--> Abstract: Stratigraphic Architecture of Lower and Middle Miocene Deepwater Slope-Channel and Levee Systems, Tuxpan Platform and Adjacent Area, Offshore Continental Shelf, Gulf of México, by William Ambrose, T. Wawrzyniec, K. Fouad, S. Sakurai, D. Jennette, E. Guevara, S. Talukdar, M. Aranda, J. Alvarado, U. Hernandez, E. Macias, D. Velez, F. Sanchez, G. Lopez, and J.C. Flores; #90032 (2004)

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Stratigraphic Architecture of Lower and Middle Miocene Deepwater Slope-Channel and Levee Systems, Tuxpan Platform and Adjacent Area, Offshore Continental Shelf, Gulf of México

William Ambrose1, T. Wawrzyniec1, K. Fouad1, S. Sakurai1, D. Jennette1, E. Guevara1, S. Talukdar2, M. Aranda3, J. Alvarado3, U. Hernandez3, E. Macias3, D. Velez3, F. Sanchez3, G. Lopez3, and J.C. Flores3
1 Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, TX
2 Consultant, The Woodlands, TX
3 Pemex Exploración y Producción, Poza Rica and Tampico, México

Thick (>800-m), lower and middle Miocene deepwater deposits unconformably overlie the oil-productive Mesozoic carbonate Tuxpan Platform and consist of a fine-grained succession of steeply dipping, toe-of-slope channel and levee deposits encased in slope siltstones and mudstones. These channel complexes are collectively 1 to 2 km wide and extend basinward into the shallow offshore for more than 20 km. However, many individual channel deposits, only 300 to 500 m wide, were associated with a net-bypass system and were conduits for sandy sediments deposited basinward in extensive basin-floor fans beyond the present-day 500-m isobath. Erosional relief at the base of individual channel bodies is typically less than 30 m.

The principal exploration risks for potential hydrocarbon reservoirs in these slope systems are reservoir quality and reservoir size. Petrophysical analysis of more than 15 wells in the Sardina and Faja de Oro 3 dimensional surveys indicates low porosity (3–10 percent) and a high calcareous siltstone content, commonly resulting in bright-amplitude, high-impedance seismic responses. However, some channel fills and overbank remnants between channel-fill bodies may be locally sandy and porous. Interval-attribute and wavelet-classification maps, useful in delineating facies architecture and sandbody complexity, indicate that amalgamated and multistoried channel complexes consist of multiple lenticular channel fills, thin sheetlike overbank deposits, and partly preserved erosional remnants. These architectural elements collectively have a complex internal architecture and may have the potential for numerous but small stratigraphic traps.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90032©2004 GCAGS 54th Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas, October 10-12, 2004