Basin-centered gas systems AUTHOR

Ben E. Law
Pangea Hydrocarbon

Ben E. Law Exploration LLC, 12343 W. Louisiana Avenue,
Lakewood, Colorado, 80228;
belaw@worldnet.att.net
Ben Law is a consultant and sole proprietor of
ABSTRACT
Pangea Hydrocarbon Exploration LLC. His
Basin-centered gas systems (BCGSs) are potentially one of the more research interests include basin-centered gas
economically important unconventional gas systems in the world; and coalbed methane systems. Prior to his
in the United States they contribute as much as 15% of the total consulting position, he was a member and
annual gas production. These regionally pervasive gas accumula- chief of the U.S. Geological Survey Western
tions are different from conventionally trapped accumulations in Tight Gas Sand Project and regional
coordinator of South Asia for the U.S.
several respects. The basin-centered gas accumulations (BCGAs)
Geological Survey World Energy Project. He
associated with BCGSs are typically characterized by regionally
received B.S. and M.S. degrees from San
pervasive accumulations that are gas saturated, abnormally pres- Diego State University, California.
sured, commonly lack a downdip water contact, and have low-
permeability reservoirs. The accumulations range from single, iso-
lated reservoirs a few feet thick to multiple, stacked reservoirs ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
several thousand feet thick. Two types of BCGSs are recognized; a
I am grateful to my many U.S. Geological Sur-
direct type, characterized by having gas-prone source rocks, and an vey and industry colleagues for their support
indirect type, characterized by having liquid-prone source rocks. over the years. I am especially indebted to
During the burial and thermal histories of these systems, the source Charles Spencer for his insights and collabora-
rock differences between the two types of BCGSs result in strikingly tion on aspects of basin-centered gas systems
different characteristics that impact exploration strategies. The ma- (BCGSs). A large part of the research was
jority of known BCGAs are the direct type. Exploration activity for funded by the U.S. Department of Energy un-
BCGAs is in the early stages and thus far has been focused in North der the very capable management of Karl
America. In other parts of the world, concepts of basin-centered Frohne and William Gwilliam. The work also
gas systems are poorly known, and exploration activity focused on benefited from periodic, constructive discus-
basin-centered gas accumulations is minimal. sions and unpublished subsurface data pro-
vided by Bill Barrett, Bill Hanson, Greg Ander-
son, Doug Battin, Jeff Aldrich, John McIntyre,
and John Gustavson. Finally, the reviews by
INTRODUCTION Charles Spencer, Dale Leckie, and Bob Ryder
significantly improved the manuscript.
The global distribution of gas is not uniform. Some regions, like
Russia and the Middle East, have extremely large gas resources to
meet their energy demands, whereas other regions, like Japan and
Western Europe, have limited amounts of gas and must rely on
importing gas to meet their energy demands (DOE/EIA, 2002).
The increasing demand for energy in many parts of the world has
made it imperative to explore for and exploit unconventional oil
and gas resources. One of the larger and more economically viable
unconventional gas resources occurs in basin-centered gas accu-
mulations (BCGAs). The BCGAs constitute a realistic, near-term
energy resource that has only recently been the focus of exploration.
However, with few exceptions, there is a generally poor under-
standing of BCGAs. Consequently, exploration efforts for this huge

Copyright 䉷2002. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.
Manuscript received June 21, 2001; final acceptance June 6, 2002.

AAPG Bulletin, v. 86, no. 11 (November 2002), pp. 1891–1919 1891

gas resource are not as effective as they might be. To
develop more effective exploration strategies for
BCGAs, it is necessary to modify traditional concepts
of petroleum systems and include concepts of nontra-
ditional, unconventional petroleum systems.
In light of the extremely large gas resources con-
tained in BCGAs and the need to satisfy increasing en-
ergy needs, the primary objective of this article is to
provide a comprehensive overview of BCGAs. More
specific objectives include clarification of gas-system
nomenclature, providing the elements and processes of
basin-centered gas systems (BCGSs), and discussing
the origins, geographic and stratigraphic distribution,
the gas resource, exploration strategies, and formation
evaluation. To accomplish these objectives, BCGAs
are discussed in the context of a petroleum system.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND
CLASSIFICATION
Of all the different types of unconventional gas sys-
tems, none have been more poorly defined than
BCGSs. The problem of definition has led to miscon-
ceptions that have, in some cases, impeded exploration
efforts. When regionally pervasive gas accumulations,
like BCGAs, became known is uncertain; however, Sil-
ver (1950) alluded to pervasive gas accumulations in
Cretaceous rocks in the San Juan basin of New Mexico
and Colorado and recognized the gas-saturated nature
of the reservoirs and the downdip absence of water.
Later, the nuclear stimulation experiments conducted
in the United States from 1967 to 1973 seem to have
implied knowledge of the presence of regionally per-
vasive gas-charged reservoirs, although there are no
geologic reports confirming this assumption. Nuclear
detonations conducted in Cretaceous rocks in the San
Juan and Piceance basins of New Mexico and Colorado
were unsuccessful, and eventually, because of concerns
about environmental and radioactive contamination is-
sues, the tests were abandoned (Randolph, 1973,
1974a, b, c).
The first published, unmistakable reference to this
type of gas accumulation was by Masters (1979). In his
article, Masters (1979) identified the basic concepts of
basin-centered gas accumulations, referring to them as
“deep basin gas,” and provided several defining char-
acteristics of gas-saturated reservoirs in the Deep basin
of Alberta, Canada, and in the San Juan basin of New
Mexico and Colorado as examples of such accumula-
tions. Later, in a publication edited by Masters (1984),
1892 Basin-Centered Gas Systems
the various geologic aspects of the so-called deep basin
gas accumulation in the Elmworth field of Alberta,
Canada, were provided. Other significant early articles
concerning BCGAs include those by Law et al. (1979,
1980) and Law (1984) in the Greater Green River ba-
sin of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah, and McPeek
(1981) in the Great Divide basin of Wyoming. Spencer
(1985, 1989a) and Law and Spencer (1993) described
many of the attributes common to BCGAs. Several ex-
amples of so-called tight gas reservoirs (in most cases
equivalent to BCGAs) in the United States are pro-
vided in a volume edited by Spencer and Mast (1986).
Finley (1984) and Dutton et al. (1993) also described
many additional low-permeability reservoirs.
When the term “basin-centered gas accumula-
tions” came into use is uncertain; however, the first
published reference to the term was by Rose et al.,
(1986) in a study of gas accumulations in the Upper
Cretaceous Trinidad Sandstone of the Raton basin. It
is likely, however, that the term “ basin-centered gas
accumulations” had been informally used by industry
people prior to the first published reference of the
name.
The term “tight gas sands” has been widely used to
describe BCGAs for many years, and many exploration
geologists still use that term. In many cases “tight gas
sands” is an appropriate term; however, it is somewhat
ambiguous and may include gas accumulations that are
trapped as conventional, buoyant accumulations. The
use of the term “deep basin gas” (Masters, 1979) has
some problems also because all BCGAs do not occur
at great depths. For example, much of the gas produc-
tion in the San Juan basin is from BCGAs at depths as
shallow as 3000 ft (914 m). More recently, the term
“deep basin gas” has been defined as those gas accu-
mulations deeper than 15,000 ft (4572 m) (Dyman et
al., 1997); it is an economic definition and is not based
on geologic processes. Finally, the term “continuous gas
accumulation” (Schmoker, 1996), although accurately
portraying the pervasive nature of BCGAs, is too broad
and includes such gas systems as coalbed methane and
shale gas. In the absence of other suitable names, the
term “basin-centered gas accumulation” is used in this
article, although there are some BCGAs that appear,
at first glance, to contradict the definition. Gas fields
such as the Jonah field in the northern part of the
Green River basin in Wyoming and the Natural Buttes
field in the Uinta basin in Utah are examples of BCGAs
with downdip water contacts. These fields, in my opin-
ion, are gas chimneys rooted in deeper, regionally per-
vasive BCGAs.
BASIN-CENTERED GAS SYSTEMS

downdip from

bedding parallel highly variable downdip from

Occurrence
A petroleum system, as defined by Magoon and Dow

water

water
(1994, p. 3), “includes all the elements and processes
needed for an oil and gas accumulation to exist.” In
Magoon and Dow’s (1994) definition, the elements in-

Top of BCGA
Maturity
Thermal
clude source rock, reservoir rock, seal rock, and over-

0.7% Ro
burden rock. Relevant processes include trap forma-
tion and the generation, expulsion, migration, and
accumulation of petroleum. A BCGS contains all of
these components; however, the magnitude and func-

stratigraphy
Boundary
Nature of
Upper

variable cuts across

tion of some of the components interact to form a
unique type of hydrocarbon accumulation.
In general, BCGAs are regionally pervasive accu-
mulations that are gas saturated, abnormally pressured

Quality
(high or low), commonly lack a downdip water con-

Seal

over-/underpressure thermal cracking lithologic/capillary good

tact, and have low-permeability reservoirs. In the con-
text of a petroleum system, there are two types of ba-
sin-centered gas systems: a direct type and an indirect
type (Law, 2000). The attributes of these two types of

Seal
systems are provided in Table 1. Direct and indirect

capillary
types of BCGSs are distinguished on the basis of source
rock quality; a direct BCGS has a gas-prone source
rock, and an indirect BCGS has an oil-prone source

Mechanism

of oil to gas
rock. This fundamental difference, oil-prone vs. gas-

over-/underpressure hydrocarbon
Pressure

generation
prone source rocks, leads to significantly different char-
acteristics, as shown in Table 1. In addition to the two
types of systems, there may be hybrid systems in which
gas-prone and liquid-prone source rocks have contrib-
uted to the development of a BCGA.
Reservoir
Pressure
Table 1. Attributes of Direct and Indirect Basin-Centered Gas Systems

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

The developmental history of a BCGS may be viewed

Hydrocarbon

as four reservoir pressure cycles. As a consequence of

Permeability Migration
Distance

short/long

the dynamic nature of geologic processes and the re-

short

sponse to those processes, the phases discussed here

are geologically ephemeral. Figure 1 is a diagrammatic
representation showing these pressure phases and the
Reservoir
in-situ

