--> ABSTRACT: Practical Method for Exploration for Misener Sand Bodies on Sylvan Subcrop in Grant and Garfield Counties, Oklahoma, by Myron F. Bockhorst; #91039 (2010)

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Practical Method for Exploration for Misener Sand Bodies on Sylvan Subcrop in Grant and Garfield Counties, Oklahoma

Myron F. Bockhorst

The Misener sandstone is a highly productive alluvial sand. The rewards for discovering a Misener field are very good; however, the risks involved, including dry holes, have generally negated all or a major portion of any profits. Areas of major Misener sand accumulations become evident through the use of detailed mapping and from knowledge of regional and local stratigraphy as it affects paleotopography.

The major maps needed for a thorough evaluation of a region are (1) Woodford isopach, to determine paleotopography, (2) pre-Woodford subcrop, to locate trend of Sylvan subcrop, (3) Sylvan isopach, to locate "thins" that suggest the presence of paleotopographic valleys, (4) unconformity structure map, to discern lows and channels from nosing and structural thinning, and (5) detailed Sylvan subcrop map, to locate zones that are easily eroded and, consequently, may be areas of channel development.

The Misener sandstone in the northern counties of Oklahoma is a low to moderate-energy alluvial sand. It occupies depressions cut into the unconformity surface and also lies updip of a resistant zone in the Sylvan Shale. Misener sands also show some reworking and dolomitization in the upper few feet caused by the transgressive Woodford seas.

The maps give the explorationist a detailed look at the pre-Woodford surface and the stratigraphy involved. The Sylvan section generally contains at least one topographically resistant zone that preferentially prohibits deposition of Misener sands. An understanding of the paleotopographic surface and the energies involved in the deposition process are extremely crucial to the location of Misener sand bodies.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91039©1987 AAPG Mid-Continent Section Meeting, Tulsa, Oklahoma, September 27-29, 1987.