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| subunits = Wedington Sandstone Member
| subunits = Wedington Sandstone Member
| underlies = [[Pitkin Formation|Pitkin Limestone]],<ref name =freeman>Freemen, T. Fossils of Arkansas. Arkansas Geologic Commission.</ref> [[Hale Formation]]<ref name="map">{{cite web |title=Major Stratigraphic Layers of the Fayetteville Shale Formation |url=http://lingo.cast.uark.edu/LINGOPUBLIC/images/photos/AboutChes24-800.gif |publisher=Chesapeake Energy, Inc |access-date=July 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820025307/http://lingo.cast.uark.edu/LINGOPUBLIC/images/photos/AboutChes24-800.gif |archive-date=August 20, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| underlies = [[Pitkin Formation|Pitkin Limestone]],<ref name =freeman>Freemen, T. Fossils of Arkansas. Arkansas Geologic Commission.</ref> [[Hale Formation]]<ref name="map">{{cite web |title=Major Stratigraphic Layers of the Fayetteville Shale Formation |url=http://lingo.cast.uark.edu/LINGOPUBLIC/images/photos/AboutChes24-800.gif |publisher=Chesapeake Energy, Inc |access-date=July 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820025307/http://lingo.cast.uark.edu/LINGOPUBLIC/images/photos/AboutChes24-800.gif |archive-date=August 20, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| overlies = [[Ruddell Shale]], [[Batesville Sandstone]]<ref name = freeman/> [[Moorefield_Formation|Moorefield Shale]]<ref name="map" />
| overlies = [[Ruddell Shale]], [[Batesville Sandstone]]<ref name = freeman/> [[Moorefield Formation|Moorefield Shale]]<ref name="map" />
| thickness = {{convert|50|to|500|ft|m}}
| thickness = {{convert|50|to|500|ft|m}}
| extent = {{convert|50|mi|km}}
| extent = {{convert|50|mi|km}}
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| map_caption = The Fayetteville formation runs widespread across Arkansas
| map_caption = The Fayetteville formation runs widespread across Arkansas
}}
}}
{{commons|Category:Fayetteville Shale|Fayetteville Shale}}
{{Commons category|Fayetteville Shale}}
The '''Fayetteville Shale''' is a geologic [[formation (geology)|formation]] of [[Mississippian age]] (354–323 million years ago) composed of tight [[shale]] within the [[Arkoma Basin]] of [[Arkansas]] and [[Oklahoma]].<ref name = Sando/><ref name="pgj" >{{ cite journal |title= Shale Play Should See Added Capacity Next 2 Years |journal= Pipeline & Gas Journal |page= 46 |last= Reed |first= Michael |date= June 2013 |location= [[Houston, TX]] |publisher= Oildom Publishing Company |volume= 240 |number= 6 }}</ref> It is named for the city of [[Fayetteville, Arkansas]], and requires [[hydraulic fracturing]] to release the [[natural gas]] contained within.
The '''Fayetteville Shale''' is a geologic [[formation (geology)|formation]] of [[Mississippian age]] (354–323 million years ago) composed of tight [[shale]] within the [[Arkoma Basin]] of [[Arkansas]] and [[Oklahoma]].<ref name = Sando/><ref name="pgj" >{{ cite journal |title= Shale Play Should See Added Capacity Next 2 Years |journal= Pipeline & Gas Journal |page= 46 |last= Reed |first= Michael |date= June 2013 |location= [[Houston, TX]] |publisher= Oildom Publishing Company |volume= 240 |number= 6 }}</ref> It is named for the city of [[Fayetteville, Arkansas]], and requires [[hydraulic fracturing]] to release the [[natural gas]] contained within.


==Nomenclature==
==Nomenclature==
[[File:A Bluff of the Batesville Sandstone at West Fork (c. 1890).png|left|thumb|Photograph of the Wedington Sandstone Member (mistaken as Batesville Sandstone) circa 1891]]
[[File:A Bluff of the Batesville Sandstone at West Fork (c. 1890).png|left|thumb|Photograph of the Wedington Sandstone Member (mistaken as Batesville Sandstone) circa 1891]]


