Distribution and Continuity of Sandstone Reservoirs — Part | R. J. Le Blanc, Sr., shell Development Co Introduction Effective maximum exploitation of a hydrocarbon ac- cumulation requires full understanding of the reservoir beds and the pore space they contain. Fundamental re- search on clastic sediments by the petroleum industry, universities, and government agencies has produced a wealth of published information on the distribution and continuity of sandstones. Criteria for recognizing the various types of sandstones utilizing conventional sub- surface data, such as cores, cuttings, and well logs, are reasonably well established Conceptual models for pre- icting or determining sand body distribution, con- tinvity, and imtermal characteristics also are available. Any method of oi. or gas-field development that does not take advantage of these conceptual models and criteria must be considered negtigent The distribution, continuity, and internal characteris- tics of sandstones are controlled primarily by original environments of deposition. Anyone who is seriously involved in determining the distribution and continu: ity of sandstones, whether on a local or regional basis, will profit substantially by studying the literature and developing a thorough understanding of these environments, ‘Therefore, this summary paper on the distribution and continuity of sandstone reservoirs consists of two parts. Pan 1 consists of brief discussions of the three most Significant sandstone depositional environments: (1) contineruat (alluvial fan, braided stream, meandering stream, and aeolian). (2) transitional (deltaic and coastal barrier islands, tidal channels, and aeolian and transgres: sive marine), and (3) deep marine (turbidities related 10 submarine canyon-fan systems). (See Fig. 1 ) These key sedimentary environments are reviewed through examination of modem examples and ancient analogs. Criteria foridentifyifg sandstones from conven- tional data are presented with the conceptual models necessary for predicting their distribution and intemal reservoir characteristics. Part? is a bibliographic source document. Itincludes a ‘genetic classification of environments of sand deposition and lists, by depositional environments and geographic occurrence, the significant Iiterature on ancient sand: stones. Some 250 selected references are included. ‘The scientist and engineer who together integrate ap- ropriately the criteria, principles, and models of sand- stone deposition presented here with other subsurface ‘engineering data should benefit from the synergism bound to occur and, thus, should be better able to solve the practical reservoir problems. Distribution and Continuity of Sandstone Reservoirs (Our present knowledge and understanding of the factors ‘that control the distribution and continuity of sandstones. are based on the research on Recent sediments and on the study of ancient clastic sediments, ‘The following discussion of the distribution and con- tinuity of sandstone reservoirs describes those sand bodies believed to predominate in the spectrum of sand- stone reservoirs, This paper presents brief discussions of the three most important depositional environments of sandstone reservoirs. Criteria for identifying sandstones from conventional data are presented, along with conceptual models for predicting their distribution and internat reservoir characteristics.Alluvial Fan and Braided Stream Sandstones Sands of alluvial fan and braided stream origin are de- posited under relatively high energy conditions, mainly ‘along the front of mountains of high relief (Fig. 2) Deposition of sand in this type of environment takes place under two different conditions. Some fans are con structed almost entirely by braided steam sedimentation. Sediments derived from the mountain areas are funneled to the fan through canyons and then are dispersed by braided streams, Sands and coarser clastics generally are ‘confined to the channels. However, during periods of extreme flooding on overbank sheet flow, another typeof sedimentation results in deposition of sand over the entite fan surface. When this type of sedimentation prevails. le to lower fan areas, sandstones are deposited. It is quite tinental sheet sands, which were deposited in this in the middle 10 1 continuity with great lateral the com pable that most of t! aroha evo of lay bois wi nt. Mm omit of mud or debris flows. These tsp ae ta at re Toys grow be of exter poorly sored sd sand or conglomeratic sa and usa posits, such a5 the Price River (Conneeous age) in Ula, consist of interbedded