Print this pageDevonian Sunnyside Basin, Nevada
CHAMBERLAIN, ALAN K., and BRUCE P. DIRGE
The Sunnyside Basin is a broad intrashelf basin on the western North American margin that contains at least 5000 feet of Devonian strata. Attractive reservoir rocks in these strata could provide world-class petroleum reserves.
Regional isopach and facies maps of Devonian sequences show the distribution of reservoir strata in terms of depositional environments and sequence boundaries. Depositional environments control the distribution of grainstones, reefs, vuggy strata, sucrosic dolomites and quartz sandstones. Sequence boundaries control the preservation of these primary reservoirs and mark karstified intervals, another significant reservoir type.
Sequences are identified, analyzed and mapped using outcrop and subsurface sections with gamma-ray profiles. The database includes wells drilled up to 1996 and more than 1,000,000 feet of measured sections. Correlations are refined through an iterative process using a network of regional stratigraphic cross sections hung on various datums. The digital nature of the database allows for rapid construction of isopach and facies maps.
These maps focus exploration efforts on areas of world-class reservoir quality and thickness. Perhaps of equal importance, these data can be used to help resolve structural complexities due to Mesozoic thrusting in the region.