Named by Frederick Willard Simonds in 1891, Simonds recognized what is now the Fayetteville Shale as three separate formations overlying the now abandoned Wyman Sandstone: the Fayetteville Shale, the Batesville Sandstone, and the Marshall Shale.<ref name = Simonds/> In 1904, the name "Fayetteville Shale" replaced all three of these names. The Fayetteville Shale that Simonds recognized is now considered as the lower Fayetteville Shale. Simonds' Batesville Sandstone was found to be the same as the Wyman Sandstone, and replaced the name "Wyman Sandstone", while Simonds' Batesville Sandstone became known as the "Wedington Sandstone Member" presumably after Wedington Mountain. The name Marshall Shale was abandoned and is now known as the upper Fayetteville Shale.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=George I. |last2=Ulrich |first2=E. O. |title=Zinc and lead deposits of northern Arkansas |journal=U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper |date=1904 |volume=24 |doi=10.3133/pp24 |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0024/report.pdf |access-date=31 May 2018|hdl=2346/61716 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
Named by Frederick Willard Simonds in 1891, Simonds recognized what is now the Fayetteville Shale as three separate formations overlying the now abandoned Wyman Sandstone: the Fayetteville Shale, the Batesville Sandstone, and the Marshall Shale.<ref name = Simonds/> In 1904, the name "Fayetteville Shale" replaced all three of these names. The Fayetteville Shale that Simonds recognized is now considered as the lower Fayetteville Shale. Simonds' Batesville Sandstone was found to be the same as the Wyman Sandstone, and replaced the name "Wyman Sandstone", while Simonds' Batesville Sandstone became known as the "Wedington Sandstone Member" presumably after Wedington Mountain. The name Marshall Shale was abandoned and is now known as the upper Fayetteville Shale.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=George I. |last2=Ulrich |first2=E. O. |title=Zinc and lead deposits of northern Arkansas |journal=U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper |date=1904 |volume=24 |doi=10.3133/pp24 |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0024/report.pdf |access-date=31 May 2018|hdl=2346/61716 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>


== Natural gas ==
== Natural gas ==
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The formation holds [[natural gas]] in a fine-grained rock matrix which requires [[hydraulic fracturing]] to release the gas.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Fayetteville Shale |url=http://lingo.cast.uark.edu/LINGOPUBLIC/about/index.htm |publisher=University of Arkansas |access-date=July 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820025254/http://lingo.cast.uark.edu/LINGOPUBLIC/about/index.htm |archive-date=August 20, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This process became cost-effective in some shales such as the Fayetteville after years of experimentation in the [[Barnett Shale]] in [[North Texas]], especially when combined with [[Directional drilling|horizontal drilling]].
The formation holds [[natural gas]] in a fine-grained rock matrix which requires [[hydraulic fracturing]] to release the gas.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Fayetteville Shale |url=http://lingo.cast.uark.edu/LINGOPUBLIC/about/index.htm |publisher=University of Arkansas |access-date=July 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820025254/http://lingo.cast.uark.edu/LINGOPUBLIC/about/index.htm |archive-date=August 20, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This process became cost-effective in some shales such as the Fayetteville after years of experimentation in the [[Barnett Shale]] in [[North Texas]], especially when combined with [[Directional drilling|horizontal drilling]].


The Fayetteville Shale play began in July 2004 by [[Southwestern_Energy|Southwestern Energy Company]] in north-central Arkansas with the Thomas #1-9 vertical well in [[Conway County]], Arkansas.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Larry |title=Fayetteville Shale |url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=6011 |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |access-date=31 May 2018}}</ref> In February 2005, Southwestern Energy drilled the first horizontal well, the Seeco-Vaughan #4-22H, also in Conway County.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shelby |first1=Phillip |title=The Fayetteville Shale play of north-central Arkansas: a project update |journal=AAPG Search and Discovery |date=April 2008 |volume=10172 |issue=2008 |url=http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/pdfz/documents/2008/08208shelby/ndx_shelby.pdf.html |access-date=31 May 2018}}</ref>
The Fayetteville Shale play began in July 2004 by [[Southwestern Energy|Southwestern Energy Company]] in north-central Arkansas with the Thomas #1-9 vertical well in [[Conway County]], Arkansas.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Larry |title=Fayetteville Shale |url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=6011 |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |access-date=31 May 2018}}</ref> In February 2005, Southwestern Energy drilled the first horizontal well, the Seeco-Vaughan #4-22H, also in Conway County.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shelby |first1=Phillip |title=The Fayetteville Shale play of north-central Arkansas: a project update |journal=AAPG Search and Discovery |date=April 2008 |volume=10172 |issue=2008 |url=http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/pdfz/documents/2008/08208shelby/ndx_shelby.pdf.html |access-date=31 May 2018}}</ref>