0.1

0.1
(md)

development of direct and indirect BCGSs. Meissner

(1978) and Law and Dickinson (1985) discussed these
phase changes for gas accumulations in low-perme-
Indirect liquid-prone types

ability reservoirs.
Source Rocks

gas-prone type

I/II kerogen
III kerogen

Phase I

Direct and Indirect Systems

During the early burial and thermal histories of direct
Direct

and indirect systems, the reservoirs are, for the most

Type

part, normally pressured, and the fluid phase in the

Law 1893
Figure 1. Schematic diagram BASIN-CENTERED GAS SYSTEMS
showing evolution of direct and
indirect basin-centered gas sys- DIRECT TYPE
tems. Evolutionary phases are
shown along the side of each SOURCE ROCK: Type III Organic Matter
system.
PHASE I
Water-saturated,
Normal/Overpressuring
Gas Generation,
Expulsion, Migration
Entrapment,
PHASE II
Water Expulsion, Overpressuring
PHASE IV PHASE III
Gas Loss, Temperature Reduction,
Underpressuring
Gas Loss, Water Imbibition,
Normal Pressure
pore system is 100% water saturated (Figure 1). Com-
paction of framework grains during this phase is an im-
portant process. The defining processes for each sys-
tem, however, are different. For direct systems, phase
I terminates with the initiation of thermal gas genera-
tion, whereas the termination of phase I in indirect sys-
tems occurs with the initiation of thermal cracking of
oil to gas. Reservoir quality in indirect systems during
phase I is assumed to be relatively better than reservoir
quality in direct systems because buoyant accumula-
tions of oil require better porosity and permeability.
During phase I there may be some cases in which
reservoir pressures are overpressured. Law and Spen-
cer (1998) suggested that in the early burial stages of
a BCGA sequence, prior to the development of a rec-
ognizable BCGA, and in some depositional settings of
rapid sedimentation, compaction disequilibrium may
have been the initial overpressuring mechanism. In this
scenario, the pressuring fluid phase is water. However,
as the sequence experiences further burial and hotter
temperatures, the compaction disequilibrium pressure
mechanism may be replaced by hydrocarbon genera-
tion and the development of abnormally high pressures
characterized by pore fluids composed of gas and little
or no water. A possible example of the transition of
pressure mechanisms from compaction disequilibrium
to hydrocarbon generation may be present in Miocene
and Pliocene rocks in the Bekes basin (Spencer et al.,
1894 Basin-Centered Gas Systems
INDIRECT TYPE
SOURCE ROCK: Type I/II Organic Matter
Water-saturated,
Normal/Overpressuring
>0.6% Ro
PHASE I
Oil & Gas Generation,
Expulsion, Migration
Entrapment
>1.35% Ro
PHASE II
Thermal Cracking to Gas,
Fluid Expansion, Water
Expulsion, Overpressuring
PHASE IV PHASE III
Gas Loss, Temperature Reduction,
Underpressuring
Uncertain
1994) and the Makó trench (B. E. Law, 2000, unpub-
lished data) of Hungary. In these areas, Miocene and
Pliocene rocks are overpressured and possess many of
the distinguishing characteristics of a BCGA. The ov-
erpressures in Miocene rocks appear to be caused by
hydrocarbon generation, whereas overlying, overpres-
sured Pliocene rocks appear to be in a transitional pres-
sure phase between compaction disequilibrium and
hydrocarbon generation. In this case, a knowledge of
pore fluid composition (mainly gas or mainly water) in
the Pliocene sequence would offer considerable insight
in resolving the problem.
Phase II
Direct Systems
Direct systems require gas-prone source rocks and low-
permeability reservoirs in close proximity to each
other. As the source and reservoir rocks undergo fur-
ther burial and exposure to increasing temperatures,
the source rocks begin to generate gas (Figure 1). Con-
comitant with increased gas generation, expulsion, and
migration, gas begins to enter adjacent, water-wet
sandstones. Because these sandstones have low per-
meability, the rate at which gas is generated and ac-
cumulated in reservoirs is greater than the rate at
which gas is lost. Eventually, as newly generated gas
accumulates in the pore system, the capillary pressure
of the water-wet pores is exceeded, and free, mobile
water is expelled from the pore system, resulting in the
development of an overpressured, gas-saturated reser-
voir with little or no free water. Examples of BCGA
systems exhibiting this overpressured phase include
the Greater Green River (Law, 1984), Wind River
(Johnson et al., 1996), Big Horn (Johnson et al., 1999),
and Piceance basins (Johnson et al., 1987) in the Rocky
Mountain region of the United States and the Taranaki
Basin in New Zealand (B. E. Law, 2000, unpublished
data) (Table 2).
Indirect Systems
In contrast to direct systems, indirect systems require
a liquid-prone source rock (Figure 1). Reservoir quality
in indirect systems is assumed to have been better than
in direct systems. In this case, oil and gas are generated
and expelled and migrate to reservoirs where they ac-
cumulate in structural and stratigraphic traps as dis-
crete, buoyant accumulations with downdip water
contacts. With subsequent burial and exposure to
higher temperatures, the accumulated oil undergoes
thermal cracking to gas, accompanied by a significant
increase of fluid volume and pressures (Barker, 1990).
The level of thermal maturity at which oil is trans-
formed to gas is commonly thought to be about 1.35%
vitrinite reflectance (Ro) (Tissot and Welte, 1984;
Hunt, 1996); however, some evidence, discussed in a
following section, indicates that the transformation
may occur at higher levels of thermal maturity. Alter-
natively, gas derived from thermally cracked oil within
a source rock may subsequently be expelled and mi-
grate to low-permeability reservoirs (Garcia-Gonzales
et al., 1993a, b; MacGowan et al., 1993; Hunt, 1996).
Under these conditions of changing fluid volume and
pressure, the capillary pressure of the water-wet pore
system is exceeded, and, like pore pressures in direct
systems, the high pressures forcibly expel mobile, free
water from the pore system, replacing water with gas,
and the development of an overpressured BCGA en-
sues. An additionally important aspect of this phase is
the necessity for the presence of an effective lithologic
top seal in reservoirs formerly occupied by discrete oil
accumulations.
Phase III
At the point where direct and indirect systems are in
the overpressured phase (phase II), the processes in-
volved in the transition to phase III are identical for
both systems (Figure 1). Phase III occurs when the
overpressured phase of direct and indirect systems
evolves into underpressured conditions. Both systems,
subsequent to the phase II history of overpressure, may
experience a period of uplift and erosional unloading
and/or heat flow perturbations. During, or subsequent
to, these burial and thermal history disruptions, some
gas is lost from the accumulation, and the overpres-
sured gas reservoirs are subjected to reduced tempera-
tures. The loss of gas, in conjunction with reduced tem-
peratures, effectively results in the development of an
underpressured BCGA (Meissner, 1978; Law and
Dickinson, 1985). During this pressure transition,
Meissner (2000) emphasized the importance of gas loss
over temperature reduction as the dominant process.
Conjectural evidence concerning the integrity of
seals in direct vs. indirect systems implies that gas is
lost more easily from direct BCGAs than from indirect
BCGAs. Johnson et al. (1994) have shown that gas in
conventionally trapped accumulations in several Rocky
Mountain basins originated from BCGAs, demonstrat-
ing that loss of gas through relative permeability, cap-
illary pressure seals does occur. Examples of under-
pressured, phase III direct systems include Cretaceous
rocks in the San Juan, Raton, and Denver basins, and
examples of underpressured, phase III indirect systems
include Lower Silurian reservoirs in the Appalachian
basin, Ordovician reservoirs in the Risha area of eastern
Jordan, and Cambrian and Ordovician reservoirs in the
Ahnet basin of Algeria (Table 2).
Phase IV
Phase IV is theoretical and may be more applicable to
direct systems because of the perceived, relatively bet-
ter quality of seals in indirect systems than seals in di-
rect systems. During phase IV, continued loss of gas
from capillary pressure seals in BCGAs is accompanied
by water slowly reentering underpressured, gas-bearing
reservoirs. Under these conditions, Meissner (1978)
and Law and Dickinson (1985) hypothesized that the
underpressured, gas-bearing reservoirs would eventu-
ally evolve into normally pressured, water-bearing res-
ervoirs, thus completing the pressure cycle.
SYSTEM ELEMENTS AND PROCESSES
Source Rocks
Source rock quality is the fundamentally most im-
portant element distinguishing direct from indirect
Law 1895
Table 2. Selected Areas or Basins Containing Known or Suspected Basin-Centered Gas Systems

Area Level of Certainty Age Type of system Reference

NORTH AMERICA
Colville basin, Alaska High Cretaceous Direct ? Popov et al., 2001
Central Alaska basins Low/Moderate ? ? Popov et al., 2001
Cook Inlet, Alaska Low pre-Tertiary ? Popov et al., 2001
Norton Basin, Alaska High Eocene/Paleocene Direct Smith, 1994,
Alberta basin, Canada High Cretaceous Direct Masters, 1979, 1984
Charlotte-Georgia Basin, Low/Moderate Tertiary/Cretaceous Direct ?
Canada
Willamette-Puget Sound Trough, Moderate/High Tertiary Direct ? Law, 1996; Popov et al., 2001
Washington and Oregon
Columbia basin, Washington High Tertiary Direct Law et al., 1994; Law, 1996
Modoc Plateau, California Low/Moderate Cretaceous Direct? Popov et al., 2001
Sacramento/San Joaquin Low/Moderate Cretaceous ? Popov et al., 2001
basins, California
Great Basin, Nevada Low Tertiary? ? Popov et al., 2001
Snake River Plain, Idaho Low/Moderate Tertiary ? ? Popov et al., 2001
Big Horn basin, Wyoming High Lower Tertiary/Cretaceous Direct Johnson et al., 1999
Wind River basin, Wyoming High Cretaceous Direct Johnson et al., 1996
Greater Green River basin, High LowerTertiary/Cretaceous Direct Law et al., 1979, 1980; McPeek,
Wyoming 1981; Law, 1984; Law et al.,
1989
Hanna basin, Wyoming High Cretaceous Direct Popov et al., 2001; Wilson et
al., 2001
Powder River basin, Wyoming High Cretaceous ? Surdam et al., 1994; Maucione
et al., 1994
Wasatch Plateau, Utah Mod/High Cretaceous Direct Popov et al., 2001
Uinta basin, Utah High Lower Tertiary/Cretaceous Direct Fouch et al., 1992; Fouch and
Schmoker, 1996; Popov et al.,
2001
Piceance basin, Colorado High Cretaceous Direct Johnson et al., 1987; Spencer,
1987, 1989a
South Park basin, Colorado Mod/High Cretaceous Direct/Indirect Popov et al., 2001
Raton basin, New Mexico and High Tertiary/Cret Direct/Indirect Johnson and Finn, 2001; Popov
Colorado et al., 2001
Denver basin, Colorado High Cretaceous Direct/Indirect Higley et al., 1992; Popov et al.,
2001
San Juan basin, New Mexico High Cretaceous Direct Silver, 1950; Masters, 1979;
and Colorado Huffman, 1996
Permian basin, New Mexico High Permian Indirect/Direct Broadhead, 1984; Popov et al.,
2001
Albuquerque basin, New Mod/High Cretaceous Direct Johnson et al., 2001; Popov et
Mexico al., 2001
Anadarko basin, Oklahoma High Pennsylvanian Indirect Al-Shaieb et al., 1994; Popov et
al., 2001
Midcontinent Rift, Minnesota Low/Moderate Precambrian Indirect/Direct Popov et al., 2001
and Iowa
Arkoma basin, Arkansa and High Pennsylvanian Direct Meckel et al., 1992; Popov et
Oklahoma al., 2001

