Frio Formation of the Texas Gulf Coast Basin: Depositional Systems, Structural Framework, and Hydrocarbon Origin, Migration, Distribution, Exploration Potential

Galloway, William A.; Hobday, David K.; Magara, Kinji

doi:10.23867/ri0122d

Cited by 36 publications

(44 citation statements)

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“…It was divided into distinct depositional systems by Galloway et al (1982). A majority of the petroleum fields producing from the Frio lie in the Houston Delta System, consisting of several minor, laterally coalescent, vertically repetitive deltaic cycles (Galloway et al, 1982).…”

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Anahuac transgression, marine domination was evident with retreat of the Houston Delta System. The Frio interval associated with the Houston Delta System is between 1800 and 7500 ft (550 and 2300 m) thick, with sand content decreasing distally from 60 percent to 10 percent (Galloway et al, 1982). Structurally, the Frio includes deep salt anticlines, shallower salt diapers with associated faults, salt- Galloway et.…”

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Growth faulting into continually higher strata has caused a close pattern of strike-parallel fractures, which makes it very distinctive. From a reservoir viewpoint, the delta-front and delta-plain sands merge along strike to form moderately continuous reservoirs (Galloway et al, 1982). Salt diapers caused abrupt changes in sandstone thickness.…”

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Salt diapers caused abrupt changes in sandstone thickness. Most of the traps in this area are from faulted anticlines above deep salt ridges or from growth-faults, which are sealed against the upthrown or downthrown block (Galloway et al, 1982).…”

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Land Subsidence Along the Texas Gulf Coast Due to Oil and Gas Withdrawal

Khorzad¹

1999

Environ Geosci

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Land subsidence caused by groundwater withdrawal in the Houston–Galveston region is a well‐documented phenomenon. Subsidence of up to 3 m has been calculated in the region since 1905. Subsidence caused by hydrocarbon withdrawal is also a plausible cause of subsidence, where groundwater withdrawal has diminished and significant petroleum production has occurred for> 95 years. Sixteen fields were investigated by acquiring reservoir depressurization data near bore‐hole extensometers set up by the Houston–Galveston Coastal Subsidence District. All reservoirs were found to be well below hydrostatic pressure; a few of them were underpressured even before production began. Four oil and gas fields (the Mykawa, Satsuma, Dyersdale, and South Gillock) and three production zones (the Miocene, Frio, and Yegua) were used in a reservoir model and a boundary clay reservoir model to calculate subsidence. Subsidence under these fields is predicted to be as high as 0.44 m in a 19‐year period at the Satsuma field and as low as 0.02 m in a 22‐year period at the Dyersdale field. Implications of this study are (1) hydrocarbon production, although not the major contributor to most land surface subsidence in this area, does play a role; and (2) depressurization and, subsequently, subsidence from oil and gas fields may be regional and connected with other fields which is inferred from the fact that some fields were already underpressured before production began.

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Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Land Subsidence Along the Texas Gulf Coast Due to Oil and Gas Withdrawal

Khorzad¹

1999

Environ Geosci

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“…Table 1 summarizes the channel and floodplain characteristics. The channel depth was equal to 5 m along its centerline, a value referenced to paleochannels of the Texas Coastal Plain [Galloway et al, 1982]. The channel width had a value of 150 rn.…”

