Show I Uintah County To r 0 See Much Oil Od Oil ActiVity Imminent Geologist Describes Areas Area's Future Prospects By RAY HAY E COLTON Petroleum Geologist At this writing it becomes easily r raSP aSP ad that both the Utah and Colorado sides d of the vast Uintah Basin are in for a abig abig big plays insofar as the field petroleum industry independents independents dents and majors alike are con con- concerned And Vernal is rapidly becom becom- becoming ing the oil oU capital of this Ws vast mountain inter-mountain domain ing comprising Uintah-Duchesne Uintah counties 9 Utah and Moffat and Rio Blan Blan- Blanco Blanco co counties Colorado In the Artesla Artesia area building is on the increase and many re re- re residences residences are under construction to take care of the large influx of oil field workers officials ge ge- ge geologists geologists field geophysical crews etc necessary for field opera opera- operations of the petroleum industry New Now Geologic Elimination Process to b be Used The writer will enlighten our readers as to what geological operations are planned for the future in the Artesia Artesla Rangely Vernal V ernal Jensen Craig and oth oth- other oth- oth other er areas of both Utah and Colo Colo- Colorado rado redo sides aides of the Uintah Basin The Uintah Basin covers ap ap- approximately ap- ap approximately proximately square miles mUes of northwestern Colorado and adjacent northeastern Utah be be- be- be being being ing largely a major structural basin lying between major up up- lifts uplifts and abutting against the m faulted Wasatch mountains on r the west we in Utah It is believed on the basis of late geophysical re re- re records re- re records cords of field exploration of this type performed in the Roosevelt Roosevelt- Vernal V ernal areas during the summer and fall of 1946 that at least feet of strata are present in the deeper parts of the Uintah Basin along the Utah Colorado o state j easy east eal Of W Vem the Attesi Artesia lv V ey I i area a s strata r e In ge logic antiquity from the e 1 Cambrian period of the major Paleozoic geologic area through the Mesozoic and into the Mio Mio- Miocene Miocene cene period of the Tertiary epoch of the major Cenozoic era era The Continued on page 10 Uintah Oil Continued from page 9 Paleozoic section beneath the Basin is found to be as asI ae I follows Largely thick continental sandstone and shale marine sea limestone and some local loca evaporates The Mesozoic strata mata beds of the age which followed the Paleozoic era In geologic se se- se sequence sequence quence are found to be DC compos com ed ad in the main of continental sandstone and shale at the top tat and bottom with intervening shale zones The Tertiary sec sec- section tion Lion which is composed of strata strati representative of the ma major of Cenozoic geologic era which fol tol- tol of lowed the Mesozoic b m 6 geologic sequence q n is found to be compos comoa po da ed of sandstone and shale e Thus we have beneath the Uintah Basin both on the Utah as well as the Colorado sides a grand array of strata represent represent- representIng representing ing not only three major periods of the geologic record as well as several sub periods but hund hund- hundred hundreds reds red of millions of years in an an- an antiqUity In the strata herein dis dis- discussed discussed cussed lies not only the oil producing Weber and Shinar Shinar- ump series of strata but others such uch as the Paradox series of of- of offering fering flOring potential petroleum pro pro- production production but as yet untested by bythe bythe the agency of the drill It is interesting ting to note that in the area n rth from Artesla Artesia In Moffat county Colorado the unconformity at several sev ral places places Is of particular interest to seek seek- seekers seekers ers of new producing oil areas are in the Uintah Basin and this is that between the pre pre-Cambri- preCambrian an and overlapping strata beds beds ordinarily ordinarily Ju Triassic Tr Ju wedges wedges of intervening beds appear in short distances away from points of exposed overlap overlap Locally however on the Utah side in the Jensen Vernal Vernal Jensen areas areal geologic research indicates that that older strata beds rest on the pre- pre preCambrian preCambrian preCambrian Cambrian strata beds and that most Tertiary formations in the Uintah Basin have un un- un unconformities conformities at their base Future field geologic exploration exploration tion of the surface type planned for the Artesia Wiley Resort- Resort Rangely areas of Moffat and Rio Blanco counties Colorado and the Vernal-Jensen Vernal areas aneas a as of Uin tah county Utah will wUl be govern govern- governed governed ed by an elimination process as follows 1 The I-The The Impossible areas for petroleum rocks 2 2 Possible Possible petroleum areas 3 Favorable 3 difo Favorable YO petroleum areas rt Editors Editor's Not Notes 1 This is the hat first of a aeries teries of six ix articles writ writ- written written ten by Mr Colton Collon exclusive for the Iho Vernal Express |