Depositional systems and petroleum potential, Mesaverde Formation southeastern Wind River basin, Wyoming

Conference · Fri Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986 · Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7042359

Hippe, D J; Needham, D W; Ethridge, F G

Depositional environments and systems of the Wind River basin Mesaverde Formation were interpreted from an analysis of outcrops along the Casper arch and Rattlesnake Hills anticline and cores and wireline logs from the adjacent subsurface. The Fales Sandstone and Parkman Sandstone/unnamed middle member are deposits of eastward progradational, wave-dominated strand-plain and deltaic complexes. Basal portions of the Fales Sandstone and the Parkman Sandstone are composed of a thickening- and coarsening-upward sandstone sequence whose facies represent storm-dominated inner-shelf and wave-dominated shore-zone environments. Facies sequences in the upper Fales Sandstone interval and the unnamed middle member are interpreted as deposits of lower coastal plain (marshes, bay fills, distributary channels, and crevasse splays) and upper coastal plain (alluvial channels, crevasse splays and fine-grained flood basin) sequences. The Teapot Sandstone is interpreted as an alluvial deposit. Analysis of facies sequences in the Teapot suggests a change in fluvial style, from braided-belt deposits along the southwest flank to meander-belt deposits along the northeast flank of the basin. These fluvial systems fed the Teapot deltas to the east. Stratigraphic plays for oil and gas include alluvial valley fills and point-bar deposits in the Teapot Sandstone, storm-dominated shelf sands in the upper Cody Shale and the Fales and Parkman Sandstones, and a transgressive barrier-bar sequence in the upper Fales Sandstone. Laterally continuous shore-zone sandstones may form combination traps where pinch-outs occur on structure.

• Research Organization: Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins
• OSTI ID: 7042359
• Report Number(s): CONF-8609129-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States) Journal Volume: 70:8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
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& Exploration
03 NATURAL GAS
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ANTICLINES
DEPOSITION
FEDERAL REGION VIII
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGIC TRAPS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NORTH AMERICA
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESERVOIR ROCK
RESOURCES
USA
WYOMING