<<

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Basin

35th Annual Gulf Coast Section SEPM Foundation Perkins-Rosen Research Conference 2016

Program and Abstracts

Marathon Conference Center Houston, December 8–9, 2016

Edited by

Christopher M. Lowery

John W. Snedden

Norman C. Rosen

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin i Copyright © 2016 by the Gulf Coast Section SEPM Foundation www.gcssepm.org

Published December 2016

The cost of this conference has been subsidized by generous grants from Hess Corporation and Freeport McMoRan.

ii Program and Abstracts Foreword

Thirty-two years ago, the Gulf Coast Section of SEPM convened its 3rd Annual Research Conference on the of the Gulf Rim (Ventress et al., 1984). At that time, the Mesozoic was being explored onshore as conventional carbonate and reservoirs, the Cantarell Field (Mexico) was in its early stages of production, and offshore areas of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico were primarily Cenozoic reservoir targets. Today, the Mesozoic is known to contain large discovered volumes in unconventional reservoirs onshore, Cantarell is in decline, and Mesozoic discoveries are being made in the ultradeep water of the Desoto and Mississippi canyons. Mexico has opened for international exploration, and political events in Cuba may eventually cause it to follow suit. This increased economic interest in the Mesozoic of the Gulf of Mexico has in turn spurred a huge volume of scientific research and increased investment in research and access to samples from wells in previously undrillable regions. New seismic refraction surveys are revealing the deep crustal structure of the basin and its early Mesozoic history. In particular, attention is beginning to focus on the presalt rift basins. State of the art seismic reflection surveys are illuminating the subsalt domain of both the U.S. and Mexico deep water. New techniques, such as detrital zircon , are reconstructing the continental scale drainage systems that feed into the basin, while new exploration in the deep water has identified sand fairways farther offshore than anyone expected. Advances and new concepts in economically important disciplines such as salt tectonics, depositional systems, development, migration, and charge have proved equally important scientifically and have yielded new insights into the formation and evolution of the Gulf of Mexico Basin. The 2016 GCSSEPM Perkins-Rosen Research Conference presentations included in this proceedings volume focus on the Mesozoic of the Gulf Basin, from the mountain source terranes to the deep-water abyssal plain and range in time through the pre-salt rift basins to the basin-wide event beds associated with the Chicxulub Impact at the K-Pg Boundary. As a whole, this publication demonstrates just how far our understanding of the Mesozoic of the Gulf of Mexico has advanced since that 3rd Annual GCSSEPM Research Conference in 1984. Of particular note are a the contributions to a special session on the source-to-sink depositional history of the Gulf of Mexico, including a number of papers using detrital zircon geochronology to untangle the source terranes of terrigenous deposits in the shallow and deep water. These include a number of notable siliciclastic units in the Gulf, including the pre-salt Eagle Mills, the Haynesville, and the Tuscaloosa. Although our understanding of the Mesozoic Gulf of Mexico is miles ahead of where it was 32 years ago, the data presented here also highlights how much is still unknown and undiscovered in this interval. Very little is currently known about the timing rift basin formation in the Triassic or the paleoenvironments represented there. How much time is missing between the top of those synrift and the emplacement of salt? How old, exactly, is the Louann Salt? Our knowledge of many Mesozoic source-rock and reservoir intervals are restricted to areas of active oil exploration. This observation borders on tautology, of course, but highlights important questions about the extent of these plays, and the existence of as-yet undiscovered plays. For example, the organic-rich facies of the - Eagle Ford Shale are well-known from Texas, but how does it correlate to the age-equivalent Tuscaloosa? Or into southern Mexico? Or the deep water? We have learned a great deal about the Mesozoic of the Gulf of Mexico, but there is still a great deal left to do. The conveners are indebted to the technical program committee for their assistance soliciting and contributing research for this volume: Erik Scott, Luke Walker, Rick Reuquejo, Thomas Hearon, Richard Denne, Robert Pascoe, Hilary Olson, Felipe Ortuño Arzate, James Pindell, Barbara Radovich, Rich Adams, Ian Norton, Sophie Warny, Amy Weislogel, and Ricardo Padilla. In addition, the assistance of Gail Bergan and Patty Ganey Curry in preparing this volume and advertising this conference was invaluable. We appreciate the kind offer of Marathon to allow us to use their meeting space for this meeting. Finally, we are grateful for the guidance and editorial oversight provided by Norman Rosen, without whom none of this would have happened. Chris Lowery

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin iii Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin

35th Annual Gulf Coast Section SEPM Foundation Perkins-Rosen Research Conference 2016 Program

Wednesday, December 7

Optional Core Workshop at the BEG Core Facility in Houston. Details will be sent to participants.

6:00–8:00 P.M. Registration and refreshments at the Sheraton Suites Houston, 2400 West Loop South.

Thursday, December 8, Marathon Auditorium

7:15 A.M. Continuous registration (coffee will be available) 7:40 A.M. Welcome remarks, Tony D’Agostino (Executive Director, GCSSEPM Foundation) 7:45 A.M. Introduction to the Conference, John Snedden (Technical Committee Chairman)

Session 1: Early Gulf of Mexico/Evolution of Gulf of Mexico John Snedden and James Pindell, Morning Co-Chairs

8:00 A.M. Gulf of Mexico Tectonic Evolution from Mexico Deformation to Oceanic Crust ...... 1 Norton, I.O.; Lawver, L.A.; and Snedden, J.W.

8:30 A.M. An Initial Quantitative Attempt to Estimate How Much Louann Evaporite was Deposited in the Gulf of Mexico Basin ...... 2 Fiduk, J. Carl

9:00 A.M. Stratigraphy and Mineralogy of the Oxfordian Lower Smackover Formation in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico ...... 3 Brand, John H.

9:30 A.M. Implications of Early Gulf of Mexico Tectonic History for Distribution of Upper Jurassic to Mid- Source Rocks in Deep-Water Exploration Areas of the US and Mexico ...... 4 Pepper, Andy

10:00–10:45 A.M. Extended coffee break with time to view posters.

iv Program and Abstracts 10:45 A.M. Chronostratigraphic Views of Gulf of Mexico Tectonic and Deposystem Evolution in the Mesozoic ...... 5 Fillon, Richard H.

11:15 A.M. Constraints on the Timing of Continental Rifting and Oceanic Spreading for the Mesozoic Gulf of Mexico Basin ...... 7 Pascoe, Rob; Nuttall, Peter; Dunbar, David; and Bird, Dale

11:45-1:00 P.M. Lunch provided

Chris Lowery and Luke Walker, Afternoon Co-Chairs

1:00 P.M. Aeromagnetic Map Constrains Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Synrift, Break Up, and Rotational Seafloor Spreading History in the Gulf of Mexico ...... 8 Pindell, James; Miranda C., Ernesto; Cerón, Alejandro; and Hernandez, Leopoldo

Session 2: Biostratigraphy

1:30 P.M. Pre-Albian Biostratigraphical and Paleoecological Observations from the De Soto Canyon Area; Gulf of Mexico, USA ...... 9 Weber, Ryan D. and Parker, Brandon W.

2:00 P.M. Relationship Between the Depositional Episodes of the Woodbine/Eagle Ford of and the Eagle Ford of ...... 10 Denne, Richard and Breyer, John

2:30 P.M. Coffee break

Session 3: Early Cretaceous

2:45 P.M. The Mesozoic of Nuevo Leon, Mexico: An Ancient Extension of the Gulf of Mexico. Paleogeo- graphy and Tectonics ...... 11 Longoria, Jose F. and Monreal, Rogelio

3:15 P.M. Triple-Porosity Diagram Proposed to Characterize Complex Carbonate Reservoirs—Examples from Mexico ...... 12 Stabler, Colin

3:45 P.M. The Siliciclastic Upper Cretaceous Play of Eastern Mississippi Canyon ...... 13 Harding, Andrew; Walker, Luke; Ehlinger, Steve; and Chapman, Tim

4:15 P.M. A Petroleum Systems Perspective on the Siliclastic Cretaceous Play of the Eastern Mississippi Canyon, Gulf of Mexico ...... 14 Kovas, Edward; Giallorenzo, Michael; Schafer, Kirk; and Taylor, Jack

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin v Friday, December 9

7:15 A.M. Continuous registration (coffee available)

Session 4: Gulf of Mexico Source to Sink Mike Blum and Ricardo José Padilla y Sánchez Morning Co-Chairs

8:00 A.M. Resolving Presalt Source Terrains and Dispersal Pathways for the Northern Gulf of Mexico Basin ...... 15 Frederick, Bruce C.; Blum, Mike D.; Lowery, Chris M.; and Snedden, John W.

8:30 A.M. Triassic-Jurassic Provenance Signatures in the Nascent Eastern Gulf of Mexico Region from Detrital Zircon Geochronology ...... 16 Weislogel, Amy L.; Wiley, Kory S.; Bowman, S.; and Robinson, Delores M.

9:00 A.M. Provenance of Cenozoic Siliciclastic Units in the Southern Gulf of Mexico by Heavy-Mineral Determinations and Geochemistry, and Detrital Zircon U-Pb Geochronology ...... 17 Beltrán-Triviño, Alejandro and Martens, Uwe

9:30 A.M. Late Triassic- Paleogeography of Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico ...... 18 Padilla y Sánchez, Ricardo José

10:00 A.M. Detrital Zircon Evidence for Amazonian Provenance of Upper Jurassic Norphlet Formation in North Central Gulf, Mobile Bay: Implications for Paleoriver Systems in South and Central America ...... 19 Gomes, Sonnet; Weislogel, Amy; and Barbeau, David

10:30 A.M. Coffee break

10:45 A.M. Evolution of Late Cretaceous–Paleogene Foreland Sediment-Dispersal Systems of Northern and Central Mexico ...... 20 Lawton, Timothy F.; Juárez-Arriaga, Edgar; Ocampo-Díaz, Yam Zul Ernesto; Beltrán- Triviño, Alejandro; Martens, Uwe; and Stockli, Daniel

11:15 A.M. Regional Correlation of Lithofacies Within the Haynesville Formation from Onshore Alabama: Analysis and Implications for Provenance and Paleostructure ...... 21 Essex, Caleb W.; Robinson, Delores M.; and Weislogel, Amy L.

