Karst Features

Solution Enlarged Natural Fractures - Mississippian Reservoir, Kansas

Paleokarst Example

Shale-filled fractures have been interpreted at the top of the Mississippian in a horizontal well from central Ness County, Kansas (Carr et al., 2000). In this well, numerous near-vertical shales were identified at intervals of 10-100 ft along the lateral length of the well. These intervals were interpreted as solution-enlarged fractures extending down from the karst surface at the top of Mississippian that have been filled by Pennsylvanian shale of the Cherokee Formation (Carr et al., 2000). The shale-filled fractures provide a barrier to fluid flow in the reservoir.

Seismic Example | Surface Example | Paleokarst Example | Reservoir Implications