Underground Combustion in the Shannon Pool, Wyoming
Authors: Parrish D.R. , Rausch R.W. , Beaver K.W. , Wood H.W. 
Published: December 2007

A pilot test of forward combustion in the Shannon pool, Salt Creek field, Wyo., is described. The Shannon sand, 950-ft deep, contains a heavy (25 API), viscous (76 cp) oil. Natural reservoir energy is limited. Primary production, intermittent since 1889, recovered only about 2 per cent of the oil in place. The field is operated by Pan American Petroleum Corp. for the Midwest Oil Corp., the owner. The original pilot was a 1.32-acre five-spot. The expanded pilot has eight producing wells surrounding a roughly triangular area of about five acres with the injection well near the center. A control or comparison well was also recompleted in another part of the field. Operation of the pilot has been little different from an ordinary gas drive. Little special equipment was found to be absolutely necessary. Except for some use of a temperature-resistant cement, all wells were conventionally completed. In spite of poor oxygen consumption, the over-all performance of the pilot has been good. Total oil recovery to June 1, 1961, was 73,971 bbl. The wells of the original pilot alone had produced about 24,000 bbl, equivalent to 50 per cent of the oil in place, when fire breakthrough at the first well occurred. These wells have now produced oil equivalent to more than 74 per cent of the oil in place in the original pilot area and production is continuing. It appears that ultimate recovery will approach theoretical maximums before the wells must be abandoned. Performance of the pilot has been encouraging, and expansion to a fieldwide combustion operation is being investigated.

Introduction

The results of both laboratory investigations and field tests of underground combustion have been reported previously. However, most of the field tests were primarily experimental. More information and experience are needed before forward-combustion operations can be engineered with confidence. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a successful pilot test of forward combustion. These results should increase confidence in forward combustion as a practical method for commercial oil recovery.

HISTORY OF THE SHANNON POOL

The Shannon pool is located on the north end of the Salt Creek field in Natrona County, Wyo. It is approximately 50-miles north of the city of Casper. The Shannon pool discovery well was completed in 1889, making this one of the oldest oil fields in the Rocky Mountain region. Three more wells were drilled in 1890. First production was hauled in wooden barrels by horse and wagon to the railroad in Casper. In 1894 a small refinery, the first in Wyoming, was built in Casper to process the Shannon crude. In the following years the field changed hands several times. It appears that each new owner did some development drilling as several wells were completed in each of the years 1895, 1902, 1905 and 1912, with negligible development in the intervening years. Forty-eight wells were drilled in this period, but many were later abandoned. Discovery of the more prolific Salt Creek field proper ultimately forced suspension of operations at the Shannon pool. After 1915 there was only sporadic production, mostly to supply cheap boiler fuel to drilling rigs in the Salt Creek field. But even this was discontinued in 1931. Since then the pool had been dormant until the recent operations, which are the subject of this paper. The Shannon pool is now owned by the Midwest Oil Corp. Field operations are conducted for Midwest by Pan American Petroleum Corp.

THE RESERVOIR

Fig. 1 is a map showing subsurface contours of the Shannon pool. The reservoir is on a nose of the Salt Creek anticline dipping to the north at about 500 ft/mile. The trap is provided by a shallow fault on the updip side of the productive area. The downdip limits are bounded by water, but this water has not provided an effective source of reservoir energy. The Shannon sand outcrops at many places in the immediate vicinity, providing good surface indications of the Salt Creek anticline. At the Shannon pool the sand has been lowered by faulting and is overlain by about 900 ft of shale and other sands. The Shannon sand consists of two members. The upper, a water sand, is about 40-ft thick and is separated from the lower member by several feet of sandy shale.

JPT

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