11:45 A.M.—1:00 P.M. Lunch provided

Richard Denne and Amy Weislogel Afternoon Co-Chairs

1:00 P.M. Cenomanian Gulf of Mexico Paleodrainage from Detrital Zircons: Source-to-Sink Sediment Dispersal and Prediction of Basin-Floor Fans ...... 22 Blum, Mike; Milliken, Kristy; Frederick, Bruce; and Snedden, John

1:30 P.M. Cenomanian Gulf of Mexico Paleodrainage—Application of Channel-Belt Scaling to Drainage Basins ...... 23 Milliken, Kristy; Blum, Mike; Snedden, John; and Galloway, Bill

vi Program and Abstracts 2:00 P.M. New Models of Early Cretaceous Source-to-Sink Pathways in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico ...... 24 Snedden, John W.; Bovay, Ann Caroline*; and Xu, J.

2:30 P.M. Coffee break

Session 5: Late Cretaceous

2:45 P.M. Mesozoic Structure and Petroleum Systems in the De Soto Canyon Salt Basin in the Mobile, Pensacola, Destin Dome, and Viosca Knoll Areas of the MAFLA Shelf ...... 25 Pashin, Jack C.; Guohai, Jin; and Hills, Denise J.

3:15 P.M. The Expression of the Cenomanian-Turonian Oceanic 2 in the Gulf of Mexico: A Review ...... 26 Lowery, Christopher M.

3:45 P.M. The KPg Impact Deposits in the Tampico-Misantla Basin, Eastern Mexico ...... 27 Cossey, Stephen P.J. and Bitter, Mark R.

4:15 P.M. Final comments

Posters Only Deep-Seated Dynamics Including Crust and Upper Mantle Impacting Hydrocarbon Localiza- tion Within Sediment-Filled Basins ...... 28 Adams, Rich and Lowrie, Allen Lithological and Geochemical Analysis to Reduce Uncertainty in the Exploration of Unconven- tional Gas Deposits in the Burro-Picachos Basin, Northeastern Mexico ...... 29 Herrera Palomo, Alberto Stratigraphy of Fredericksburg-Washita Division (Albian), Comanche-Cretaceous, Texas, Emphasizing Person and Georgetown Formations ...... 30 Rose, Peter R. Integral Analysis of the Opening of the Gulf of Mexico and its Relationship with the Sediment- ary Basins Generation ...... 31 Cruz, Tomas Rodríguez Albian Stratigraphy of the San Marcos Platform, Texas: Why the Person Formation Correlates with Upper Fredericksburg Group not Washita Group ...... 32 Scott, Robert W.; Campbell, Whitney; Hojnacki, Rachel; Lai, Xin; and Wang, Yulun

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin vii GCSSEPM Foundation

Trustees and Executive Director Jory Pacht Dorene West Altair Resources Dorene B. West CPG Inc. Sugar Land, Texas Houston, Texas Ron Waszczak Anthony D’Agostino, Executive Director Consultant Hess Corporation Houston, Texas Houston, Texas Bruce Hart Statoil Houston, Texas

Executive Council President Secretary Dorene West Jennifer Wadsworth Dorene B. West CPG Inc. BP Houston, Texas Houston, Texas President Elect Treasurer John Suter Julitta Kirkova Pourciau Consultant Consultant Houston, Texas Houston, Texas Vice President Past-President Sophie Warny Thomas Hearon State University ConocoPhillips Baton Rouge, Louisiana Houston, Texas

Audio-Visual and Poster Committee Michael J. Nault (Chairman) Arden Callender Applied Biostratigraphix Applied Biostratigraphix

Technical Program Co-Chairmen John W. Snedden Chris Lowery Univ. of Texas–Austin Univ. of Texas–Austin Mike Blum Norman C. Rosen Univ. of Kansas Retired

viii Program and Abstracts Technical Program Committee Eric Scott James Pindell Repsol Tectonic Analysis Inc. Rick Reugeujo Barbara Radovich Cobalt Silvergrass Enterprises Thomas Hearon Ian Norton ConocoPhillips Univ. of Texas–Austin Richard Denne Sophie Warny Texas Christian University Louisiana State Univ. Robert Pascoe Amy Weislogel Leopard Energy West Virginia Univ. Hilary Olson Ricardo Padilla Univ. of Texas–Austin Universidad Nacional Autónama México

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin ix Contributors to the GCSSEPM Foundation

Sponsorship Categories Please accept an invitation from the GCSSEPM Section and Foundation to support Geological and Geophysical Staff and Graduate Student Education in Advanced Applications of Geological Research to Practical Problems of Exploration, Production, and Development Geology. The GCSSEPM Foundation is not part of the SEPM Foundation. In order to keep our conferences priced at a low level and to provide funding for university staff projects and graduate scholarships, we must have industry support. The GCSSEPM Foundation provides several categories of sponsorship. In addition, you may specify, if you wish, that your donation be applied to Staff support, Graduate support, or support of our Conferences. Please take a moment and review our sponsor categories for 2016, as well as our current and past sponsors. In addition, we ask that you visit our sponsors’ Web sites by clicking on their logo or name. Thank you for your support.

Corporate Sponsorships

Diamond Silver ($15,000 or more) ($4,000 to $5,999) Platinum Bronze ($10,000 to $14,999) ($2,000 to $3,999) Gold Patron ($6,000 to $9,999) ($1000 to $1,999)

Individuals & Sole Proprietorships

Diamond Silver ($3,000 or more) ($500 to $999) Platinum Bronze ($2,000 to $2,999) ($300 to $499) Gold Patron ($1,000 to $1,999) ($100 to $299)

Sponsor Acknowledgment For 2016, all sponsors will be prominently acknowledged on a special page inserted in the 2016 and 2017 Program & Abstracts volume, and with placards strategically placed in the registration area of the conference. Corporate level Diamond sponsors will be acknowledged by having their logo placed in the front matter of the Program & Abstracts volume and are eligible for a free half-page ad in the Section newsletter. Corporate level Platinum sponsors will be acknowledged by having their logo placed in the front matter of the Program & Abstracts volume and are eligible for a free quarter-page ad in the Section newsletter. All contributions used for scholarships and/or grants will be given with acknowledgment of source. In addition to the recognition provided to our sponsors in GCSSEPM publications, we proudly provide a link to our sponsors’ Web sites. Just click on their logo or name to visit respective GCSSEPM sponsors. The GCSSEPM Foundation is a 501(c)(3) exempt organization. Contributions to the organization are tax deductible as charitable gifts and contributions. For additional information about making a donation as a sponsor or patron, please contact Tony D’Agostino, Executive Director, GCSSEPM Foundation, 20746 Prince Creek Drive, Katy, Texas 77450. Telephone (281) 646-1660, or e-mail at [email protected].

x Program and Abstracts 2016 Sponsors

Sponsorship Individuals and Corporations Category Sole Proprietorships

Gold J. Carl Fiduk

Silver

Dorene West Bronze Mike Nault

2015 Sponsors

Sponsorship Individuals and Corporations Category Sole Proprietorships

Platinum Michael Styzen

Gold Michael J. Nault

Tim Bennett Silver Richard Fillon Ed Picou

Bronze

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin xi Credits

Design and Digital Publishing by

Rockport, Texas www.bergan.com

Cover Image The cover image chosen for this year’s conference is Figure 3 from Pascoe et al., which shows Mesozoic Gulf of Mexico Basin salt distribution superposed on crustal architecture.

xii Program and Abstracts Gulf of Mexico Tectonic Evolution from Mexico Deformation to Oceanic Crust

Norton, I.O. Lawver, L.A. Snedden, J.W. Institute for Geophysics Jackson School of Geosciences University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas U.S.A. e-mail: [email protected]

Extended Abstract Although the final stage of formation of the Gulf beds found in what are generally regarded as proximal of Mexico is fairly well constrained, earlier evolution is grabens formed during early rifting. This gap in knowl- still debated. The final stage was rotation of Yucatan edge, what we refer to as the “50 million year gap,” can about a Florida Straits Euler pole that created most of potentially be bridged by incorporating analogs with the observed oceanic crust (Pindell and Dewey, 1982). known systems in Mexico and northern South Amer- From observations of salt overlying seaward-dipping ica. There are uncertainties here, however, mostly reflectors (diagnostic of volcanism during the rift to based on how Mexico and northern South America are drift transition) in the northeast Gulf of Mexico, we palinspastically restored and the fact that these rocks suggest that salt was deposited at the onset of sea floor are in a proximal location. In particular, we note that spreading, which coincides with initiation of the rota- there was a long-lived continental margin arc in Mex- tional motion of Yucatan. It is important to understand ico that lasted from the through the Middle Yucatan motion that preceded this rotation because Jurassic (Barboza-Gudino et al., 2012). A lot of the delineating any presalt play that might exist would be rocks of this age seen in Mexico that are linked to Gulf dependent on understanding of depositional systems of Mexico rifting are in fact associated with this arc. In developed during this early motion of Yucatan. Very this presentation, we will review reconstructions of the little is known about the nature of presalt in region and develop a tectonic model that forms the the northern Gulf of Mexico. Salt is Callovian or earli- basis for further understanding of rifting in the Gulf of est Oxfordian in age, and the next oldest rocks known Mexico. from the northern Gulf of Mexico are Late Triassic red

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 1 An Initial Quantitative Attempt to Estimate How Much Louann Evaporite was Deposited in the Gulf of Mexico Basin

