One day in the late 1960s, Amoco Production Co. petroleum geologist Roger A. (Pete) Matuszczak was sitting with his feet up on his desk in Denver, staring intently at four base maps of eastern Colorado’s Wattenberg area. Next to them he had glued small-scale electric logs for the few wells that had been drilled to that point in the area, data on cores and drillstem tests, and a J-Sandstone isopach. He also ruminated on the Amoco seminars he had attended on the Mississippi Delta and Mesaverde sandstones, which compared modern and ancient deltaic environments.

Amoco had plenty of leases in the Denver-Julesburg Basin. Now, the pressure was on to turn them into production—in an area of only small fields, with “dinky” production.

“I stared and stared at the wall,” recalls Matuszczak, “and what finally hit my brain was that this was a delta-front sandstone with reservoir quality similar to Basin Dakota Field (in the San Juan Basin). I realized it was all one big prospect.”

Big indeed. Today Wattenberg Field has produced more than 3 trillion cubic feet of gas and 400 million barrels of oil (see cover story in this issue). It is the eighth-largest gas field in the U.S.

Matuszczak, a native of Wisconsin, served in World War II in the 77th Infantry Division on Okinawa. He attended the University of Wisconsin on the G.I. Bill, earning his bachelor’s and master’s in geology. “I wanted something that would get me out of the office at least part of the time,” he says.

His first job was with Stanolind Oil and Gas Corp., the E&P arm of Amoco, in Casper, Wyoming. After three years of wellsite and surface geology he was assigned to the D-J Basin. Stanolind had acquired leases across Wyoming, Nebraska and eastern Colorado following the Ohio Co. discovery of oil near Sidney, Nebraska. Stanolind started a program of support wells and opened a small district office in Denver, which Matuszczak joined in 1954.

Matuszczak left Amoco in the late ’70s and worked for Edward (Tiger Mike) Davis, the colorful founder of Tiger Oil Co. After its bankruptcy in the late-‘80s, Matuszczak operated a bar in a Denver suburb with a fellow geologist for more than a decade. Several years ago, Tiger Mike called and suggested he return to work for the reorganized company. At 84, Matuszczak still heads to downtown Denver several days a week to work on prospects.

We talked with Wattenberg’s founder about the early days of the field, his wife’s reaction to his find, and the biggest thrill he got from his career.

Investor What was Amoco’s reaction when you presented your concept for Wattenberg?

Matuszczak I had made cross-sections and assembled reservoir-quality data on Basin Dakota Field, and proposed a leasing area of more than 100,000 acres. When I finished, geologist Bill Smith, vice president in charge of the division, turned to Don Hembre, the district geologist, and asked, “What do you think?” Hembre said, “I think he’s right.”

Investor How did the first wells do?

Matuszczak At the time we had a 60-well support program with Tom Vessels, and I asked Tom if I could move a few of the locations into the Wattenberg area based on an idea I had. The well logs fitted the delta-front idea, and Amoco put eight rigs to work chasing the J-Sand. The discovery, made in July 1970, was the Tom Vessels #1 Grenemeyer in Adams County; its initial potential was 485,000 cubic feet of gas and 10 barrels of oil per day.

Investor How did some of the shallower formations emerge as producers?

Matuszczak A couple of years later, I had another idea, based on my experience in 1954 with Professor W. O. Thompson, head of the geology department at the University of Colorado. I had assisted him in mapping the outcrop of the Hygiene sandstone along the Front Range. A producing well in the Pierre-Black Hollow area in the outcrop had found several minor oil seeps. With not much to go on, I went back to the committee and made a case for gas-detector units on the eight-rig program to check the Hygiene sandstone for shows. I made a map based on highest gas units, which is a pretty shaky basis for drilling a test well. I had five high gas units on the map and I got five air-drilled wildcats.

The first four were dry holes. The fifth was the discovery that found the shallower Sussex/Shannon that overlies the J-Sand.

Investor What were the economics at the time?

Matuszczak The play was based on gas at 25 cents per Mcf. We knew there were shows in the Niobrara-Codell formations, but at the time they were minor to the main play.

Investor What was the reaction of your family?

Matuszczak (Laughs) When I came home after they okayed the play, I told my wife, Iris, “I think I’ve found a big gas field!” She barely looked up from her grocery list! So much for being a hero!

Investor What was the most rewarding aspect of your work?

Matuszczak Bringing up one of those cores from 6,000 or so feet below the earth’s surface, holding it in your hands, seeing the oil shows or fossils, and knowing that other than God, you were the only person to have seen it.

—Susan Klann