sand- (Ceeacedmglomerates, and mudstones Fig. 3). [tis quite eta the deposition ofthese sandstones and con omerater was confined 10 the fan channels. During especially i oerosits } Fig. 2—TTick section of alluvial fan deposits adjacent to mountain ont. From Buerates and sandstones Fig, 3—interbedded channel co ‘ong, Price Iver ‘and interchannel mudstones of alluvial (Gretaceaus) of Utah, periods of overbank flash flooding, fine-grained sed- ents were deposited in the interchannel areas. Thus, as channels were abandoned and new channels developed; the interchannel clay became interbedded with channel sand, High-energy alluvial fan and braided stream deposits have not been studied as extensively as meandering stream sediments. However, on the basis of presently available information, it appears that there is great vari- ‘bility in the distribution and continuity of this type of sandstone. Some braided stream deposits of the lower fan ‘can be distributed over very large areas and have ex- tremely good lateral and vertical continuity. Sandstones related to the fans that receive a substantial amount of fine-grained sediments can be confined to fan channels and, thus, have poor lateral and vertical continuity Campbel?** has described an excellent example of tual Eheet sandstone from the Morrison formation of onhwestem New Mexico. The abstract ofthis important Paper is quoted below and the distribution of the Morr fon sandstones is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. nthe outcrops of the Westwater Canyon Member in the Morrison formation (Jurassic), northwestem New Mexico, show representative attributes of a fluvial sheet sandstone, This sandstone body consists of coalescing fluvial channel systems that in turn are composed of still ‘smaller coalescing individual channels. The sheet is more than 63 miles wide transverse to the paleo-current direc- tion and averages 200 feet in thickness; the downcurrent ‘dimension is not preserved but may have been as much as 100 miles. Channel systems intemal to the sheet average 7 miles wide and 50 feet deep. The individual channe! deposits that form the systems average 600 feet wide by 12 feet thick “Any one vertical column through the sheet sandstone is usually more than 90 percent sandstone. Further, each vertical column consists of repetitive incomplete (top missing) fluvial sequences that show upward-decreasing grain sizes and scales of sedimentary structures. Fluvial sheet sandstone is probably deposited by ag- grading and coalescing braided stream systems. "" ‘A large portion of the Castlegate sandstone (Creta- ‘ceous age), which crops out along the Book Cliffs of easter Utah, is considered to be an excellent example ff fluvial sheet sandstone deposited by braided streams downdip from alluvial fans. The Castlegate ranges from 200 to 500 ft thick and is very uniform in character for ‘many miles (Fig. 6). Fluvial sheet sandstones provide an ideal reservoir for hydrocarbons. Such a sandstone body is large enough to contain giant hydrocarbon reserves as well as an aquifer. See bogegty orton and Canina of Sancrone Renenors — Part 2 ‘SratrteteoceschedinPar? eK : | "€ [| cate 4 te cE Lod) mag nes Fig. 4—Locaton map showng dtrbuon of Mornson sandstones between Gap an Grants, NM. afar'© Fig. 5. otEs ims bal i | j 5 i i } é Sandstones of Meandering Stream Origin ‘The most common type of continental sandstones are those that are of meandering stream origin. This type of environment has been studied extensively and criteria for recognizing meandering stream deposits are extremely well developed “There are two processes of sedimentation in the mean. dering stream model that are pertinent tothe development of sand bodies: channel migration and channel abandon- ment. When channel migration occurs in the caving-bank area, there is a corresponding development of a point bar ‘on the opposite side of the channel. Meandering streams migrate in zones (meander belts) that are 15 to 20 times the width of the channel. Fully developed Mississippi River meander belts are 15 to 20 miles wide and up to a few hundred miles tong (Fig. 7) Channel abandonments are of two types. The river abandons a single loop (oxbow lake) by cutoff or it abandons an entire meander belt. Thus, the flood plain of a typical meandering stream is characterized by an active meander belt, several abandoned meander belts, and numerous oxbow lakes. Most oxbow lakes are filled with fine-grained sedi- ‘ments that are called clay plugs. Fisk’? described hun- dreds of clay plugs in the Mississippi Valley ‘The abandonment of a meander belt can occur