Fiduk, J. Carl Freeport McMoran e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract Published estimates for the original volume of require that salt velocities be inserted. This vital pro- Mid-Jurassic Louann evaporites found throughout the cessing step includes a systematic picking and entire Gulf of Mexico Basin vary widely. Volume totals interpretation of the tops and bases of all salt bodies derived from both map data and actual volume num- encountered. The resulting models of salt velocity bers, range from about 10,500 km3 (2,500 mi3) to allow salt volume in the 3-D data sets to be calculated. 839,000 km3 (200,000 mi3), an 80 fold variation. Little Combining the salt volumes calculated from multiple new information has been published during the past seismic surveys offers new stratigraphic insights across twenty-five years to address this disparity. But gaining large portions of the original salt basin. knowledge of the present day volume of salt would be A comparison of salt volumes derived from seis- an important metric if debates concerning the origin of mic data cubes and volumes derived from published the salt and the nature of the Gulf of Mexico Basin maps can now be made. The comparisons should give during salt deposition are to be reconciled. some suggestion as to the accuracy of the map data. By A methodology now exists to estimate more extrapolation it should also give a more accurate and accurately and quantitatively the volume of salt present quantitative estimation of the original salt volume in a given area. Multiple, recent generations of 3-D deposited in the Gulf of Mexico basin. seismic depth volumes in the offshore Gulf of Mexico

2 Program and Abstracts Stratigraphy and Mineralogy of the Oxfordian Lower Smackover Formation in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico

Brand, John H. Nexen Petroleum U.S.A. 945 Bunker Hill Road Houston, Texas 77024 e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract The Oxfordian Smackover Formation is gener- wireline logs. It was immediately obvious that the same ally acknowledged to be a hydrocarbon source for sequence of beds/units was present in the lower numerous reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico, both Smackover in well after well. Within the lower Smack- onshore and offshore. More than 25 wells in the eastern over Formation is a conspicuous zone characterized by Gulf of Mexico have penetrated the Smackover since iron-bearing minerals having a matrix density in excess 2003. Offshore, the Smackover consists predominantly of 3.0 g/cm3 throughout. of and shale containing thin organic layers. However, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) data from Immediately above the lower Smackover is a wide- rotary sidewall cores was necessary to validate the spread shale marker. This thin shale is correlated as the mineralogy. Because the mineralogy of the ECS log is base of the upper Smackover Formation, which con- a model-based calculation from the elemental concen- sists of interbedded shale and limestone. trations of iron, calcium, aluminum, etc,. rather than a This study will demonstrate that the lower direct measurement, the modeled mineralogy can be Smackover Formation in the eastern Gulf of Mexico inaccurate as was the case in the bottom two units. (Mississippi Canyon and De Soto Canyon offshore Mineralogy of the seven units has been verified areas) is composed of a series of seven units that occur by XRD analyses, albeit from a limited number of in the same sequence in virtually every well in which rotary sidewall cores obtained in only five wells. The the lower Smackover has been encountered. Although top three units are which vary in carbonate, the seven individual units can be resolved readily with clay, and pyrite content. The fourth and fifth units con- the proper wireline suite, each has a sub-seismic thick- tain significant amounts of high density minerals, ness. The overall thickness of the lower Smackover is particularly siderite and pyrite. The sixth zone is domi- about 300 +/-100 feet. Unlike the lower Smackover, the nated by anhydrite. The seventh unit is a hematite-rich surrounding Mesozoic formations, from Cotton Valley shale and its base is an . to Norphlet, vary greatly in thickness in the eastern Although wireline data are plentiful, analysis of Gulf. the seven units within the lower Smackover is ham- The initial correlations of the units in the lower pered by the limited amount of rock data and the Smackover were made by comparing the gamma ray, complete lack of whole core. Many depositional and resistivity, and density log patterns with the computed geochemical questions suggested by the unusual min- mineralogy of Elemental Capture Spectroscopy (ECS) eralogy and sequence of beds remain unanswered.

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 3 Implications of Early Gulf of Mexico Tectonic History for Distribution of Upper Jurassic to Mid-Cretaceous Source Rocks in Deep-Water Exploration Areas of the US and Mexico

Pepper, Andy Petroleum Systems LLC 777 South Mayde Creek Drive, Unit 101 Houston, Texas 77079 USA e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract The central Gulf of Mexico Basin formed by expressed in Ma), candidate source rocks in the Gulf of Callovian rifting followed by oceanic spreading during Mexico are: Acme A157 (late Oxfordian); A154 (Kim- anticlockwise rotation of Yucatan Block between meridgian); A148 (Tithonian); A144 (Berriasian/ Oxfordian (160Ma) and Valanginian (140Ma). The Portlandian). All four acmes have zones of nondeposi- rotation pole was in the Straits of Florida, resulting in a tion due to oceanic spreading, and older acmes are wiper-blade motion having greatest sweep along a absent over a greater area. Some workers have pro- transform paralleling the coast offshore Tampico-Mis- posed the main deep-water basin source rock in the antla Basin. Oceanic crust progressively separated the is Tithonian; however, new work (so far 160-140Ma stratigraphy, creating bands of ocean crust limited to eastern deep water Mississippi Canyon, lacking Oxfordian, Kimmeridgian, Tithonian and, near Atwater Valley, and Desoto Canyon) indicates that the ridge, even Berriasian deposition: present day, these A157 (i.e., the oldest, most susceptible to nondeposi- stages appear progressively absent towards the spread- tion) is the most effective source rock. ing center. Risk on Acme 157-144 non-deposition can be After a basin-wide 140Ma (Valanginian) uncon- mitigated if source rocks younger than 140Ma, having formity on the rimming shelves at the end of spreading, significant ultimate expellable potential, were depos- thermal subsidence resumed and water deepened fur- ited in the deep basin. Based on recent reappraisal of ther, in the basin. However, an arch separating the Gulf data in DSDP Leg 77, Cuba and rafted sediment blocks of Mexico and paleo-Caribbean basins across the Flor- in U.S. waters, significant ultimate expellable potential ida Straits remained a bathymetric sill to deep ocean does exist in five younger Early to mid-Cretaceous circulation post-140Ma as before. acmes: A138 (Valanginian); A120 (early Aptian); The impact of this tectonic/bathymetric evolu- A110 (early Albian); A101 (late Albian); and A98 tion on the presence and ultimate expellable potential (early Cenomanian). A138 may result from restricted (UEP) of source rocks in the basin center is profound. circulation, reinforced during the 140Ma uplift of rim- Using a scheme of basin-wide correlated organic mat- ming shelves, while A120, A110, and A101 can be ter depositional acmes (recently developed by correlated with oceanic anoxic events OAE1a, b, and d. Petroleum Systems LLC, where the acme age is

4 Program and Abstracts Chronostratigraphic Views of Gulf of Mexico Tectonic and Deposystem Evolution in the Mesozoic

Fillon, Richard H. Earth Studies Group 96 Vivante Blvd. #9627 Punta Gorda, Fl 33950 e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract We cannot hope to predict Mesozoic depositional Basin with the Arctic Ocean Basin. The effects of the processes and sediment properties well enough to plan establishment and intermittent blocking of this major effective regional exploration strategies without con- seaway connecting arctic and tropical water masses on sidering the big picture of Gulf of Mexico deposystem global paleoceanography, on global paleoenviron- evolution. The two critical big picture elements are the ments, and locally on onshore and offshore Gulf Basin kinematics and timing of the Yucatan Block’s detach- deposystems cannot be ignored in our quest to under- ment and separation from North America and the stand the Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim. various major expansions and contractions and the ulti- This paper is a “big picture” review of Gulf of mate disappearance of the . Mexico Basin deposystem evolution within the Late Although a number of authors, including this Jurassic (Oxfordian)–Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) one, have speculated on the timing of separation of interval. Seventeen Mesozoic chronosequences are Yucatan from North America (Fillon, 2007a), no defin- defined therein based on chronostratigraphic data gar- itive evidence exists: i.e., drilled samples of the ocean nered from over 130,000 industry well and pseudowell crust and the sediments directly overlying it. Without penetrations of Mesozoic section in the Gulf of Mexico that unambiguous information we must infer the paleo- Basin region. Examination of the collected data sug- geographic evolution of the early Gulf of Mexico Basin gests that grouping the seventeen Gulf of Mexico from deposystem architecture by asking questions such Mesozoic chronosequences into seven super-chronose- as when do Gulf of Mexico deposystems transition quences optimally distinguishes key phases of from architectures consistent with deposition in a deposystem and basin evolution. youthful block-faulted basin underlain by actively The oldest super-chronosequence defined in this attenuating continental crust to deposition in a mature study, dubbed “MG,” encompasses ca. 16.45 Ma of basin having stable margins surrounding a central Norphlet through lowermost Cotton Valley Late Juras- region underlain by subsiding ocean crust. An under- sic deposition. Sediment distribution and accumulation standing of the paleogeography and paleoceanography rates within the MG interval clearly define the rectilin- of the Gulf of Mexico Basin derived from deposystem ear configuration of the earliest Gulf of Mexico Basin. architecture can help provide answers to crustal kine- This early basin geometry is consistent with fault con- matic questions and to more exploration focused trolled attenuation and foundering of North American questions such as: where, and in section of what age continental crust, associated flooding, and rapid depo- should we look to find facies similar to the organic sitional infill concurrent with the earliest detachment of rich, generative facies of eastern the Mayan (Yucatan) crustal block from North Amer- Texas and western Louisiana. ica. The Yucatan block, although showing an affinity Although we all know something about the West- with South American (Amazonian) terranes (Martens, ern Interior Seaway, most of us working on the 2009), was left attached to the North American plate Mesozoic of the Gulf of Mexico Basin have not spent when North America began pulling away from Gond- much time considering what effects it might have had wana during the initial breakup of Pangea (Fillon, on the prospectivity of Gulf of Mexico deposystems. 2007a). Through much of Albian and Late Cretaceous time the The next younger super-chronosequence, “MF,” Western Interior Seaway connected the Gulf of Mexico contains a. ca. 13.47 Ma record of Cotton Valley, Boss-

