--> ABSTRACT: Evolution of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Basin: Insights from Facies and Provenance of the Norphlet and Haynesville Formations, by Robinson, Delores M.; Weislogel, Amy ; Hunt, Bryan W.; #90142 (2012)

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Evolution of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Basin: Insights from Facies and Provenance of the Norphlet and Haynesville Formations

Robinson, Delores M.*1; Weislogel, Amy 2; Hunt, Bryan W.1
(1) Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.
(2) Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.

Facies and provenance analysis of Mesozoic units in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (EGOM) suggest a high degree of reservoir prospectivity for the region. Analysis of regional facies distribution and provenance trends of the Norphlet Formation through Mississippi (MS), Alabama (AL), and offshore areas were performed through detrital zircon geochronology of core and well cuttings samples combined with analysis of 250+ well logs and dipmeter records from 49 wells. Detrital zircon provenance results show that the source for the Norphlet Formation sand varied from primarily Appalachian rocks in southwest AL to Gondwanan/Suwanee terrane rocks in the Destin Dome lease block offshore area, with a region of mixed provenance between these areas. Facies mapping of the Norphlet Formation from onshore AL reveals that in structurally low-lying areas that are suspected to be Mesozoic grabens, Norphlet depofacies have a higher proportion of fluvially-influenced wadi deposits. Distribution of the facies suggests that in MS and western AL, sediment was routed south-southwesterly from Appalachian alluvial fan systems in AL, basinward to areas offshore of western Florida. Sediment in a separate transport system was routed through Mesozoic grabens in southern Georgia and northern Florida to the Destin Dome and Pensacola lease blocks. Eolian dune slip face orientations were averaged from dipmeter logs to determine net transport vectors; whereas southward eolian transport that dominated much of AL has primarily a southward mean vector, results from wells in the Destin Dome lease block indicate primarily westward transport. This is consistent with the provenance model generated through detrital zircon provenance analysis and from the regional facies correlations. Analysis of detrital zircons in samples of the overlying Haynesville Formation from Mobile Bay, Pensacola and Destin Dome lease blocks indicates that the general pattern of deposystems and configuration of sediment transport system persisted into Kimmeridgian time. This model permits a wide distribution of Norphlet and Haynesville reservoirs in the EGOM and is consistent with thick eolian sands recently discovered in wells in Desoto and Mississippi Canyons.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90142 © 2012 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, April 22-25, 2012, Long Beach, California