1896 Basin-Centered Gas Systems

Table 2. Continued

Area Level of Certainty Age Type of system Reference

NORTH AMERICA continued

Gulf Coast, United States High Cretaceous Indirect Popov et al., 2001
East Texas basin, Texas High Jurassic Indirect? Montgomery and Karlewicz,
2001; Emme and Stancil, 2002
Black Warrior basin, Alabama Mod/High Pennsylvanian Direct Popov et al., 2001
and Mississippi
Michigan basin, Michigan Low/Moderate Ordovician ? Popov et al., 2001
Appalachian basin, eastern High Silurian/Devonian Indirect Davis, 1984; Law and Spencer,
United States 1993, 1998; Popov et al.,
2001; Ryder and Zagorski,
forthcoming

S. AMERICA
Chaco basin, Bolivia Moderate Devonian ? Williams et al., 1995
Neuquen basin, Argentina High ? ? Fernandez-Sevesco and
Surdam, 1997

EUROPE
Timan-Pechora basin, Russia High Permian Direct Law et al., 1996
Dnieper-Donets basin, Ukraine High Carboniferous Direct Law et al., 1998b
West Netherlands basin, Indeterminate
Netherlands
Vlieland basin, Netherlands Indeterminate
Polish basin, Poland Indeterminate
Upper Silesian basin, Poland Indeterminate
Bekes basin, Hungary Moderate/High Miocene ? Spencer et al., 1994
German basin, Germany Indeterminate
Ruhr basin, Germany Indeterminate
Thuringian basin, Germany Indeterminate
Subhercynian basin, Germany Indeterminate
Lower Saxony basin, Germany Indeterminate
Saar-Nahe basin, Germany and Indeterminate
France
Rhine graben, Germany and Indeterminate
France
Nord-Pas-de-Calais basin, Indeterminate
France
Lorraine basin, France Indeterminate
Bresse basin, France Indeterminate
Southeast basin, France Indeterminate
Vienna basin, Austria and Indeterminate
Slovakia
Alpine Foreland basin, High Permian/Carboniferous Direct Schegg et al., 1997
Switzerland

Law 1897
Table 2. Continued

Area Level of Certainty Age Type of system Reference

ASIA-PACIFIC
Sichuan basin, China High Permian/Triassic Direct? Da-jun and Yun-ho, 1994;
Ryder et al., 1994
Ordos Basin, China High Permian ?
Jungar basin, China High Permian ? Zha et al., 1999
Taranaki Basin, New Zealand High Eocene Direct
Gippsland Basin, Australia Moderate Lower Tertiary/Cretaceous Direct Stainforth, 1984
Barrow Subbasin, Australia High Jurassic ? He and Middleton, 2002
Perth basin (onshore), Australia Moderate Jurassic ? Crostella, 1995a
Carnarvon Basin, Australia Low/Moderate Permian ? Crostella, 1995b
Khorat Plateau basin, Thailand- Low Triassic/Jurassic ? Smith and Stokes, 1997
Laos

SOUTH ASIA
Vendian basin, India Low/Moderate Precambrian ?
Suliaman range foreland, Low Cretaceous Direct?
Pakistan

MIDDLE EAST
Risha area, Jordan High Ordovician Indirect Ahlbrandt et al., 1997

AFRICA
Ahnet basin, Algeria High Cambrian/Ordovician Indirect
Benue trough, Nigeria Moderate/High Cretaceous Direct Obaje and Abaa, 1996

BCGSs and sets the stage for all subsequent differences
between the two systems. The source rocks for direct
BCGSs are most commonly humic-type coal beds and
carbonaceous shale, such as occur in Cretaceous rocks
in most Rocky Mountain basins or Carboniferous rocks
in Europe. Source rocks for indirect BCGSs are hydro-
gen-rich shales such as those in the Ordovician shale
in the Appalachian basin or in Silurian shales in the
Middle East and North Africa. Garcia-Gonzales et al.
(1993a, b), MacGowan et al. (1993), and Surdam et
al. (1997) concluded that some of the coal beds in the
Greater Green River basin of Wyoming (Upper Cre-
taceous Almond coal beds) generated liquid hydrocar-
bons that were subsequently thermally cracked to gas,
while still in the coal beds. They further speculated
that, because of the increased fluid volume associated
with the oil to gas transformation, high pressures cre-
ated fractures within the coal beds, facilitating the ex-
pulsion of gas. The gas then migrated and accumulated
in low-permeability reservoirs. Law (1984) concluded
that all, or most, of the gas in low-permeability reser-
voirs in the Greater Green River basin was sourced
from humic, type III organic matter contained in coal
beds and carbonaceous shale in several coal-bearing
Upper Cretaceous intervals. The relative contribution
of gas to BCGA reservoirs from these different pro-
cesses is not known. In the Greater Green River basin
BCGA, the gas likely is dominantly sourced directly
from gas-prone, humic coal beds in the Lance, Al-
mond, and Rock Springs formations, with a minor con-
tribution from the cracking of oil to gas in Almond
Formation coal beds in the very deepest part of the
Great Divide and Washakie basins.
Reservoir Rock
Gas-charged reservoirs in direct and indirect BCGSs
are regionally pervasive, commonly encompassing sev-
eral thousand square miles, and may consist of single,
isolated reservoirs a few feet thick or vertically stacked

1898 Basin-Centered Gas Systems

reservoirs several thousand feet thick. Multiple,
stacked reservoirs are common in direct BCGSs,
whereas single, discrete reservoirs are common in in-
direct BCGSs. Direct and indirect reservoirs always ex-
hibit low porosity (13%) and low, in-situ permeabil-
ity (0.1 md) (Spencer, 1985, 1989a). They are
composed of sandstone, siltstone, and, to a much lesser
degree, carbonates; the only occurrence of a BCGA
carbonate reservoir known to me is in the Sichuan ba-
sin of China (Da-jun and Yun-ho, 1994). The environ-
ments of deposition of BCGA reservoirs range from
marine to nonmarine. Reservoirs are gas-saturated,
with little or no producible water, and are downdip
from water-bearing reservoirs (Figure 2), a reversal of
conditions found in conventional gas systems (Masters,
1979; Law, 1984; Spencer, 1985, 1989a).
The BCGS reservoirs can be divided into lenticular
and blanket reservoirs (Finley, 1984; Spencer, 1985,
1989a). Lenticular reservoirs, such as small, fluvial
channel sandstones, typically have a limited pore vol-
ume and very low permeability. In contrast, blanket-
like reservoirs, such as braided stream, delta front, and
eolian sandstones, typically have very large pore vol-
umes and relatively better permeability than lenticular
reservoirs. The distinction between these types of res-
ervoirs becomes important when attempting to distin-
guish between gas- and water-bearing reservoirs and is
an important factor in the design of drilling and com-
pletion programs.
In thick, vertically stacked direct BCGA reservoirs,
interbedded water-bearing reservoirs are not uncom-
mon. For example, the blanketlike Upper Cretaceous
Ericson Sandstone of the Mesaverde Group in western
A.
DECRE
A S IN G
P O RO
S IT Y &
PERM
B. E A B IL IT
Y
DECRE
A S IN G
P O RO
S IT Y &
PERM
E A B IL IT
Y
Normal pressured, water-bearing zone
Transitional water- and gas-bearing zone
Abnormal pressured, gas-bearing zone
Wyoming is a water-bearing reservoir interbedded
with a regionally pervasive BCGA. Additional exam-
ples in western Wyoming of interbedded, water-bear-
ing reservoirs occur in the Upper Cretaceous Frontier
and Blair formations, Almond sandstone, and Lewis
Shale. Examples of water-bearing reservoirs also exist
in the Elmworth field BCGA, Alberta basin, Canada.
The Rollins and Trout Creek members of the Mesa-
verde Formation in the Piceance basin of Colorado are
blanket reservoirs that are water bearing (Johnson et
al., 1987). The occurrence of water in thick, BCGA
sequences is also possible through the introduction of
water along fractures and faults.
Seals
Where detailed work has been conducted in direct
BCGAs, gas-saturated reservoirs grade vertically,
across stratigraphic boundaries, as well as updip into
transitional, water- and gas-bearing zones that, in turn,
grade into normally pressured, water-bearing reservoirs
(Figure 2). In indirect BCGAs, gas-saturated reservoirs
grade updip into transitional, water- and gas-bearing
zones; however, vertical transitional zones across bed
boundaries do not occur, and there is an abrupt, dis-
tinct boundary between the abnormally pressured
BCGA and normally pressured, water-bearing reser-
voirs (Figure 2). The nature of these fluid boundaries
is related to seal integrity. Seals in BCGAs range from
lithologic to relative permeability, or water-block,
seals, referred to in this article as capillary pressure
seals. Capillary pressure seals generally occur in reser-
voirs that have very small pore throats and two or more
Figure 2. Diagrammatic illus-
trations showing normal
pressured/water-bearing zones,
transitional water- and gas-
bearing zones, and abnormally
pressured/gas-bearing zones
for (A) direct and (B) indirect
BCGAs.
Law 1899
fluid phases. Under these conditions, the permeability
to each fluid phase is effectively reduced.
Because of the nature of seals in direct BCGAs, a
question arises concerning the integrity of the seal.
Based on burial and thermal history reconstructions,
capillary pressure seals in Cretaceous and Tertiary
BCGAs in the Rocky Mountain region are effective for
periods of time ranging from 25 to 40 m.y., the lapsed
time since formation of most BCGAs in the region.
However, as a consequence of the nature of these seals,
there is a perception that the seals are leaky and, given
sufficient time, will degenerate and become ineffective.
If the perception of a leaky seal over significantly long
periods of time is correct, then one might expect to see
a predominance of direct BCGAs in rocks that have ex-
perienced the formation of a BCGA within a few tens
of million years. Also, in a more general sense, one
would expect to observe a higher frequency of direct
BCGAs in younger rocks than in older rocks. Observa-
tions of known BCGAs are skewed toward Cretaceous
systems, largely because most of the work conducted on
BCGAs has been in Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks.
There are no detailed studies of seal integrity in pre-
Cretaceous BCGAs, although Ryder and Zagorski
(forthcoming) have concluded that the updip seal in the
Lower Silurian Clinton-Medina BCGA in the Appala-
chian basin is a water block. In indirect systems, it is
important to distinguish between vertical seals, top
seals, and updip seals; in the Clinton-Medina reservoir,
there is an apparently effective updip, capillary pressure
seal (Ryder and Zagorski, forthcoming), whereas the
upper, top seal is a lithologic seal composed of evapo-
rite, shale, and carbonate (Drozd and Cole, 1994).
Hydrocarbon Generation, Expulsion, and Migration
There is a large body of literature concerning hydrocar-
bon generation, expulsion, and migration (see Hunt
[1996] for detailed discussions). As depicted in Figure
1, the generation of hydrocarbons from source rocks in
direct and indirect BCGSs occurs at levels of thermal
maturity exceeding 0.6% Ro (Hunt, 1996). According
to Meissner (1984), thermal generation of gas from hu-
mic coal beds begins at 0.73% Ro. Peak generation may
occur at levels of thermal maturity between 0.8–0.9%
Ro (Tissot and Welte, 1984). In the Greater Green
River basin, measured levels of thermal maturity at the
top of direct BCGAs range from 0.7 to 0.9% Ro (Law,
1984), implying that source beds for the gas would have
levels of thermal maturity equal to or greater than 0.7–
0.9% Ro.
1900 Basin-Centered Gas Systems
The level of thermal maturity marking the trans-
formation of oil to gas in indirect systems (initiation of
phase II on Figure 1) is uncertain. Conventional wis-
dom indicates that thermal cracking of oil to gas occurs
at about 1.35% Ro (Tissot and Welte, 1984; Hunt,
1996). Price (1997) questioned this value and con-
cluded that the transformation of oil to gas occurred at
much higher levels of thermal maturity. More recent
kinetic studies by Tsuzuki et al. (1999) using hydrous
pyrolysis experiments also suggest that oil is stable over
higher levels of thermal maturity than previously
thought. Applying these kinetic parameters to burial
history curves in the United States Gulf Coast indicates
that oil cracking to gas starts at vitrinite reflectance
values of 1.75% Ro (M. D. Lewan, 2002, personal
communication).
In general, hydrocarbon migration distances in di-
rect BCGSs are short, perhaps on the order of a few
hundred feet or less. The exception to short hydrocar-
bon migration distances may occur in cases where the
regional top of a BCGA has been ruptured, facilitating
vertical migration of gas along faults and fractures for
distances far greater than a few hundred feet, such as
in the Jonah field of western Wyoming, discussed in a
following section.
In indirect BCGSs, hydrocarbon migration dis-
tances are highly variable, similar to migration dis-
tances in conventional petroleum systems. Approxi-
mately 1000 ft (305 m) of vertical migration is
proposed for the Clinton-Medina BCGA (Ryder and
Zagorski, forthcoming). In direct BCGSs, gas is the
dominant migrating hydrocarbon phase, and in indirect
BCGSs, oil and gas may be expected to be the migrat-
ing fluid phases.
Trap Formation
The development of a trap in the conventional sense
of a structural or stratigraphic trap is an important pro-
cess in a petroleum system. In a direct BCGS system,
however, it is of secondary importance, whereas in in-
direct systems it is very important. In direct systems,
the top of gas accumulations cuts across structural and
stratigraphic boundaries (Law, 1984; Spencer, 1985;
Law and Spencer, 1993) and is, therefore, not normally
dependent on the development of structural or strati-
graphic traps. The Jonah field of western Wyoming
(Figures 3, 4) is a good example of a direct BCGA in
which structural and stratigraphic aspects are impor-
tant. The lateral boundaries of the field are defined by
faults (Montgomery and Robinson, 1997; Warner,
 Figure 3. Map of the Greater
0 25 50 75 Miles Green River basin, showing ma-
0 25 50 75 km jor structural elements and the

