Sedimentological evolution of Mississippian Kekiktuk Formation, Sagavanirktok Delta area, North Slope, Alaska
The reservoir interval in the Endicott field, located under the delta of the Sagavanirktok River east of Prudhoe Bay, is the Mississippian Kekiktuk formation. The lower-most interval (zone 1) rests directly on metamorphic basement and comprises interbedded coal, mudstones, siltstones, and fine-grained sandstones. These rocks were deposited in a very low-lying swamp plain containing local lakes and sluggish, highly sinuous streams. Zone 1 is overlain sharply by zone 2, which comprises medium to coarse-grained, multistory sandstone that was deposited within an unconstrained braided river system. The braid plain contained both ephemeral and permanent lakes, and periodic gravity flows deposited coarser sediment into the latter. That sequence passes gradationally upward into zone 3, which is composed of coarse-, medium-, and fine-grained sandstones, as well as siltstones, mudstones, and coals. The lower part of zone 3 is dominated by upward-fining sandstone sequences, interpreted as channel bars deposited within a moderately sinuous fluvial system. They pass gradationally upward into other, distinct upward-fining sequences, which differ in having higher proportions of siltstone, mudstone, and coal. Those rocks were deposited in a more highly sinuous (meandering) fluvial environment. The rocks grade upward into shallow marine sediments of the Kayak/Itkilyariak formations. The vertical sequence within the Kekiktuk in this area permits an interpretation of the structural history of the basin during Kekiktuk time.
- Research Organization:
- Shio Petroleum Co., San Francisco, CA
- OSTI ID:
- 5969425
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8505215-
- Journal Information:
- Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States), Journal Name: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States) Vol. 69:4; ISSN AAPGB
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Evolving fluvial style in the Kekiktuk Formation (Mississippian), Endicott field area, Alaska: Base level response to contemporaneous tectonism
Reservoir description of Endicott Field, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska
Related Subjects
020200* -- Petroleum-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
ALASKA
ALASKAN NORTH SLOPE
FEDERAL REGION X
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
MINERAL RESOURCES
MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD
NORTH AMERICA
OIL FIELDS
PALEOZOIC ERA
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESERVOIR ROCK
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SANDSTONES
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SEDIMENTATION
USA