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 5 ier, Knowles limestone., Late Tithonian through mid northwestern portion of the basin, attributable perhaps Hauterivian, deposition. The “MF” interval reflects the to expansion of the Western interior seaway and contin- same rectilinear outline as the “MG,” but is marked by ued subsidence of the old Gulf of Mexico Basin decreased accumulation rates, suggesting that the fault margin. Associated small, perhaps tidal submarine bounded crustal attenuation, rapid sediment infill phase delta-like depopods developed, perhaps in response to had markedly slowed. the regional Western interior seaway transgression The ca. 9.4 Ma of Hosston, Sligo, Sunniland (Blakey, 2014). These delta-like depocenters appear to limestone, James limestone, mid-Hauterivian through define a new basin margin presaging the modern Early Aptian section contained within the succeeding curved shape of western Gulf of Mexico so familiar to “ME” super-chronosequence records modification of us today. Here also we see the first unambiguous evi- the early rectilinear basin outline by a temporary reacti- dence of abyssal deposition in the deepest portion of vation of attenuation and foundering in the western the Gulf of Mexico Basin underlain by ocean crust. portion of the Gulf of Mexico Basin. “ME” sediment The succeeding ca. 12.82 Ma interval of Late distribution patterns also indicate development of a Santonian through Early Maastrichtian upper Pine Key, depositional continental margin and accumulation of upper Selma, upper Austin, Taylor, Olmos, Saratoga, true continental margin type deltaic and reef systems. and low accumulation rate mainly chalk and marl These observations suggest that during this interval a deposition contained within the “MB” super-chronose- deep continental basin, probably floored by ocean quence provides evidence of transgressive onlap crust, was beginning to form outboard of the attenuated associated with an expanding and deepening interior continental crust. seaway during “MB” time. “MB” onlap has the effect Sediment distribution and accumulation rates of temporarily reemphasizing structural trends inher- within the ca. 23.5 Ma Rodessa through lower Washita, ited from crustal attenuation that took place during Early Aptian through Early Cenomanian “MD” super- “ME” time. chronosequence reflect growth of the Wisconsin inte- Finally, the ca. 5.4 Ma long terminal Mesozoic rior seaway and a stable phase of relatively low “MA” super-chronosequence consists of Maastrichtian, accumulation rates throughout the entire Gulf of Mex- Navarro equivalent, low accumulation rate marls ico Basin deposystem. During this interval, deposition deposited along the basin margin. These low accumula- was very likely influenced by a vigorous tidal and ther- tion rate basin rim sediments and low accumulation mohaline current circulation driven by strong rate slope sediments are punctuated by high accumula- temperature contrasts within the Gulf of Mexico–Wis- tion rate canyon fill and lobe-shaped slope depopods consin interior seaway–Arctic Ocean connection. which are probably attributable to sediment reworking, The next younger super-chronosequence, “MC,” transport and deposition by transitional Cretaceous- contains a ca. ca. 16.0 Ma record of Dantzler, Washita, Paleogene (K/P) interval mega-tsunami backwash Lower Pine Key, Eutaw, Woodbine, Eagle Ford, Aus- flows immediately following the Chicxulub impact. tin, and Early Cenomanian through Late Santonian Higher accumulation rates in the deeper parts of the (Late Cretaceous) deposition. During this phase, there basin underlain by ocean crust are also consistent with is a marked reduction of accumulation rates in the high volume backwash flows.

6 Program and Abstracts Constraints on the Timing of Continental Rifting and Oceanic Spreading for the Mesozoic Gulf of Mexico Basin

Pascoe, Rob Bird, Dale e-mail: [email protected] Bird Geophysical Nuttall, Peter 16903 Clan Macintosh Dunbar, David Houston, Texas 77084-1942 Dynamic Data Services 1 Briar Lake Plaza, Suite 175 2000 W. Sam Houston Pkwy S. Houston, Texas 77042

Abstract The Mesozoic Gulf of Mexico Basin is consid- regional refraction profiles, a crustal interpretation has ered in this discussion as the set of contiguous, Triassic been extended to the greater Gulf of Mexico Basin. and Jurassic sub-basins directly involved in the The continental crustal architecture is described counter-clockwise rotation of the Yucatan Block from in terms of crustal thinning: from low (<30%) to transi- North America in the Late Jurassic. The rifting and sea- tional (>70%). Synkinematic sequences are recognized floor spreading history of the basin is less well within the Late Triassic to the Middle Oxfordian (~70 understood than analogous salt basins of the Atlantic my). The final break-up phase occurred within 15 my, margins, largely because the base salt surface is signifi- ending with a basin-wide open cantly deeper and has hereto widely been considered and initial emplacement of oceanic crust at 160±1 Ma; acoustic basement. continued extension may have occurred in the eastern In 2012, 17,000 km of 2D PSDM reflection seis- part of the basin in the latest Jurassic. The basin mar- mic data (SuperCache) were acquired across the deep gins are considered to be intermediate between water of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The unique acquisi- magma-poor and volcanic end-members. The ocean tion configuration of long-offset, powerful source, and crust tapers from a maximum width of 700 km in the deep-tow of both source and receivers was designed to west, where it is anomalously thin, to anomalously optimize the imaging of the presalt architecture of the thick as it approaches the pole of rotation in the Straits basin to a depth of 40 km. On these seismic data, the of Florida. The architecture of extinct spreading valleys base of the salt and its correlative unconformity, conti- and fracture zones is analogous to the modern, slow nental and oceanic basement, and the Moho are spreading mid-Atlantic ocean, suggesting that spread- evident. In combination with vintage, reflection seis- ing continued until the latest Jurassic (~142 Ma), mic data, shipboard and regional gravity data, and possibly as late as within the early Cretaceous (~132 Ma).

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 7 Aeromagnetic Map Constrains Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Synrift, Break Up, and Rotational Seafloor Spreading History in the Gulf of Mexico

Pindell, James Miranda C., Ernesto Dept. of Earth Science Formerly Instituto Mexicano de Petróleo, Mexico City, Rice University now retired 6100 Main St Cerón, Alejandro Houston, Texas 77005 USA Formerly Instituto Mexicano de Petróleo, Mexico City, also: Tectonic Analysis Ltd. now retired Chestnut House, Burton Park Hernandez, Leopoldo Duncton, West Sussex GU28 0LH United Kingdom Formerly Pemex, Villahermosa, Mexico, now retired e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract We present a reduced-to-pole, total magnetic or Late Oxfordian in age. They have similar mapped intensity map derived from merged aeromagnetic sur- patterns that can be reconstructed onto one another and veys in and around the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the hence are probably genetically related but separated by deep central Gulf crust has a magnetic pattern of spreading. These landward anomalies are best fit orthogonally intersecting features similar to, and inter- around a different stage pole than the central anomaly; preted as, fracture zones and ridge segments of oceanic thus the rotation pole appears to have jumped during crust formed by seafloor spreading. This spreading or spreading in the Gulf. Seismic reflection data show that drift phase occurred after the primary synrift phase of the two outer anomalies occur at the basement “step continental stretching across the greater Gulf of Mex- ups” to the oceanic crust or the basinward shoulders of ico region, and thus the ocean crust rests within a the “outer marginal troughs.” Until specific magnetic broader zone of stretched continental crust with source modelling is done on the outer anomaly pair, we Yucatán, western Florida, the southern USA, and east- favor an edge-effect interpretation caused by the intru- ern Mexico forming the surrounding continental sive interface between Oxfordian oceanic crust and margins. We identify three regional magnetic anomaly serpentinized and exhumed subcontinental mantle, the trends that can be used to constrain the Gulf of Mex- latter of which we infer forms the step ups to the oce- ico’s Late Jurassic through earliest Cretaceous anic crust. In addition, the aeromagnetic map shows a spreading history. A central magnetic anomaly trend is north-south trending “Campeche Magnetic Anomaly” interpreted to accord with the later increments and ces- downslope from the western shelf edge of Yucatán that sation of seafloor spreading, for which a stage pole of we argue helps to constrain the reconstruction of rotation is estimated. Two flanking magnetic anomaly Yucatán along Texas at the start of the synrift stage. trends to the north and south of the central one, respec- Thus, the aeromagnetic map provides vital insights into tively, occur just basinward from the inferred the kinematics of all three stages of the basin’s devel- depositional limits of autochthonous Callovian-Early opment, namely the synrift, the drift, and the Oxfordian salt. These anomalies appear to define the interpreted intervening transitional phase of crustal landward limits of oceanic crust in the northern and hyperextension/mantle exhumation along the Gulf’s southern Gulf, and probably lie in crust that is medial magma-poor continent-ocean transitions.

