142:. Most of the land area within these islands – much of which is below sea level – consists of agricultural fields protected by levees constructed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Drilling and maintenance pads for the gas wells are interspersed among agricultural fields, recreational areas, vacation homes, and waterways. Elevations on the gas field range from around 180 feet (55 m) in the Montezuma Hills southwest of Rio Vista to around ten feet below sea level in parts of the Delta islands protected by levees. Ground has been slowly subsiding in these areas for decades, due to a combination of
163:
20:
205:, the Midland Fault, cuts through the middle of the field from north to south, and numerous small faults intersect the field elsewhere. Vertical offset along the Midland Fault of the Domengine Formation, one of the major gas-bearing rock units, is up to 500 feet. The eastern boundary of the field is demarcated by the Isleton Fault.
194:, have allowed for the formation of numerous natural gas reservoirs in the Basin. These reservoirs have filled with gas by slow accumulation, with gas migrating from distant source rock over millions of years. The Rio Vista, at the southern end of the Sacramento Basin, is the largest of these regional gas fields.
262:
Occasional conflicts have occurred over land use in the field. While developers of the 3,000-home
Trilogy retirement community north of Rio Vista owned surface rights to the land they intended to use for the planned community, Amerada Hess retained mineral rights, and their successor Calpine desired
230:
field had to be converted to an oil pipeline, creating an immediate need for a gas supply closer to the urban center. The timing was perfect, as the Rio Vista field was proving to be enormous as each new well came in, and by the end of
November, 1944, there were 70 active gas wells in the new field.
392:
Steven J. Deverel, Judith Z. Drexler, Timothy Ingrum, and
Christina Hart. "Simulated Holocene, Recent and Future Accretion in Channel Marsh Islands and Impounded Marshes for Subsidence Mitigation, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA." United States Geological Survey Water Science Center,
208:
By
November 1980, twelve separate pools, or producing horizons, had been identified in the field, varying in depth from 2,450 feet (the "Sidney" zone) to 9,600 feet (the "Peterson" zone, discovered in 1966). As of 2010, Rosetta Resources claimed to have produced from zones as deep as 11,000 feet.
275:
of carbon dioxide could conceivably be pumped into the depleted reservoir, serving three purposes: 1) to offset atmospheric emissions; 2) to assist in natural gas recovery, by increasing reservoir pressure; and 3) to mitigate subsidence of the overlying land, which is slowly collapsing into the
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Because the largely depleted field contains one of the biggest potential underground gas storage reservoirs in the region – 3.6 trillion cubic feet (100 km) of gas filled a lot of pore space in the source rocks – the field was part of a regional study done by the
California Geological
47:
10 m). In 2008 alone, the most recent year for which data was available, it produced 18 billion cubic feet (510,000,000 m) of gas. Spanning portions of three counties and covering over 29,000 acres (120 km), it is the largest natural gas field in
California, and one of the
153:
with hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters, with all precipitation occurring as rain. Mean annual rainfall is 14 to 16 inches (410 mm). Freezes occur occasionally during the winter, with the freeze-free period encompassing 250 to 275 days. Drainage on the field is poor except in the
221:
Corporation. It flowed 8,750,000 cubic feet (248,000 m) of gas per day, and had a total depth of 4,485 feet (1,367 m). Amerada named the field after the closest town, Rio Vista, and the productive zone the "Emigh". This was the only zone to produce gas until 1943.
154:
Montezuma Hills, in which it is to the south and southeast towards the
Sacramento River via ephemeral streams which dry up completely in the summer. Native vegetation types include bulrushes and cattails in the wetlands and annual grasslands on the hills.
259:) in October 1999. When Calpine filed for bankruptcy in 2005, Rosetta Resources Inc. formed for the purpose of acquiring the oil and gas resources of Calpine; they took over operation in July 2005, and continue to run the field as of 2010.
