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- Title
Preliminary Results of Temperature Logging in the Williston Basin to determine Heat Flow.
- Authors
McDonald, Mark R.
- Abstract
The North Dakota Geological Survey (NDGS) has embarked on a temperature survey of the Williston Basin, North Dakota. To date, 23 temporarily abandoned oil and gas wells have been logged using a memory tool equipped with a temperature, gamma-ray, and casing collar locator probe lowered by a slickline. Several methods were used to estimate heat flow at the various locations including calculations based on average laboratory values of thermal conductivity, existing heat flow maps, the Bullard Method, and finding the harmonic mean of thermal conductivity. Although there is general agreement in calculated heat flow values between the various methods presented above, the results are largely predicated upon initial assumptions of either heat flow, thermal conductivity, or both. While we are confident in the measurements obtained during this study with respect to thermal gradient, additional information with regard to thermal conductivity of the geologic formations will be required to estimate heat flow within the Williston Basin with better accuracy. Geologic formations can often be differentiated on the basis of "marker" beds, but there can be wide variations in mineralogy, lithology, porosity, permeability, density, etc., depending upon depositional environment, depth of burial and secondary processes from one location to another which can profoundly influence thermal conductivity and therefore greatly affect the calculated heat flow.
- Subjects
WILLISTON Basin; HEAT flow (Oceanography); GAMMA rays; THERMAL conductivity; PERMEABILITY
- Publication
Report of Investigation - North Dakota Geological Survey, 2015, Vol 115, p1
- ISSN
0099-4227
- Publication type
Article