C. Brownrigg, 1987,
Stratigraphic and spatial distribution of oil and gas production in Kansas:
Kansas Geological Survey Subsurface Geology Series 9, 86 p.
Ramsbottom, W. H. C., 1979, Kates of transgression and regression in the carboniferous of northwest Europe: Journal Geology Society London, v. 136,
p. 147-153.
Rascoe, B., Jr., and F. J. Adler, 1983, Permo-Carboniferous hydrocarbon
accumulations, Mid-Continent, U.S.A.: AAPG Bulletin, v. 67, p. 979-1,001.
Rine, M. B., 1985, Snake Creek: in Kansas Oil and Gas Fields, v. 5, Kansas
Geological Society, p. 263-269.
Ross, C. A., and J. R. P. Ross, 1985, Late Paleozoic depositional sequences are
synchronous and worldwide: Geology, v. 13, p. 194-197.
Veevers, J. J., and C. McA. Powell, 1987, Late Paleozoic glacial episodes in
Gondwanaland reflected in transgressive-regressive depositional sequences in
Euramerica: GSA Bulletin, v. 98, p. 475- 487.
Watney, W. L., 1984, Recognition of favorable reservoir trends in Upper Pennsylvanian cyclic carbonates in western Kansas: in N. J. Hyne, ed., Limestones of the Midcontinent: Tulsa Geological Society, Special Publication
No. 2, p. 201-246.
Watney, W. L., 1985a, Resolving controls on epeiric Sedimentation using trend
surface analysis: Mathematical Geology, v. 17, p. 427-454.
Watney, W. L., 1985b, Evaluation of significance of tectonic and sedimentary
control versus eustatic control of Upper Pennsylvanian cyclothems in the
western Midcontinent; in Recent Interpretations of Late Paleozoic
Cyclothems, Proceedings of 3rd Annual Meeting and Field Conference: Midcontinent Section, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, p.
105-140.
Watney, W. L., R. W. Knapp, J. A. French, Jr., and J. H. Doveton, 1988,
Application of sequence stratigraphic analysis to thin cratonic carbonatedominated shelf cycles (Upper Pennsylvanian) in the Midcontinent (abstract):
AAPG Bulletin, v. 72, p. 257.

NOTE: Color plates for this paper are included at the

end of the book. Please see the Table of Contents for
appropriate page numbers.
1988 - CARBONATE SYMPOSIUM
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430

Carbonate Reservoirs in the Lansing-Kansas City Groups in Victory Field,

Haskell County, Kansas
W. Lynn Watney and John French
PLATE 1. Photomicrographs illustrating carbonate facies in Victory Field.
A. This well-sorted bioclastic grainstone is from 3 cm below the top of the 4100-ft zone in the Amoco
Cox # A 4 well (depth = 4151.4 ft). Brown micritic rims and a thin layer of equant non-ferroan calcite
cement (clearly seen in the fusulinid at right center) have helped preserve the shapes of these partly
leached and micritized grains. Later non-ferroan calcite (C) also occurs in some molds along with nonferroan saddle dolomite. Arrow indicates a micrite rim apparently broken by compaction and detached
from the adjacent blocky calcite. Scale bar = 0.25 mm.
B. Same sample showing a thin, dark brown microspar rim (arrow) followed by a lighter brown micritic
cement which forms irregular rims tht thicken beneath grains. This micrite cement is corroded and
covered with dark brown micritic and clayey material (M). Such textures are typical of subaerial crusts
and paleosols. Both ferroan and non-ferroan calcite fill most remaining pore space. Scale bar = 0.25
mm.
@. Poorly preserved and heavily micritized bioclastic grainstone from one foot below the sample shown

in A and B. This sample contains excellent moldic, between-particle, and solution-enlarged

porosity typical of the 4100-ft zone in Victory Field. Small crystals of non-ferroan bladed calcite and
isolated crystals of coarser ferroan calcite partly fill pores. Dark brown (oil-stained) clay with quartz silt
partly fills some pores (arrow) and may represent a vadose sediment. Scale = 0.25 mm.
D. Closer view of dark brown, oil-stained clay in solution-enhanced porosity. Clay coats early bladed
calcite cement as well as coarser calcite in pores (arrow). Non-ferroan dolomite is also present in the
pores. Scale bar = 0.25 mm.

E. Poorly sorted bioclastic packstone with diverse fossils from the lower porous unit in the 4100-ft zone.
Moldic and interparticle pores are lined with two generations of equant calcite. Sample from 4180.5 ft in
the Amoco Cox #A-4 well. Scale bar = 8.5 mm.
F. Partial solution of this ferroan calcite crystal apparently occurred after burial. Arrow indicates dust
rim at edge of original crystal. Porous microspar (M) is also present. Same sample as E.
@. Porous oolitic grainstone from the 4600-ft zone in the Cities Blair #@-2well at the south end of
Victory Field. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

H. Scanning electron photomicrographs of bioclasts and calcite cement from the 4100-ft zone (same
sample as shown in C). Scale bar in upper image is 0.3 mm. Lower image is 5X upper.

1988

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43 1

rI

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46

Middle Pennsylvanian algal-mound carbonate facies in the Minturn Formation at the Miller Creek locality, Section 7,
T2S-R92W, Rio Blanco County, southeast of Meeker, Colorado. These carbonate grainstone/packstone units are
composed dominantly of calcareous phylloid algae and calcite cement. For a detailed discussion of these exposures,
see F. Briton and J. L. Wray, 1986, Pennsylvanian (Minturn Formation) algal mound facies, Rio Blanco County,
Colorado: in D. S. Stone, New Interpretations of Northwest Colorado Geology: RMAG 1986 Guidebook, p. 103-111.
Photograph courtesy of Jack Rathbone.

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ROCKY MOUNMlN ASSOCIATION OF GEOLOGISTS