W
IN
locations of the Jonah field (Fig-

D
Merna well
ure 4), the Belco 3-28 Merna

RI
VE
and El Paso Natural Gas 1

R
PINEDALE
Wagon Wheel wells (Figures 7,

M
ANTICLINE

O
B E L T

U
8), and cross section BB⬘ (Fig-

N
Wagon Wheel SW

T
EET
ure 6).

A
well WAT

IN
ER ARCH

S
T H R U S T

Jonah
Field

RAW
GREAT DIVIDE
O V E R

LIN
GREEN
ROCK SPRINGS

BASIN

S U
ARCH

PL IFT
RIVER MS U T T ER ARCH
WA

BASIN
WASHAKIE
MO XA

B
UPLIFT

BASIN S
B' M IER
AD R
RE A

WYOMING CHE
R OKEE ARCH
UTAH COLORADO

PARK
U N T A I N S
T A M O AX
U I N SAND WASH BASIN
IA
L
BA
SI
N RANGE
UP
LIF
T

1998, 2000). The top of the accumulation is defined EXAMPLES OF GAS SYSTEMS
by a silty shale seal in the Upper Cretaceous Lance
Formation. To illustrate the elements and processes of direct and
In the development of indirect BCGAs, a conven- indirect BCGSs, an example of each system is included
tional structural or stratigraphic trap is necessary for in the following discussion. Additional examples are
the accumulation of oil and gas, much the same way provided in Table 2.
as oil and gas accumulate in conventional, buoyancy-
driven accumulations. The development of indirect Direct Type: Greater Green River Basin
BCGAs occurs at a later burial stage than direct sys-
tems, when conventionally accumulated oil is ther- The Greater Green River basin, located in southwest-
mally cracked to gas, accompanied by a significant in- ern Wyoming (Figure 3), is one of several foreland ba-
crease in pore fluid volume and pore pressure (Figure sins in the Rocky Mountain region containing BCGSs.
1). Oil, however, does not always accumulate in dis- The stratigraphic interval containing the BCGS in-
crete accumulations and may be disseminated through- cludes all of the Cretaceous sequence, locally extend-
out a reservoir. In such cases, the amount of oil in the ing into lower Tertiary rocks. Stratigraphic correlations
accumulation may not be present in sufficient quantity of lower Tertiary and Cretaceous rocks in the Greater
to develop pore pressures high enough to form a Green River basin are shown in Figure 5. For a com-
BCGA during the thermal conversion of oil to gas. prehensive discussion of the stratigraphy and structure
Thus, the formation of a suitable trap and the temporal of the basin see Ryder (1988). Estimates of in-place gas
relationships among trap formation and gas generation, resources contained in the BCGA within Cretaceous
expulsion, migration, and entrapment are critical pro- and Tertiary rocks are as large as 5063 tcf (Law et al.,
cesses in indirect systems. 1989), and the mean estimate of recoverable gas is

Law 1901
Figure 4. (A) Map of Jonah A. R109W R108W R107W

field showing major faults and 36 31 36 31

location of cross section AA⬘

through the Jonah field. 1 6 1 6
A
(B) Shaded areas along cross
section AA⬘ represent overpres-
sured, gas-saturated reservoirs.

ult
Fa
Relief on top of overpressuring

nch
T
from outside the field area to 29
T
29

Wre
N
inside the field area ranges N

from 2500 to 3000 ft (762–914

ing
m) (Warner, 1998). Figure

Bound
modified from Warner (1998).
36 31 36 31
ul t
Fa
ch
1 6 en 1
Wr

d ing
un
T Bo A' T
28 28
N N

R109W R108W

B. A A'
NW SE
Ft. Union-Wasatch

Ft. Union-Wasatch
TERTIARY

Fault

TERTIARY
Fault
Massive Mbr.
Coaly Mbr.-Sandy Mbrs.
CRETACEOUS
Lance

W ren ch

W r e nch

Lance
CRETACEOUS
Upper - Middle Lance

Lower Lance-Mesaverde
MV

MV
Ericson
Rock Springs
B ounding
Baxter

Baxter
ng

Baxter Shale
Boundi

Jonah Field

119.3 tcf (Law, 1996). Additional references to a Union, Lance, Almond, and Rock Springs forma-
BCGS in the Greater Green River basin include pub- tions. Organic matter is largely gas-prone type III
lications by Law et al. (1979, 1980), McPeek (1981), kerogen (Law, 1984) with additional contribution
Davis (1984), Law (1984), Keighin et al. (1989), Law from thermally cracked oils sourced from sapro-
and Spencer (1989), Spencer (1989b), Surdam pelic coal beds (Garcia-Gonzales et al., 1993a, b;
(1992), Garcia-Gonzales et al. (1993a, b), MacGowan MacGowan et al., 1993; Surdam et al., 1997).
et al. (1993), and Surdam et al. (2001). General char- 3. Generation-expulsion-migration: late Eocene–late
acteristics of the Greater Green River basin BCGS are Oligocene (40–25 Ma)
as follows: 4. Reservoir rocks: Cretaceous to lower Tertiary
sandstones. Multiple, stacked reservoirs occur in
1. Area: 19,700 mi2 (51,000 km2) rock intervals as thick as 14,000 ft (4267 m) (Fig-
2. Source rocks: Upper Cretaceous and lower Terti- ure 6). Individual reservoirs range in thickness
ary coal beds and carbonaceous shales in the Fort from 15 to 125 ft (4.6–38 m). Gas reservoirs are

1902 Basin-Centered Gas Systems

 T E RT IARY WEST CENTRAL EAST & SOUTHEAST Figure 5. Generalized strati-
LOWER NORTHEAST graphic correlation chart of Cre-
Green River Basin Rock Springs Uplift Great Divide-Washakie Basin Sand Wash Basin taceous and lower Tertiary
Fort Union Formation Fort Union Formation Fort Union Formation Fort Union Formation rocks in the Greater Green
River basin, Wyoming and Colo-
unnamed unnamed unnamed
sandstone sandstone sandstone rado (modified from Law et al.,
1989).
Lance Formation Lance Formation
Lance

Formation Fox Hills Sandstone

Fox Hills Fox Hills Sandstone
Ss.

Lewis Lewis Shale Lewis Shale

Shale
Lance
Formation Almond Formation Almond Formation
Williams Fork Formation
Ericson Ericson Pine Ridge Sandstone
Allen Ridge Formation Iles Formation
Sandstone Sandstone Haystack Mountain Formation
CRETACE O US

Rock Rock Springs

Springs Formation
UPPER

Formation

Blair
Formation

Mancos Shale
(main body)
Mancos
Shale
Rock Springs
Formation Steele Shale
Baxter Shale

Hilliard Shale

Frontier Formation Frontier Formation Frontier Formation Frontier Member

Mowry Shale Mowry Member

LOWER

Mowry Shale Mowry Shale Dakota Ss.

