--> ABSTRACT: Internal Facies Architecture of the Sand-Rich Portion of the Cantua Sandstone Member, Paleogene Lodo Formation, Southern Diablo Mountains, California, by Kai S. Anderson; #91020 (1995).

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Internal Facies Architecture of the Sand-Rich Portion of the Cantua Sandstone Member, Paleogene Lodo Formation, Southern Diablo Mountains, California

Kai S. Anderson

As petroleum development increasingly focuses on deep-marine reservoirs, a better understanding of submarine clastic systems becomes vital for competitive and profitable resource exploitation. Hierarchical classifications based on major lithological and depositional elements have been established for many depositional systems, including submarine fan channels. The internal facies architecture of an exemplary sand-rich deep-marine depositional system, however, has not been adequately described in the submarine fan literature.

The lower portion of the Cantua Sandstone Member that crops out as a south-facing cliff in San Carlos Creek Bolsa offers an opportunity to document the vertical and lateral heterogeneities within a reservoir-scale sand-rich submarine depositional system. The extent of vertical connectivity and lateral continuity within individual sedimentation units and between genetically related sedimentation unit packages (i.e. amalgamated sands), are illustrated on measured sections keyed to photomosaics for one kilometer along the San Carlos Bolsa cliff. Lithology, sedimentary structures, sedimentation unit thicknesses, sand:shale ratios, bedding style, and sedimentation unit packaging provide a basis for delineating five orders of architectural elements that comprise the Cantua Sandstone Member. Interpretation of these architectural elements elucidate the processes and environment responsible for construction of the Cantua depositional system.

This detailed characterization of the Cantua Sandstone Member reservoir architecture provides a basis for better understanding and predicting reservoir properties in sand-rich fans extant only in the subsurface.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91020©1995 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, May 5-8, 1995