The US [[Energy Information Administration]] estimated that the {{convert|5853|sqmi|sqkm}} shale play held 13,240 billion cubic ft (375 billion cubic meters) of unproved, technically recoverable gas.<ref name="pgj" /> The average well was estimated to produce 1.3 billion cubic feet of gas.<ref>US Energy Information Administration, [http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/pdf/0383(2012).pdf Annual Energy outlook 2012], accessed 14 Sept. 2013.</ref> As of 2018, new drilling in the Fayetteville Shale had ceased and almost 1/5 of wells were abandoned.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nallur |first1=V. |title = Potential for Reclamation of Abandoned Gas Wells to Restore Ecosystem Services in the Fayetteville Shale of Arkansas |journal=Environmental Management |pmid=32500202 |url=http://www.dp4mh4ve3x.scholar.serialssolutions.com/?sid=google&auinit=V&aulast=Nallur&atitle=Potential+for+Reclamation+of+Abandoned+Gas+Wells+to+Restore+Ecosystem+Services+in+the+Fayetteville+Shale+of+Arkansas.&id=pmid:32500202}}</ref>
The US [[Energy Information Administration]] estimated that the {{convert|5853|sqmi|sqkm}} shale play held 13,240 billion cubic ft (375 billion cubic meters) of unproved, technically recoverable gas.<ref name="pgj" /> The average well was estimated to produce 1.3 billion cubic feet of gas.<ref>US Energy Information Administration, [http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/pdf/0383(2012).pdf Annual Energy outlook 2012], accessed 14 Sept. 2013.</ref> As of 2018, new drilling in the Fayetteville Shale had ceased and almost 1/5 of wells were abandoned.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nallur |first1=V. |title = Potential for Reclamation of Abandoned Gas Wells to Restore Ecosystem Services in the Fayetteville Shale of Arkansas |journal=Environmental Management |year=2020 |volume=66 |issue=2 |pages=180–190 |doi=10.1007/s00267-020-01307-3 |pmid=32500202 |s2cid=219282476 |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00267-020-01307-3}}</ref>


