American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.
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Five different chemical types of water are found in the Oklahoma panhandle area, each type characteristic of a particular geological zone. The Permian of the Hugoton-Panhandle field contains concentrated chloride-calcium brine, which resembles normal connate water except that it is unusually rich in sulfate (Type V). The Pennsylvanian sands above the Morrow (Lansing, Pennsylvanian sands above the Morrow (Lansing, Tonkawa, and Toronto) contain normal chloride-calcium connate water (Type Y). The Oswego sands contain similar water, somewhat less concentrated (Type W). The Morrow sands contain three different types: in Cimarron County, Okla., a high-sulfate, chloride-calcium brine resembling Type V (Type X); in Texas County, the normal chloride-calcium brine (Type Y); and in Beaver County eastward to Blaine County, a very strange, dilute water containing appreciable amounts of carbonate and sulfate (Type Z).
The origin of the different chemical types is quite puzzling. The dilute waters of Type Z are especially anomalous, for they resemble meteoric waters chemically, although there is no hydrodynamic circulation at the present time. They may be ancient meteoric waters trapped by the uplift of the Amarillo-Wichita mountains shortly after deposition of the Morrow sediment or they may be "immature" connote waters similar to those reported from the abnormally pressured areas of the Gulf Coast Tertiary.
Deep subsurface waters associated with the oil and gas of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles vary widely in their chemical composition. Those of the Morrow are especially interesting because they range from strong chloride-calcium brine with the total solids content of 100,000 to 200,000 mg/liter, to relatively fresh bicarbonate-sodium waters with a total solids content of 10,000 to 30,000 mg,/liter.
Connote waters have been defined as waters that have been removed from the hydrologic cycle by burial in sediments for substantial periods of geologic time. They must be remains of ancient sea water, but their composition is drastically altered. Normally they lack bicarbonate and sulfate, and are much more concentrated than sea water. The concentration often increases with depth and age.
Meteoric waters may be defined as waters that have been part of the hydrologic cycle recently, geologically speaking. They are usually circulating, entering the aquifer (waterbearing permeable formation) at an outcrop of high elevation and leaving it at a low elevation. Chemically, they are comparatively fresh and vary widely in composition.