Muddy Ss.
Bear River Formation Thermopolis Shale
Thermopolis Shale
Cloverly Formation Cloverly Formation Cedar Mountain Formation
Cloverly Formation

saturated and contain water at irreducible levels. tact (Law, 1984). The level of thermal maturity at
The gas-bearing interval does not commonly con- top of accumulation ranges from 0.7 to 0.9% Ro
tain interbedded, water-bearing reservoirs. (Law, 1984) (Figures 7, 8), commonly 0.8% Ro
5. Porosity: 13% (Law, 1984).
6. Permeability: 0.1 md (in-situ) 11. Depth to accumulation: ranges from 8000 to
7. Environments of deposition: mainly fluvial domi- 11,500 ft (2438–3505 m)
nated and, to a lesser degree, marginal marine del- 12. Gas quality: Gas is of a thermal origin and gener-
taic and barrier bar ally composed of 90% methane, 5% ethane
8. Reservoir pressure: overpressured, with gradients and higher homologs, 5% carbon dioxide, and
ranging from 0.5 to 0.9 psi/ft (Figures 7, 8) ( Law negligible nitrogen. Condensate ranges from 5 to
et al., 1979, 1980; McPeek, 1981; Davis, 1984; 70 bbl/mmcf gas.
Law, 1984; Spencer, 1987, 1989b; Surdam et al., 13. Sweet spots: structural and stratigraphic
1997)
9. Seals: Regional seals are capillary pressure seals. Indirect Type: Lower Silurian Clinton-Medina-Tuscarora,
Locally, structural and stratigraphic seals are Appalachian Basin
important.
10. Gas accumulations: downdip from normally pres- The Lower Silurian Clinton-Medina-Tuscarora BCGS,
sured, water-bearing reservoirs (Figure 2) (Law, located in the Appalachian basin (Figures 9, 10), is one
1984; Spencer, 1985); lacks a downdip water con- of the better documented examples of an indirect

Law 1903
 Amoco
Champlin 530
Sec. 5, T15N R98W
Davis Koch Gary Sinclair
1 Chicken Springs 1 Adobe Town Willow Rim 36-10 1-3 Fair Fed.
Sec. 21, T15N R100W Sec. 20, T15N R97W Sec. 36, T15N R95W Sec. 3, T14N R92W
B B´
FEET FEET
8.000 8.000

6.000 6.000
Ro lair

Al Spr mat
B

m ing ion
ck Fo

on
d
4.000 4.000
Fo d
r

rm
s s
an

at
Fo

tion
io
2.000 r 2.000
n
tU
cks

a le

ma
Ba

ni Ro
Er

on

Sh
ar y
xt

r
Le
ic s

Fo
Sea Level r ti Sea Level
er

wi
on

s EARING OVERPRESSURE Te
TOP OF GAS- B is

ale
s
D ROC Lew

le
K S on e I

Sh
-2.000 Fo st -2.000
T.D. 9320 rm nd
S Sa n d
at a
Sa

ha
-4.000 io er lls rk T.D. 10,000 -4.000
Hi
Sh

n
nd

le
ng Fo
sto
ale

o u x s
a nd y Fo m
La
ne

llia
No

d ele
an T.D. 12,793 Wi
nc
-6.000 -6.000
Ste
rm

e
T.D. 13,679 io n
t
al

a
For m
Pr

-8.000 -8.000
es
su

Fr
re

d
o

ure
n ti

-10.000 -10.000
d

s
er

res
Fo

T.D. 17,650 P
al
r

rm
m

-12.000 -12.000
No
at
ion

-14.000 at io n -14.000
Ju

rm
ra

M Fo
ss

ow rly
ve
ic

-16.000 -16.000
0 5 10 15 20 MILES ry Clo
Sh ks
an
ale
and roc
-18.000 0 10 20 30 KM d -18.000
old er

Figure 6. Cross section BB⬘ showing spatial distribution of BCGA superimposed on structure through the Washakie basin (modified
from Law et al., 1989). Shaded pattern shows overpressured, gas-saturated BCGA. Location of cross section shown on Figure 3.

TEMP. (°F)
50 150 250 350
2 2

Cuttings
4 Core 4
Mud weight - mud log
Mud weight - well log
6 Mud weight - drillstem test 6
Temperature data point

8 8
DEPTH (feet × 10 3 )

DEPTH (feet × 10 3 )
PRESSURE GRADIENT

10 10
TOP OVERPRESSURING

12 12

1.
0
ps
14 i/f 14
t
TEMP.
GRADIENT
0.4

16 16
0.6
5p

ps
1.60

si

i/ft
/ft

18 18
°F/1
00 f
t

20 20
0 5 10 15 20 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
A. PRESSURE (PSI) × 10 3 B. VITRINITE REFLECTANCE (R o )

Figure 7. (A) Pressure and temperature and (B) vitrinite reflectance gradients for the Belco 3–28 Merna well, northern Green River
basin, Wyoming (from Law, 1984, reprinted by permission of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists). Location of well shown
on Figure 3. Pressure gradient interpreted by C. W. Spencer.

1904 Basin-Centered Gas Systems

 TEMP. (°F)
100 200 300
2 2

Mud weight - mud log

Mud weight - well logs
4 4
Mud weight - drillstem test
Temperature data point
PRESS.
6 GRADIENT 6

8
TOP OVERPRESSURING 8
DEPTH (feet × 10 3 )

DEPTH (feet × 10 3 )
10 10

12 12

14 14
TEMP.
1.
0.4

GRADIENT
0
0.6
5p

ps

16 16
1 .6 0 °

i/f
ps
si/f

t
i/ft
t
F /1 0 0

18 18
ft

20 20
0 5 10 15 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
A. PRESSURE (PSI) × 10 3 B. VITRINITE REFLECTANCE (R o )

Figure 8. (A) Pressure and temperature and (B) vitrinite reflectance gradients in the El Paso Natural Gas 1 Wagon Wheel well,
northern Green River basin, Wyoming (from Law, 1984, reprinted by permission of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists).
Location of well shown on Figure 3. Pressure gradient interpreted by C. W. Spencer.

LAKE ONTARIO

A
N AD
CA USA NEW YORK
IE
R
E
E
K
LA
ion

PENNSYLVANIA
lat
ns

normal
?
ion
tio

mu

pressured underpressured ov e r p r e s s u r e d
lat
ula

cu

C C'
mu

?
um

sA
cu
Acc

Ga
c
dA

OHIO
ed
onal

bri

er
nt
Hy
C o nv e n t i

Ce

Figure 9. Location of Clinton-

n-

Medina-Tuscarora basin-
si
Ba

centered gas system in the

Appalachian basin, showing the
normally pressured, underpres-
WEST VIRGINIA sured, and overpressured parts
of the system, as well as areas
0 50 100 mi of conventional, hybrid, and
0 50 100 km
BCGA production (modified
from Ryder and Zagorski, forth-
coming). Cross section CC⬘
shown on Figure 11.
SYSTEM S E R I E S F O R M AT I O N and Cole, 1994; Laughrey and Harper, 1996; Nuc-
Ohio Venango Group,
Bradford Group, Catskill cio et al., 1997; Ryder et al., 1998; Ryder and Za-
UPPER Shale Fm.
Elk Group, undivided gorski, forthcoming)
Brallier Fm.
4. Reservoir rocks: Lower Silurian Clinton-Medina in
D E VO N I A N

Harrell Fm.
Olentangy Shale Tully Fm. eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania and Tus-
MIDDLE Hamilton Group carora Sandstone in central Pennsylvania. The res-
Delaware Ls. and Marcellus Shale ervoir interval ranges in thickness from 100 to 600
Columbus Ls., undivided
Onondaga Group ft (30–183 m) (Ryder and Zagorski, forthcoming).
Bois Blanc Limestone Huntersville Chert The thermal maturity of the reservoir ranges from
L OW E R Oriskany Sandstone
Helderberg Limestone
1.1 to 2.0% Ro (Wandrey et al., 1997).
Bass Islands Dolomite Keyser Limestone 5. Porosity: 5–10% (Ryder, 1998; Ryder and Zagor-
UPPER
Salina Group ski, forthcoming)
6. Permeability: 0.1 md (Ryder, 1998; Ryder and
Lockport Dolomite
Zagorski, forthcoming)
SILURIAN

MIDDLE
Rochester Shale
Clinton Group
7. Environments of deposition: Fluvial, estuarine,
Dayton Limestone and inner marine shelf in the eastern part to outer
Sandstone
Tuscarora
L OW E R “Clinton” Medina
marine shelf and tidal in the western part (Cotter,
Sandstone Group 1983; Brett et al., 1990; Castle, 1998)
and Shale
8. Reservoir pressure: Reservoirs are normally pres-
? ?
Queenston Shale Juanita Fm. sured in the updip part of the Clinton-Medina in
UPPER
eastern Ohio, producing oil, gas, and water (Fig-
Reedsville Shale
O R D OV I C I A N

ures 9, 11). In western Pennsylvania reservoirs are

Utica Shale
Trenton Limestone
Black River Group
MIDDLE
Beekmantown Group
Wells Creek Fm.
Figure 10. Geologic column of Ordovician–Devonian rocks in
eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, Appalachian basin
(modified from Law and Spencer, 1993).
BCGS. Estimates of recoverable resources range from
8.0 to 30.3 tcf (Gautier et al., 1996; McCormac et al.,
1996). For additional discussions of the Clinton-Me-
dina-Tuscarora, refer to investigations by Davis
(1984), Law and Dickinson (1985), Laughrey and
Harper (1986), Zagorski (1988, 1991), Law et al.
(1998a), Ryder (1998), and Ryder and Zagorski (forth-
coming). The critical elements in this system include
the following:
1. Area: Clinton-Medina part is 45,000 mi2 (116,550
km2); Tuscarora part is 30,000 mi2 (77,700 km2).
2. Source rock: Ordovician Utica Shale (Cole et al.,
1987; Drozd and Cole, 1994; Burruss and Ryder,
1998; Ryder et al., 1998). The Utica Shale con-
tains type II kerogen and is thermally overmature
(1.3% Ro).
3. Generation-migration-accumulation: Late Devo-
nian–Early Mississippian (370–320 Ma) (Drozd
Trenton Group underpressured and produce mainly gas with very
small amounts of water (Figures 9, 11). Ryder and
Zagorski (forthcoming) reported pressure gradi-
Loysburg Fm.
ents of 0.39–0.25 psi/ft in the underpressured part
(upper part) of the system. In central Pennsylvania, the Tusca-
rora Sandstone, equivalent to the Clinton-Medina,
is overpressured and produces gas with small
amounts of water (Figures 9, 11). Ryder and Za-
gorski (forthcoming) reported pressure gradients
ranging from 0.50 to 0.60 psi/ft in the overpres-
sured Tuscarora Sandstone in central Pennsylva-
nia. The variable pressure gradients within the
stratigraphic interval are shown in Figure 12.
9. Seals: The top seal is interpreted to be the shales,
carbonates, and evaporites in the overlying Upper
Silurian (Drozd and Cole, 1994). The updip seal
has been identified as a water block (Zagorski,
1988, 1991; Ryder and Zagorski, forthcoming).
10. Gas accumulations: Downdip from normally pres-
sured, water-bearing reservoirs; lacks downdip wa-
ter contact (Figure 11)
11. Depth to accumulation: 6500 ft (1981 m) in west-
ern Pennsylvania to 12,000 ft (3658 m) in central
Pennsylvania (Ryder and Zagorski, forthcoming)
12. Gas quality: Gas is interpreted to be a product of
thermally cracked oil (Law and Dickinson, 1985;
Law and Spencer, 1993; Law et al., 1998a; Ryder
and Zagorski, forthcoming). Gas in the Clinton-
Medina sandstone is generally composed of 79–

1906 Basin-Centered Gas Systems

WEST EAST
Allegheny structural front
OH PA
C C´

Conv. Hybrid Basin-centered gas

normal
pressured underpressured overpressured

Tuscarora Sandstone
Ordovician red beds

Lower Paleozoic
Clinton/Medina sandstone
carbonates

Oil
Gas

Basement faulting
(NOT TO SCALE)

Figure 11. Generalized cross section CC⬘ showing normally pressured, underpressured, and overpressured parts of the Clinton-
Medina-Tuscarora interval (modified from Ryder and Zagorski, forthcoming). The underpressured and overpressured areas of the
Clinton-Medina-Tuscarora represent the indirect BCGA part of the interval where gas and minor amounts of water are produced, and
the normally pressured area represents the conventional part of the interval where oil, gas, and water are produced. The hybrid,
underpressured area represents transition from oil, gas, and water production in eastern Ohio to gas and minor water production in
the BCGA.