==Paleontology==
==Paleontology==
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{{div col|colwidth=28em}}
{{div col|colwidth=28em}}
*''[[Adiantites]]''
*''[[Adiantites]]''
:''A. minima''<ref name=White1937>{{Cite journal|last=White|first=David|date=1937|title=Fossil flora of the Wedington Sandstone Member of the Fayetteville Shale|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0186b/report.pdf|journal=USGS Professional Paper|volume=186-B|pages=40, 9 pls.}}</ref>
:''A. minima''<ref name=White1937>{{Cite journal|last=White|first=David|date=1937|title=Fossil flora of the Wedington Sandstone Member of the Fayetteville Shale|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0186b/report.pdf|journal=USGS Professional Paper|volume=186-B|pages=40, 9 pls}}</ref>
*''[[Ankyropteris]]''<ref name = taylor/>
*''[[Ankyropteris]]''<ref name = taylor/>
*''[[Archaeocalamites]]''
*''[[Archaeocalamites]]''
Line 72: Line 72:
*''[[Lepidostrobus]]''
*''[[Lepidostrobus]]''
:''L. occidentalis''<ref name=White1937/>
:''L. occidentalis''<ref name=White1937/>
*''[[Lepidostrous]]'' <ref name = taylor>Taylor, T., Eggard, D.,1967. Petrified Plants from the Upper Mississippian (Chester Series) of Arkansas. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society. 86: 4</ref>
*''[[Lepidostrous]]'' <ref name = taylor>Taylor, T., Eggard, D.,1967. Petrified Plants from the Upper Mississippian ([[Chester Series]]) of Arkansas. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society. 86: 4</ref>
*''[[Lyginopteris]]''
*''[[Lyginopteris]]''
:''L. royalii''<ref name = Tomescu>Tomescu, A. 2001. Lyginopteris royalii sp. nov. from the Upper Mississippian of North America. Review of Paleobotany and Palynology. 116: 3-4</ref>
:''L. royalii''<ref name = Tomescu>Tomescu, A. 2001. Lyginopteris royalii sp. nov. from the Upper Mississippian of North America. Review of Paleobotany and Palynology. 116: 3-4</ref>
Line 97: Line 97:
====Vertebrates====
====Vertebrates====
*''[[Carcharopsis|Carcharopsis wortheni]]''<ref name = Lund>Lund, R., Mapes, R. 1984. Carcharopsis wortheni from the Fayetteville Formation (Mississippian) of Arkansas. Journal of Paleontology. 58:3.</ref>
*''[[Carcharopsis|Carcharopsis wortheni]]''<ref name = Lund>Lund, R., Mapes, R. 1984. Carcharopsis wortheni from the Fayetteville Formation (Mississippian) of Arkansas. Journal of Paleontology. 58:3.</ref>
*"''[[Cobelodus]]''" (remains now attributed to ''[[Ozarcus]]'') <ref name = maisey>Maisey, J. G. (2007). The braincase in Paleozoic symmoriiform and cladoselachian sharks. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 2007(307), 1-122.</ref>
*''[[Ozarcus|Ozarcus mapesae]]''<ref name = ozarcus>{{cite journal |author1=Alan Pradel |author2=John G. Maisey |author3=Paul Tafforeau |author4=Royal H. Mapes |author5=Jon Mallatt |s2cid=3504437 |year=2014 |title=A Palaeozoic shark with osteichthyan-like branchial arches |journal=Nature |volume=509 |issue=7502 |pages=608–611 |doi=10.1038/nature13195 |pmid=24739974}}</ref>
*''[[Cosmoselachus mehlingi]]''<ref name="Cosmoselachus">{{Cite journal |last=Bronson |first=Allison W. |last2=Pradel |first2=Alan |last3=Denton |first3=John S. S. |last4=Maisey |first4=John G. |date=2024-03-07 |title=A new operculate symmoriiform chondrichthyan from the Late Mississippian Fayetteville Shale (Arkansas, United States) |url=https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/en/periodiques/geodiversitas/46/4 |journal=Geodiversitas |language=en |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=101–117 |doi=10.5252/geodiversitas2024v46a4 |issn=1280-9659 |eissn=1638-9395}}</ref>
*''[[Ozarcus|Ozarcus mapesae]]''<ref name = ozarcus>{{cite journal |author1=Alan Pradel |author2=John G. Maisey |author3=Paul Tafforeau |author4=Royal H. Mapes |author5=Jon Mallatt |s2cid=3504437 |year=2014 |title=A Palaeozoic shark with osteichthyan-like branchial arches |journal=Nature |volume=509 |issue=7502 |pages=608–611 |doi=10.1038/nature13195 |pmid=24739974|bibcode=2014Natur.509..608P }}</ref>


====Echinoderms====
====Echinoderms====
Line 188: Line 190:
:*''[[Inflatia|Inflatia pusilla]]''<ref name = gordon/>
:*''[[Inflatia|Inflatia pusilla]]''<ref name = gordon/>
:*''[[Inflatia|Inflatia inflata]]''<ref name = gordon/>
:*''[[Inflatia|Inflatia inflata]]''<ref name = gordon/>
*''[[Orthotetes|Orthotetes protensus]]''<ref name = HenryGordon1985>{{Cite journal|last=Henry|first=Thomas W.|last2=Gordon Jr.|first2=Mackenzie|date=1985|title=Chesterian Davidsoniacean and Orthotetacean brachiopods, Ozark region of Arkansas and Oklahoma|journal=Journal of Paleontology|volume=59|issue=1|pages=32-59}}</ref>
*''[[Orthotetes|Orthotetes protensus]]''<ref name = HenryGordon1985>{{Cite journal|last1=Henry|first1=Thomas W.|last2=Gordon Jr.|first2=Mackenzie|date=1985|title=Chesterian Davidsoniacean and Orthotetacean brachiopods, Ozark region of Arkansas and Oklahoma|journal=Journal of Paleontology|volume=59|issue=1|pages=32–59}}</ref>
:*''[[Orthotetes|Orthotetes subglobosus]]''<ref name = HenryGordon1985/>
:*''[[Orthotetes|Orthotetes subglobosus]]''<ref name = HenryGordon1985/>