gradu- ally or very abruptly. If abandonment occurs relatively fast, the last channel position within the belt will become filled with clays and silts, thus producing a long, sinuous clay plug along the entire abandoned meander belt. The last channel position of a gradually abandoned meander belt is usually filled with silty sands and sands ‘Once a meander belt is abandoned and removed from the environment of sand transport, it is usually covered by flood basin clays, thus providing a seal over the sand body — this is discontinuity Some areas of the flood plain are never occupied by the meander belts, These environments (flood basins or back-swamps) are topographically low and receive only fine-grained sediments. An example ofthe distribution of several meander belts and associated flood basin deposits is shown in Fig. 7 ‘The meandering stream produces extensive sheets of Fig. 6—Braxced stream sandstones inthe Castlogate (Cretaceous! near Castlegate, Utahsand, in the form of coalescing bars, over a relatively short period of geological time. These sand sheets are not 4s continuous as those of braided stream origin described by Campbell.** The clay plugs in oxbow lakes and the last channels of rapidly abandoned meander belts com: Prise numerous discontinuities within the sheets of sand. A point bar is characterized by a very distinctive verti- cal sequence (Fig. 8) consisting of four layers: a poorly sorted basal section of sand and silts, a zone of trough cross-bedded sand and gravel, a zone of horizontal and small-scale cross-bedded sand and silty sands, and an upper layer of finer-grained, small-scale, cross-bedded sills and sands.?¢? The point bar sequence is as thick as the meandering channel that produced it All the sediments within the point bar sequence were MEMPHIS, UPLANDS floodbosin of NN cchiwon Meonder belts (point id chennals) wes 51 al and ood basin Fg. 7Datrbutn of recent meander ba and fo epsetain ne ann eweer | Memes, Fenn Most aor KID a ie 1 i inecent enazos RIVER OEFOSITS |m yee rere Fig. Sequence of Recent point bar deposits ofthe Bcazos River, southeast Texas, From Bemand et a.neaw He T =, © onlearee’)* coyracr =| . rt MILLER CREEK | oe | we 47/i_____ 1 Srsponewenozlgonion cero otaone Wane Poe be ACS Hg ass ‘Gross-secton a deposited within the channel during flood stages of vary- ing magnitudes. At the end of each flood cycle, when the stream velocity is neatly zero, a layer of clay is deposited on the bar in the form of a clay drape. This drape cas. cover the entire bar that is under water or only local depressions. Clay drapes of varying thicknesses, from % in. to more than I or ft, are common within the point bar sequence. Most of the drapes occur in the upper half of the sequence, and they provide vertical discontinuities within the sequence. A point bar with several clay drapes "usually is reflected on the SP log shape as a serrated bell Several well documented examples of hydrocarbon ‘accumulations within point bar sandstone reservoirs have been published. Examples are shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Deltaic Sandstones ‘The most common and important hydrocarbon sandstone + Ae aS 1 of deltaic origin. Dehaic sands are 5s ts St ge t Petpe. position that they occupy Within the because Oy basin. With the exception of deep-sea sub. sedimentary andstones, the deltaic sands occur farther ‘Janaip than any other type of sand . ip Meands are deposited in two types of environ. Deltas tin distibutary channels and within the delta ments: as (Fig. 11). In this paper, the sands that are Septet yueous environment in front of the subac in CE a nec ah simply fringe sands. shedinbutary ca ‘ ‘Sands. The distributary channels praia Se gaad sand to the delta front region, oie ea a a eh ae consequently, it is usually highly cross-bedded, Processes of deltaic sedimentation are such that a dis- tributary channel, once itdevelops, usually does not exist for a long period of time. Modern deltaic plains are characterized by literally dozens of abandoned distrib- tutary channels but only a few active channels. For ex- ample, there are only two active distributaries on the wn Feleribuary ‘channel is fulf of water, but once the channel is abandoned it becomes filled with sediments ‘The character of the channel fill is governed by the manner of channel abandonment. Rapidly abandoned channels are filled mainly with fine-grained sediments, those that are abandoned gradually have more sands added in the fill. Generally, most distributary channels are not completely filled with sand; only the lower por- tions of the