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Heat flow and thermal conductivity measurements in the northeastern Pennsylvania Appalachian Basin depocenter

Chelsea Rauch, Kyle Barrie, Steven C. Collins, Matthew J. Hornbach and Casey Brokaw
Heat flow and thermal conductivity measurements in the northeastern Pennsylvania Appalachian Basin depocenter
AAPG Bulletin (November 2018) 102 (11): 2155-2170

Abstract

The northern Appalachian Basin depocenter of Pennsylvania represents one of the most economically important hydrocarbon-producing areas in the United States, yet the thermal conditions that promoted hydrocarbon formation within the basin are only marginally constrained. The prolific coal, oil, and natural gas fields of Pennsylvania are the direct result of thermal maturation of once deeply buried organic-rich sediment. Understanding how, why, and where thermal maturation occurred in the Appalachian Basin requires high-quality heat flow and thermal conductivity measurements, as well as paleotemperature estimates and basin modeling. To improve the understanding of heat flow, we present, to our knowledge, the first direct measurements of (1) thermal conductivity on Devonian core samples and (2) equilibrium temperature versus depth logs for the northern Appalachian Basin depocenter. Results from three well sites demonstrate that heat flow is conductive and nearly uniform, averaging 34 + or - 2.5 mW/m2, with an average thermal gradient of 29 + or - 4 degrees C/km. The new heat-flow measurements are significantly lower (30%-50% less) than previously published estimates that used nonequilibrium bottomhole temperature values and empirically derived thermal conductivity estimates. Our analysis indicates that previous studies correctly estimated the regional thermal gradient using bottomhole temperatures but overestimated heat flow in this region by as much as 50% because of inaccurate extrapolation of thermal conductivity. The results highlight the importance of directly measuring thermal conductivity to accurately quantify heat flow in deep sedimentary basins. Ultimately, additional paleotemperature data are necessary to improve our understanding of Appalachian Basin thermal evolution.


ISSN: 0149-1423
EISSN: 1558-9153
Coden: AABUD2
Serial Title: AAPG Bulletin
Serial Volume: 102
Serial Issue: 11
Title: Heat flow and thermal conductivity measurements in the northeastern Pennsylvania Appalachian Basin depocenter
Affiliation: Southern Methodist University, Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Dallas, TX, United States
Pages: 2155-2170
Published: 201811
Text Language: English
Publisher: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, OK, United States
References: 55
Accession Number: 2018-086927
Categories: Economic geology, geology of energy sourcesApplied geophysics
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Illustration Description: illus. incl. strat. cols., 4 tables, sketch maps
N41°15'00" - N42°00'00", W77°00'00" - W75°30'00"
Secondary Affiliation: Chief Oil & Gas, USA, United StatesRees-Jones Holdings LLC, USA, United States
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2019, American Geosciences Institute. Reference includes data from GeoScienceWorld, Alexandria, VA, United States
Update Code: 201848
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