The Illinois Basin is located in portions of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Major oil production began in 1905 in the basin, and since then has produced more than 4 billion barrels of oil. The basin is composed of predominantly conventional reservoirs that are generally oil prone with small amounts of non-commercial associated gas. More recent non-conventional shale gas exploration in the New Albany Shale has been confined to the eastern portion of the basin. Most oil reservoirs in the basin are considered conventional, although new frac techniques and horizontal drilling are changing the way producers approach the basin.
The Anadarko Basin is one of 50 basins worldwide that meets the criteria of a “super basin,” which includes those with cumulative production exceeding 5 billion barrels of oil equivalent production (“BOE”), and a recovery potential of more than 5 billion BOE. The Anadarko Basin is the deepest sedimentary basin in the cratonic interior of North America, with over 40,000 feet of sedimentary rock deposition covering parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and the Texas panhandle. A key aspect of the Anadarko Basin’s sedimentary geology is the number of porous and permeable rocks available for oil and gas accumulations. Approximately 50 giant fields are located in the greater Anadarko Basin, and this number is increasing with the expansion of unconventional plays. Cumulative production in the basin is estimated at 50 billion BOE, with future production recovery estimates of 50 billion BOE when considering unconventional reservoir drilling potential.
We are often reminded by a profound statement made by Parke A. Dickey in 1958, a renowned petroleum geologist who stated, "we usually find oil in new places with old ideas. Sometimes, also, we find oil in an old place with a new idea, but we seldom find much oil in an old place with an old idea. Several times in the past we have thought that we were running out of oil, whereas actually we were running out of ideas." We take this quote to heart as we apply new technologies to the Illinois and Anadarko Basins.