channel contain sand. ‘Some deltas are characterized by distributary channels that migrate, with the result that point bars are developed within the delta. Whenever this happens, the quality of sands in the delta is usually enhanced. Point bar sands are ‘common in the Niger Delta, but very uncommon in the Mississippi Delta Sandstones of distributary channel origin usually make up only a small portion ofthe total sand package withina delta. The most common sandstones are those that are deposited a sheets infront of the deltaic plain, the fringe sands, Delta Fringe Sands. Most of the sand that is introduced reservo cwani — SWALE, Fill ig SO ROME Ban “REGIONAL~ SAND > 100° MILLER CREEK bo Fig. 10—Pointbar sandstone reservoir and channe! il shale withinthe Fall iver ‘ocationofcrass-section a ‘Sandstone of Wyoming. From Berg.'*Ralerto FG. 9%%The variability of delta fringe sands is contlled by two main factors: (1) the amount and ty amount and type of sand intro- ced to this environment by the distibutary channels, and (2) the amount of energy in the marine environment (wave, tidal, current). If a delta with low sand content is. constructed in a relatively quiet body of water, the delta fringe sands generally will be poor-quality reservoirs. On the other hand, if a' dela with a high sand content e constructed in a body of water with relatively high levels of energy (such as waves and currents), the net result will be the deposition of clean, well sorted sand with excellent reservoir characteristics. During the past 15 years, much attention has been given to different types of deitas. Deltas have been clas- Sified according to the shape of their deltaic plains, such as birdfoot, cuspate, and arcuate deltas. The most sig- nificant literature on deltas that has appeared in recent years is concerned with the range in character of deltas (Fig. 12). Coleman and Wright # are the outstanding authorities on this subject. Relationship of Distributary Channels to Fringe. There is another aspect of deltaic process that must be considered: the relationship between distributary channel sandstones and delta fringe sandstones (Fig. 11). The ‘most significant paper on this aspect of deltaic sedimenta- tion was written by Fisk.7? Distributary channels are very shallow, usually less than 10 ft, at their distal ends where they meet the sea Their depths increase upstream from the river mouths, and they do not end at the edge of the deltaic plain but continue in the subaqueous environment across the river ‘mouth bars. Thus, the bases of the distributary channels do not have sharp contacts in this area. Rather, the sands of the basal part of the channels are transitional with the fringe sands. ‘As a delta progrades seaward, the distributary channel will cut into the fringe sands. If this movement continues for several miles, the distributary channels can cut through the entire delta sequence and into underlying marine shales. Thus, there is a very wide range in the thickness of distributary channel sandstones, depending ‘on the size of the delta and the amount of delta pro- gradation, Channel depths ranging from less than 10 ft toas much as 150 ft can be expected. It was emphasized earlier that the thickness of a point bar sequence is controlled by the depth of the channel that Fig. 11 —Depositional environments typical of modem deltas, From Le Blanc."* &- produced it. The thickness of the delta sequence also is partly controled by distributary channel depths; how- ever, the most important factor is the depth of water ‘within which the delta was constructed ‘The Delta Sequence. Two columnar sections are re- quired to define the delta sequence. A vertical section at a point between distributary channels usually will have three distinct layers: basal prodelta muds, fringe sands, and the organic-rich upper layer of the deltaic plain. & vertical section at a point within a distributary channel will show the channel fil resting ona portion ofthe delta sequence. The base of the distributary channel sandstone can rest on inner fringe sands, outer fringe sands. pro- delta clays, or even on marine sediments below the delta low Wttoral drift; high nds are reflected by two basic mon shape will be a variety fringe and prodelta sedi- stones will be charac- ‘SP Log Shapes. Deltaic ‘SPog shapes. The most com of funnels that represen the ts (Fig. 13). The channel sar I men i raped tgs. hee a comer tenet tof clay layers inthe channel fil. the bells wa arn Likewise, if there wa substantial amount olay tere within the fringe sequence. the funnels Wi be taxed. Additonal information on interpretation of 108 erronses in deltaic sediments has been summarized By ilreath and Stephens."