8 Program and Abstracts Pre-Albian Biostratigraphical and Paleoecological Observations from the De Soto Canyon Area; Gulf of Mexico, USA

Weber, Ryan D. Parker, Brandon W. Paleo-Data, Inc Paleo-Data, Inc 6619 Fleur de Lis Dr. 6619 Fleur de Lis Dr. New Orleans, Louisiana 70124 New Orleans, Louisiana 70124 email: [email protected] email: [email protected]

Abstract A biostratigraphical review of eight exploration which has implications to major reorganization in oce- boreholes located within the De Soto Canyon protrac- anic circulation. tion area in the Gulf of Mexico yields a repeatable and The Lower Cretaceous continues with multiple predictive evolutionary and paleoecological sequence nannofossil originations that persist into the Valangin- with implications to paleogeography. The Oxfordian ian. Here, a significant, diverse, and abundant benthic section within these boreholes contains primitive and ostracod assemblage occurs in multi- planktic foraminifera such as Globuligerina oxford- ple, rapid abundance increases followed by gradual iana. Near the end of the Kimmeridgian (or slightly upward decreases, suggesting cyclical change in the above the nannofossil Calcivascularis cassidyi extinc- shallower, upslope paleoenvironments. The cause of tion), nannofossils are of low abundance, and cyclical changes is unclear and may be the result of sea dominated by Cyclagelosphaera spp. Weakly devel- level change, progradation, and/or changes in ocean oped benthic foraminifera abundance gives rise to composition. Reinholdella A which is coincident with a nannofossil The Hauterivian to Aptian section varies greatly dominance switch to Polycostella spp. Planktic fora- in thickness with the maximum thickness in the north- minifera are not observed in this section ern De Soto Canyon area and thinning to the south. In the overlying section, the extinction of nanno- Nannoconus continues to dominate the nannofossil genus Polycostella, the origination and assemblage through the Aptian; benthic foraminifera dominance of Nannoconus, and minute benthic fora- and ostracods disappear rapidly during the Hauterivian minifera gradually increase. Here, the suggested and remaining sparse until the Albian when there is an datum, Polycostella beckmanii extinction, is observed increase of Nezzazata spp. The significance of these consistently higher than the Reinholdella A extinction fossil sequences and respective assemblages are dis- in the early Tithonian. The fossil assemblage change cussed in a paleoecological and paleogeographical through this section suggests a change in water masses, context, which has implications to depositional history and correlation.

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 9 Relationship Between the Depositional Episodes of the Woodbine/Eagle Ford of East Texas and the Eagle Ford of South Texas

Denne, Richard Breyer, John Texas Christian University Company TCU Box 298830 5555 San Felipe Fort Worth, Texas 76129 Houston, Texas 77056 e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract A chronostratigraphic framework was devel- along the Sabine Uplift shifted the focus of oped for the subsurface Eagle Ford of South Texas in deposition in East Texas southward to the Harris delta conjunction with a log-based regional study that was and deposited the “clay wedge” of northern South extended across the San Marcos Arch and into East Texas during the EGFD400 episode. The introduction Texas using biostratigraphic and geochemical data to of an oxygenated bottom-water mass onto the Texas constrain log correlations of 12 horizons from 1729 shelf produced the considerable decrease in TOC pres- wells in South and East Texas. Seven regional deposi- ervation that marks the Lower/Upper Eagle Ford tional episodes were identified by the study. The clay- contact. This event coincided with the onset of Oceanic rich Maness Shale was deposited during the Early Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2) and the Cenomanian-Turonian Cenomanian in East Texas and northern South Texas Boundary sea-level high, which starved much of the where it correlates to the base of the Lower Eagle Ford. Texas shelf of sediment. The only significant source of After a fall in sea-level, East Texas was dominated by sediment was from the south; within the study area, the the thick siliciclastics of the Woodbine Group, whereas EGFD500 interval is essentially absent north of the San in South Texas deposition of the organic-rich Marcos Arch. Deposition recommenced on much of the EGFD100 marls of the Lower Eagle Ford began during Texas shelf during the Late Turonian EGFD600 epi- the subsequent Lewisville transgression. A shift in dep- sode with the Sub-Clarksville delta of East Texas and ositional style to the limestones and organic-rich the carbonate-rich Langtry Member of South Texas and of the Eagle Ford Group occurred in East Texas during eastern . Bottom-waters became oxygenated the Middle-Late Cenomanian EGFD200 and EGFD300 at approximately 90 Ma, initiating the transition from episodes produced by the continued rise in sea-level. the Eagle Ford Group to the .

10 Program and Abstracts The Mesozoic of Nuevo Leon, Mexico: An Ancient Extension of the Gulf of Mexico. Paleogeography and Tectonics

Longoria, Jose F. Monreal, Rogelio Instituto Longoria de Investigaciones Científicas Apli- Departamento de Geología cadas (ILICA) Universidad de Sonora e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract The Mesozoic of Nuevo Leon is composed of opposite vergence; and (9) lack of volcanism and more than 10,000 m of sedimentary rocks displaying regional metamorphism. Those features are the result abrupt physical changes and containing abundant of transpressional tectonics since the mid-Jurassic planktonic foraminifera, allowing precise chronostrati- including a greater basement involvement in the tec- graphic determinations. This succession has been tonic deformation. deposited in the western extension of the ancestral Gulf Analysis of the megastructures exposed in the of Mexico (Mexican Sea). Its paleogeographic setting region using SIR-A and LANDSAT imagery of north- corresponds to the oblique subduction of the Kula-Far- east Mexico revealed that the megastructures of the allon plate under the North American plate. Active Mesozoic Cordillera between parallels 22°00' and oblique subduction of the western margin of Mexico 26°00' and meridians 99° 00’ and 101°00’ can be has resulted in the structural features of the Mesozoic referred to deformation of the thin sedimentary cover sedimentary cover, forming a folded belt made of an above transcurrent faults following the morphological intricate array of mountain ranges corresponding to the pattern of the lab experiment by Odonne and Vialon. Nuevo Leones Cordillera characterized by: (1) kilo- The folding styles of the Nuevo Leones Cordillera metric-scale anticlinal ridges and narrow synclinal were analyzed in light of tectonic transpression and valleys of the Jurassic-Cretaceous sedimentary cover wrench-fault tectonics driven by transcurrent faults in commonly displaying box (fan-shaped) folds; (2) a the basement as established by Harland, Lowell, and well-developed pattern of en echelon anticlinal folds; Beck, resulting in the recognition of subsurface faults (3) juxtaposition of tectonostratigraphic domains; in the basement. We associate the geometric arrange- (4) asymmetrical, overturned, doubly plunging anti- ment of the megastructural trends to sense of clines evolving into faulted anticlines; (5) disrupted, displacement of strike-slip (transcurrent) faults and long and sinuous fold trends; (6) lack of large horizon- fold patterns as demonstrated by Odonne and Vialon tal displacement due to overthrusting; (7) folding being (1983) and the well-known strike-slip tectonic setting predominant over faulting; (8) local thrusting with of New Zealand as described by Bishop (1967).

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 11 Triple-Porosity Diagram Proposed to Characterize Complex Carbonate Reservoirs—Examples from Mexico

Stabler, Colin Consulting Petroleum Geologist Mexico City, Mexico e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract Limestone and dolomite reservoir rocks are by as “triple porosity.” Each pore type presents a different far the more important producers of oil and gas in Mex- pore-throat size range and each has a different effect on ico compared to sandstone reservoirs. Many of the permeability. carbonate reservoirs are complex in that they display In order to better characterize these reservoirs, three types of pores: matrix porosity; vugs, and cavern- this paper proposes to visualize the relative abundance ous porosity; and fracture-induced porosity. This of each of these three pore types by plotting them on a combination of three types of porosity can be described triple-porosity pore-type ternary diagram (Fig. 1).

12 Program and Abstracts The Siliciclastic Upper Cretaceous Play of Eastern Mississippi Canyon

Harding, Andrew Walker, Luke Ehlinger, Steve Chapman, Tim Noble Energy e-mail: andrew.harding@nblenergy

Abstract The eastern Mississippi Canyon area has been and is underlain by a mature Tithonian source rock. largely a Miocene oil and gas province in which recent The play extends downdip from the Cretaceous shelf discoveries in the Jurassic Norphlet Formation have edge and the reservoir is interpreted to be the equiva- been made. This paper focuses on a nascent Cretaceous lent of the Tuscaloosa Formation of onshore South play targeting the eastern Tuscaloosa fan comprised of Louisiana. This paper will examine the idea that the large symmetric and asymmetric structures created by central Cretaceous basin is in the optimal zone for the an expulsion-rollover system in the pre-Miocene inter- trend of appropriate subsurface temperatures, depth, val. The top of the Cretaceous interval is found and significantly expanded reservoir section in the between 15,000’ and 27,000’, is up to 15,000’ thick, Upper and Lower Cretaceous intervals.

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 13 A Petroleum Systems Perspective on the Siliclastic Cretaceous Play of the Eastern Mississippi Canyon, Gulf of Mexico

Kovas, Edward e-mail: [email protected] Giallorenzo, Michael Schafer, Kirk Taylor, Jack Noble Energy

Abstract The eastern Mississippi Canyon area has long secondary hydrocarbon migration from source to trap. been known as a prolific Miocene oil and gas province. Fluid properties from sampled accumulations help con- Organic rich shales and marls of Tithonian and Oxford- strain model-derived estimates of thermal maturation, ian age strata are considered the major source rocks in migration timing, loss en route and potentially avail- the region. Recently however, attention has been able hydrocarbon yield. directed towards the intervening siliciclastic Creta- The “carrier/container” nature of the Cretaceous ceous strata as an enticing exploration target. is characterized through multiple scenarios that This presentation focuses on the duality of the address: Subsurface pressure relationships, bed-seal Cretaceous section as both a “first carrier” for hydro- and fault properties; as well as seismically derived carbons expelled from Late Jurassic source rocks and lithology and facies distributions. Fetch area con- as a potentially significant “container” for hydrocarbon strained source rock expulsion through the Cretaceous accumulations as well. is modeled, taking into account known Miocene accu- Examined are the petroleum system elements mulations. The results of such analyses lend insight and processes of eastern Mississippi Canyon. Emphasis into hydrocarbon potential within the Cretaceous. is placed on the relative roles of vertical versus lateral

14 Program and Abstracts Resolving Presalt Sediment Source Terrains and Dispersal Pathways for the Northern Gulf of Mexico Basin

