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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database

West Texas Geological Society

Abstract


In Search of New Permian Basin Oil and Gas Fields: Using Today's Technologies and Tomorrow's Ideas for Exploration, Development, and 3D Seismic in a Mature Basin, 1995
Pages 111-137

Computer Simulation of the Yates Formation (Permian, Delaware Basin) - Sequence Stratigraphy and Shelf-to-Basin Correlation Implications

James M. Borer, Paul M. Harris

Abstract

High-resolution stratigraphic analyses shows that at least three orders of cyclicity produced the stratigraphy of the Yates Formation on the shelf as well as the time-equivalent basinal deposits of the Bell Canyon Formation. Evidence suggests that orbitally-forced, 400- and 100-k.y. (4th- and 5th-order, respectively) duration Previous HitseaNext Hit-Previous HitlevelNext Hit Previous HitcyclesNext Hit (Milankovitch, long and short eccentricity Previous HitcyclesNext Hit) were predominant events.

Stratigraphic computer modeling illustrates how a distinct Yates accommodation profile, hierarchical Previous HitseaNext Hit Previous HitlevelNext Hit history, and the interaction of Previous HitcarbonateNext Hit and siliciclastic systems were fundamental controls on Yates stratigraphy. Simulations show how the Yates topography (flat platform with a steep margin), low subsidence, and “keep up” Previous HitcarbonateNext Hit factory provided a distinct accommodation profile that resulted in rapid fluctuations between highstand- and lowstand-shoreline settings with only minor fluctuations in relative Previous HitseaNext Hit-Previous HitlevelNext Hit. Modeling suggests strong reciprocation between shelfal deposition during (decreasing rates of) relative Previous HitseaNext Hit-Previous HitlevelNext Hit rise and basinal deposition during (increasing and then decreasing rates of) relative Previous HitseaNext Hit-Previous HitlevelNext Hit fall occurred on a much shorter time scale (5th-order, 100-k.y.) than appreciated by previous workers.

Modeling and outcrop stratal geometries show how increased accommodation near the shelf edge resulted in a zone of greatest potential for cyclostratigraphic analysis and suggests that “fall-in” beds were the byproduct of a hierarchical Previous HitseaNext Hit-Previous HitlevelNext Hit operating across an outer shelf accommodation gradient. Periods of “fall in” occurred during 4th-order, Previous HitseaNext Hit-Previous HitlevelNext Hit lowstands when accommodation space shifted seaward and off a previously deposited Previous HitcarbonateNext Hit bank. Modeling results also point out the fundamental importance of evaluating high-frequency Previous HitcyclesNext Hit to understand shelf evolution and siliciclastic bypass. In the Yates model, sediment bypass to the basin is a high frequency phenomena that is varied by longer term Previous HitcyclesNext Hit. Furthermore, 4th-order cycle (sequence) boundaries are defined by zones of closely spaced 5th-order bypass surfaces and 3rd-order sequence boundaries are, in turn, defined by zones of low-accommodation, 4th-order Previous HitcyclesTop.


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