Applying High-Resolution Sequence Stratigraphic Tools to the Texas Continental Margin to Fine-Tune Conventional Sequence Stratigraphic Models and Improve Reservoir Prediction

John A. Anderson, Kenneth C. Abdulah, Laura A. Banfield, Brenda J. Eckles, and Martin B. Lagoe

A regional sequence stratigraphic study of the Texas continental margin resulted in an improved understanding of Pleistocene-Holocene eustatic sea level fluctuations and their influence on depositional environments associated with several distinct systems: the Colorado/Brazos system, the Texas interfluve region, and the Rio Grande system. The dataset consists of approximately 7500 kilometers of high-resolution seismic profiles, 200 borehole descriptions, and 12 sediment cores. The study involved analysis of three independent variables to better constrain Pleistocene-Holocene sea level history: coastal onlap derived from high-resolution seismic profiles; oxygen isotopic data determined from selected sediment cores; and paleoenvironmental data developed from high-resolution micropaleontologic analyses. Combined lithologic data and seismic facies analysis is used to map the distribution of major depositional systems on the shelf during one complete glacial eustatic cycle. Our study provided an opportunity to fine tune conventional stratigraphic models with regard to the distribution of potential reservoirs relative to regionally mappable stratigraphic surfaces.

AAPG Search and Discover Article #91019©1996 AAPG Convention and Exhibition 19-22 May 1996, San Diego, California