* Oona te geologistrecognizes thathe is within a deltaic situaton itis a relatively simple procedure in many tasins to interpret deltaic sandstones with log shapes, provided that he has a good understanding ofthe deltaic 2. Low wave energy: low littoral drift; high tide Ss O} o q Y wae 3. Intermediate wave energy; high tide: low Mieoral ari. Miles 4c Intermediate wave energy: low tide Ss N 6 High wave energy: high Hs eee igh Utoral drift; ateep Fig, 12 Variations in net sand distbutton within dekas, From Coleman and Wright * CTREPRESENTATIVE ELECTRIC LOG CROSS SECTIONS OF DELTAIC SAND BODIES Pig. 14—Electric log cross-sections of doltac sand bodies. From Galloway.Fig, 15—Perrsy!,ansar # sinbutary ehannel (OC) sandstones Ovarying cute war ge F sandstones eastern Owanoma, Note con: nity Getween these two types of sandstones soe st Pte On eee eS ae eta: AES AL, 16—Datai sediments wihinine Caton Eocene) formation Oititah, Ponta’ (PB) anc wstroutary channel (Oe) sendstones ‘overie delta innge (F) sandstones. Ciay layer proves discontinuly batween the channel and tinge sandstones, model of sedimentation Some examples of deltaic sandstone reservoirs are shown in Fig. 14. Continuity of Deltaic Sands. Fringe sands have the widest distribution and the best lateral and vertical con- tinuity, These sands are in sharp contact with the laterally WEST BAY =) suttcuay © MIKED mur cuay a SAND womTonTaL wen Ct ot ‘Fig. 17~Section aroes tne Galveston bari alan showing rjatonehip of pLerstoceNe equivalent organic-rich deltaic plains clays (updip), but they grade gradually into silts and clays in a downdip Girection. Distributary channel sandstones have much more limited distribution and the vertical continuity of these sands is quite variable, depending on the manner of channel abandonment. Some distributary channel sandstones are in direct contact with fringe sands (Fig. 15), while others are separated from fringe sands by a layer of fine-grained sediments that acts as a permeability barrier between the two sand bodies (Fig. 16). Houser and Neasham'®? described variations in continuity and permeability of dlistributary channel and delta fringe sands of the Missis- sippi Delta Coastal Interdeltaic Barrier Island and Tidal Channel Sandstones Barrier Island Sands. Criteria for recognition of sands related to barrier istand complexes, and conceptual mod- els for predicting the occurrences'of this type of sand were reasonably well established by 1960. Ancient bar riers that exist in the subsurface are recognized very easily. They are difficult to find because they comprise only a small percentage of sands that occur in a basin. The recognition of barrier sands in the subsurface can be compared with the task of finding a needle in a large haystack. Although one knows exactly what the needle looks like, itis nevertheless hard to find because itis too small relative tothe size of the haystack. Barrier island sands provide excellent petroleum res- ervoirs. They occur as long, narrow, linear belts paralle} to shorelines. Perhaps one of the most important features of this class of sand body is that these sands occur in situations that are ideal for trapping large quantities of hydrocarbons stratigraphically. Barrier sands usually have sharp contacts with updip lagoonal clays. Downdip, they pinch out into the silts and clays of the lower barrier shoreface (Fig. 17). ‘The thickness of a single barrier istand sand body is controlled by the depth of inner continental shelf waters within which the barrier is formed. A good average thickness for barrier island sand is 50 ft. The barrier island sequence (Fig. 18) consists of four layers. The first layer is a lower interval of interbedded sands, silts, and GuLF of MEXICONIVId Y3IN3HDclays, overlain by a thick zone of fhe third layer consists of hor highly burrowed sand, zontal ofthe beach and upper shore face. Thy potted sands layer nsists of weathered ox idized 5 mea vente te tome cover of cross-bedded windblown sand. Amen faves cant characteristic of barrier sands is that thes ee devoid of clays. Thus, they have excellens meenly long strike and dip directions aa ‘The barrier island sand bod: logy 2 vai of log shapes. ‘of the barrier will have a funnel shape (Fi tocky because the lower zone of interbedded sedimens isabsent. Also, a log through the downdip portion of the barrier will be expressed by a thin funnel because the upper shore face and the layer of weathered sand are absent. Barrier island sand bodies occur in