SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONS OF THE FREDERICKSBURG AND WASHITA GROUPS, LOWER CRETACEOUS CARBONATE SHELF, TEXAS

Author(s):  
Brian C. Diehl ◽  
Author(s):  
Cees J.L. Willems ◽  
Andrea Vondrak ◽  
Harmen F. Mijnlieff ◽  
Marinus E. Donselaar ◽  
Bart M.M. van Kempen

Abstract In the past 10 years the mature hydrocarbon province the West Netherlands Basin has hosted rapidly expanding geothermal development. Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous strata from which gas and oil had been produced since the 1950s became targets for geothermal exploitation. The extensive publicly available subsurface data including seismic surveys, several cores and logs from hundreds of hydrocarbon wells, combined with understanding of the geology after decades of hydrocarbon exploitation, facilitated the offtake of geothermal exploitation. Whilst the first geothermal projects proved the suitability of the permeable Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous sandstones for geothermal heat production, they also made clear that much detail of the aquifer geology is not yet fully understood. The aquifer architecture varies significantly across the basin because of the syn-tectonic sedimentation. The graben fault blocks that contain the geothermal targets experienced a different tectonic history compared to the horst and pop-up structures that host the hydrocarbon fields from which most subsurface data are derived. Accurate prediction of the continuity and thickness of aquifers is a prerequisite for efficient geothermal well deployment that aims at increasing heat recovery while avoiding the risk of early cold-water breakthrough. The potential recoverable heat and the current challenges to enhance further expansion of heat exploitation from this basin are evident. This paper presents an overview of the current understanding and uncertainties of the aquifer geology of the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous strata and discusses new sequence-stratigraphic updates of the regional sedimentary aquifer architecture.


AAPG Bulletin ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 101 (07) ◽  
pp. 1109-1143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Weimer ◽  
Renaud Bouroullec ◽  
Todd G. Lapinski ◽  
Aaron A. van den Berg ◽  
Raquel Cepeda ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duy Nguyen ◽  
Nadege Rollet ◽  
Emmanuelle Grosjean ◽  
Dianne S. Edwards ◽  
Steve Abbott ◽  
...  

The Roebuck Basin and the adjoining Beagle and Barcoo sub-basins are underexplored areas on Australia’s North West Shelf that are undergoing renewed exploration interest since the discovery of oil at Phoenix South 1 in 2014 and subsequent hydrocarbon discoveries in the Bedout Sub-basin. A well folio of 24 offshore wells across the Beagle, Bedout, Rowley and Barcoo sub-basins has been compiled as part of Geoscience Australia’s hydrocarbon prospectivity assessment across the region. It consists of composite well log plots and well correlations that summarise lithology, lithostratigraphy, Geoscience Australia’s newly acquired biostratigraphic and geochemical data as well as results of petrophysical analysis. A revised sequence-stratigraphic interpretation, key petroleum system elements and drilling results are also documented. The wells dominantly target Triassic shoreward facies (Keraudren Formation) as the primary reservoir objective and Jurassic fluvial-deltaic (Depuch Formation) and/or Lower Cretaceous sandy deltaic facies as the secondary objective. The Keraudren Formation sandstones are sealed intra-formationally either by discontinuous units and/or by the regional Cossigny Member. The Jurassic Depuch Formation sandstones are sealed by regional Lower Cretaceous mudstones. Both charge and structure have been identified as critical issues in the Roebuck Basin. In the Beagle Sub-basin, seal integrity and migration pathways are also considered high risk. Well correlations have identified differences in the basin history and provide insights into the distribution of facies and other characteristics of the Jurassic and Triassic successions.


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