====Gastropods====
====Gastropods====
Line 226: Line 227:
{{col-begin|width=75%}}
{{col-begin|width=75%}}
{{col-1-of-2}}
{{col-1-of-2}}
*''[[Archimedes_(bryozoan)|Archimedes communis]]''<ref name="Horowitz">{{cite journal|last1=Horowitz|first1=Alan S.|title=Late Mississippian and Early Pennsylvanian bryozoan faunas of Arkansas and Oklahoma: a review|journal=Oklahoma Geological Survey Guidebook|date=1977|volume=18|pages=101–105|url=http://ogs.ou.edu/docs/guidebooks/GB18.pdf|access-date=3 February 2018}}</ref>
*''[[Archimedes (bryozoan)|Archimedes communis]]''<ref name="Horowitz">{{cite journal|last1=Horowitz|first1=Alan S.|title=Late Mississippian and Early Pennsylvanian bryozoan faunas of Arkansas and Oklahoma: a review|journal=Oklahoma Geological Survey Guidebook|date=1977|volume=18|pages=101–105|url=http://ogs.ou.edu/docs/guidebooks/GB18.pdf|access-date=3 February 2018}}</ref>
:*''[[Archimedes_(bryozoan)|Archimedes compactus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes (bryozoan)|Archimedes compactus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes_(bryozoan)|Archimedes confertus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes (bryozoan)|Archimedes confertus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes_(bryozoan)|Archimedes distans]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes (bryozoan)|Archimedes distans]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes_(bryozoan)|Archimedes inflatus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes (bryozoan)|Archimedes inflatus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes_(bryozoan)|Archimedes intermedius]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes (bryozoan)|Archimedes intermedius]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes_(bryozoan)|Archimedes invaginatus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes (bryozoan)|Archimedes invaginatus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes_(bryozoan)|Archimedes meekanus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes (bryozoan)|Archimedes meekanus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes_(bryozoan)|Archimedes owenanus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes (bryozoan)|Archimedes owenanus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes_(bryozoan)|Archimedes proutanus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes (bryozoan)|Archimedes proutanus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes_(bryozoan)|Archimedes sublaxus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes (bryozoan)|Archimedes sublaxus]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes_(bryozoan)|Archimedes terebriformis]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Archimedes (bryozoan)|Archimedes terebriformis]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
*''[[Batostomella|Batostomella parvula]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
*''[[Batostomella|Batostomella parvula]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
*''[[Fenestella_(bryozoan)|Fenestella cestriensis]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
*''[[Fenestella (bryozoan)|Fenestella cestriensis]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Fenestella_(bryozoan)|Fenestella compress]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Fenestella (bryozoan)|Fenestella compress]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Fenestella_(bryozoan)|Fenestella elevatipora]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Fenestella (bryozoan)|Fenestella elevatipora]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Fenestella_(bryozoan)|Fenestella serratula]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Fenestella (bryozoan)|Fenestella serratula]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Fenestella_(bryozoan)|Fenestella tenax]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>
:*''[[Fenestella (bryozoan)|Fenestella tenax]]''<ref name = Horowitz/>


{{col-2-of-2}}
{{col-2-of-2}}
Line 265: Line 266:


==== Trace Fossils ====
==== Trace Fossils ====
*[[Cruziana]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Handford|first=C. Robertson|date=1986|year=1986|title=Facies and bedding sequences in shelf-storm-deposited carbonates - Fayetteville Shale and Pitkin Limestone (Mississippian), Arkansas|journal=Journal of Sedimentary Petrology|volume=56|issue=1|pages=123-137}}</ref>
*[[Cruziana]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Handford|first=C. Robertson|year=1986|title=Facies and bedding sequences in shelf-storm-deposited carbonates - Fayetteville Shale and Pitkin Limestone (Mississippian), Arkansas|journal=Journal of Sedimentary Petrology|volume=56|issue=1|pages=123–137|doi=10.1306/212F88A0-2B24-11D7-8648000102C1865D |bibcode=1986JSedR..56..123H }}</ref>
*[[Planolites]]<ref name=":0" />
*[[Planolites]]<ref name=":0" />
*[[Teichichnus]]<ref name=":0" />
*[[Teichichnus]]<ref name=":0" />