the subsurface as individual units, or they may coalesce venically to form a thick, linear sand body that is relatively narrow and parallel to the coast. Tidal Channel Sandstones. The continuity of a barrier istand along a coast line is interrupted by tidal channels, also called passes orinlets (Fig. 18). These tidal channels ly is reflected on the SP A log through the central *, PERMEABILITY DARCYS QUARTZ MEAN SIZE eos To 05 025 0.12 006 003 MM fer 8 fief feine] ve | sat a F rai a pce?! PERMEABILITY DARCYS '0 a5 t Fig. 19—Barer BOEKEL 2I-I4, NE NW 14- 8S- 54E wo a ‘ange in depth from a few feet to more than 100 ft. Their Gepths are controlied by the size of the estuaries that lie 'pdip from the barriers. The larger the estuary, the deeper the channel, Tidal channels usually migrate laterally along the Coast. The direction of migration is govemed by the di- ection of littoral drift. Iftwo barriers are separated by & deep tidal channel that migrates, the net result will be the truncation of a portion or all of the barrier sequence by channel migration and the deposition of a tidal channel Sequence of sedimenis on the opposite side (Fig. 18). ‘Thus, the continuity of barrier sand, parallel to the coast fine, will be interrupted by a tidal channel sand body that trends perpendicular to the barrier. These tidal channel sequences range from coarse to fine upward, have bimodal dip directions, and will appear on the SP log as bell-shaped. Thus, the continuity of barrier funnels will be interrupted by a series of tidal channel bells, but there will be no discontinuity of sand. Relationship of Barrier Sands to Deltaic and Point Bar Sands It is important to remember the positions that barrier island tidal channels occupy in a basin relative to the deltaic and point bar sands. Generally, barrier sand BARRIER BAR LAGOONAL GARY 6-14, SE SW6-8S-55EFig. 20—Crose-bedced seotan sandstones of (Jurassic), eastern Utah. eevee rron both flanks of a delta. In the case of large ts, like the Mississippi Delta, the barrier ed from the delta by the chenier plain ir downdip from the meander belt sand. Id be remembered that the width of the rally three to five times the width of bodies oceu muddy delt sands are sepé sands. Deltas occut stones. Italso shou deltaic plain is gene! alluvial valleys. ‘Another important relationship to remember is that barrier island sands do not occur as far downdip as the deltaic sands. Deltas usually protrude into the sea; hence, the sands are deposited much farther downdip than the barrier sands. Finally, barrier sands generally are seldom buried as deeply as the deltaic sands. ‘One of the best examples of a well documented": 5 38 barrier island reservoir is the Bell Creek field of south. castem Montana (Fig. 19). Fisher and McGowen'® and Boyd and Dyer** described large Tertiary bartier island complexes of south Texas. For additional examples of coastal interdeltaic sandstones, refer to Table 4 in Part 2 of this paper. Acolian Sandstones Most ofthe windblown sands are deposited in two differ. ent environmental situations. Sand dunes generally are common along most coastal regions characterized by barrier sands."®:*: © Significant dune fields also occurin inland or coastal desert environments.°? Acolian sands usually are highly cross-bedded (Fig.20) and form excellent reservoirs with wide distribution and excellent continuity. Glennie™ described reservoirs of this type from the North Sea (Figs. 21 and 22) Transgressive Marine Sandstones Mostof the deltaic and barrier sands are usually deposited under regressive conditions as the deltas and bartiers ‘row seaward, The sands that are deposited asa result of the opposite situation, when the sea advances upon the land, ate referred to here as transgressive marine sands ‘Transgressions can occur as a result of a rising sea level, subsidence of the coastal plain. or simply because of deta abandonment during a period of standing sea level, Only one type of transgressive marine sand is discussed in this paper — that related to delta abandonment AAs the transgression progresses inland, a small portion of the upper layer of the delta sequence is removed by ‘wave erosion and a relatively thin blanket of sand is deposited over the deltaic sediments. Farther seaward along the transgressive profile. silts and clays are depos- ited. Transgressive marine sandy are usually very thin. seldom more than 10 ft, and have wide distribution and ‘good continuity. As these sands become buried, they are cemented rapidly because of the large amount of shell material that they contain. These sands usually