s 14. GS: CIR 553 c a Cntm Su-rujex^ STATE OF ILLINOIS WILLIAM G. STRATTON, Governor DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION VERA M. BINKS, Director TISKILWA DRIFT-GAS AREA Bureau and Putnam Counties, Illinois Wayne F. Meents DIVISION OF THE ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY JOHN C. FRYE, Chief URBANA CIRCULAR 253 ILLINOIS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY LIBRARY JUN 10 1958 1958 ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 3 3051 00003 8756 TISKILWA DRIFT-GAS AREA Bureau and Putnam Counties, Illinois Wayne F. Meents ABSTRACT The Tiskilwa drift-gas area, adjacent to the "Big Bend" in the Illinois River in Bureau and Putnam counties, Illinois, has 49 producing drift-gas wells scattered over nearly 28 square miles. The noncommercial gas, which is used for farmhouse heating and cooking units, comes from the SankotySand of the Pleistocene Sys- tem. The slightly consolidated sand was deposited as a partial fill in the Ancient Mississippi Valley and crops out along the Illi- nois River bluffs. The gas apparently is contaminated with air near the river bluffs but is purer farther back from the bluff line, as indi- cated by 30 gas gravity samples. Records of gas well pressures and barometric pressures show close correlation. INTRODUCTION The Tiskilwa gas area, directly southwest of the "Big Bend" of the Illinois River between the towns of Tiskilwa in Bureau County and Putnam in Putnam County is one of sixty drift-gas areas in Illinois (fig. 1). There are 457 produc- ing drift-gas wells in Illinois, 250 of which are flowing pressure wells and 207 vacuum pumped wells. Of the producers, 249 have been tested for volume capaci- ties and pressures. The majority of the wells are producing gas from a well devel- oped Sangamon soil zone where it underlies morainic ridges of glacial drift. The Tiskilwa gas-producing area covers about 28 square miles and has 51 gas wells, 49 of which produce gas from the Sankoty Sand and only two of which produce from the Sangamon Soil. The first gas well drilled in the Tiskilwa area, which was drilled about 50 years ago, was a flowing pressure well. The 49 wells producing gas from the Sankoty Sand are now vacuum pumped although they will flow under slight pres- sure on days when the atmospheric pressure is low. Well-head pressures and suctions, barometric pressures, and air temperatures have been recorded and charted (fig. 7). There is nearly perfect correlation between the three sets of readings, especially gas pressure versus barometric pressure. STRATIGRAPHY In the area under discussion most of the Pleistocene deposits (fig. 2) are typical for northeastern Illinois. An oil test hole in the SW 1/4 SW 1/4 NE 1/4 sec. 24, T. 15 N., R. 9 E., Bureau County, penetrated formations to a total depth of 1045 feet, and a detailed description (by Horberg, 1953) of the drilling samples through the Pleistocene deposits follows. [1] ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Fig. 1. - Drift-gas in northeastern Illinois (solid black), by Meents, 1958 shown in relation to glacial geology (Ekblaw, 1942). TISKILWA DRIFT-GAS AREA THICKNESS AVER MAX MATERIAL ORIGIN 100 300 Till, grovel, sand, silt, loess Sill, loess, peat i 75 150 Till, grovel, sand 5 50 Silt, peot Till, grovel, sond Silt, peat 50 75 Till, grovel, sond 100 300 Sand, grovel, silt Glacial moraines, outwash deposits, wind-blown loess Wind deposits Wind, streom, pond, ond swamp deposits Weothered zone Glacial moroines, outwosh Stream, pond, swamp, ond 7 wind deposits Weothered zone Glacial moraines, outwash Streom, pond, swamp, and 7 wind deposits Weothered zone Glacial moroines, outwosh Stream deposits, probably outwash Fig. 2. - Graphic section of Pleistocene deposits in northeastern Illinois (after Horberg, 1953, p. 11). ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thickness Feet Pleistocene System Wisconsin drift Tazewell loess Silt, calcareous, oxidized, yellow Same, some sand grains Tazewell drift Till, calcareous, oxidized, yellow Gravel, up to 1 inch, sandy, calcareous, buff to gray Same, largely granular Sand, medium to coarse, gravelly, calcareous, yellow to gray Gravel, granular, sandy, yellow to gray Same, very silty, partly cemented Sand, medium to coarse, and granular gravel, calcareous, yellow to gray Same, gravel up to 1/2 inch Granular gravel, sandy, calcareous, yellow to gray Sand, fine to coarse, gravelly, clean, calcareous Illinoian (?) drift Till, calcareous, pinkish-gray Sand, fine to coarse, some granular gravel, gray Till, calcareous, pinkish gray Till, calcareous, silty, gray Sand, fine to medium, calcareous, gray Pre-Illinoian drift (Sankoty) Silt and sand, slightly calcareous, oxidized, yellow, coherent Sand, medium to coarse, largely quartz, numerous polished rounded pink grains, partly cemented, some gravel (gas zone) Gravel, up to 3/8 inch, oxidized grains, some sand Sand, as above, silty Sand, as above, coarse, some granular gravel, clean Sand, as above, coarse, gravelly, slightly silty Gravel, up to 3/8 inch, angular, mixed lithographic, clean Sand, as above, coarse, some granular gravel, clean 12 20 Depth Feet 12 3 15 3 18 3 21 4 25 3 28 5 33 4 37 8 45 25 70 24 94 7 101 39 140 12 152 158 170 190 10 200 25 225 10 235 15 250 10 260 5 265 TISKILWA DRIFT-GAS AREA Pennsylvanian System Shale, carbonaceous, pyritic, black Limestone, medium crystalline, light gray Shale, silty, sandy, light gray, sideritic Sandstones, limestones, and shales Devonian System Silurian System Limestone Dolomite Thickness Feet Depth Feet 5 270 10 280 5 155 285 440 30 470 540 1010 Ordovician System Maquoketa Formation Shale 35 1045 Several outcrop sections along the bluffs of Bureau Creek were studied by Leland Horberg (1953) and a typical description follows. The section is in the bank on the southwest side of Bureau Creek Valley at its junction with Illinois Valley, NE 1/4 SE 1/4 SW 1/4 sec. 18, T. 15 N., R. 10 E., Bureau County. Pleistocene System Wisconsin (Bloomington-Normal) drift Till, calcareous, pink Illinoian drift Till, calcareous, partly oxidized at top, brown to slate gray Till, calcareous, slate gray Silt, calcareous, yellow Till, calcareous, slate gray Till, calcareous, yellowish brown Sand, medium, pebbly, buff, horizontal bedding Till, calcareous, brown Sankoty Sand (gas zone) Sand, medium to coarse, buff with pink tint, about 9 percent quartz; well sorted, numerous rounded, polished and frosted grains; abundant pink grains with hematitic coatings, current cross-bedding, some pebbles Thickness Feet Inches 19 26 Another oil test hole, 1/4 NE 1/4 NW 1/4 sec. 9, following rock formations. the Fogerty No. 1 Magoon Kane, drilled in the NE T. 14 N., R. 9 E., Bureau County, encountered the Thickness Depth Feet Feet 163 163 103 266 174 440 60 500 505 1005 185 1190 67 1257 ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Pleistocene System Wisconsin and Illinoian drifts Sankoty Sand (gas zone) Pennsylvanian System Devonian System Silurian System Ordovician System Maquoketa Formation Galena "Trenton" Formation GAS-PRODUCING ZONE The Sankoty Sand of the Pleistocene System is the gas-producing zone in this area (figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4). The sand is slightly consolidated, medium to coarse, buff to pinkish, and extends as a valley fill the full length of the An- cient Mississippi Valley through central Illinois. The top of the Sankoty Sand ranges in elevation from 455 to 555 feet. In the Tiskilwa area the top of the gas sand in the producing wells ranges from 470 feet to 5 32 feet in depth, the average being about 500 feet. Two wells shown in figure 5, with elevations on top of the gas sand at 610 feet in the SE 1/4 sec. 7, T. 14 N., R. 9 E., Bureau County, and at 603 feet in sec. 28, T. 14 N., R. 9 E., Bureau County, are producing from upper sands probably associated with the Sangamon Soil. All of the gas wells are free of water except those which have faulty casings. Water is reached, usually at the 4 60-foot elevation level, directly below the gas sand. The Illinois River floodplain and associated lakes range in elevation from about 450 feet to 460 feet, which accounts for the water in the gas wells being below the 460-foot level. The gas may have originated from the decomposition of organic matter, such as old peat beds, or possibly from the coal beds that lie about 55 feet be- low the base of the gas sand. Wood chips in the Sankoty Sand have been found in drilling samples taken from several of the wells in the area, evidence that favors the theory that the gas is derived from the decomposition of organic mat- ter.' METHOD OF SAMPLING Gas samples were collected in evacuated 9 6 cubic inch steel bottles un- der pressure, the same as those used by aviators for oxygen supplies. Pressure was obtained by pumping