USGS Open-File Report 2012–1254: Vitrinite Reflectance Data for Cretaceous Marine Shales and Coals in the Bighorn Basin, North-Central Wyoming and South-Central Montana

Vitrinite Reflectance Data for Cretaceous Marine Shales and Coals in the Bighorn Basin, North-Central Wyoming and South-Central Montana

By Mark J. Pawlewicz and Thomas M. Finn

Abstract

The Bighorn Basin is a large Laramide (Late Cretaceous through Eocene) structural and sedimentary basin that encompasses about 10,400 square miles in north-central Wyoming and south-central Montana. The purpose of this report is to present new vitrinite reflectance data collected from Cretaceous marine shales and coals in the Bighorn Basin to better characterize the thermal maturity and petroleum potential of these rocks. Ninety-eight samples from Lower Cretaceous and lowermost Upper Cretaceous strata were collected from well cuttings from wells stored at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Core Research Center in Lakewood, Colorado.

First posted December 19, 2012

Report PDF (2.29 MB)

For additional information contact:
Director, Central Energy Resources Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
Box 25046, MS-939
Denver Federal Center
Denver, CO 80225-0046
http://energy.usgs.gov/

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Suggested citation:

Pawlewicz, M.J., and Finn, T.M., 2012, Vitrinite reflectance data for Cretaceous marine shales and coals in the Bighorn Basin, north-central Wyoming and south-central Montana: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012–1254, 11 p.

Contents

Introduction

References Cited