43:. Discovered in 1936, and in continuous operation since, it has produced over 3.6 trillion cubic feet (100 km) of gas in its lifetime, and retains an estimated reserve of approximately 330 billion cubic feet (9.3
254:
Amerada Hess continued to operate much of the field until
January 1999, at which time they sold it to Sheridan Energy, Inc. Sheridan only held the field for part of the year, selling it to Calpine Natural Gas Co. (now
242:
in 1965. Amerada
Petroleum became the principal operator, although a few scattered smaller operators remained active on the field, mainly on the outlying portions. In 1969 Amerada Petroleum merged with
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Development of the field picked up rapidly during the Second World War. Since oil tankers were being appropriated in the San
Francisco Bay Area for use in the war effort, a giant gas pipeline from the
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to drill new gas wells in the same region. As of 2010, only one active well ("Marks No. 7") is adjacent to the community – northeast of State Route 12 at the corner of Church Road and Marks Road.
244:
620:
Preliminary Geologic Assessment of the Carbon Sequestration Potential of the Upper Cretaceous Mokelumne River, Starkey, and Winters Formations – Southern Sacramento Basin, California.
566:
Preliminary Geologic Assessment of the Carbon Sequestration Potential of the Upper Cretaceous Mokelumne River, Starkey, and Winters Formations – Southern Sacramento Basin, California.
91:
is on the gas field near its eastern border with the River Island Gas Field. Several state highways intersect the field, providing primary surface transportation through the area.
55:, which owned 171 of the field's 189 active wells. The remaining 18 were run by several smaller operators, including Towne Exploration, Royale Energy, and Tri-Valley Oil & Gas.
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Gas from the field enters a series of pipelines at six distribution points, with two primary downstream uses: 1) as the supply for Calpine's regional
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decomposition, groundwater removal, and compaction of the underlying geologic structures from which trillions of cubic feet of gas have been removed.
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374:, currently produce more natural gas overall, Rio Vista is the largest "non-associated" gas field, i.e. it produces gas not associated with oil.
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432:. Ed. D. L. Gautier, G.L. Dolton, K.I. Takahashi, and K.L.Varnes. U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series. CDROM. 1995. DDS-30, Release 2.
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678:
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Rosetta Resources, Inc. Form 10-K: 2005 Annual Report, filed April 20, 2006 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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36:
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Much of the field underlies islands in the Delta, some of which are accessible only by ferry. Included in the gas field are
182:, filled with up to 40,000 feet (12,000 m) of sediments deposited over tens of millions of years. Wide variations in
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counties, in the bottomlands of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta as well as some adjacent upland areas in the
673:
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480:. San Francisco: State of California Dept. of Natural Resources Division of Mines, Bulletin 118. p. 591.
187:
478:
Rio Vista Gas Field, in Geologic Formations and Economic Development of the Oil and Gas Fields of California
428:
Leslie B. Magoon and Zenon C. Valin. "Sacramento Basin Province (009)." United States Geological Survey.
542:
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541:
Michael Peña, "Natural gas hunt may surface in Rio Vista". San Francisco Business Times, July 2, 2004.
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23:
Location of the Rio Vista field in northern California. Other natural gas fields are shown in dark gray.
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National assessment of United States oil and gas resources - results, methodology, and supporting data
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The discovery well for the field was "Emigh No. 1", which came in on June 19, 1936, drilled by
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structure somewhat akin to a dome, with its axis running northwest to southeast. One large
622:
California Energy Commission, PIER Energy-Related Environmental Research. CEC-500-2009-068.
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Prepared for the California Energy Commission and U.S. Department of Energy. February 2010.
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FWP filed by Rosetta Resources with the Securities and Exchange Commission, October 4, 2006
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87:, north of Rio Vista, is on the field's northern boundary. Additionally, the city of
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cross the field from north to south, with Route 160 built on levees much of the way.
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596:. Sacramento: California Department of Conservation (DOGGR). 1998. Archived from
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Rio Vista Gas Field: California Division of Oil and Gas, Summary of Operations
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Peak production was the next year, with over 160 billion cubic feet (4.5
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California Department of Conservation, Oil and Gas Statistics, Annual Report,
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313:. California Department of Conservation ("DOGGR 2009"). 2009. Archived from
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Jason Massad, "Buried Treasure: Rio Vista resource lies underground."