Latest revision as of 04:06, 14 May 2024

Fayetteville Shale
Stratigraphic range: Carboniferous: Mississippian (Serpukhovian)[1]
Outcrop of the lower Fayetteville Shale in northern Arkansas
TypeGeological formation
Sub-unitsWedington Sandstone Member
UnderliesPitkin Limestone,[2] Hale Formation[3]
OverliesRuddell Shale, Batesville Sandstone[2] Moorefield Shale[3]
AreaArkansas and Oklahoma[4]
Thickness50 to 500 feet (15 to 152 m)
Lithology
PrimaryShale
OtherSandstone, limestone
Location
RegionArkansas
Country United States
Extent50 miles (80 km)
Type section
Named forFayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas
Named byFrederick Willard Simonds[5][6]

The Fayetteville formation runs widespread across Arkansas

The Fayetteville Shale is a geologic formation of Mississippian age (354–323 million years ago) composed of tight shale within the Arkoma Basin of Arkansas and Oklahoma.[4][7] It is named for the city of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and requires hydraulic fracturing to release the natural gas contained within.

Nomenclature

[edit]
Photograph of the Wedington Sandstone Member (mistaken as Batesville Sandstone) circa 1891

Named by Frederick Willard Simonds in 1891, Simonds recognized what is now the Fayetteville Shale as three separate formations overlying the now abandoned Wyman Sandstone: the Fayetteville Shale, the Batesville Sandstone, and the Marshall Shale.[6] In 1904, the name "Fayetteville Shale" replaced all three of these names. The Fayetteville Shale that Simonds recognized is now considered as the lower Fayetteville Shale. Simonds' Batesville Sandstone was found to be the same as the Wyman Sandstone, and replaced the name "Wyman Sandstone", while Simonds' Batesville Sandstone became known as the "Wedington Sandstone Member" presumably after Wedington Mountain. The name Marshall Shale was abandoned and is now known as the upper Fayetteville Shale.[8]

Natural gas

[edit]
Gas production from Fayetteville Shale

The formation holds natural gas in a fine-grained rock matrix which requires hydraulic fracturing to release the gas.[9] This process became cost-effective in some shales such as the Fayetteville after years of experimentation in the Barnett Shale in North Texas, especially when combined with horizontal drilling.

The Fayetteville Shale play began in July 2004 by Southwestern Energy Company in north-central Arkansas with the Thomas #1-9 vertical well in Conway County, Arkansas.[10] In February 2005, Southwestern Energy drilled the first horizontal well, the Seeco-Vaughan #4-22H, also in Conway County.[11]

The US Energy Information Administration estimated that the 5,853 square miles (15,160 km2) shale play held 13,240 billion cubic ft (375 billion cubic meters) of unproved, technically recoverable gas.[7] The average well was estimated to produce 1.3 billion cubic feet of gas.[12] As of 2018, new drilling in the Fayetteville Shale had ceased and almost 1/5 of wells were abandoned.[13]

Paleontology

[edit]

Flora

[edit]

Because the Fayetteville Formation is a marine unit, most of the plants found in the black shales must have been washed into the Carboniferous sea from a landmass. However one unit within the formation, the Weddington Sandstone Member, is a series of river deposited sand beds. Fossil plants from this unit were probably deposited closer to their source.

Artist's impression of a Lepidodendron
A. minima[14]
A. fayettevillensis[14]
A. gracilentus[14]
A. umbralis[14]
A. wedingtonensis[14]
C. inquirenda[14]
C. hirta[14]
C. chesterianus[14]
L. chesterensis[14]
L. henbesti[14]
L. occidentale[14]
L. purduei[14]
L. wedingtonense[14]
L. sagittatum[14]
L. occidentalis[14]
L. royalii[16]
R. fayettevillense[14]
R. quinnii [17]
S. (Palmatopteris) erectiloba[14]
S. (Calymmatotheca) mississippiana[14]
S. arkansana[14]
S. wedingtonensis[14]
T. arkansana[18]

Fauna

[edit]

Vertebrates

[edit]

Echinoderms

[edit]
Fossil of the upper portion of Taxocrinus (on the right)

Cephalopods

[edit]
Fossil of Goniatites

Corals

[edit]

Bivalves

[edit]
Aviculopecten subcardiformis from the Logan Formation (Lower Carboniferous) of Wooster, Ohio (external mold).

Brachiopods

[edit]

Gastropods

[edit]
Platyceras sp. from Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano.

Arthropods

[edit]
A life-reconstruction of the trilobite Paladin.

Ostracods

[edit]

Bryozoans

[edit]

Foraminifera

[edit]

Trace Fossils

[edit]

References

[edit]
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