ABSTRACT

The construction of a digital database of wells in a 31-county area encompassing most of the East Texas Basin allows a unique perspective of the Cotton Valley/Bossier depositional history, visualized by establishing a detailed sequence-stratigraphic interpretation. Multiple well cross sections illustrating depositional features and sequence interpretations create a correlation framework across the study area. Then by mapping the major facies, a three-dimensional view of progressive stages in the depositional history can be created.

The history of the Cotton Valley/Bossier sandstone-shale depositional couple is illustrated with a series of six maps, which step through time. These maps display the inferred paleo-facies that dominated each area during deposition of successive stratigraphic sequences. Accompanying the maps are cross sections that illustrate the log character of the facies being deposited.

Using digital well logs and advanced software programs, a large data set has been consolidated and interpreted over a large regional area. Digital display techniques allow many iterations of both structural and stratigraphic perspectives.