Depositional Facies and Organic Content of Upper Wolfcamp Formation (Permian) Delaware Basin and Implications for Sequence Stratigraphy and Hydrocarbon Source

Kvale, Erik P.; Rahman, Mohammad W.

doi:10.15530/urtec-2016-2457495

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The Wolfcamp, and to a lesser extent Barnett, unconventional shale plays within the Midland Basin, a small sub-basin of the Permian Basin, are some of the largest producing shale plays in the world [39]. The development of these plays has led to sizeable amounts of research employing various analytical approaches, such as vitrinite reflectance, palynofacies, total organic carbon (TOC) variability, and Rock-Eval pyrolysis, to evaluate the types of organic matter presence and source rock potential (e.g., [28,[40][41][42]). However, the assessment of clay mineral presence, particularly the mixed-layered I-S phases, and diagenesis has been severely generalized in most mineralogical studies and limited to just few reports on the specifics of clay mineral phases [43,44].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Shale Source Rocks and Clay Mineral Diagenesis in the Permian Basin, USA: Inferences on Basin Thermal Maturity and Source Rock Potential

et al. 2020

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The use of mineral diagenetic indices and organic matter maturity is useful for reconstructing the evolution of sedimentary basins and critical assessments for potential source rocks for petroleum exploration. In this study, the relationship of clay mineral diagenesis and organic matter thermal indices (Rock-Eval Tmax) and calculated vitrinite reflectance (%Ro) were used to constrain the maximum burial depths and temperatures of three distinct intervals within the northern Permian Basin, USA. X-ray diffraction of clay fractions (<2 µm) consists of illite, chlorite, and illite-smectite intermediates. Primary clay mineral diagenetic changes progressively increase in ordering from R0 to R1 I-S between 2359.5 and 2485.9 m and the appearance of chlorite at 2338.7 m. Rock-Eval pyrolysis data show 0 to 14 wt% TOC, HI values of 40 to 520 mgHC/g TOC, and S2 values of 0 to 62 mg HC/g, with primarily type II kerogen with calculated %Ro within the early to peak oil maturation window. Evaluation of the potential for oil generation is relatively good throughout the Tonya 401 and JP Chilton wells. Organic maturation indices (Tmax, %Ro) and peak burial temperatures correlate well with clay mineral diagenesis (R0–R1 I-S), indicating that maximum burial depths and temperatures were between 2.5 and 4 km and <100 °C and 140 °C, respectively. Additionally, the use of clay mineral-derived temperatures provides insight into discrepancies between several calculated %Ro equations and thus should be further investigated for use in the Permian Basin. Accordingly, these findings show that clay mineral diagenesis, combined with other paleothermal proxies, can considerably improve the understanding of the complex burial history of the Permian Basin in the context of the evolution of the southern margin of Laurentia.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Shale Source Rocks and Clay Mineral Diagenesis in the Permian Basin, USA: Inferences on Basin Thermal Maturity and Source Rock Potential

et al. 2020

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“…Figure 2 shows the correlation of the chronostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic units from shelf to basin. The Wolfcamp Formation (the lowermost Permian deposits) is a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic, prograding, shelf-to-basin system (Silver and Todd 1969;Kvale and Rahman, 2016) but does not outcrop in the study area (Fig. 1B).…”

Section: Shelf-to-basin Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 99%

Progradational slope architecture and sediment distribution in outcrops of the mixed carbonate-siliciclastic Bone Spring Formation, Permian Basin, west Texas

et al. 2021

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Sediment transport and distribution are the keys to understanding slope-building processes in mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sediment routing systems. The Permian Bone Spring Formation, Delaware Basin, west Texas, is such a mixed system and has been extensively studied in its distal (basinal) extent but is poorly constrained in its proximal upper-slope segment. Here, we define the stratigraphic architecture of proximal outcrops in Guadalupe Mountains National Park in order to delineate the shelf-slope dynamics of carbonate and siliciclastic sediment distribution and delivery to the basin. Upper-slope deposits are predominantly fine-grained carbonate lithologies, interbedded at various scales with terrigenous (i.e., siliciclastic and clay) hemipelagic and gravity-flow deposits. We identify ten slope-building clinothems varying from terrigenous-rich to carbonate-rich and truncated by slope detachment surfaces that record large-scale mass wasting of the shelf margin. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) data indicate that slope detachment surfaces contain elevated proportions of terrigenous sediment, suggesting that failure is triggered by changes in accommodation or sediment supply at the shelf margin. A well-exposed terrigenous-rich clinothem, identified here as the 1st Bone Spring Sand, provides evidence that carbonate and terrigenous sediments were deposited contemporaneously, suggesting that both autogenic and allogenic processes influenced sediment accumulation. The mixing of lithologies at multiple scales and the prevalence of mass wasting acted as primary controls on the stacking patterns of terrigenous and carbonate lithologies of the Bone Spring Formation, not only on the shelf margin and upper slope, but also in the distal, basinal deposits of the Delaware Basin.

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“…The lithology is generally interbedded throughout however the relative proportions od carbonate versus silty-sand versus clay versus kerogen does vary (see Figure 3(b)). The Wolfcamp formation represents a world-class enriched source rock with interbedded reservoir units [5] [6] [7]. The formation has been and continues to be one of the main horizontally drilled targets currently in the oil and gas industry [8].…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Petrophysical Approach to Evaluation from Measured While Drilling Gamma Ray, Case Study in the Powder River and Delaware Basins

Perry¹

2021

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One of the most common subsurface data sets that is easily accessible and often underutilized is the acquired measuring while drilling (MWD) gamma ray (GR-GAPI) log. Data is acquired from a given gamma ray tool positioned within the drill string and pulsed up to the surface through the mud column in the wellbore. Typical use of the data is for subsurface geologists, drillers and others to correlate the data to known stratigraphic signatures and steer wells through horizontal target zones. Through that correlation, an association to the geologic stratigraphic column can be made and the team of subsurface scientists adjusts where, how fast, and why they choose to continue drilling. The technique of correlation applies to both the conventional and unconventional application. In the unconventional application, the data is also typically acquired along the length of the horizontal wellbore. From a petrophysical standpoint, just acquiring a gamma ray can limit the amount of information and ability to fully evaluate the properties along the length of the well. In this study, we share and demonstrate how to utilize the MWD GR for petrophysical evaluation beyond just a volume of shale or volume of clay interpretation. The workflow will allow full integration of a comprehensive petrophysical evaluation that can then be utilized to support all subsurface understandings and modelling efforts.

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Depositional Facies and Organic Content of Upper Wolfcamp Formation (Permian) Delaware Basin and Implications for Sequence Stratigraphy and Hydrocarbon Source

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

Evaluation of Shale Source Rocks and Clay Mineral Diagenesis in the Permian Basin, USA: Inferences on Basin Thermal Maturity and Source Rock Potential

Evaluation of Shale Source Rocks and Clay Mineral Diagenesis in the Permian Basin, USA: Inferences on Basin Thermal Maturity and Source Rock Potential

Progradational slope architecture and sediment distribution in outcrops of the mixed carbonate-siliciclastic Bone Spring Formation, Permian Basin, west Texas

A Petrophysical Approach to Evaluation from Measured While Drilling Gamma Ray, Case Study in the Powder River and Delaware Basins

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