Abstract: Sequence Stratigraphy of Late Pliocene and Pleistocene Sediments of Northwestern Green Canyon Area/Western Ewing Bank, Northern Gulf of Mexico
Rafael E. Martinez, Paul Weimer
Northwestern Green Canyon and Western Ewing Bank lease areas are characterized by complex faulting and salt deformation affecting the late Pliocene-Pleistocene sediments. The sequence stratigraphy has been studied using 1300 km of multifold seismic data, and 40 wells with biostratigraphy data (12 with high-resolution analysis). Fossil abundance and diversity curves were used to recognize condensed sections.
Eight depositional sequences have been recognized (2.4, 1.9, 1.4, 0.8, 0.7, 0.5, and 0.4 Ma). Maximum thickness of these sediments is 6 km. Paleobathymetry indicates that sequences were deposited primarily in bathyal water depths. Most of the sediments are in the lowstand systems tracts and consist of basin-floor fans, slope fans, and prograding complexes. Thick blocky sand packages (basin-floor fan) are present in two major sequences (1.4 and 1.1 Ma) and represent potential reservoirs in the area. Transgressive and highstand systems tracts are fairly thin across the area and are thicker only in the younger sequences (< 0.5 Ma).
The syndepositional structures play an important role in controlling the geometry and distribution of the depositional units, as well as creating structural highs for petroleum entrapment. Existing discoveries in the area include Green Canyon Blocks 6, 52, 184, and 228, and are associated primarily with amplitude anomalies on the flanks of salt structures and/or faults.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90983©1994 GCAGS and Gulf Coast SEPM 44th Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas, October 6-7, 1994