Abstract: Sedimentologic and Stratigraphic Evaluation of Incised Valley Reservoirs, Lower Mannville of the Tabor Valley System, Southwestern Alberta, Canada
LUKIE, TERRENCE D.
The purpose of this study is to expand on the general model of incised-valley stratigraphy by developing more specific models of valley-fill stratigraphy, concentrating particularly on the Tabor Valley system (Lower Mannville) of southwestern Alberta, Canada. The research is intended to provide a better understanding of the influence that variations in accommodation space have on the size, shape, distribution, and character of reservoir sands. Accommodation space is one of the most significant variables, not only because of its control on sequence architecture, but also because it influences the texture and architecture of fluvial deposits and the relative importance of estuarine/tidal facies with the valley fill.
The study involves the examination of producing valley-fill deposits of the same age, but from situations with different accommodation potentials along the length of a single valley system (accommodation increases from south to north). The selection of valley fills of the same age minimizes the effects of temporal changes and isolates the influence of accommodation space to a greater extent. This study includes a detailed facies analysis of units within and surrounding the selected pools using well logs together with cores wherever available. Both the physical and biological structures will be examined. From this analysis, the sequence-stratigraphical and architectural framework for the valley-fill will be established. Drill-stem tests, perforation tests, and other production data will be used to ensure the optimal delineation of reservoir units. In addition, a petrographic study of the reservoir sands will be undertaken.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90940©1997 AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid