Depositional systems and hydrocarbon resource potential of the Pennsylvanian system, Palo Duro and Dalhart Basins, Testas Panhandle. Geological Circular 80-8
Pennsylvanian clastic and carbonate strata were deposited in a variety of environments within the Palo Duro Basin. Maximum accumulation (totalling 750 m or 2400 ft) occurred along a northwest-southeast axis. Major facies include fan-delta sandstone and conglomerate, shelf and shelf-margin carbonate, deltaic sandstone and shale, and basinal shale and fine-grained sandstone. Erosion of Precambrian basement in the adjacent Amarillo and Sierra Grande Uplifts supplied arkosic sand (granite wash) to fan deltas along the northern margin of the basin. Distal fan-delta sandstones grade laterally and basinward into shallow-shelf limestone. Deep basinal shales were deposited only in a small area immediately north of the Matador Arch. Increased subsidence deepened and enlarged the basin throughout late Pennsylvanian time. Ultimately, the basin axis trended east-west with a narrow northwest extension. A carbonate shelf-margin complex having 60 to 120 m (200 to 400 ft) of depositional relief developed around the basin margin. The eastern shelf margin remained stationary, but the western shelf margin retreated landward throughout late Pennsylvanian time. Porous, dolomitized limestone occurs in a belt 16 to 32 km (10 to 20 mi) wide along the shelf margin. High-constructive elongate deltas prograded into the Palo Duro Basin from the east during late Pennsylvanian time. Prodelta mud and thin turbidite sands entered the basin through breaks in the eastern carbonate shelf margin. Potential hydrocarbon reservoirs re shelf-margin dolomite, fan-delta sandstone, and high-constructive delta sandstone. Basinal shales are fair to good hydrocarbon source rocks on the basis of total organic carbon content. Kerogen color and vitrinite reflectance data indicate that source beds may have reached the early stages of hydrocarbon maturation.
- Research Organization:
- Texas Univ., Austin (USA). Bureau of Economic Geology
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC97-79ET44614
- OSTI ID:
- 6797852
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ET/44614-T4
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
03 NATURAL GAS
58 GEOSCIENCES
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
DEPOSITION
CONTINENTAL SHELF
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
TEXAS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
STRATIGRAPHY
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
CONGLOMERATES
DOLOMITE
MACERALS
PENNSYLVANIAN PERIOD
RESERVOIR ROCK
SANDSTONES
SHALES
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
BIOLOGY
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONATE ROCKS
CARBONATES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MAGNESIUM CARBONATES
MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS
MINERAL RESOURCES
MINERALS
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PALEOZOIC ERA
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SOUTHWEST REGION
USA
020100* - Petroleum- Reserves- (-1989)
030100 - Natural Gas- Reserves- (-1989)
580100 - Geology & Hydrology- (-1989)