appear on the resistivity log as sharp spikes. ‘Transgressive marine sands are not important as reser- voirs; however, because of their diagnostic characteris tics and wide distribution, they are excellent marker beds for correlation purposes. It would be impossible (0 zone and correlate deltaic facies if these transgressive beds did ‘not occur in the section. Deep Marine Sandstones Criteria for recognition of turbidities have been well es- tablished for more than 15 years. Hundreds of papers have been published on the general characteristics of tur- Didities of various ages throughout the world. The mech- Fig. 23 Submarine fan mode of clastic sedimentation. Modied ‘rom Walker and Muth " x ly, an under- lity current flow and, especial if Sting he Recap conan Teall ‘hundreds of discrete beds of sandstones inter- ed fe usually was explained as a result of with shal bedded ping of slope sediments or of earthquakes Bra eed clumping of slope sediments to form tur- a a each cand Bed was the product of & sin ile slump or earthquake. ently, there was a Very Recently Sanding of turbidties. Mutti and Ricci. Cacthi'®* published a paper on turbidities of Italy Thc wo geologists recognized several distinct facies a ee rere Requences, which they related (0 the atpmarine canyon fan model of clastic sedimentation Thus, we now have a conceptual model for turbidite sedimentation, and forthe frst time in more than 30 years Atan handle these deep-water sediments on the surface Orin the subsurface in the same manner as the deltaic and remarkable breakthrough even Baw Taumninee WP TWineemtg uP Coane Les SuPen rant Threw enimie uP tones Gener we Ct ‘ow Suraivane DEFostiewae Tree nates = ah ours Pant eas peer Fig. 24— Sequences ol submasins Sancsiones: Modes rom Walt orfFig. 25—Thi Afig, 28 pThtee sutmarine fan channe! sequences witin the rk (Paleozor] al drkansas Note nang) oss uowar {10 left) in each sequence. See other shallow-water sediments, Mutti and Ricci-Luechi!® and Walker and Muti? recognized fan channel sequences, in which the beds thin upward (“thinning upward” sequence). They also de- scribed another sequence in which the beds thicken up- ward (“thickening upward” sequence). They related the fan channel sequences 10 the upper and middle fans and the thickening-upward sequences to the fan lobes (Figs. 23 and 24), Fan channel sandstones have limited distribution, similar to delta distributary channels, but they are much onger simply because deep-sea fans are much larger than deltas. A photograph of three fan channel sequences in the Jackfork (Pennsylvanian) formation of Arkansas is shown in Fig. 25. Fan lobe sandstones are probably distributed over much larger regions than any other type of sandstone ‘The lateral continuity of send beds must be extensive. In many cases, fan lobe sandstones are interbedded with numerous shale beds. It is possible, therefore, that the vertical continuity of reservoirs will be rather poor. Most of our observations of fan lobe sandstones have been on ‘outcrops whose lateral extent precludes the possibility of determining the extent of the lobes. This will have 10 await further study in the subsurface Fan lobe sequences that occur in the Jackfork of east. em Oklahoma are shown in Fig. 26. apr (SPE 61374) nas sonst er publeaton Ape! 26.1977 Pager was he reson mira PE ANE Sit Komal Fat vechnea)Cenlrenoe ano nbn at Rinaw Oneune, Gxt 56, 107%. 0 Coppa 1877 amarcan nanan of ney Metshegea and Priun Engnee's ne Fig, 26—Thck sequence of suomarine fanlobe sandstones inn the Jacktork (Paleczorc) of eastern Oxlahoma, Note ‘hckening of beds upward (tle) ‘There is now general agreement among geologists that many thick sections of turbidities are of submarine canyon fan origin. Acknowledgments 1am \ery pleased for the opportunity to prepare and present this paper at the SPE-AIME 51st Annual Fall ‘Technical Conference and Exhibition. 1 om grateful to Shell Development Co. for granting permission to share my experience and knowledge, especially during this petiod of energy crisis. ‘The genetic classification presented in Part 2 was ini- tially developed by me and my former colleague, the late Hugh Allen Bemard, during the early 1950's."® Our original classification was modified through the years 3s we improved our knowledge and understanding of Recent sediments. The classification presented here is essentially the same we presented in 1965."> T also am indebted 10 Doris M. Curtis of Shell De velopment Co.. C. N. Tinker of Shell Oil Co., and Robert M. Sneider of Sneider and Meckel Associates for their critical review of this paper IPT