Frederick, Bruce C. Lowery, Chris M. University of Kansas University of Texas at Austin Department of Geology Institute for Geophysics 1475 Jayhawk Blvd. 10100 Burnet Rd. (R2200) Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7594 Austin, Texas 78758-4445 e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Blum, Mike D. Snedden, John W. University of Kansas University of Texas at Austin Department of Geology Institute for Geophysics 1475 Jayhawk Blvd. 10100 Burnet Rd. (R2200) Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7594 Austin, Texas 78758-4445 e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract As part of a larger intercollegiate effort to recon- hypothesis that late Triassic Eagle Mills siliciclastics struct late Triassic, presalt sediment provenance and were derived from the erosion of an active horst-graben routing environments for the Gulf of Mexico sedimen- rift block topography with associated igneous intru- tary basin, an integrated geochronologic approach sives. Specifically, preliminary results reveal pervasive leveraging more traditional biostratigraphic, sedimen- very fine-grained mottled gray to red bed sandstone tologic, and sequence stratigraphic provenance lithology confirming synrift continental alluvium hav- constraints from geologic cores, cuttings, and geophys- ing little or no marine component, and probable ical well logs was initiated. This paper presents the deposition in a warm, humid environment but with initial results of this ongoing study and details detrital increasing aridity. Classic fluvial facies features are zircon U-Pb extraction methodologies while Induc- highlighted including depositional cross strata typify- tively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry analyses are ing dynamic braided to meandering channel belts and pending. Eagle Mills Formation sandstone samples alluvial floodplain deposits. Less common siltstone and were collected from well core and cuttings, at five sub- shale lithologies were likely deposited amidst lower crop locations extending from Texas to South Carolina energy subfacies including potential shallow lakes, to the West Florida shelf, in preparation for U-Pb detri- marshes, and/or ephemeral ponds. Bioturbated trace tal zircon provenance analysis. Prior to separation of were only rarely preserved, and there was no detrital zircon grains, a sedimentologic-stratigraphic evidence of marine or eolian facies incursion. Igneous analysis was conducted including detailed core magmatism was prevalent in most subsurface Eagle description, well log evaluation, and thin-section Mills Formation samples including intrusive diabase, petrography assessment. These findings confirm a basalt flows, and volcanic ash.

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 15 Triassic-Jurassic Provenance Signatures in the Nascent Eastern Gulf of Mexico Region from Detrital Zircon Geochronology

Weislogel, Amy L. Robinson, Delores M. e-mail: [email protected] University of Alabama Wiley, Kory S. Department of Geological Sciences Bowman, S. Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487 West Virginia University Department of Geology & Geography Morgantown, West Virginia 26506

Abstract By comparing new detrital zircon provenance embayment of southeastern AL and western FL pan- analysis of Triassic synrift sediments from the Talla- handle, Norphlet samples show a marked decrease in hassee graben (FL), the South Georgia rift basin (GA), Grenville detrital zircon and an increase in 525-680 Ma and Deep River rift basin (NC) with our previous detri- zircon ages, interpreted to represent influx from rocks tal zircon provenance data for the Jurassic Norphlet associated with the Gondwanan Suwannee terrane. In Formation erg in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, we have the Apalachicola Basin, the proportion of Gondwanan developed a regional model of Triassic-Jurassic erosion zircon ages increases to nearly 40% of the total popula- and sediment transport. In the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, tion and Grenville-aged grains constitute just ~20% of detrital zircon ages observed in Triassic synrift clastics the population. We suggest that the difference between from the Tallahassee graben and southern South Geor- Triassic and Jurassic detrital zircon signatures in the gia rift system contain not only Gondwanan-aged and Eastern Gulf of Mexico reflects significant unroofing Grenville-aged zircon grains but also an abundance of of Paleozoic rocks during early Mesozoic rifting of the Paleozoic detrital zircon grains, reflecting sediment easternmost Eastern Gulf of Mexico, possibly includ- influx from rocks associated with the Paleozoic oro- ing rocks equivalent with those exposed in the gens of eastern Laurentia. Although Paleozoic detrital Talladega slate belt units. Subsequent erosion of rift- zircon grains are present in the younger Norphlet flanking highlands to expose older Gondwanan and deposits, they are less abundant than in Triassic rift Grenville rocks and/or input from northern sediment sediments. In southwest Alabama, the most abundant sources supplied the older Grenville-aged detrital zir- detrital zircon age population in the Norphlet Forma- con grains present in the Norphlet erg in the area to the tion is Grenville-aged (950-1,250 Ma). In the Conecuh west and within the Conecuh embayment.

16 Program and Abstracts Provenance of Cenozoic Siliciclastic Units in the Southern Gulf of Mexico by Heavy-Mineral Determinations and Geochemistry, and Detrital Zircon U-Pb Geochronology

Beltrán-Triviño, Alejandro Martens, Uwe Geological Institute Tectonic Analysis and Centro de Geociencias ETH Zurich Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México e-mail: [email protected] Juriquilla, Querétaro, Mexico

Abstract We established provenance of Cenozoic Late Jurassic ages (160 Ma) may represent the Jurassic sequences sampled in wells in the southern and south- magmatism associated with an extensional regime. western Gulf of Mexico by heavy mineral analysis and Cretaceous ages (145 Ma) might be derived from Early LAICPMS detrital zircon U-Pb ages. The age spectra Cretaceous arc of Mexico. Cretaceous ages (135-90 are dominated by Cenozoic ages. Other populations are Ma) were possibly derived from the Alisitos-Peninsu- of Cretaceous, Late Permian-Early Triassic, and Neo- lar Ranges arc. Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeogene ages Mesoproterozoic ages. Minor Jurassic, , and (90-55 Ma) suggest relations with Laramide magma- ages are included. tism and the Late Cretaceous volcanic province in Paleoproterozoic-Archean ages are related to the southern Mexico. Amazonian craton. Meso-Neoproterozoic ages (1 Ga) Paleogene-Neogene zircons (50 Ma and are ubiquitous in Mexico (Oaxaquia terrane) and are younger) are likely related to Cenozoic volcanic arcs in related to the Grenville orogen. Neoproterozoic ages Mexico such as the Sierra Madre Occidental. Three (750-550 Ma) were possibly derived from sedimentary earlier recognised ignimbrite flare-ups in the Eocene- rocks on the Panafrican orogen. -Ordovician Oligocene, early Oligocene, and early Miocene, match ages (490-450 Ma) might relate to plutons of the Espe- our detrital zircon populations. Furthermore, Miocene ranza suite of the Acatlán complex. and units contain kyanite-sillimanite possibly related to Permian ages (350-290 Ma) were possibly derived medium- to high-grade rocks such as the Acatlán com- from the western Gondwanan arc. Permian and Triassic plex or the Guatemalan Chuacús complex. We discuss ages (290-250 Ma) may represent the east Mexican arc. the provenance based on geochemistry of the heavy Late Triassic and Jurassic ages (210-170 Ma) suggest a minerals. derivation from the Nazas arc in north-central Mexico.

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 17 Late Triassic-Late Cretaceous Paleogeography of Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico

Padilla y Sánchez, Ricardo José Professor, Division de Ingenieria en Ciencias de la Tierra Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract Most plate tectonic models for the opening of the The main objective of this project is to build-up Gulf of Mexico focus on the fit of different crustal palinspastic paleogegraphic maps of Mexico through blocks, regional faults, the areal extent of abnormal the Mesozoic, where the various marine and transi- oceanic crust, transitional crust, and continental crust, tional sedimentary facies are restored to their original as well as on today’s geophysical data, but only a few geographical positions prior to folding and faulting, include paleogeographic data. High quality paleogeo- and then are overlapped on the tectonic blocks graphic maps are available for the northern part of the involved in the most popular plate tectonics models. Gulf of Mexico, but the same type of information for The data contained in these maps correspond to out- the southern part is difficult to obtain. However, infor- crops in continental Mexico and to published mation from many published sources has been used to subsurface data in the marine areas. compile a series of maps of the entire country of Mex- ico, including the Gulf of Mexico.

18 Program and Abstracts Detrital Zircon Evidence for Amazonian Provenance of Upper Jurassic Norphlet Formation in North Central Gulf, Mobile Bay: Implications for Paleoriver Systems in South and Central America

Gomes, Sonnet Weislogel, Amy L. West Virginia University West Virginia University 330 Brooks Hall 330 Brooks Hall Morgantown, West Virginia 26505 Morgantown, West Virginia 26505 e-mail: [email protected] Barbeau, David University of South Carolina 701 Sumter Street, EWS 617 Columbia, South Carolina 29208

Abstract

Detrital zircon from the Upper Jurassic Norphlet having a strong crustal signature (Hf(t)= -3.2 to -3.8). Formation in the vicinity of Mobile Bay, AL reflects a Detrital Neoproterozoic zircon grains in the Norphlet Laurentian provenance, with U-Pb age populations Formation shows a wide Hf(t) range (-5.1 to +11.9) for including dominant Paleozoic (265-490 Ma) and Gren- the 850-920 Ma zircons, indicating sediments influx to ville (950-1250 Ma) age. Twenty-three zircon grains the Gulf of Mexico basin during late Norphlet time was from a sandstone sample recovered from the upper part a mix of material from all of these sources during the of the Norphlet formation in well permit# 9863-OS-46- Norphlet deposition. We propose that sediments from B show a population of 850-920 Ma zircon that is not the Goiás magmatic arc probably were transported to observed in stratigraphically older samples. As there the Mixteca terrain through a paleo-fluvial system; are very few sources for zircon of this age in southeast- given the proximity of Mixteca terrain to southern ern United States, we interpret derivation from either North America during Late-Early Jurassic, we infer the Goiás magmatic arc of Brazil; the conglomeratic that erosion of Mixteca terrane sedimentary rocks sup- sandstone of the eastern Yucatan peninsula; and/or plied sediment to the Norphlet erg in the eastern Gulf Mixteca terrain of Mexico as probable sources. Previ- of Mexico. Alternately, the Neoproterozoic grains may ous study of 850-920 Ma zircon grains from the Goiás have been derived directly from the Goiás arc and magmatic arc shows an origin from a depleted mantle transported to the eastern Gulf of Mexico by a proto- without any crustal contamination (Hf(t)= +8 to +12); Orinoco river that developed during Jurassic-Early however, the same age zircons in eastern Yucatan and Cretaceous time. Mixteca terrain indicate crystallization from magmas

