FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Southwestern Energy Company (SWN) and the University of Arkansas will join forces to search for new gas reserves and study the tectonic history and petroleum geology of the Arkoma Basin in north central Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma.

Southwestern Energy Co., which owns Arkansas Western Gas and SEECO, Inc., has pledged funds to form the Arkoma Basin Analysis Team (ABAT), a consortium consisting of University of Arkansas researchers and SWN staff members who will conduct basic and applied research on projects of mutual interest.

"This arrangement strikes a nice balance between industrial and consumer needs and basic research," said Walt Manger, University of Arkansas professor of geosciences.

Three hundred and twenty million years ago Arkansas lay in a shallow sea. As the continents of Africa and America collided, the Ouachita Mountains were uplifted by the resulting pressure. At the same time, a swampy delta occupying the area that is now the valley of the Arkansas River buckled and was buried multiple times. Organically rich rock layers were heated by this burial to form pockets of super-heated organic matter that now produce natural gas. This area, tucked between the Ouachita Mountains and the Ozarks and Boston Mountains to the north, is called the Arkoma Basin, and it extends from eastern Oklahoma to Batesville, Ark.

SWN started exploring for natural gas in the Arkoma Basin in the early 1940s and continues to be a dominant player in the basin with exploration and development activities in both Arkansas and Oklahoma.

"Southwestern Energy is very excited to be partners with the U of A in the ABAT consortium. In this alliance, everyone clearly wins," stated John Thaeler, who is the Arkoma Asset Team Manager at Southwestern.

"Students and faculty from the geosciences department will be able to participate in a dynamic working environment with extensive technical data, new geoscience tools and experienced professionals. Meanwhile, our Arkoma team gains the university’s strong regional expertise and fresh, innovative ideas in a mature area. Through this partnership, Southwestern will enhance its position as a technical leader in the basin and increase its inventory of future opportunities," Thaeler added.

In their studies of the Arkoma Basin, Manger and Doy Zachry, professors in the department of geosciences, have focused on the region’s geologic history and development. In particular they have extensively studied the geologic building blocks, such as the deposition of sands and the formation of swamps in the delta environment, that lead to economic gas accumulations.

The ABAT team will consist of Manger, Zachry, Thaeler, William Winkelmann, SWN staff geologist; and Phillip Shelby, SWN senior geologist.

SWN will fund two graduate research assistantships in the geosciences department and a part-time internship for a junior or senior geology major. The ABAT will identify projects of mutual interest and conduct field trips and host forums on topics of geologic interest. The students will make quarterly presentations to the ABAT team.

This year’s intern will be Clay Morton, a junior from Fayetteville. One graduate student research position will be filled by Robert Wenger of Atkins, and the other position will be filled in August.

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