Tumbleweed, Northwest Field: Tannehill Distributary Channels and Splays

USSEGLIO, MICHAEL, Sauder Management/Tumbleweed Oil Company, Dallas, TX

The prolific and relatively shallow (4000 ft) lower Tannehill (Wolfcampian) sand deposits on the Eastern shelf's Tumbleweed delta of Dickens County, Texas, are distributary channels and associated crevasse splays. They are located on the far western end of a 100-mi-long extensive clastic and oil-prone depositional system derived from the east. Geologists for years have erroneously played the sands and interpreted dipmeters in this area as fluvial point bars or channels.

The Tumbleweed Northwest field is an excellent example of such a distributary channel/splay depositional environment. Prospecting techniques involving sound subsurface geology and unconventional soil-gas geochemistry have been used to uncover such complex stratigraphic traps.

Tumbleweed Northwest field is still in its primary stage of development, and has probable total recoverable reserves of 2 million bbl of oil.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91011©1991 AAPG Southwest Section Meeting, Abilene, Texas, February 9-12, 1991 (2009)