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New KGS Cross Section Will Help the Search for Oil and Gas in Western Kentucky
CONTACT: Mike Lynch, Kentucky Geological Survey, (859) 257-5500 ext. 128
Lexington, KY (January 24, 2006) -- Using records and information from seven exploratory wells and several seismic profiles, two geologists with the Kentucky Geological Survey at the University of Kentucky have developed a cross section of the geology along a 200-mile path through western Kentucky which could be significant for exploration for oil and gas in the region.
The resulting publication, Lithostratigraphy of Precambrian and Paleozoic Rocks along Structural Cross Section KY-1, Crittenden County to Lincoln County , Kentucky , represents the first time the data has been combined and analyzed in a single manuscript.
The cross section, called KY-1, is one of eleven such technical investigations of the Illinois Basin , which underlies western Kentucky as well as parts of Illinois and Indiana . The geological surveys of the three states ( Kentucky , Illinois and Indiana ) created the Illinois Basin Consortium about 17 years ago to better understand the deep geology of the basin through such studies.
“The primary value of this work is for further exploration for oil and gas,” says the lead investigator, Martin C. Noger, a noted geologist with a broad knowledge of Kentucky geology who retired from the state survey in 1993. “The potential for oil and gas in this region is very good in the deeper horizons. But we need to take a more detailed look at the basin as a whole and put everything together.”
Noger and KGS Energy and Minerals Section Head James Drahovzal used a large number of well records gathered from the exploratory wells to interpret the relationships of the shallower rocks (down to about 3,000 feet) with those much deeper (up to 30,000 feet), through the interpretation of numerous seismic-survey data points.
“This publication offers a quick way get some ideas of where resources might be present in the deep geology, especially for companies from out of state who may be coming in to explore for oil and gas,” says Drahovzal. “Shallower areas have been explored, but now with the high oil and natural gas prices, companies are looking at deeper basins--like this one--which are tremendously under-explored across the U.S. ”
Deep basins are typically the earth's storehouses of the source rocks for oil and gas, but more exploration will be needed in this area to confirm the presence of these resources.
KGS recently received a grant from the Kentucky Office of Energy Policy to organize of consortium of energy resource companies to further study the Rough Creek Graben, which lies in the western portion of KY-1, for possible oil and gas reserves. The KY-1 cross section publication will be useful for that project, which will use company contributions and possibly federal grants to foster more detailed exploration of the Rough Creek Graben.
The 29-page publication including the 36 inch x 47 inch cross section itself can be downloaded from the KGS web site, http://www.uky.edu/KGS/, or purchased for $12 plus sales tax and shipping from the Public Information Center at KGS by calling ( 859) 257-3896 or toll-free (877) 778-7827 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.