Lithofacies distribution and depositional environment in the Lower Cretaceous McMurray Formation, BlackGold Lease, northern Alberta: implications for geometry and distribution of oil sand reservoirs

Shinn, Young Jae; Lee, Hyun Suk; Kwon, Yongchai; Kwak, Won Jun

doi:10.1007/s12303-014-0006-x

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Upward-fining facies successions are common within meandering channel systems due to decreasing flow velocities with increasing elevation along the point bar surface (Allen, 1970;Thomas et al, 1987). Additionally, decreases in flow velocity as a channel evolves towards abandonment can result in an upward grain size decrease (Thomas et al, 1987;Labrecque et al, 2011a,b;Shinn et al, 2014). The 19Á4 m average thickness of upward-fining facies successions is used as a proxy for channel bar thickness and maximum palaeobankfull flow depth (cf.…”

Section: B2 Composite Channel-form Bodymentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of Aptian glacio‐eustasy on the stratigraphic architecture of the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

et al. 2019

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High-frequency incised valley systems and subaerial exposure surfaces are prevalent in Aptian-aged units, having been documented in numerous basins around the world. In light of a growing body of palynological, geochemical and sedimentological evidence, a glacio-eustatic mechanism for their generation has been suggested, driven by the waxing and waning of polar ice caps. The densely-penetrated McMurray Formation of north-eastern Alberta, Canada, provides a unique opportunity to test for an Aptian glacio-eustatic signal within the Western Canadian Foreland Basin. This study combines detailed drill core description with wireline log-based stratigraphic analysis to map and evaluate a series of drainage networks located along the cratonic edge of the Western Canadian Foreland Basin. Four stratigraphically distinct composite channel-form bodies are documented across an area >14 000 km 2 . Composite channel-form bodies are up to 50 km wide and locally exceed 70 m thick, subtending from upward-coarsening parasequence sets 2 to 12 m thick; bounding marine flooding surfaces are mappable over distances exceeding 280 km along the north-south trending basin. Detailed internal fill characterization of the four composite channel-form bodies suggests that three represent tidal-fluvial incised valley networks, and one represents a deltaic distributary system. At least six cycles of transgression and regression are apparent within the McMurray Formation stratigraphy. Recent biostratigraphic assessment has constrained deposition of the McMurray Formation between ca 125 Ma and 118 Ma, and periods on the order of 0Á7 to 1Á7 Ma are estimated for the mapped transgressive-regressive cycles. The high frequency nature of these Aptian sequences suggests that the sea-level oscillations recorded in McMurray Formation strata are consistent with a glacioeustatic driver. Linking the internal stratigraphic architecture of the McMurray Formation with interpreted global cooling events and sea-level drops provides the first evidence of glacio-eustasy within Early Cretaceous strata of western Canada.

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Section: B2 Composite Channel-form Bodymentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of Aptian glacio‐eustasy on the stratigraphic architecture of the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

et al. 2019

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“…The Athabasca oil-sand deposits have been the focus of much research relating to stratigraphy, sedimentology, ichnology, and reservoir characterization [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. The Wabiskaw-McMurray formation is considered to be a succession of fluvial, estuarine, and shore facies [16,18,19].…”

Section: Study Area and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Carrigy [26] [18,25]. In this respect, the following is generally considered: the L.MCMU contains braided fluvial deposits that infilled paleo-topographic lows, and it mainly consists of massive sandstone and coarse pebbly conglomerates that were deposited within shallow meandering fluvial channels [17,24,25]; The L.MCMU Formation was regionally eroded during the transgressive period in which the Boreal Sea invaded the Alberta Basin from the northwest ( Figure 2). Rivers were forced to retreat from the northwest to southeast as sea levels rose, and many estuaries consequently developed.…”

Section: Study Area and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this region of the basin, the main McMurray sand rests upon Devonian-aged carbonates, the top of which has been shown in the lithology track of a well-log answer plot ( Figure 2). The M.MCMU consists of massive inclined heterolithic strata (IHS) beds [25] and represents a tidal-influenced fluvial to estuarine environment [15,16,20]; and the U.MCMU consists of fine-grained deposits dominated by estuarine facies [17]. It is also generally believed that the McMurray Formation was formed in a fluvial-estuarine depositional environment [17,19].…”

Section: Study Area and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is also generally believed that the McMurray Formation was formed in a fluvial-estuarine depositional environment [17,19]. However, although the architecture of the L.MCMU and M.MCMU deposits have been widely studied [24,25], the architecture of the tidal bar in the U.MCMU has not yet been well established. This study, therefore, focuses on the tidal bar deposits in the U.MCMU.…”

Section: Study Area and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Facies and the Architecture of Estuarine Tidal Bar in the Lower Cretaceous Mcmurray Formation, Central Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

et al. 2019

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In this study, data obtained from the Lower Cretaceous McMurray Formation in the central Athabasca Oil Sands, northeastern Alberta, Canada, are examined and used to establish the architecture of stacked fluvial and estuarine tidal bar deposits. A total of 13 distinguishable facies (F1–F7, F8a–F8b, and F9–F13) corresponding to stacked fluvial and estuarine deposits are recognized. These facies are then reassembled into four facies associations: fluvial deposits, tidal flat, tidal bar complex, and tidal bar cap. Of these, the lower fluvial deposits show a highly eroded channel lag and tidal influences in the cross-stratified sand and wavy interbeds. The fluvial deposits pass upwards into upper tidal-dominated tidal flats and a massive homogeneous tidal sand bar complex. Very thick tidal-influenced facies (F8a–F8b, up to 22 m) caused by semi-diurnal and semi-lunar cycles are also observed in tidal flats. Based on studies of the facies and facies associations, a three-dimensional (3-D) architecture model is finally established and used to analyze the internal distribution of the stacked fluvial and estuarine deposits. This is the first time that a 3-D model of the paleo-estuary tidal bar has been constructed. The results of this study will assist future research analyzing the architecture of stacked fluvial and estuarine deposits.

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Tidally-influenced deposition and microfacies sequences of fluid muds: Early Cretaceous McMurray Formation, Alberta, Canada

2021

Geosci J

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Lithofacies distribution and depositional environment in the Lower Cretaceous McMurray Formation, BlackGold Lease, northern Alberta: implications for geometry and distribution of oil sand reservoirs

Cited by 11 publications

References 21 publications

The impact of Aptian glacio‐eustasy on the stratigraphic architecture of the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

The impact of Aptian glacio‐eustasy on the stratigraphic architecture of the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Facies and the Architecture of Estuarine Tidal Bar in the Lower Cretaceous Mcmurray Formation, Central Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Tidally-influenced deposition and microfacies sequences of fluid muds: Early Cretaceous McMurray Formation, Alberta, Canada

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