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 19 Evolution of Late Cretaceous–Paleogene Foreland Sediment-Dispersal Systems of Northern and Central Mexico

Lawton, Timothy F. Beltrán-Triviño, Alejandro Juárez-Arriaga, Edgar Geological Institute Centro de Geociencias ETH Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) Zurich, Switzerland Blvd. Juriquilla No. 3001 Martens, Uwe Querétaro, 76230, México Tectonic Analysis Inc. email: [email protected] 1315 Alma Ave, Ste 134 Ocampo-Díaz, Yam Zul Ernesto Walnut Creek, California 94596, USA Área de Ciencias de la Tierra Stockli, Daniel Facultad de Ingeniería Department of Geological Sciences Universidad Autónoma de San Luís de Potosí Jackson School of Geosciences Av. Dr. Manuel Nava No. 8 The University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712-0254, San Luis, Potosí, 78290, México USA

Abstract Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene strata of northern sediment-gravity flow deposits filled with dominantly and central Mexico were deposited in a retroarc fore- axial sediment transport. Carbonate platforms of east- land basin that was at first narrow but expanded ern Mexico supplied calclithites to the foredeep during eastward during the Paleogene. New petrographic data early stages of basin formation, indicating the impor- and U-Pb detrital zircon ages yield insights into strati- tance of pre-foreland paleotopography on sediment fill. graphic age of the basin fill, sediment sources, and Sediment-dispersal systems evolved in concert sediment-dispersal pathways. The basin differs from with the stages of basin development. During the Ceno- the contemporary Cordilleran foreland basin of the US manian–Turonian stage, turbidites deposited in the to the north in having a dominant volcanic-lithic com- Mesa Central had headwaters as far away as northern ponent in all of its . Like its northern Sonora, but headwaters for Coniacian–Campanian counterpart, the Mexican basin migrated eastward with deep-water deposits probably lay closer to central time, ahead of an advancing orogenic wedge. Prove- Mexico. Although late-stage uppermost Cretaceous– nance data indicate that the dominant sediment source lower Eocene shallow marine and continental strata in for all strata was the coeval continental margin arc of the foreland of northeast Mexico were linked to a flu- western Mexico. Nevertheless, temporal differences in vial drainage basin whose extent was probably the zircon content indicate distant sediment sources in greatest in Mexico, it is unclear if these clastic sedi- basement and derivative sedimentary rocks of south- ments ever reached the Gulf of Mexico. Partitioning of western Laurentia during early (Cenomanian– the distal foreland by inversion of Jurassic extensional Turonian) and late (Campanian–Maastrichtian and basins in Santonian–Campanian time was probably Paleogene) stages in basin evolution; during an inter- effective at isolating dispersal systems of northern mediate stage (Coniacian–earliest Campanian), the Mexico from time-equivalent sediment-routing sys- Laurentian sources were absent and most pre-arc grains tems of northeasternmost Mexico and southwestern were derived from accreted rocks of western Mexico. Texas. The initial basin possessed a narrow foredeep filled by

20 Program and Abstracts Regional Correlation of Lithofacies Within the Haynesville Formation from Onshore Alabama: Analysis and Implications for Provenance and Paleostructure

Essex, Caleb W. Weislogel, Amy L. e-mail: [email protected] West Virginia University Robinson, Delores M. Department of Geology and Geography The University of Alabama 241 Brooks Hall Department of Geological Sciences Morgantown, West Virginia 26506 2000A Bevill Building Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401 The University of Alabama

Abstract Although the Upper Jurassic Haynesville Forma- Jurassic time is the primary influence on Upper Juras- tion is a proven hydrocarbon reservoir in the onshore sic sediment distribution. Framework grain eastern Gulf of Mexico, the unit remains understudied compositions indicate that the sandstone lithofacies because exploration has been focused on the older and was derived from a recycled orogenic provenance, more productive Norphlet and Smackover Formations. indicating a primarily Laurentian terrane source with In this study, we use cores, gamma ray logs, and spon- some mixing from the Gondwanan Suwannee terrane. taneous potential logs from 49 wells in southern Detrital zircon age distributions from Haynesville For- Alabama to analyze the Haynesville Formation. We mation sandstones contain major age populations that point-counted 18 sandstone samples from seven cores, correspond with derivation from both the Laurentian and six sandstone samples from four of those cores Grenville Province and Appalachian Mountain source were analyzed for detrital zircon age distributions. rocks, with some mixing from the Gondwanan Core and well log analyses indicate that the Haynes- Suwanee terrane. Haynesville Formation detrital zircon ville Formation can be subdivided into anhydrite, ages and sandstone compositions are similar to that of sandstone, and carbonate lithofacies. The thickness and the underlying Norphlet Formation, indicating that the distribution of these lithofacies suggests that relict provenance and sediment transport pathways remained basement topography derived from the opening of the similar through deposition of the Upper Jurassic units. eastern Gulf of Mexico during Late Triassic-Early

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 21 Cenomanian Gulf of Mexico Paleodrainage from Detrital Zircons: Source-to- Sink Sediment Dispersal and Prediction of Basin-Floor Fans

Blum, Mike Snedden, John e-mail: [email protected] Institute for Geophysics Milliken, Kristy Jackson School of Geosciences e-mail: [email protected] The University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas 78758 Frederick, Bruce e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Department of Geology The University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas 66045

Abstract U-Pb dating of detrital zircons in fluvial sand- discharged to the Gulf of Mexico indicates no connec- stones provides a method for reconstruction of tion to the Western Cordillera. drainage basin and sediment routing systems for Detrital zircon data facilitate reconstruction of ancient sedimentary basins. This paper summarizes a contributing drainage area and sediment routing. From detrital-zircon record of Cenomanian paleodrainage these data, the dominant system for the Cenomanian and sediment routing for the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf of Mexico was an ancestral Tennessee River (Tus- midcontinent. Detrital zircon data from Cenomanian caloosa Formation), which flowed axially through the fluvial deposits of the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain Appalachians, had an estimated channel length of (Tuscaloosa and Woodbine formations), the Central 1200-1600 km, and discharged sediment to the east- Plains (Dakota Group), and the Colorado Front Range central Gulf of Mexico. Smaller rivers drained the (Dakota Formation) show the Appalachian-Ouachita Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and orogen represented a continental divide between south- (), had length scales of <300 km, draining rivers that delivered sediment to the Gulf of and entered the Gulf through the East Texas Basin. Mexico, and west- and north-draining rivers that deliv- From empirical scaling relationships between drain- ered sediment to the eastern margins of the Western age-basin length and the length of basin-floor fans, Interior seaway. Moreover, Cenomanian fluvial depos- these results predict significant basin-floor fans related its of the present-day Colorado Front Range were to the paleo-Tennessee River system and very small derived from the Western Cordillera, flowed generally fans from the east Texas fluvial systems. This predic- west to east, and discharged to the western margin of tive model is consistent with mapped deep-water the seaway. Western Cordillera-derived fluvial systems systems, as the largest fan system was derived from are distinctive because of the presence of Mesozoic- rivers that entered the Gulf of Mexico through the age zircons from the Cordilleran magmatic arc: the southern Mississippi embayment. lack of arc zircons in Cenomanian fluvial deposits that

22 Program and Abstracts Cenomanian Gulf of Mexico Paleodrainage—Application of Channel-Belt Scaling to Drainage Basins

Milliken, Kristy Snedden, John e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Blum, Mike Galloway, Bill e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Department of Geology Institute for Geophysics The University of Kansas Jackson School of Geosciences 1475 Jayhawk Blvd. The University of Texas at Austin Lawrence, Kansas 66045 USA 10100 Burnet Road Austin, Texas 78758 USA

Abstract Fluvial systems possess a range of scaling rela- of Mexico. Data on single-story channel-belt scales tionships that reflect drainage-basin controls on water were compiled from well logs and utilized to constrain and sediment flux. Quaternary channel-belt thickness contributing catchment areas of fluvial systems. The (as controlled by bank-full water discharge) has been data indicate that the Cenomanian fluvial systems were documented as a reliable first-order proxy for drainage significantly smaller than the Cenozoic fluvial systems, basin size if climatic regimes are independently con- which can be related to drainage basin reorganization. strained. In and production, These scaling relationships can be validated by scaling relationships for fluvial deposits can be utilized regional paleogeographic maps and provide additional to constrain drainage basin size with implications for insight into the variability of sediment routing systems sequence-stratigraphic interpretations. through time. This study documents the scales of channel belts within Cenomanian fluvial successions from the Gulf

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 23 New Models of Early Cretaceous Source-to-Sink Pathways in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico

Snedden, John W. Bovay, Ann Caroline* Institute for Geophysics e-mail: [email protected] Jackson School of Geosciences *Present address: Chevron Production The University of Texas at Austin Covington, Louisiana 10100 Burnet Road Xu, J. Austin, Texas 78758, USA e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Department of Geological Sciences Jackson School of Geosciences The University of Texas at Austin 2275 Speedway C9000 Austin, Texas 78712, USA

