Berwick Field: The Geologic Half of the Seismic Stratigraphic Story in the Lower Tuscaloosa Mississippi

GARRISON, ROBERT, and ROBERT CHANCELLOR, Arkla Exploration Company, Houston, TX

A new trend of fields has been established in the lower Tuscaloosa Formation of southwest Mississippi. Seismic identification of sand bodies and detailed genetic analysis from conventional cores and wireline logs has resulted in the discovery and successful development of five lower Tuscaloosa oil fields since 1987.

Berwick field, typical of the five new fields, discovered in November 1989, has seven productive wells and should ultimately produce 4.0 MMBO. It produces from two parallel trending complex distributary-channel point bar sandstones. The key to the recognition and development of Berwick field has been to identify and discriminate between productive and adjacent nonproductive sandstones located in the same deltaic complex. Distributary channel sandstones are isolated from each other and trapped by a combination of clay plugs and bay shales.

Although seismic definition of the sand bodies is the principal tool for lower Tuscaloosa exploration in the middip trend, Berwick field is an excellent example of why seismic stratigraphy should combine equal amounts of seismic and stratigraphy.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91006 © 1991 GCAGS and GC-SEPM Meeting, Houston, Texas, October 16-18, 1991 (2009)