--> ABSTRACT: Depositional, Diagenetic, Production, and Seismic Characteristics of Mid-Dip Tuscaloosa Point Bar Complex, Little Creek Field, Mississippi, by R. D. Shew, E. G. Werren, E. R. Adams, and R. J. Stancliffe; #91022 (1989)

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Depositional, Diagenetic, Production, and Seismic Characteristics of Mid-Dip Tuscaloosa Point Bar Complex, Little Creek Field, Mississippi

R. D. Shew, E. G. Werren, E. R. Adams, R. J. Stancliffe

Little Creek field is oil productive from a structurally and stratigraphically trapped sandstones within the Upper Cretaceous lower Tuscaloosa Formation (Mid-Dip trend of southwestern Mississippi). The field was discovered in 1958 based on the seismic interpretation of simple closure at the lower Tuscaloosa horizon at a depth of 10,750 ft. Interpretation of core and log data indicates that the objective is a series of point-bar deposits and channel abandonment facies formed by the lateral migration of a north-to-south-flowing meandering river system. Development drilling, based on geologic concepts of point-bar architectures, occurred on 40-ac spacing with a total of 208 wells drilled; 162 were successful. New seismic data across the field have shown that the sandstone is a mappable "soft" seismic event; similar techniques have been successfully used for discovery and delineation elsewhere within the Mid-Dip Tuscaloosa trend. Little Creek has undergone primary recovery, waterflood, a carbon dioxide pilot, and recent initiation of a field-scale carbon dioxide flood. Approximately 70% of the original oil in place (102 million bbl) is estimated to be recovered by all processes.

Reservoir quality and continuity are generally high and are controlled by both depositional and diagenetic processes. Average porosity and permeability are 24% and 100 md, respectively. Depositional controls include slightly reduced vertical to horizontal permeability, local shale drapes, and channel abandonment facies. Diagenetic controls include compaction, chlorite grain coatings, and quartz and ankerite cements. The chlorite is most important in controlling the observed petrophysical properties of the sandstone, including the water saturation, porosity, and bimodal pore system.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91022©1989 AAPG Annual Convention, April 23-26, 1989, San Antonio, Texas.