Petroleum and Natural Gas Fields in Wyoming Page: 187
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REVIEW OF OIL AND GAS FIELDS
The first well completed in the area was in
the NE1/4SW1/4SW1/2 sec. 26, R. 64 W. Ini-
tial daily flowing production was 200 barrels
of 430 API gravity oil from the Newcastle
sandstone at 4,946 to 4,953 feet. Most of the
wells were drilled in secs. 22-27, 31-33, T. 44
N., R. 64 W. and in secs. 13, 14, and 36, T.
44 N., R. 65 W. The wells in secs. 13 and 14
of T. 44 N., R. 65 W., have been referred to
as the Wildhorse Butte field. The gravity of
the oil produced varied from 400 to 430 API,
although a few wells in the extreme south por-
tion of the area reported gravities as high as
47 API. Most of these wells were completed
as flowing wells and soon were shut in or
abandoned.
The initial daily production of 50 wells
ranged from 20 to 1,440 barrels, with an aver-
age daily production of 158 barrels per well.
At least nine of the wells were shot with nitro-
glycerin to increase production. Results of
the shooting were inconclusive, as all of the
wells were extremely low fluid capacity wells
before they were shot. At least 171 wells were
drilled in the area; 104 of them were com-
pleted as oil wells in the Newcastle sandstone.
Analyses of oil from the Newcastle sandstone
are given on pages 448 and 449. In December
1957 there were 58 producing wells in the field.
A total of 691 barrels of oil was produced
daily, with little or no water.
Oil production in 1956 amounted to 449,207
barrels, with an estimated 988 million cubic
feet of gas. Cumulative production to the end
of 1956 amounted to 2,502,347 barrels of oil
and an estimated 3,667 million cubic feet of
gas.
The Skull Creek oilfield (fig. 115) is in Tps.
44 and 45 N., R. 62 W., Weston County, and
is adjacent to the east end of the Mush Creek
field. Structural conditions in Skull Creek
field are identical with those in Mush Creek
field. The Pierre shale, Niobrara formation,
and Carlile shale outcrop on the surface at
elevations of 3,890 to 4,137 feet.
The discovery well, in the NW1/4SW1/4NE1/4
sec. 16, was completed in April 1946 in the
Newcastle sandstone for an initial daily pro-
duction of 3 barrels of oil and 7 barrels of
water. The producing zone was 3,330 to 3,364
feet. Three gas wells have been completed in
the Skull Creek field. The initial open-flow
volumes of gas of these wells were 19.75, 10.0,
and 0.5 million cubic feet a day. Gas wells
are as follows: SE1/SE1/SE1/ sec. 23,
NEIANW1/NE1/4 sec. 26, and NW1/NE1/4
SE1/4 sec. 11.
The Newcastle sandstone is the only oil-
and gas-productive formation in the field.The average thickness of the Newcastle is
about 50 feet. The oil-bearing portion, which
is 8 to 38 feet thick, is found near the bottom
of the formation. To the end of 1956 about
210 wells had been drilled, with 124 completed
as oil wells and 3 as gas wells. The average
initial daily production of the oil wells was
161 barrels, with initial daily productions
ranging from 4 to 1,440 barrels. In 1957 there
were about 57 active wells, which produced an
average of 20 barrels a day per well. Although
some water was being produced, most of it was
thought to be coming from sands other than
the Newcastle. Analyses of oil, gas, and
water from the Newcastle sandstone are given
on pages 447 to 449 and in table 9 (p. 296,
respectively).
The production in 1956 amounted to 343,299
barrels of oil and an estimated 755 million
cubic feet of gas. Cumulative production to
the end of 1956 totaled 2,003,954 barrels of oil
and an estimated 7,342 million cubic feet of
gas.
The oil is transported by pipeline to the
Mush Creek field, where connections may be
made with either the pipeline to Newcastle or
the one to Lance Creek field. Except for the
gas used as lease fuel, all of that produced with
the oil is vented. A 4-inch pipeline from the
gas wells in secs. 11 and 23 extends to the
town of Newcastle, where less than 1/ mil-
lion cubic feet a day of gas is marketed.
MUSKRAT
The Muskrat area (fig. 117) includes a series
of domes and fault blocks along a line of major
folding in the upper half of T. 33 N., R. 91
W., the northeast part of T. 33 N., R. 92 W.,
and the lower half of T. 34 N., R. 92 W., Fre-
mont County. The elevation ranges from 6,200
to 6,900 feet.
In 1928 a test well was drilled in the SE/
SE1/4 sec. 34, T. 34 N., R. 92 W., on the High
dome, and gas was discovered in the Frontier
formation at 4,290 to 4,300 feet. The initial
open-flow volume of the well was 47 million
cubic feet of gas a day and the shut-in well-
head pressure 1,430 p.s.i.
In 1936 and 1937 a well in the SW1/4NW1/4
sec. 1, T. 33 N., R. 92 W., on the Middle dome,
was drilled 8,112 feet to the Madison lime-
stone. The log of the well pictures the Fron-
tier formation at 4,205 to 4,750 feet, with
showings of oil and gas at 4,469 to 4,549 feet;
Dakota sandstone at 5,270 to 5,320 feet; Lakota
sandstone at 5,432 to 5,458 feet; Morrison for-
mation at 5,458 to 5,740 feet; Sundance for-
mation (containing water) at 5,935 to 6,188
feet; the top of the Embar lime at 7,225 feet187
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Biggs, Paul & Espach, Ralph H. Petroleum and Natural Gas Fields in Wyoming, report, 1960; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38797/m1/213/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.