Structural, stratigraphic, and reservoir characteristics of natural gas production from the Boone Formation, Batson and Ozone fields, Arkoma Basin, western Arkansas

The Kinderhookian-Osagean Boone Formation is a fossiliferous limestone with considerable interbedded chert present across the Ozark shelf and northern Arkoma basin. The Boone Formation has produced more than 23.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas in northern Arkansas primarily from the Arkoma Basin. 68% of total Boone production is from Batson and Ozone fields.; Batson and Ozone fields have produced anomalous amounts of natural gas from the Boone Formation from two related fault/fold combination traps. These traps are present in a single east-west anticline, separated into a northern and southern trap by a central graben formed by east-west striking antithetic normal faults. A paleo-high, sub-aerial exposure, and karst processes during the post-Boone deposition unconformity are important factors in reservoir development. Production comes from a complex and highly anisotropic reservoir, where higher porosities are consistently associated with greater chert content. Core analysis suggests that porosity development in the chert is related to syn-depositional fracturing, brecciation and possible intermittent exposure.