the gas into the bottles with a hydraulic double -check valve pump. Gas systems in most of the homes operate on pressures of 1/4 pound to 1/2 pound per square inch. Samples, therefore, had to be pumped up to at least 10 pounds per square inch for gravity analysis and up to 20 or more pounds per square inch for complete Orsat analysis. In most systems the sam- ple was obtained from the output side of the gas holder, although in a few cases connections were made directly to the output side of the rotary vacuum pump (fig. 6). Gas samples were analyzed by the Illinois State Geological Survey's laboratory in Urbana. TISKILWA DRIFT-GAS AREA "^ Dry hole, oil test ^s~700 Surfoce contour, interval 100 feet Fig. 5. - Drift-gas wells and gas gravities in the Tiskilwa area. 10 ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GAS GRAVITIES The specific gravity of gases in this area was measured by the effusion method, using the U. S. Bureau of Standards type of specific gravity apparatus. The effusion method is the comparison of the specific gravity of a gas to the specific gravity of air, air being 1.00 and pure methane being 0.55. The gas gravities measured compared favorably with the calculated gravities calculated from the Orsat absorption analyses (table 1). The gravities of this type of gas are governed by the amount of nitrogen versus the amount of methane, other constituents being minor. The more methane present, the lighter the gas (the lower the gravity number on fig. 5), and vice versa. Some contamination could have resulted from vacuum pump oil vapors passing into the gas sampling pump, but such contamination would not affect the gravity readings. GRAVITY MAP Gas gravities vary from low in the western part of the Tiskilwa area, where the overburden is thick, to high in the eastern part, where the overburden is thin (fig. 5). The Sankoty Sand crops out along the Illinois River bluffs at about 500 feet above sea level and extends west and southwest into the gas-produc- ing area. Near the river bluff exposures, the gas is contaminated by air so that a lower quality of gas is produced in the marginal wells. For simplicity, gas gravities (fig. 5) are shown without the decimal point, because all figures are less that 1.00. Gravities range from a low of 58 in sec. 27, T. 14 N., R. 9 E., to a high of 94 in sec. 25, T. 15 N., R. 9 E., near the river bluff. The 94 gravity gas is not "burnable. " The highest gravity gas that is burnable (92) is found in sec. 21, T. 15 N. R. 9 E., and can be used only for furnace heat. The high-gravity gas will not burn in a cookstove or a standard gas furnace because of its low methane con- tent, but it can be used in a specially constructed furnace that must be started with a blow torch or an oil-soaked rag. Another well in the SE 1/4 sec. 35, T. 15 N. , R. 9 E., is similar but has a gas gravity of 88. Figure 5 shows lines of equal gas gravities, which indicate that the gas is purer on the west side of the area and under high ridges that extend east or northeast toward the Illinois River valley than it is near the river bluffs. The high nitrogen content of gas from wells near the river bluff is due to the entry of air through the outcrop of the gas sand. Several deep ravines along the Illinois River cliff have springs that bub- ble gas, according to some of the local farmers. In such situations the San- koty Sand is probably covered with a few feet of wet surface soil which causes gas bubbling. In the areas of purer gas the overburden above the gas horizon measures as much as 215 feet thick, but in the more contaminated marginal cliff-line wells the overburden is as thin as 140 feet. GAS PRESSURES The readings shown in the graph (fig. 7) were recorded by Mr. Alvin Al- brecht, a farmer, whose home is in the NE 1/4 NE 1/4 NW 1/4 of sec. 34, T. 15 N., R. 9 E., Bureau County. Mr. Albrecht was a part-time water well driller for many years and has given valuable information on the subsurface of the area. TISKILWA DRIFT-GAS AREA 11 Table 1. - Gas Analyses A. Magoon Kane SW NW SW 9-14N-9E, Bureau County Absorption Method (Orsat) Carbon dioxide Illuminants Oxygen Carbon monoxide Hydrogen Methane Ethane Nitrogen Total 100.0 Specific gravity BTU per cubic foot Calculated = 0. 65 Gross = 773.0 Measured =0.67 Net =696.0 Percent 0. ,6 0. ,9 0. 8 0. ,0 0. 6 73. 3 0. 