Article reporting findings from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) conducted on a sample of lakes in the Northeastern United States from 1991 to 1996.

In developing the sampling strategy for the seven western states, the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) divided the region into geologic and physiographic provinces. A large part of the LLL region of responsibility lies within the arid to semi-arid Basin and Range province. This region is characterized as an area of rather complex geology with internal drainage. The desert-like conditions in many parts of this region result in a unique set of problems which requires a unique reconnaissance program. In this paper, I will describe some of the features of the LLL program which are keyed to the desert environment in the northern Basin and Range province.

The U.S. Department of Energy/Morgantown Energy Technology Center (DOE/METC) awarded a contract in 1991 to Prime Energy Corporation (PEC) to demonstrate the benefit of using horizontal wells to recover gas from low permeability formations. The project area was located in the Chittim field of Maverick County, Texas. The Lower Glen Rose Formation in the Chittim field was a promising horizontal well candidate based on the heterogenous nature of the reservoir (suggested by large well-to-well variances in reserves) and the low percentage of economical vertical wells. Since there was substantial evidence of reservoir heterogeneity, it was unknown whether the selected, wellsite would penetrate a reservoir with the desired properties for a horizontal well. Thus, an integrated team was formed to combine geologic analysis, seismic interpretation, reservoir engineering, reservoir simulation, and economic assessment to analyze the production potential and profitability of completing a horizontal well in the Lower Glen Rose formation.