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As of 2009, the primary operator on the field was Rosetta Resources of
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358:, Vacaville, California. Retrieved August 21, 2010. Available here
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vacated space, as is common over depleted petroleum fields.
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10 m) of gas being withdrawn from the field in 1945.
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within these sedimentary rock layers, along with abundant
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is entirely surrounded by the gas field, and the Trilogy
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Sacramento, California. 2008. p. 10. Available here
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crosses the gas field from west to east, bridging the
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Survey to assess the potential value of the area for
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While at least one oil field in California, such as
342:Rosetta Resources, California Area of Operations.
304:"2008 Report of the state oil & gas supervisor"
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311:Department of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources
618:Downey, Cameron, and John Clinkenbeard. 2010.
554:DOGGR Online mapping system: Well API 9521311
283:, and 2) for storage and distribution via the
287:network to customers in northern California.
699:Geography of Contra Costa County, California
16:Natural gas field in northern California, US
689:Geography of Sacramento County, California
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440:
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247:, acquiring its present name of Amerada
174:, a large structural trough between the
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669:Natural gas fields in the United States
694:Geography of Solano County, California
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48:fifteen largest in the United States.
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405:Montezuma Hills ecoregion description
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58:
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63:The gas field underlies portions of
39:in northern California, adjacent to
213:History, production, and operations
13:
684:Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta
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448:. 1944. Vol. 30 No. 1. pp. 5-14.
192:structural and stratigraphic traps
170:The Rio Vista field is within the
37:Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta
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245:Hess Oil and Chemical Corporation
679:Pacific Gas and Electric Company
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564:California Geological Survey.
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383:DOGGR (2008), pp. 149, 150, 160
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103:; and California State Routes
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593:California Oil and Gas Fields
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7:
417:Delta ecoregion description
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715:
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93:California State Route 12
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197:Overall the field is an
674:Petroleum in California
176:California Coast Ranges
166:Rio Vista Gas Field Map
149:Climate in the area is
281:gas-fired power plants
167:
24:
577:FWP filing, pp. 19-22
419:(U.S. Forest Service)
407:(U.S. Forest Service)
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41:Rio Vista, California
22:
645:38.1400°N 121.6751°W
476:Soper, E.K. (1943).
269:carbon sequestration
85:retirement community
641: /
466:DOGGR, p. 1379-1381
257:Calpine Corporation
29:Rio Vista Gas Field
650:38.1400; -121.6751
615:December 31, 2007.
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59:Geographic setting
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219:Amerada Petroleum
33:natural gas field
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172:Sacramento Basin
120:Twitchell Island
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228:Kettleman Hills
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116:Bradford Island
79:. The town of
77:Montezuma Hills
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344:Available here
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238:The field was
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124:Brannan Island
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53:Houston, Texas
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602:. Retrieved
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322:. Retrieved
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188:permeability
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73:Contra Costa
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28:
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648: /
636:121°40′30″W
499:Frame, p. 6
271:. Several
31:is a large
663:Categories
633:38°08′24″N
604:2010-09-26
584:References
324:August 21,
199:anticlinal
97:Sacramento
69:Sacramento
372:Elk Hills
81:Rio Vista
609:1472 pp.
285:PG&E
273:gigatons
240:unitized
184:porosity
151:subhumid
532:, p. 4.
158:Geology
136:Sherman
89:Isleton
35:in the
330:p. 62.
138:, and
71:, and
65:Solano
318:(PDF)
307:(PDF)
291:Notes
203:fault
132:Tyler
326:2010
251:.
186:and
178:and
144:peat
107:and
99:and
27:The
109:160
665::
437:^
335:^
309:.
134:,
126:,
122:,
118:,
105:84
67:,
607:.
361:.
328:.
233:×
45:×
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
