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Edmonson County Oil Boom

In west-central Kentucky, a relatively shallow oil play in southern and western Edmonson County has been receiving national attention. The reservoirs of the Nick, Rhoda, and Arthur fields are formed by a combination of stratigraphic pinchout and fracturing in a dolomitzed zone near the base of the Devonian Clear Creek formation. Drilling depth averages 1,355 feet. Since 1992, oil production has increased steadily to more than 129 thousand barrels. In 1996, Edmonson ranked ninth in the top ten producing counties in Kentucky. Reported initial production rates are in excess of 100 barrels of oil per day for some wells. The typical well, however, is estimated to average less than five barrels of oil per day. In general, it is expected that additional resources may be located in reservoirs that pinch out along the flanks of gravity and magnetic highs, especially in areas of faulting and fracturing associated with the southern boundary of the Rough Creek Graben.

• Active oil pools of Edmonson County
• Edmonson County Production History
• Type Geophysical Log

Definitions:

Play

A group of geologically similar producing zones or prospects that have the same source-reservoir-trap controls and share common elements of risk.

Barrel

A standard measure of liquid hydrocarbons equal to 42 gallons. The abbreviation for barrel is "bbl". In the early development of the petroleum industry, the 40 gallon barrel used by many industries was increased to 42 gallons to compensate the buyer for evaporation during transport. Because of significant fraud and misrepresentation, the only barrels guaranteed to be 42 barrels were the blue barrels manufactured for and used by Standard Oil. Thus the standard measure for oil became the blue 42-gallon barrel or "bbl".