7 23. , 1 B. Tom Lawson (Mark Vail) SW NW SE 21-15N-9E, Bureau County Absorption Method (Orsat) Percent Carbon dioxide 0.79 Illuminants 0.00 Oxygen 0.34 Carbon monoxide 0.11 Hydrogen 0.11 Methane 16.82 Ethane 0.00 Nitrogen 81.83 Total 100.00 Specific gravity BTU per cubic foot Calculated = 0.90 Gross = 170.9 Measured =0.91 Net = 153.8 12 ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Table 1. - Continued C. Alvin Albrecht NE NE NW 34-15N-9E, Bureau County Absorption Method (Orsat) Percent Carbon dioxide Illuminants Oxygen Carbon monoxide Hydrogen Methane Ethane Nitrogen 0. 6 0. 1 1. ,0 0, ,4 0. 1 57. ,9 1. ,3 38. ,6 Total 100.0 Specific gravity BTU per cubic foot Calculated = 0.73 Gross =612.6 Measured = 0.77 Net = 551.9 D. Ben Nordstrom SW SW NE 35-15N-9E, Bureau County Absorption Method (Orsat) Carbon dioxide Illuminants Oxygen Carbon monoxide Hydrogen Methane Ethane Nitrogen Percent 0. 43 0. 06 0. ,18 0. 25 0. 25 32. 82 0. 00 66. 01 Total 100.00 Specific gravity BTU per cubic foot Calculated =0.83 Gross = 343.5 Measured =0.84 Net =309.1 TISKILWA DRIFT-GAS AREA 13 ROOF OF CELLAR CEILING ETC. WIRES TO ELECTRIC MOTOR VACUUM PUMP RUBBER HOSE. // FLOAT IS WEIGHTED {-f ^^ TO INCREASE PRESSURE XT GAS FLOAT LIQUID SEAL IN SYSTEM GAS HOLDER WATER OR KEROSENE 3' TO 4' IN DIA. GAS OIL DRIP 0^ WIRES TO MERCURY SWITCH STAND GAS OIL FILLING CAP / OIL 3" OR 4" PIPE NIPPLE DRAIN PLUG ,TO WELL Fig. 6. - Typical vacuum gas pump installation. Figure 8 is a sketch of Mr. Albrecht's well hookup showing the glass U-tube with oil levels that fluctuate according to well pressures and atmospheric changes, He recorded the well pressure in inches of oil up or down, the barometric pres- sure, and the air temperature twice a day, at 7:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M., from November 16, 1949, through January 9, 1950. The aneroid barometer lent to Mr. Albrecht by the Geological Survey was checked against a mercury barometer and was found to have been .68 inch too high. As the increments were accurate, however, the chart figures need only be corrected for the . 68 -inch difference. A close correlation appears between the gas pressure and the barometer readings, and a fairly close correlation between the gas pressure and the air temperature. About a fourth of the time during the recording period the well was flowing gas, but the other three-fourths of the time the well was under suction. Well pressures ranged from a low of -10.4 inches of oil to a high of +6.7 inches or a total of 17.1 inches of oil. Barometric pressures ranged from a low of 29.7 3 inches to a high of 30.55 inches, or a total of 0.82 inch. Air temperatures ranged from a low of 4°F. to a high of 59° F. or a total of 55°. Mr. Albrecht's well has been producing gas for nearly 50 years and was a good continuous flowing gas well for about 25 years. Gas wells in this area 14 ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY &H JO S3H0NI 3anss3dd oiaiswodss N^ S «cZ ^ ^ --- -- < . x s ^ O "*»«,, ~ IJ- F o: h => W CO ■^5* 2 to .- — * O LlI "«= X. ^ sr tr. ' < a. m v ^c _. _ — &^~ „ ** ~ — - ^ "" / _l LlI -- *" -i a: m. "•-*... .» ^^-« CO - ■ sr J2-^ ■v. 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* CD > 5 c: 3 O 10 a> O ■g _c 3 c 10 ro o 0) E a a „ m D> O C LT> • X) r— < w id m & ro a: 0) c » f. 10 Z o in u m XI en H m ^H It) ^r In CO Dl ID XI c/i h u 0) m a> Ih s l/> u. o 3 2 0) :f X) 5 id a (0 O 6 ■a c Li (-> u £ CD o <■? VTJ0 S3HDNI-3anSS3idd "I13M do 3MniVd3dW31 aiw TISKILWA DRIFT-GAS AREA 15 RUBBER HOSE OPEN /0=n DUST CAP (( lik GLASS U-TUBE oil-: ^P GROUND VALVE —GAS WELL LEVEL — TO_VACUUM_ PUMP J 1 Fig. 8. - Typical gas well U-tube installation. will flow enough gas for furnace use only In times of high well pressures. Vacuum pumps are, therefore, used continuously. The producing formation in the drift-gas area near Danvers, about 50 miles south of Tiskilwa, has a continuous vacuum pull of 14.3 inches of mercury. Forty wells within the city limits are pumping against this vacuum. REFERENCES Ekblaw, George E., 1942, Map of glacial geology in northeastern Illinois. Horberg, Leland, 1950, Bedrock topography of Illinois: Illinois Geol. Survey Bull. 73. Horberg, Leland, 195 3, Pleistocene deposits below the Wisconsin drift in northeastern Illinois: Illinois Geol. Survey Rept. Inv. 165. Illinois State Geological Survey Circular 25 3 15 p., 8 figs., 1 table, 1958 CIRCULAR 253 ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY UKD f\ IN f\ i^u™w*«is&i 1 1 4