[PDF] Elemental Chemostratigraphy And Depositional Environment Interpretation Of The Eagle Ford Shale South Texas eBook

Author : Zain Abdi
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Page : 49 pages
File Size : 28,98 MB
Release : 2014
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A single drill core from La Salle, TX was analyzed for its chemical composition and percent concentration of both major and trace elements in order to understand depositional environments and local tectonic activity of the Balcones Fault Zone. The drill core contained the entirety of the Austin Chalk and the upper portion of the Upper Eagle Ford Shale. Samples were taken from 47 boxes at 3 inch intervals which accumulated in a total of 1,680 samples. Each sample was analyzed using a handheld x-ray fluorescence instrument which provided quantitative analysis of the following elements: Al, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, P, S, Si, Ti, and V. Furthermore, x-ray diffraction analysis was conducted at every 7 feet of the Austin Chalk and every 4 feet of the Upper Eagle Ford Shale. Calcium values ranged from 5% to 40% with the former values arising from the Upper Eagle Ford Shale and the latter values coming from the Austin Chalk. Sulfur percent composition ranged from 0%-20% and had similar trends as Magnesium which had values from 0.04% to 4.8%. The Austin Chalk contained great values of pyrite, illite, quartz, calcite, and dolomite. Trace element concentrations suggest that the depositional environment had periods of anoxic or euxinic events. Mineralogical and major elemental geochemistry suggests a carbonate rich Austin Chalk and calcareous Eagle Ford Shale.

Author : Heather Anne McGarity
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Page : pages
File Size : 34,65 MB
Release : 2013
Category : Geology
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The Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Shale, in South and East Texas, consists of organic matter-rich fossiliferous marine shale. It is one of the most actively drilled targets for oil and gas in the United States, due to new technologies in drilling and completions. These low porosity and permeability reservoirs are now significant hydrocarbon producers, and therefore, it is crucial to understand the architectural elements and reservoir properties to maximize hydrocarbon production. Zones of higher clay content, variable lithology, total organic content variations, and changes in porosity and permeability can affect hydrocarbon recovery. This study focuses on building a detailed stratigraphic framework of the Eagle Ford Shale. Six wells with whole core through the Eagle Ford Formation were analyzed and interpreted to determine lithology, sedimentary structures, and parasequences. Eight separate facies along with their depositional environment were interpreted to have been deposited above storm wave base along the inner and outer shelf in a moderate energy environment episodically interrupted by higher energy events, as opposed to a deeper-water setting. Gently inclined lamina and ripple cross laminations provide evidence of significant bedload transport, probably as floccule ripples. Bioturbated horizons mark flooding surfaces that cap upward-coarsening facies successions, interpreted as parasequences. These surfaces, along with bentonites seen in core were then correlated to the corresponding wireline logs. These surfaces along with other distinct gamma ray markers were then correlated across the South Texas region using a dataset of 735 gamma ray logs. Several units show onlap and truncation that were used to document onlap and thinning adjacent to structural highs. The upper Eagle Ford Shale shows onlap and thinning of units towards the San Marcos Arch as opposed to the Maverick Basin region where the upper Eagle Ford Shale thickens significantly. The lower Eagle Ford Shale remains relatively constant throughout the South Texas region, showing only minimal areas of thickened sections. Thus, indicating deposition of this lower unit prior to subsidence of the Maverick Basin.

Author : Michael Anthony Nieto
Publisher :
Page : 366 pages
File Size : 39,9 MB
Release : 2016
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The Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas is an organic-rich, calcareous mudrock succession which was deposited on the Comanche Platform during the earliest Late Cretaceous. Many academic and industry sponsored Eagle Ford studies over the past 10 years have concentrated their efforts on trying to understand the rock fabrics, facies architecture and heterogeneities present in the succession. However, despite heavy economic and academic interest in the system, few studies focus on trying to understand timing and source of the many bentonite ash beds present in the Eagle Ford; which serve as regional chronostratigraphic markers across South Texas. One of the primary goals of the study is the determination of U-Pb age dates in bentonite-rich ash beds from a group of subsurface cores that penetrate the Eagle Ford Formation in Atascosa County, Texas. Absolute age dates provide a chronostratigraphic framework that is used to estimate the depositional timing of variable Eagle Ford facies, as well as define the timing, duration and magnitude of isotopic events in the region. Secondly, age estimates are utilized to determine and calculate Eagle Ford accumulation rates across South Texas. Absolute age dates are incorporated with lithofacies definitions to better 1) understand the cyclic relationship between dominant Eagle Ford lithologies, 2) identify the controls responsible for the cyclic mode of deposition, and 3) determine the lateral continuity of key lithofacies and lithologic units. Lastly, elemental (XRF) data are utilized to describe the subtle paleoceanographic and sediment source conditions that persisted across the entire Eagle Ford section. These findings are integrated with stable carbon ([delta]13C) isotopic data, which allow for the accurate definition of Ocean Anoxic Event 2 (OAE 2) in the study area and provide a basis for regional correlation with previous studies. Recent studies have suggested that anoxic conditions experienced within the Western Interior Seaway during this time were asynchronous with the well-documented global OAE 2 event. The present study compares local U-Pb age dates, isotopic and elemental results with regional studies to better define the onset timing and paleoceanograpic conditions associated with Eagle Ford Shale deposition.

Author : Ryan Lee Harbor
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Page : 0 pages
File Size : 12,87 MB
Release : 2011
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The Eagle Ford is a well-known source rock for both sandstone (Woodbine) and carbonate (Austin and Buda) hydrocarbon reservoirs in East and South Texas. Recent discoveries have demonstrated that source rocks, such as the Eagle Ford, are capable of producing significant volumes of gas and oil. At the same time, variations in well producibility indicate that these rocks, like conventional reservoirs, display considerable geological heterogeneity. Yet, only limited research has been published on the subsurface stratigraphy and character of Eagle Ford facies. Understanding the types, controls, and distribution of these heterogeneities requires in-depth rock-based studies. In order to characterize Eagle Ford facies, 27 cores from 13 counties were investigated for rock textures, fabrics, sedimentary structures, and fossil assemblages. These studies were supported by light and electron microscopy as well as analysis of elemental chemistry and mineralogy. Regional subsurface stratigraphic correlations and facies distributions were defined using wireline logs calibrated from core studies. In South Texas, the Eagle Ford Formation was deposited during a second-order transgressive/regressive cycle on the flooded, oxygen-restricted Comanche Shelf. Nine depositional facies consisting predominately of organic-rich, fine-grained (5.0 % TOC) to coarser-grained (3.05 % TOC) fabrics were identified. Facies developed in low-energy environments episodically interrupted by higher-energy, event sedimentation (current winnowing, cohesive and non-cohesive density flows, and turbidity flows). Locally, these rocks show evidence of early diagenetic recrystallization of calcite. Concurrent water anoxia and organic matter preservation persisted locally into later Austin deposition, resulting in formation of a three-fold division of the Cenomanian-Coniacian Eagle Ford Formation. Common facies of lower and upper Eagle Ford members include (1) unlaminated, fissile, clay- and silica-rich, organic-rich mudrocks, (2) laminated, calcareous, organic-rich mudrocks, and (3) laminated, foraminifera- and peloid-rich, organic-rich packstones. The transitional Eagle Ford member consists of highly-cyclic (1) ripple-laminated, organic-rich wackestone (cycle base) and (2) burrowed, organic-lean lime wackestones (cycle top). Transitional Eagle Ford facies developed in oxygen-restricted, basinal depositional environments as distal equivalents to burrowed, foraminiferal lime wackestones of the Austin Formation. Facies complexities in the Eagle Ford stem from complicated and interrelated processes of sediment production and distribution, diagenesis, and water column chemistry. Integrated core studies shed light on both controls of facies formation and their spatial distribution. These findings provide a framework for upscaling the fine-scale, heterogeneous character of shelfal Eagle Ford mudrocks; thus allowing development of predictive models into the distribution of key reservoir properties in the subsurface.

Author : John Donald Pierce
Publisher :
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 49,32 MB
Release : 2014
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The Eagle Ford Shale and equivalent Boquillas Formation (Late Cretaceous) contain abundant volcanic ash beds of varying thickness. These ash beds represent a unique facies that displays a range of sedimentary structures, bed continuity, and diagenetic alteration. They are prominent not only in West Texas outcrops, but also in the subsurface of South Texas where hydrocarbon production is actively occurring. The ash beds have the potential to be used for stratigraphic correlation for understanding early diagenesis and -- most importantly -- for obtaining high-resolution geochronology, which can then be used for defining depositional rates and chronostratigraphy. Study of the ash beds was conducted at outcrops along U.S. 90, west of Comstock, Texas, the subsurface in Atascosa and Karnes County, and at a construction site in South Austin. Bed thicknesses range from 0.1-33 cm and were collected throughout the entirety of the Eagle Ford succession. Mineral separation yielded abundant non-detrital zircons for U-Pb dating. Dating was conducted using LA-ICP-MS at The University of Texas at Austin, to attain a base level understanding of the age range for the Eagle Ford. High-resolution ages for the base and top of the Eagle Ford were obtained, in addition to radioisotopically defining the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary within the section. U-Pb ages for the Eagle Ford Shale range from Early Cenomanian to Late-Coniacian near Comstock, Mid-Cenomanian to the Turonian-Coniacian boundary in the subsurface, and Early Cenomanian to Late Turonian in Austin area. These findings contrast with many of the regional biostratigraphic studies across the Eagle Ford and indicate a more prolonged period of Eagle Ford deposition than previously observed.

Author : Josie Danielle Brunick
Publisher :
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 36,80 MB
Release : 2017
Category : Geology, Stratigraphic
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The mixed siliciclastic/carbonate late Cretaceous Eagle Ford Formation is commonly divided into the lower Eagle Ford and the upper Eagle Ford. The lower Eagle Ford is arguably the most obvious organic rich interval highlighted with wireline log data; however, the upper Eagle Ford may have just as much potential for hydrocarbon production success as the lower Eagle Ford has had. A better understanding of the upper Eagle Ford will allow a more thorough and educated assessment into its full potential as an unconventional reservoir, and allow its sweet spots for oil or gas to be found and exploited. This study is based on the description and interpretation of four cores of the upper Eagle Ford located within Karnes and Gonzales counties, Texas, thin sections, and key XRF data in an effort to better understand its sediment sources and depositional regime. Seven lithofacies were identified in the upper Eagle Ford are as follows: 1) Bioturbated Wackestone/Packstone; 2) Deformed Wackestone/Packstone; 3) Wavy Laminated Wackestone/Packstone; 4) Massive Mudstone/Wackestone; 5) Coarsely to Finely Laminated Wackestone/Packstone; 6) Massive packstone/grainstone; 7) Volcanic Ash. The highest Total Organic Carbon (TOC) percent relative to each core always occurred within the base of the upper Eagle Ford. In fact, the highest TOC percentage recorded was 4.5% within the base of the upper Eagle Ford in the most distally located core. Thorium to Uranium ratios of the upper Eagle Ford were on average less than 1 indicating that the upper Eagle Ford contains very little terrigenous sourced material. Nickel, copper, vanadium, molybdenum, and uranium concentrations were also analyzed and correlated to relative organic matter influx and Paleoredox levels within the upper Eagle Ford in each core.