APPALACHIAN GAS RESERVOIR ATLAS PLANNED

The Department of Energy has let contract to West Virginia University to compile a catalogue of major Appalachian basin gas reservoirs, The 3 year gas atlas project will become part of an effort by DOE and the Gas Research Institute to build a nationwide database on U.S. gas producing areas. Linda Stuntz, acting assistant DOE secretary for fossil energy, said the project will provide information of use in setting research directions.

Oct. 14, 1991

2 min read

The Department of Energy has let contract to West Virginia University to compile a catalogue of major Appalachian basin gas reservoirs,

The 3 year gas atlas project will become part of an effort by DOE and the Gas Research Institute to build a nationwide database on U.S. gas producing areas.

Linda Stuntz, acting assistant DOE secretary for fossil energy, said the project will provide information of use in setting research directions.

West Virginia University will compile the atlas on Virginia, West Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee fields with the aid of the U.S. Geological Survey and state surveys.

DOE will provide $3 million of the $4 million cost.

Researchers will gather well data and other information from various sources and group gas reservoirs into categories with similar characteristics. If data are lacking, cores and well logs will be obtained.

DOE said the atlas will improve chances that new or better production techniques applied successfully in one reservoir also will be successful in a similar reservoir.

It has used a similar approach in its advanced oil recovery research program, where more than 2,000 reservoirs are being grouped into geological categories.

After the Appalachian atlas is published, DOE said, gas producers will be able to determine geologic trends, areas of established production, and reservoir characteristics.

GRI has published an atlas of Texas gas fields and is working on central and eastern Gulf Coast, Midcontinent, and Rocky Mountains surveys.

GRI and DOE are considering atlases for the Gulf of Mexico and West Coast.