Section: Channel Migration and Cutoff (Channel Fill)mentioning

confidence: 99%

River and floodplain process simulation for subsurface characterization

Gross¹,

Small²

1998

Water Resources Research

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Abstract. Subsurface heterogeneity is characterized with a method based on facies delineation and process modeling. A geologic process model is formulated to simulate the development of four facies: channel fill, levee, splay, and floodplain, which commonly form in a meandering river and its floodplain. The model accounts for meandering, cutoff, flooding, and crevasse-splay processes and links these formational processes to the statistical properties of the resulting facies. The model is utilized in a case study to simulate the horizontal pattern of deposition and facies distributions of the Stratton field, part of the Middle Frio Formation of southeast Texas, using known or estimated relationships and historical information for the Stratton field region. The simulated distributions of longitudinal and transverse facies dimensions and corresponding transition probabilities among facies are compared to those determined from sampling an observed section of the field, yielding similar results though some differences. Similarities and differences are related to the model processes and sampling procedures. Model sensitivity is investigated by changing selected model variables and analyzing the change in the facies distributions. The application of the geologic process model to the Stratton field demonstrates the viability of linking process understanding and modeling of complex meandering stream processes to characterization of subsurface heterogeneity. IntroductionEffective characterization of subsurface heterogeneity is essential for studies in a number of disciplines, including site investigation and remediation at hazardous waste sites, evaluation of groundwater flow and transport in regional and subregional aquifers, and assessment of hydrocarbon reserves and recovery. Two principal approaches to characterizing heterogeneity include stochastic and geologic methods [Koltermann and Gorelick, 1996]. Stochastic methods describe the continuous variation of sediment or rock characteristics, such as porosity and permeability, as spatial random functions with assumed or estimated statistical properties that can vary as a function of scale [Sudicky, 1986;Neuman, 1990

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Light hydrocarbon and noble gas migration as an analogue for potential CO₂ leakage: numerical simulations and field data from three hydrocarbon systems

Anderson¹,

Alfi²,

Hovorka

2019

Greenhouse Gases

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Sites where anthropogenic CO2 captured from industrial sources is stored in deep geological formations for climate change mitigation are required to show secure retention of the injected CO2. Monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) plans are needed to indicate that no CO2 release has occurred. We explored the degree to which direct comparison between a surface anomaly and reservoir geochemistry using various geochemical parameters can be used for attribution. We used data collected on light hydrocarbons and noble gases throughout the sedimentary column at three CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) sites to understand the processes that may cause fluid evolution. Light hydrocarbon and noble gases were sampled from reservoirs, gas‐bearing intervals above reservoirs, and groundwater. Vertical profiles indicated that lighter components are relatively enriched during migration (i.e. chromatographic separation). Static and numerical models were designed to simulate episodic gas migration and geochemical alteration of these geochemical parameters from solubility and sorption. The effects of hydrocarbon solubility were minimal (Bernard ratio changes within 5.2%) although field data were within the range of expected alterations from sorption. Forward models of CO2 migration and noble gas interactions showed that CO2 stripping causes an enrichment of crustal noble gases. In areas where natural fluxes of CO2 from depth are non‐existent, the occurrence of crustal noble gas signature may distinguish fugitive CO2 from the reservoir from natural near‐surface sources, and could be considered to explain apparent fluid anomalies. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Frio Formation of the Texas Gulf Coast Basin: Depositional Systems, Structural Framework, and Hydrocarbon Origin, Migration, Distribution, Exploration Potential

Cited by 36 publications

References 0 publications

Land Subsidence Along the Texas Gulf Coast Due to Oil and Gas Withdrawal

Land Subsidence Along the Texas Gulf Coast Due to Oil and Gas Withdrawal

River and floodplain process simulation for subsurface characterization

Light hydrocarbon and noble gas migration as an analogue for potential CO₂ leakage: numerical simulations and field data from three hydrocarbon systems

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Frio Formation of the Texas Gulf Coast Basin: Depositional Systems, Structural Framework, and Hydrocarbon Origin, Migration, Distribution, Exploration Potential

Cited by 36 publications

References 0 publications

Land Subsidence Along the Texas Gulf Coast Due to Oil and Gas Withdrawal

Land Subsidence Along the Texas Gulf Coast Due to Oil and Gas Withdrawal

River and floodplain process simulation for subsurface characterization

Light hydrocarbon and noble gas migration as an analogue for potential CO2 leakage: numerical simulations and field data from three hydrocarbon systems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Light hydrocarbon and noble gas migration as an analogue for potential CO₂ leakage: numerical simulations and field data from three hydrocarbon systems