94% methane; 3–12% ethane, propane, and C4Ⳮ GAS RESOURCES

hydrocarbon; and 3–9% nitrogen and carbon di-
oxide (Burruss and Ryder, 1998; Ryder and Za- Globally, no resource data are available for BCGAs;
gorski, forthcoming). In the Tuscarora Sandstone, however, where estimates of in place gas have been
gas is commonly dry (C1 /C1ⳮ5 ⳱ 0.98–0.99),
with nitrogen and carbon dioxide contents of 4–
PRESSURE (kPa × 103)
22% and 1–83%, respectively (Ryder and Za- 10 20 30 40 50
0 0
gorski, forthcoming).
13. Sweet spots: structural and stratigraphic 2

1 Wells
The underpressured reservoirs in the Clinton-
DEPTH (m × 103)

10.2 kPa/m
DEPTH (ft × 103)
4
Fields
(0.45 psi/ft)
Medina are interpreted to have undergone an earlier
overpressured phase caused by the thermal transfor- 6
2
mation of oil to gas (Law and Dickinson, 1985; Law 13.6 kPa/m
(0.60 psi/ft)
and Spencer, 1993; Law et al., 1998a; Ryder and Za- 8

gorski, forthcoming). Later, during a period of regional 6.9 kPa/m

uplift accompanied by loss of gas and reservoir cooling, 3 (0.30 psi/ft) 10

the overpressured, gas-bearing Clinton-Medina under-

12
went a transition to an underpressuring phase. The ov- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

erpressured, gas-bearing Tuscarora Sandstone reser- PRESSURE (psi × 103)

voirs in central Pennsylvania are interpreted to be Figure 12. Composite pressure gradient showing pressure
pressure remnants of the earlier overpressured phase end members (normal, underpressuring, and overpressuring re-
in the Clinton-Medina (Law et al., 1998a; Ryder and lationships) within the Clinton-Medina-Tuscarora interval (mod-
Zagorski, forthcoming). ified from Law et al., 1998a).

Law 1907
Table 3. Estimates of In-Place Gas Resources in Tight and Basin-Centered Gas Accumulations in the United States*

Basin FPC 1973 FERC 1978 Kuuskraa et al. 1978 NPC 1980 ICF 1990 USGS 1987, 1989

Greater Green River 240 240 91 136 — 5036

Uinta 207 210 50 20 — —
Piceance 149 150 36 49 287 423
Wind River — — 3 34 — 995
Big Horn — — 24 — — 334
Denver — — 19 13 — —
San Juan — 63 15 3 17 —
Ozona — — — 1 — —
Sonora — — 24 4 — —
Edwards Lime — — — 14 — —
Cotton Valley Sweet — — 53 22 31 —
Cotton Valley Sour — — 14 — — —
Ouachita — — 5 — — —
Other — — — 481 — —
TOTAL 596 663 334 777 335 6788
*FPC ⳱ Federal Power Commission (Supply-Technical Advisory Task Force, 1973); FERC ⳱ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Supply-Technical Advisory Task
Force, 1978); NPC ⳱ National Petroleum Council (1980); ICF ⳱ ICF-Lewan, Inc. (Haas, 1990); USGS ⳱ U.S. Geological Survey (Johnson et al., 1987, 1996, 1999;
Law et al., 1989). All values in tcf gas.

made the resources are very large: in-place gas resource sources were not estimated, and a methodology devel-
estimates in the United States for a given BCGA are oped by Schmoker (1996) for estimation of recovera-
generally greater than 10 tcf (Table 3). Unfortunately, ble gas was used. Estimates of recoverable gas from
no comprehensive gas resource data exist for all those basins are 223.55 tcf (Table 4). If all of the basins
BCGAs in the United States, in large part because in the United States containing BCGAs would have
BCGAs are not recognized as a distinct type of gas ac- been assessed, it is highly probable that the total re-
cumulation. However, an appreciation for the magni- coverable gas in BCGAs in the United States would
tude of the resource can be determined from estimates exceed 400 tcf.
of in-place and recoverable gas in selected areas of the Production figures for the United States, like gas
United States. Previous assessments of in-place gas in resource assessments, are uncertain; however, the es-
so-called tight and basin-centered accumulations in the timate that most accurately reflects gas production
United States are shown on Table 3. Using a volumet-
ric methodology approach, in-place gas resources for
the Piceance (Johnson et al., 1987), Greater Green
Table 4. Estimates of Recoverable Gas in Basin-Centered
River (Law et al., 1989), Wind River (Johnson et al.,
Accumulations in the United States*
1996), and Big Horn basins (Johnson et al., 1999) in
the Rocky Mountain region were estimated at 6788 tcf. Basin USGS, 1996 NPC, 1992
In-place gas estimates in other basins range from 334
to 777 tcf (Table 3). Greater Green River 119.3 —
There are even fewer published estimates of re- Uinta-Piceance 16.74 —
coverable gas. In the United States, the National Pe- San Juan 21.15 —
troleum Council (1992) estimated 232 tcf of recover- Denver 3.16 —
able gas from so-called tight reservoirs with current Appalachian 44.97 —
technology and 349 tcf of gas with advanced technol- East Texas 6.03 —
ogy. In 1995, the U.S. Geological Survey (Gautier et Columbia River 12.2 —
al., 1996) included as part of their National Assessment TOTAL 223.55 232
several plays in seven basins that were determined to *USGS ⳱ U.S. Geological Survey (Johnson et al., 1996); NPC ⳱ National Per-
contain BCGAs. In that assessment, in-place gas re- toleum Council (1992). All values in tcf gas.

1908 Basin-Centered Gas Systems

from BCGAs in the United States is provided by the
Gas Research Institute (GRI). Gas production from so-
called tight gas sands in 1996 (the last year for which
there are records) was 3.35 tcf (Hill, 2000), approxi-
mately 17% of total United States production. This fig-
ure, however, may be misleading because all so-called
tight gas sands are not necessarily BCGAs; discrete,
buoyancy-driven gas accumulations may occur in some
tight gas sands. With this caveat under consideration,
I estimate 15% of annual gas production in the United
States is from BCGAs, the largest, gas-producing con-
tributor of all unconventional gas accumulations.
SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION
The global distribution of BCGAs is poorly known, and
knowledge of the stratigraphic distribution of BCGAs
is incomplete. Even in North America, where most of
the exploration activity for BCGAs has occurred, the
geographic distribution is not well known. Figure 13
shows the locations of known and suspected BCGAs
in the United States. A tabulation of these areas, as well
as areas outside North America, is shown in Table 2.
The geographic distribution of BCGAs is probably best
known in the Rocky Mountain region, where a consid-
erable amount of research has occurred.
Worldwide, there are only a few references avail-
able alluding to the presence of BCGAs (Table 2).
Many more areas undoubtedly contain BCGAs, but
because of the poor understanding of the concepts of
BCGSs in countries outside North America, the global
distribution of BCGAs is poorly known. For example,
in North America, many Rocky Mountain basins con-
tain direct BCGAs. By analogy with Rocky Mountain
basins, it is likely that many of the Andean foreland
basins of South America also contain BCGAs. Several
of the basins in the Middle East and North Africa prob-
ably contain indirect BCGAs similar to those in Jordan
and Algeria.
The stratigraphic distribution of BCGAs extends
from the Cambrian through the Eocene (Table 2).
However, there appear to be some differences in the
stratigraphic distribution of direct and indirect
BCGAs. For example, the preponderance of direct
BCGAs occur in Cretaceous through Eocene rocks

Columbia Basin
Willamette-
Puget Sound Bighorn Basin Midcontinent
Trough Rift
Wind River Basin Crazy Mtns. Basin

Modoc Basin Powder River Basin

Snake River
Plain
Hanna Basin Michigan
Greater Basin
Green River
Sacramento- Basin Appalachian Basin
San Joaquin Great Basin
Basins South
Denver Basin
Park
Uinta-Piceance
Basins
San Luis Basin
Anadarko
San Juan Basin Basin Arkoma Basin
Raton
Basin
Salton Espanola- Black Warrior
Trough Albuquerque Basin
Basin
Fort Worth Basin
Permian East Texas &
Basin North Louisiana Basin

Colville Basin

Norton
Basin
Val Verde Basin Gulf Coast Basin
Interior Maverick Basin
Basins

0 400 miles
Cook Inlet 0 400 km
Basin

Figure 13. Map of the United States showing the geographic distribution of known and potential BCGAs.

