--> Abstract: Facies Architecture and Reservoir Prediction in Ancient Glaciogenic Sediments: a Case Study using Integrated Outcrop and Subsu; #90063 (2007)

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Facies Architecture and Reservoir Prediction in Ancient Glaciogenic Sediments: a Case Study using Integrated Outcrop and Subsurface Studies of the Grant Group (Canning Basin, West Australia)

 

Martin, Joe R.1, Jonathan Redfern1, Brian P. J. Williams2 (1) University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom (2) University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom

 

The recognition of ancient glaciogenic facies suites from subsurface data is prone to difficulty. Most sedimentological criteria used to define a glacial origin relies on large scale geomorphic features that cannot be distinguished either in core or on wireline logs. Glaciogenic facies suites are often complex and understanding the mode of deposition is crucial to generation of reliable reservoir models.

 

This study details results of an integrated study of late Carboniferous to early Permian glaciogenic deposits in the Canning Basin (Western Australia) using both outcrop and subsurface data. The Grant Group attains a thickness up to 2 km and can be correlated over a considerable area. A series of inversion antiforms in the northern Canning Basin, trending WNW-ESE, expose a basinal sequence of the Grant Group from the Fitzroy Trough. Sedimentary and hand-held gamma-ray logging allows reconstruction of the depositional environments and provides strong evidence of a glacial influence on sedimentation.

 

Fully cored stratigraphic boreholes from the Barbwire Terrace, along the flanks of the Fitzroy Trough, provide an extensive subsurface datasets of the same interval. Sedimentary lithofacies in outcrop comprise glacially-influenced shallow water deposits, many within a deltaic setting. Evidence for glacial influence comes from striated units, dropstones and diamictites. Many of the glacial features recorded in outcrop, however, could not be observed in core, although similar facies associations can be observed. The use of outcrop gamma-ray provided invaluable information on subtle variations in grain-size and cyclicity and facilitated lithostratigraphic correlation with the subsurface.

 

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California