ABSTRACT

The downdip Queen City sandstone interval in the Mestena Grande field area of the south Texas Gulf Coast Basin comprises two sandstone depositional units, referred to herein as A Lobe and B Lobe. A total of 583 ft (179 m) of conventional core from 11 wells containing predominantly B Lobe deposits was examined macroscopically. The A Lobe is a thin (6-34 ft; 1.8-10.4 m) fine- to very fine grained, mostly bioturbated, well-sorted sandstone. The B Lobe is composed of fine to very fine, well-sorted sandstone interbedded with siltstone and mudstone. The trace fossil assemblage of the B Lobe indicates that sediments were deposited in the Cruziana ichnofacies. Trace fossils and authigenic minerals also suggest oxygen stratification during deposition. The B Lobe contains five subunits, each as much as 13.5 ft (4 m) in net sandstone thickness. These units were deposited as part of a highstand systems tract during the early Lutetian Stage (early middle Eocene). The B Lobe is a primarily aggradational unit composed of storm-generated sandstone and heterolithic deposits of the lower shoreface to inner shelf environment. The A Lobe is an upward-coarsening unit that represents progradation of the shoreface during late highstand systems tract development. An interlobal mudstone, which separates the units, marks the transition from early to late highstand systems tract development.

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