Reservoir quality, sediment source, and regional aspects of Norphlet Formation, South State Line field, Greene County, Mississippi

Conference · Fri May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987 · AAPG (Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol.) Bull.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5769584

Thomson, A; Stancliffe, R J; Shew, R D

South State Line field, discovered in 1970, is centrally located in the productive Jurassic Norphlet trend of the eastern Gulf Coast. The Norphlet Formation at South State Line has produced gas and condensate from normally pressured eolian sandstones at depths of more than 17,900 ft (5455 m). The 600-ft- (183-m) thick Norphlet Formation is composed of 100% sandstone and consists of two reservoir types: a poorer quality upper sandstone having low permeability (0.6 md) and a good-quality lower sandstone with better permeability (15.5 md). The upper sandstone exhibits tighter compaction of framework grains and more cement than the lower sandstone. Significantly, the upper sandstone contains authigenic illite (which promotes pressure solution), whereas the lower sandstone contains authigenic chlorite (which inhibits cementation and possibly pressure solution). On a regional scale, illite is the principal diagenetic clay mineral in the western area of the Norphlet trend (Mississippi to Texas), whereas chlorite is the principal diagenetic clay mineral in the east (Alabama to Florida). Not surprisingly, reservoir quality is poorer in the western portion of the trend. A comparison of framework grains in the upper and lower sandstones shows no significant compositional differences. Both are mature arkosic sandstones with a transitional-continental source (eastern Appalachians). No evidence was seen of a quartz-rich Ouachita or cratonic source. Volcanic and plutonic rock fragments are slightly more abundant in the lower sandstone, possibly reflecting a shifting of compositional terranes within a single source area along the eastern side of the Appalachians. The lower Norphlet sandstone may have been derived from Triassic volcanics, whereas the upper sandstone may have been derived from a more metamorphic source.

• OSTI ID: 5769584
• Report Number(s): CONF-870606-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: AAPG (Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol.) Bull.; (United States) Journal Volume: 71:5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
030200* -- Natural Gas-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
CLAYS
FEDERAL REGION IV
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
JURASSIC PERIOD
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
MISSISSIPPI
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NORTH AMERICA
RESERVOIR ROCK
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SANDSTONES
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
USA