Law 1909
(Table 2), whereas indirect BCGAs more commonly
occur in pre-Cretaceous rocks. Although some of the
apparent difference in stratigraphic distribution may
be attributable to the disproportionate number of stud-
ies in Cretaceous and younger rocks compared to num-
bers of studies in pre-Cretaceous rocks, the question of
seal integrity in direct systems arises. As previously dis-
cussed, the effective life of capillary pressure seals in
direct systems is not known; therefore, because of the
perceptions of a leaky seal in direct systems, the oc-
currence of direct systems in pre-Cretaceous rocks may
be less common than in Cretaceous and younger rocks.
Some examples, however, of pre-Cretaceous direct
BCGAs include Permian rocks in the Timan-Pechora
basin, Russia (Law et al., 1996), and the Sichuan basin,
China (Da-jun and Yun-ho, 1994); Pennsylvanian
rocks in the Arkoma basin (Meckel et al., 1992); and
Carboniferous rocks in the Dnieper-Donets basin,
Ukraine (Law et al., 1998b) (Table 2).
Indirect BCGAs occur in rocks ranging from Cam-
brian through Cretaceous. Examples include Cam-
brian and Ordovician reservoirs in the Ahnet basin of
Algeria, Ordovician reservoirs in Jordan (Ahlbrandt et
al., 1997), Lower Silurian reservoirs in the Appala-
chian basin (Davis, 1984; Law and Dickinson, 1985;
Zagorski, 1988, 1991; Law and Spencer, 1993; Law et
al., 1998a; Ryder and Zagorski, forthcoming), and Ju-
rassic sandstone reservoirs in the Bossier Shale (Mont-
gomery and Karlewicz, 2001; Emme and Stancil,
2002) in the United States Gulf Coast (Table 2).
FORMATION EVALUATION
All BCGA reservoirs require carefully designed drilling
programs and some type of artificial stimulation for
commercial production rates. Reservoir continuity is
an important consideration in the design of an appro-
priate drilling and completion program. Single, lentic-
ular reservoirs have limited volume and are generally
not commercial, whereas single, blanket reservoirs
have much larger volumes and may be commercial,
but, because blanket reservoirs commonly have better
reservoir quality than lenticular reservoirs, they may be
water bearing, as discussed previously.
In lenticular, fluvial-dominated reservoirs, such as
those in the Jonah field in the northern part of the
Green River basin of Wyoming or the Rulison field in
the Piceance basin of Colorado, it is imperative to stim-
ulate as many reservoirs as possible to attain commer-
cial rates of gas production. The completion practices
1910 Basin-Centered Gas Systems
in the Jonah field provide a good example of commin-
gling production from multiple, lenticular reservoirs
(Finch et al., 1997; Eberhard, 2001); as many as 28
sandstones are perforated and fractured (Montgomery
and Robinson, 1997). In a similar manner, gas produc-
tion from multiple sandstone reservoirs in the Upper
Cretaceous Williams Fork Formation in the Piceance
basin of western Colorado is commingled following
multiple fracture treatments in an interval about 2400
ft (732 m) thick (R. E. Mueller, 2002, personal
communication).
Early attempts to produce from blanket reservoirs
were mixed. Massive hydraulic fracturing techniques
using 300,000 lb of proppant were used in an attempt
to create long fractures. However, the large fracture
treatments commonly resulted in shorter fracture
lengths than predicted because of fracturing out of the
reservoir into adjacent, nonreservoir rocks (Spencer,
1989a). This problem has, in some cases, been modi-
fied by adjusting pumping rates of the fracture fluids.
Natural fractures are important factors in success-
fully completing a well. The probability of a vertically
drilled hole intersecting fractures is considerably less
than horizontal or slant holes. For example, at the U.S.
Department of Energy Multiwell Experiment site in
the Piceance basin of Colorado, a slant hole was drilled
through lenticular gas reservoirs. The hole was then
deviated to horizontal in a blanket reservoir. Fifty-two
fractures were reported from 266 ft (81 m) of core
taken from the slant hole part of the hole. In contrast,
a nearby vertically drilled hole penetrating the same
slant hole interval encountered one fracture, and, in
the horizontally drilled part of the hole, 37 fractures
were reported from 115 ft (35 m) of core (Lorenz and
Hill, 1991). In a more recently drilled 14,950 ft (4557
m)–deep well in the Green River basin of Wyoming,
more than 400 open fractures were detected on a For-
mation MicroImager log from a 1750 ft (533 m)–long
horizontally drilled leg in the Upper Cretaceous Fron-
tier Formation (Krystinik and Lorenz, 2000). In the
same well, approximately 76 natural fractures were re-
corded from a 78.2 ft (23.8 m)–long core taken from
the same horizontal leg (Lorenz and Mroz, 1999).
From these two examples, the probability of encoun-
tering fractures in slant or horizontal wells vs. vertically
drilled wells is well documented. The cost of drilling
nonvertical wells, however, is considerably greater
than the cost of drilling vertical wells.
Reservoir damage is another important aspect of
formation evaluation. Spencer (1985) listed several
different types of reservoir damage, including (1)
movement of secondary clays causing plugging of pore
throats, (2) swelling of smectitic clays, (3) increasing
water saturation with consequent reduction of relative
permeability to gas, (4) fracturing gel compounds left
in the reservoir, and (5) chemical additives causing pre-
cipitation of minerals and compounds during acidizing
and hydraulic fracturing. The potential problem of
swelling clays, in most cases, is minor, because most
BCGAs occur in sequences where the level of thermal
maturation is sufficiently high to convert swelling clays
into nonswelling clays.
EXPLORATION STRATEGY
The objective of any hydrocarbon exploration program
is to progress from coarse, loosely defined ideas to re-
fined, drillable locations. In the case of BCGAs, explo-
ration strategies are no different and may be viewed as
a four-step process that includes (1) reconnaissance,
(2) confirmation, (3) delineation, and (4) sweet spot
identification. The exploration phases are mostly ap-
plicable to direct BCGAs; as a consequence of the rela-
tively new classification of BCGAs into direct and in-
direct types, strategies for indirect BCGAs have not
been formulated, although it is obvious that source
rock considerations, level of thermal maturation, and
temporal relationships among hydrocarbon generation,
expulsion, migration, and trap formation are very im-
portant considerations in the exploration for indirect
BCGAs.
Reconnaissance Phase
The reconnaissance phase entails the identification of
basins that may contain BCGAs. In direct systems,
identification of source rocks is critical. For example,
the identification of humic, gas-prone coal beds is the
most obvious source rock for direct BCGAs; in nearly
every country with coal reserves, there are some pub-
lished data concerning geographic distribution, rank,
and thickness. The rank of coal beds must be greater
than high-volatile C (greater than vitrinite reflectance
values of 0.6% Ro) to initiate thermal generation of gas
(Hunt, 1996).
The existence of reservoirs with appropriate qual-
ity is another important aspect to consider during the
reconnaissance phase. In most cases, coal-bearing in-
tervals are associated with interbedded sandstones that
have low porosity and permeability, especially at dia-
genetic stages commensurate with thermal maturity
levels greater than 0.6% Ro. Sandstones deposited in
alluvial plain, coal-bearing environments typically have
poor reservoir properties. High porosity and perme-
ability in reservoirs are not desirable attributes for the
development of a BCGA. In basins where some drilling
activity has occurred, gas shows are also very helpful.
Confirmation Phase
Once a basin containing a potential BCGA has been
identified, the task becomes one of confirmation. Be-
cause all BCGAs are abnormally pressured, the prin-
cipal task during this phase is the determination of res-
ervoir pressure and the mechanism of abnormal
pressure. Most basins do not have sufficient quantity
or quality of pressure data for this determination.
Therefore, a combination of attributes listed on Table
1 can provide compelling evidence for the presence of
abnormal pressure and a BCGA. Pore pressure indi-
cators such as pore fluid composition (gas with little or
no producible water) in conjunction with porosity
(13%), permeability (0.1 md), thermal maturation
(0.7% Ro) data, and sustained gas shows are very use-
ful. In some cases, sonic velocity data have been used
to indicate the presence of abnormal pressures (Sur-
dam et al., 1997, 2000, 2001; Surdam, 1997).
Although the determination of abnormal pressure
is important, it is equally important to determine the
mechanism of abnormal pressure. For direct BCGAs,
the pressure mechanism is hydrocarbon generation
(Spencer, 1987), and for indirect BCGAs, the pressure
mechanism is thermal cracking of liquid hydrocarbons
to gas (Law, 2000). A useful criteria for determining
the pressure mechanism is through a knowledge of the
composition of pore fluids: pore fluids in direct and
indirect systems are composed of gas with little or no
producible water (Spencer, 1987; Law and Spencer,
1993), whereas in abnormally pressured reservoirs,
where the composition of pore fluid is mainly water,
the pressure mechanism may be one of several other
mechanisms, thereby precluding a hydrocarbon-gen-
eration mechanism and presence of a BCGA.
Formation resistivity and spontaneous potential
curves measured on geophysical well logs also have
been used to indicate the presence of a BCGA. In Up-
per Cretaceous rocks in the San Juan basin and Me-
sozoic rocks in the Alberta basin, resistivities greater
than 20 X were reported to be gas saturated (Masters,
1979). Zagorski (1988, 1991) noted that the boundary
between conventional and BCGA reservoirs in north-
western Pennsylvania could be distinguished at 80 X;
Law 1911
reservoirs with high water saturation were defined by
resistivities 80 X•m, and reservoirs within the
BCGA have resistivities 80 X•m. In Upper Creta-
ceous rocks in the Greater Green River basin, spon-
taneous potential curves are commonly reversed in ab-
normally pressured BCGAs (Law et al., 1979, 1980;
Law, 1984).
Delineation
The delineation phase entails mapping the vertical and
areal distribution of the gas accumulation. The pre-
ferred way of accomplishing this phase is through the
use of reliable pressure data. In most basins, however,
pressure data are absent or of such low quality that
reliable maps cannot be constructed; consequently,
some indirect method may have to be used. The se-
lected mapping parameter should be one that has
been calibrated to well-documented pressure data. For
example, thermal maturity values ranging from 0.7 to
0.9% Ro were determined to be coincident with the
top of overpressuring in the Greater Green River ba-
sin (Law, 1984). In later work, 0.8% Ro was used to
map the depth to the top of overpressuring in the
basin (Pawlewicz et al., 1986; Law et al., 1989). John-
son et al. (1987, 1996, 1999) used a value of 0.73%
Ro to map the top of the gas- and water-bearing tran-
sition zone above gas-saturated reservoirs in the Pi-
ceance basin of Colorado and the Wind River and Big-
horn basins of Wyoming.
To determine an accurate, reliable mapping
method, a detailed study of a small area within the
basin is recommended rather than a broad-based re-
gional study. For the detailed study, a small represen-
tative area with relatively complete, high-quality data
should be chosen. Comprehensive, multidiscipline in-
vestigations including stratigraphic, structural, source
rock, reservoir rock, pressure, thermal history, petro-
physical, and well log analyses should then be con-
ducted within the selected area. The objective of this
comprehensive investigation is to establish a type area
or analog for the entire basin to which incomplete or
fragmentary data from other parts of the basin can be
compared. From such analog studies, indirect map-
ping tools, such as levels of thermal maturity, present-
day temperature, and log responses, may be deter-
mined. Examples of such analog studies include the
Pacific Creek area in the Greater Green River basin
(Law et al., 1979, 1980), the Wagon Wheel well in
the Greater Green River basin (Law and Spencer,
1989), and the Multiwell Experiment site in the Pi-
1912 Basin-Centered Gas Systems
ceance basin, Colorado (Northrop et al., 1984; Spen-
cer and Keighin, 1984; Law and Spencer, 1989). Re-
gional mapping using some of these indirect
parameters can then be used not only to determine
the stratigraphic and areal distribution of the BCGA
but also to help identify areas of enhanced reservoir
quality, or sweet spots.
Sweet Spot Identification
Although a few BCGAs are commercially productive
over their entire areal extent, such as the San Juan
basin of Colorado and New Mexico, most BCGAs are
not commercially productive over their entire area.
Consequently, areas within the BCGA of enhanced
reservoir quality (sweet spots) must be identified.
These sweet spots may be structural or stratigraphic
in nature and always occur within the abnormal pres-
sure envelope. In addition, they most likely occur near
the upper boundary of the BCGA.
In Figure 6, the top of overpressure and BCGA
in the Washakie basin is shown as a fairly smooth,
uniform line cutting across structural and stratigraphic
boundaries. In this case, if very closely spaced pressure
data were available along the line of section, the pres-
sure boundary would most likely not be as smooth as
shown but would probably be highly irregular, with
significant areas of high relief. The areas of high, posi-
tive relief, or bumps, may be indicative of structural
and/or stratigraphic sweet spots that occur at or near
the upper boundary of the BCGA. In the absence of
closely spaced pressure data, it is difficult to identify
a sweet spot. However, some techniques can be used
to identify and focus more expensive techniques such
as three-dimensional (3-D) seismic surveys. Those
techniques may include lineament, thermal maturity,
and present-day temperature mapping. Aeromagnetic,
gravity, and surface geochemical surveys also may be
useful in the identification of potential sweet spots.
Surdam (1997) and Surdam et al. (1997) described
methods employing sonic logs to identify sweet spots
in several basins in Wyoming.
The best example of a BCGA structural sweet
spot is the Jonah field in the northern part of the
Green River basin, Wyoming (Figures 3, 4). As pre-
viously discussed, the Jonah field is a gas chimney,
rooted in a regionally pervasive BCGA described by
Law (1984) and producing from multiple sandstone
reservoirs in the Upper Cretaceous Lance Formation.
Alternatively, Cluff and Cluff (2001) have interpreted
the Jonah field to be a remnant of a larger, much more
 105° 104° 103°
shallow BCGA than presently identified. The Jonah

