--> Abstract: Onshore Alaska Peninsula Petroleum System Assessment: Preliminary Summary of Outcrop Studies of the Port Moller Area, 2006; #90063 (2007)

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Onshore Alaska Peninsula Petroleum System Assessment: Preliminary Summary of Outcrop Studies of the Port Moller Area, 2006

 

Gillis, Robert J.1, Rocky R. Reifenstuhl1, Paul L. Decker2, Andrea L. Strauch1, Kenneth L. Helmold2 (1) Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, AK (2) Alaska Division of Oil & Gas, Anchorage, AK

 

In 2005 the State of Alaska re-established oil and gas leasing on the Alaska Peninsula with an areawide lease sale encompassing approximately 3.5 million gross onshore acres. The sale area includes Triassic to Holocene-age rocks exposed along the length of the peninsula that are in part correlative with rocks offshore in the Bristol Bay Basin to the northwest. Our field studies of rocks cropping out on the Alaska Peninsula have focused on assessing the petroleum potential of the Mesozoic and Tertiary systems in the onshore portion of the basin.

 

Results of 2006 field work in the Port Moller area show potential reservoir rocks occur within the Late Cretaceous Chignik and early Tertiary Stepovak Formations. Reservoir quality varies from moderate to good with porosities of 14.16 to 23.06 percent and Klinkenberg permeabilities of 1.16 to 3.33 md. Capillary pressure data for the Early Cretaceous Staniukovich Formation suggest it can provide a seal for gas columns ranging from 200 to 1,000 ft in height. Additional seal capacity and source rock data are pending for the Miocene Bear Lake Formation, but previous results identify the early Mesozoic Kamishak and Kialavgvik Formations as potential source rocks. Geologic mapping reveals dominantly NE and NW structural trends characterized by large folds and high-angle faults with strike-slip and normal separation. Megascopic shear sense indicators that include low-angle striations on fault surfaces reflect predominantly strike-slip motion.

 

The data suggest all the components of a petroleum system are present in the Port Moller area, but further work is required to determine the existence and extent of economically viable resources. These results may provide insights into the offshore petroleum system of Bristol Bay.

 

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California