Potential targets for shale-oil and shale-gas exploration in Arizona

The recent development of horizontal drilling techniques and application of hydraulic fracturing to horizontal wells has dramatically increased oil and gas production in the U.S., notably in areas with extensive organic-rich shale and calcareous shale deposits. Shale formations that contain hydrocarbons without sufficient porosity and permeability to yield economic amounts of oil and gas with conventional drilling techniques are being reconsidered in light of these technological advances. In this report we identify 10 rock formations in Arizona that consist dominantly of shale or phyllite (very low grade metamorphic shale) that represent potential areas of interest for shale-oil and shale-gas exploration (Table 1, Fig. 1). Many of these units are weakly metamorphosed, and are perhaps too thermally mature to contain recoverable oil or gas in known exposures. However, lateral equivalents of these units may be less metamorphosed and so contain recoverable hydrocarbons. These equivalents could be present but concealed, especially in structurally complex areas in southeastern Arizona.Documents in the AZGS Document Repository collection are made available by the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) and the University Libraries at the University of Arizona. For more information about items in this collection, please contact azgs-info@email.arizona.edu