0.
field is a wedge-shaped area with the north, south, and

7
GE
0.8

RAN
west boundaries of the field defined by westward con- 0.7

NT
6
verging faults (Figure 4). The eastern boundary is un- 0.

FRO
7
W Y O MIN G 0. N E BRA SK A
defined. The geologic characteristics of the Jonah field 0.
8
9
0. 0.
5
are given by Montgomery and Robinson (1997) and

0.6
Cheyenne

Warner (1998, 2000). According to Warner (2000) CO L O RA D O 0.6 41°

the top of overpressure (top of gas-saturated reser-

0.
5
voirs) within the field occurs at depths of 7700 ft 0.6
(2347 m) at the west end of the field (updip end of 0.7

0.6
0.8 4
field) and 9500 ft (2896 m) at the east end of the 0.9
1.0
0.

field (downdip end of the field). Outside the field, the 1.1
CMB 2
1. 1.3
top of overpressure and gas-saturated reservoirs occur 1.4 Wattenburg Field
at depths ranging from 11,200 to 11,600 ft (3414– 0.
6
0.5
3536 m) (Warner, 2000). Thus, there is 2500–3000

0.4
40°

0.7
ft (726–914 m) of relief on the top of overpressuring 0.8
0.6
from outside the field to inside the field (Figure 4).

0.5
Denver
The gas chimney has subsequently been identified 0.9

0.8
0.6
through the use of sonic velocity data (Surdam et al.,

0.7
2001).
0.6 Isoreflectance, Muddy (“J”) Ss. 0 50 miles
A good example of a thermal maturity anomaly Contour interval: 0.1%Rm.
0 50 km
associated with a sweet spot is the Lower Cretaceous Rm sample location

Muddy (“J”) Sandstone in the Denver basin of Colo-
rado. Regional thermal maturity mapping in the Den-
ver basin of Colorado (Higley et al., 1992) shows the
presence of an anomaly associated with a BCGA (Fig-
ure 14). The anomaly, defined by reflectance values
greater than 0.9% Ro, is nearly coincident with the
field boundaries of production from the Muddy Sand-
stone in the Wattenburg field. The anomaly is located
north of the structurally deepest part of the basin and
is coincident with the northeast projection of the Col-
orado Mineral Belt. The field is also coincident with
a temperature anomaly mapped by Meyer and McGee
(1985).
Because the top of a BCGA is determined, in part,
by permeability variations and the ease with which gas
may move through reservoirs, measured levels of ther-
mal maturity at the top of a BCGA may provide in-
direct evidence of the presence of a sweet spot; rela-
tively low values of thermal maturity (0.8% Ro) at
the top of an overpressured BCGA are indicative of a
potential sweet spot, whereas relatively high values of
thermal maturity (0.8% Ro) are indicative of very
low permeability in an overpressured BCGA. Based
on vitrinite reflectance profiles from two wells within
the Jonah field (Warner, 1998), the level of thermal
maturity at the top of overpressured, gas-saturated
reservoirs is less than 0.7% Ro, compared to 0.8% Ro
outside the field. Thermal maturity indices, however,
cannot be used to identify potential sweet spots in
Figure 14. Thermal maturity map of the Denver basin, Col-
orado, showing the large thermal maturity anomaly in the Cre-
taceous Muddy (“J”) Sandstone in the Wattenburg field (mod-
ified from Higley et al., 1992). The field is nearly coincident with
the 0.9% isoreflectance contour (Higley et al., 1992). The loca-
tion of the anomaly is also coincident with the basinward pro-
jection of the Colorado Mineral Belt (CMB).
underpressured BCGAs. The level of thermal matur-
ity at the top of an underpressured BCGA most likely
is higher than the level of thermal maturity at the top
of an overpressured BCGA because the dimensions,
or size, of a BCGA are reduced during the transition
from overpressure to underpressure. Consequently,
the level of thermal maturity at the top of an under-
pressured BCGA reflects that size constriction.
Stratigraphic sweet spots are more difficult to dis-
cern than structural sweet spots because detailed fa-
cies mapping requires close-spaced to moderately
spaced subsurface data. An example of a stratigraphic
sweet spot includes the Upper Cretaceous Almond
Formation in the Washakie basin of southwest Wyo-
ming, where reservoirs in the upper, marginal marine
part of the formation are typically much more pro-
ductive than reservoirs in the lower, fluvial-dominated
part of the formation. Additional stratigraphic sweet
spots include sandstones within the Upper Cretaceous
Lewis Shale in the Great Divide basin and the

Law 1913
Frontier Formation along the structural crest of the
Moxa arch in the Green River basin.
Finally, based on empirical observations, there ap-
pears to be a relationship between producibility and
the nature of abnormal pressure; overpressured BCGA
reservoirs generally require the identification of sweet
spots for commercial production, whereas underpres-
sured reservoirs are regionally productive and do not
require the identification of sweet spots. The best ex-
amples of regionally productive gas production from
underpressured systems occur in Upper Cretaceous
reservoirs in the San Juan basin of New Mexico and
Colorado and in the Lower Silurian Clinton-Medina
reservoirs in the Appalachian basin of Pennsylvania.
However, sweet spots, even in underpressured
BCGAs, are desirable features to identify. The reasons
for this apparent relationship between producibility
and the nature of abnormal pressure are uncertain. Per-
haps reservoir quality is slightly improved during the
transition from an overpressured system to a under-
pressured system.
OUTLOOK
In 1978 the Natural Gas Policy Act provided incentive
prices and, later, tax credits for gas production from
coal, shale, and low-permeability sandstone reservoirs
in an attempt to stimulate the development of gas from
unconventional, marginally economic reservoirs.
Those incentives, along with significant funding from
the U.S. Department of Energy for research and de-
velopment of tight gas sands, were instrumental in un-
locking a gas supply that has had and will have a sig-
nificant impact on the energy needs of the United
States and the world. At the end of 1992 the incentives
expired, and there was some skepticism in the industry
concerning continued gas production without some
economic help. However, new technological gains, an
improved geologic and engineering understanding of
tight gas sands, and higher gas prices have combined
to make BCGAs (tight gas sands) a very attractive ex-
ploration objective. In the United States and Canada,
exploration and exploitation of this huge gas resource
has experienced considerable success, and activity
should accelerate over the next several years. Interna-
tionally, exploration activity is currently minimal but
likely will increase in the near future. As the concepts
of BCGSs become better known outside North Amer-
ica, there will be an increased focus on the tremendous
potential of this gas resource.
1914 Basin-Centered Gas Systems
RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS
As previously discussed, gas production from BCGAs
is currently making a significant contribution to the en-
ergy needs of the United States, and the future role of
BCGSs will be significant; however, some large obsta-
cles must be addressed for this type of unconventional
gas system to meet or surpass expectations. In order
for BCGAs to play an increasing role in the energy re-
quirements of the United States and the world, the
following topics and problems need to be addressed:
• An effective global education program is essential to
stimulate and expand exploration programs beyond
the United States and Canada; traditional concepts
of petroleum systems need modification.
• In many basins, BCGAs occur at depths greater than
10,000 ft (3048 m). Artificial stimulation at these
depths is difficult and expensive. Although there
have been significant improvements in drilling and
completion technologies within the past 20 yr, con-
tinued advances in technologies are essential to tap
the very large gas resources at these depths.
• In thick, gas-saturated reservoirs containing inter-
bedded water-bearing reservoirs, improved tech-
niques are needed to discriminate between gas-bear-
ing and water-bearing reservoirs.
• The integrity of capillary pressure seals over long pe-
riods of geologic time needs to be determined.
• More geologic research into the occurrence of
BCGAs, especially indirect types, is desirable. Essen-
tially no information is available concerning the na-
ture of or exploration strategies for indirect BCGAs.
• Methods of identifying and characterizing natural
fractures must be improved.
• Relationships among kerogen type, thermal matur-
ity, initiation of gas generation, peak gas generation,
transformation of oil to gas, and volumetric fluid
changes accompanying the transition of oil to gas
need additional research.
SUMMARY
Basin-centered gas accumulations, a type of unconven-
tional gas accumulation, are typically regionally per-
vasive accumulations encompassing hundreds or thou-
sands of square miles and may occur as single, isolated
reservoirs a few feet thick or as multiple, stacked res-
ervoirs several thousand feet thick. Some of the more
important distinguishing characteristics of BCGAs in-
clude abnormal pressures (over- or underpressured),
low-permeability reservoirs, and a general absence of
downdip water. Two types of BCGSs are recognized:
a direct type distinguished by having a gas-prone
source rock and an indirect type that has a liquid-prone
source rock. Direct systems commonly have leaky cap-
illary pressure seals, whereas indirect systems have
more effective lithologic seals. Although the two sys-
tems have several similar attributes, the fundamental
difference between the systems, gas-prone vs. liquid-
prone source rocks, results in some dissimilar attributes
that require different exploration strategies. The
worldwide potential for major gas production from
BCGAs has not been fully appreciated, whereas in the
United States, gas production from these regionally
pervasive accumulations is a significant contributor to
the nation’s energy requirements and will likely in-
crease in the near future.
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