289 Estimating Natural Resources Using Geoscience Data
Methods to estimate the availability, location, and quantity of natural resources (e.g., geothermal, petroleum, critical minerals) vary by resource type, scale, and data availability. This session addresses modeling that targets any of these aspects.
Wednesday, 22 October 2025
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, 302C
Preliminary Evaluation and Hydrocarbon Resource Assessment of the Barnett Shale in the Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico
Paper number: 289-9
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 4:10 PM – 4:30 PM
Authors
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Qiqi Wang Presenting AuthorBureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
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Shuvajit BhattacharyaBureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
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Timothy McMahonBureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Abstract
The Mississippian Barnett Formation is an emerging unconventional hydrocarbon play in the Permian Basin. This study presents an integrated assessment of hydrocarbon potential in Mississippian units, focusing on the Barnett Shale and Mississippian Lime. We analyze basin-wide stratigraphic architecture, including structural configuration, lithology, and thickness variations.
Over 3,000 interpreted well logs, integrated with Enerdeq data, were used to map Mississippian tops. The top of the Barnett Shale varies in subsea depth from ~7,000 ft along the western basin margin to >16,000 ft in the Tobosa Basin axis, shallowing toward the eastern basin. Isopach mapping reveals two main depocenters, though later deformation and erosion complicate the original depositional architecture. The primary depocenter trends from western Culberson County through Martin, Midland, and Howard Counties. Late Mississippian–Early Pennsylvanian tectonism associated with Midland and Delaware Basin development led to significant erosion, thinning, or removal of the Barnett across parts of the Central Basin Platform. East of the platform, thinning of the Barnett is accompanied by a corresponding thickening of the Mississippian Lime to the north, consistent with a transition to carbonate platform deposition. Clastic input likely originated from the west, as suggested by thinning trends to the east and south.
Current Barnett development is concentrated in Andrews, Ector, Martin, and Midland Counties, proximal to the northeastern portion of the main depocenter. This trend likely reflects favorable combinations of drilling depth, thickness, and liquid content. Sparse public production data outside the Alpine High suggest that the Barnett performs comparably to shallower Permian intervals but typically exhibits lower water cuts.
Our resource assessment effort began with structural and stratigraphic interpretation, wireline-based facies mapping, and petrophysical analysis using a multi-mineral solver calibrated to core data. Estimated properties include mineral volumes, porosity, water saturation, total organic carbon (TOC), and pore pressure. These results inform a 3D geo-cellular model of the Barnett core production area in Andrews, Ector, Martin, and Midland Counties, incorporating engineering inputs such as gas-oil ratio (GOR) and formation volume factors. The current phase concludes with estimation of original hydrocarbons in place, providing a framework for further evaluation of this emerging resource play.
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6
doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-413010
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