Reservoirs and hydrocarbons of the Narge Creek block: Anatomy of a field extension in a mature area

REYNOLDS, DOUGLAS W., JR., Reynolds Resources, Inc., Owensboro, KY

The Narge Creek block is a northward extension of the Anton Consolidated field in Hopkins County, Kentucky. The discovery well was drilled in December of 1989. The field is located in the southern Illinois Basin in the Moorman syncline The field is situated within a system of faults that cross the Moorman syncline obliquely.
Examination of cross-sections of the field area, detailed log excerpts of the productive zones, and maps of the field and surrounding area show an assortment of the reservoir zones that are typical of the southern Illinois Basin. Gas occurs in five Pennsylvanian zones and in the Mississippian Tar Springs Sandstone. Oil is present in Mississippian rocks, in the Tar Springs Sandstone and the Meramecan "Ohara" and "McClosky" ooid grainstones. The reservoirs are combination structural-stratigraphic traps. Among the Pennsylvanian reservoirs, the majority of gas has been produced from two zones in the upper part of the Tradewater Fmn. The McClosky has accounted for about 75% of the total oil, the Ohara about 22%, and the Tar Springs about 3%.
Oil samples recovered at Narge Creek have geochemical characteristics that are typical of other oils in the area, New Albany Shale is thought to be the source rock. A sample of degraded oil recovered from a Pennsylvanian zone had a biomarker signature that was essentially identical to the oil recovered from the Mississippian reservoirs. The presence of the many reservoirs in the Narge Creek block is a demonstration that excellent exploration potential exists in mature areas.

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