Abstract This study provides an assessment of two source- metric expulsion rollovers, although we know sediment to-sink sediment routing systems of the Early Creta- accommodation in these inverted basins was not con- ceous and highlights sedimentologic changes that fined to the Valanginian-Hauterivian age Hosston occurred in response to major tectonic reorganization interval and extended from the Jurassic Cotton Valley- of the eastern Gulf of Mexico during the Valanginian- Bossier supersequence to the Late Cretaceous Navarro- Hauterivian stages. Depth-imaged 2D and 3D seismic Taylor supersequence. Two plausible models of Appa- data, well log correlation, sand grain size, and detrital lachian-sourced fan length are considered, zircon U-Pb data obtained from the Valanginian inter- incorporating calculations of salt rafting to estimate a vals of the cores of a key well, facilitates source-to-sink best-case scenario fan length of 90-km, while a more analysis of Early Cretaceous deep-water deposits, as probable fan geometry is determined from seismic well as construction of a new depositional model of observations and well control, yielding a Valanginian- Hosston equivalent-siliciclastics previously investi- Hauterivian submarine fan of 70-km length. The study gated only in the western Gulf of Mexico onshore presents a new paleogeographic model, with special areas. focus on the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the interpreted U-Pb dating of detrital zircon grains suggests sand-prone fan and progradational delta-fed apron. It that Hosston siliciclastics observed in the 200-km-long also provides a robust model for source to sink trans- base-of-slope sandy progradational delta-fed apron at port during a critical phase of Gulf of Mexico basin the Florida Escarpment originated in a peninsular Flor- evolution. The shorter fan length calculated in this ida source terrane – the Ocala Arch. Interpretation of study suggest the majority of asymmetric expulsion 3D seismic data with nearby well control also allows rollovers in Mississippi Canyon are either sandstone- conclusions to be drawn about the Appalachian- poor or were sourced from a different, likely younger, sourced Hosston fan system in Mississippi Canyon. source-to-sink system (e.g., Late Cretaceous, Ceno- This Appalachian-sourced sandy fan is believed to manian-Turonian-age Tuscaloosa fluvial system). have terminated updip of a series of salt-related asym-

24 Program and Abstracts Mesozoic Structure and Petroleum Systems in the De Soto Canyon Salt Basin in the Mobile, Pensacola, Destin Dome, and Viosca Knoll Areas of the MAFLA Shelf

Pashin, Jack C. Guohai, Jin Boone Pickens School of Geology Hills, Denise J. Oklahoma State University Geological Survey of Alabama Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078 P.O. Box 869999 e-mail: [email protected] Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35486-6999

Abstract Large parts of the De Soto Canyon Salt Basin are tion, whereas Destin Dome largely post-dates the unexplored, and structural and petroleum system mod- Destin fault system. The diapir province is in the struc- els may facilitate continued hydrocarbon exploration, turally deepest part of the salt basin, and diapirism as well as the development of geologic CO2 storage occurred from the Jurassic into the Tertiary. The salt programs. The basin contains four structural provinces: roller province contains a complex array of normal (1) Destin fault system, (2) salt pillow province, (3) faults and rollover structures that record gravitational diapir province, and (4) salt roller province. The Destin shelf spreading during Jurassic time. Petroleum sys- fault system bounds half grabens that formed near the tems analysis indicates that the basin contains a updip limit of salt. The faults have variable displace- distinctive suite of source rocks, sealing strata, reser- ment and were active mainly during the Cretaceous. voir strata, and trap types. Exploration efforts have thus Broad salt pillows occur basinward of the Destin fault far proven successful in structures that formed before system, and the largest of these structures forms the or during hydrocarbon expulsion, and many such struc- core of Destin Dome. Salt pillows basinward of Destin tures remain untested. Dome began forming shortly after Smackover deposi-

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 25 The Expression of the Cenomanian-Turonian Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 in the Gulf of Mexico: A Review

Lowery, Christopher M. University of Texas Institute for Geophysics J.J. Pickle Research Campus Bldg. 196 10100 Burnet Road Austin, TX 78758-4445 e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract The Cenomanian-Turonian Oceanic Anoxic along the Barremanian-Albian shelf margin of south Event 2 (OAE2) is the last major OAE of the Mesozoic Texas, geophysical data in the East Texas basin, cores and probably the best studied. In marine rocks around in the Marine Tuscaloosa Formation of Louisiana, Ala- the Gulf of Mexico it is associated with a variety of dif- bama, and Mississippi, and deep wells in the deep ferent environments, from well-oxygenated carbonate water Gulf of Mexico. The distribution of anoxic sedi- platforms to anoxic, organic-rich outer shelf environ- ments at these sites during OAE2 appears to be ments and un-studied basinal muds. This paper reviews determined by water depth. Shallow sites, like the the current level of knowledge about the geographic Mexican carbonate platforms and the Comanche plat- distribution and stratigraphic expression of OAE2 in form of Texas, are oxygenated during the event. Deeper the Gulf of Mexico in order to synthesize this disparate shelf sites, like the south Texas submarine data and attempt to draw some conclusions about plateau and the noncarbonate platform parts of the regional oceanography during this critical interval of Mexican shelf, are anoxic and enriched in organic car- the Cretaceous. bon; it seems likely that this trend continues across the A large number of localities with varying local rest of the Cretaceous Gulf shelf, although data is redox states have been tied to OAE2, including the sparse. Whether this oxygen minimum zone only Valles-San Luis Potosí and Guerrero-Morelos plat- impacts the deeper parts of the shelf or extends all the forms in southern Mexico, deep shelf sites in northern way to the basin floor is the most significant outstand- Mexico, the well-studied outcrops and cores of west ing question about OAE2 in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas on the Comanche platform, cores and wells

26 Program and Abstracts The KPg Impact Deposits in the Tampico-Misantla Basin, Eastern Mexico

Cossey, Stephen P.J. Bitter, Mark R. Cossey and Associates Inc. Independent Geologist Durango, Colorado Houston, Texas

Abstract The impact of the asteroid (KPg impact event) at mapped from the well reports. The wells were drilled Chicxulub is now a well-documented geologic event between 1936 and 2010 and the early wellsite geolo- which took place at the Cretaceous/Paleogene (KPg) gists were probably not always aware of the detailed boundary (Schulte et al., 2010). However, the effect of stratigraphic sequence and certainly not aware of the this event is relatively unknown in the Tampico-Mis- relevance of the breccia in the basin. The thicknesses of antla Basin, which is only about 900 km to the west of both the breccias and Velasco Formation were esti- the impact site. mated from the cuttings descriptions in the wells. In the detailed well reports in the Tampico-Mis- The breccia is absent in the northern third of the antla Basin, it is noted that a “brecha” (breccia) is often Chicontepec Basin. The thickness of the breccia described at the top of the Cretaceous in many of the deposit varies between 4 m and 38 m, and is generally wells.. The breccia is described as being gray or white, about 10-15 m thick. The deposit is fan-shaped, the containing mudstone clasts, having a sandy matrix, source is interpreted to be from the northeast (Tuxpan recrystallized Globotruncana, and traces of chert, platform), and it pinches out to the southwest (Fig. 4). amber, and bentonite (for example, in the Marques-1 The only carbonate source area that is present to the well). Early geologists thought the breccia had been northeast is the Faja de Oro atoll, an Albian age reef deposited in response to the Laramide uplift of the complex. Additionally, the distribution of the Velasco Sierra Madre Oriental. To our knowledge, none of the Formation seems to mimic the distribution of the brec- 100 project wells cored the breccia. cia, albeit covering a slightly larger area. The Velasco The same KPg breccia crops out in the southern Formation varies in thickness between 16 m and 145 part of the Tampico-Misantla Basin to the southwest of m, but it is generally in the range of 30 to 40 m thick. the town of Martinez de la Torre (Figs. 1 and 2). Here, It is proposed that the breccia plus the Velasco the breccia is a clast-supported conglomerate consist- Formation are actually a “megabed” created by the ing of cobbles and boulders of limestone, sandstone huge tsunami (estimated by some authors to have been (medium to coarse grained), and quartz. The matrix is a over 300 m high) from the KPg impact event (Fig. 5). medium- to coarse-grained sandstone. The KPg contact Many other megabeds around the world show these has been documented just to the west of this outcrop same characteristics (Cossey and Ehrlich, 1979). The (Mark Bitter, personal communication). The limestone breccia would represent the basal Bouma “A,” or clasts are thought to have been derived from the Tux- graded division. The Velasco Formation would repre- pan platform to the northeast, and the sandstone clasts sent the muddy top, or Bouma “E” division. A good are thought to have been derived from the Sierra Madre analog for this megabed is from the Jurassic of north- Oriental to the west by the backwash of the tsunami ern Tunisia (Cossey and Ehrlich, 1979) where a generated by the impact event. carbonate megabed up to 90 m thick is exposed. In many of the well reports, the wellsite geolo- Prior to the KPg impact event, the Tampico-Mis- gists also note that the “Velasco Formation” overlies antla Basin is primarily a site of carbonate deposition this breccia. The Velasco Formation is always throughout the Cretaceous. Afterwards, the Chiconte- described as a shale, red, gray, or brown, and com- pec Basin forms as a foredeep in front of the rising pacted. The Velasco Formation has been cored in the Sierra Madre Oriental to the west. The overlying Paleo- Entabladero-101 well from 1140-1149 m and the core cene Chicontepec Formation consists of turbidite sands has been described as compacted grey/brown shale composed of over 50% carbonate material (Bitter, (Fig. 3). It is devoid of sand. 1993) derived from the uplift and erosion of the Sierra In this study, the presence and thickness of both Madre Oriental. the breccia and the Velasco Formation were noted and

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 27 Deep-Seated Dynamics Including Crust and Upper Mantle Impacting Hydrocarbon Localization Within Sediment-Filled Basins

Adams, Rich e-mail: [email protected] Lowrie, Allen

Abstract Hydrocarbons occur within sediments in basins ences as we extend our exploration models into new within the uppermost crust. Localization is affected by frontiers. regional temperature and pressure gradients as well as In summary, the cumulative actions of the entire anomalies in sediment distribution; porosity and per- geologic system including upper mantle to upper crust meability; and breakages (faults, joints and fractures) create forces and dynamics capable of modifying over- in both soft and hard materials. In our search for these lying basins and hydrocarbon-bearing sediments hydrocarbons, we map and record geophysical and recording these underlying forces. We suggest that the geochemical anomalies, generally caused by sediment whole petroleum system concept needs examination in and crustal tectonics. Many of these in turn appear light of upper mantle and crust dynamics. influenced and guided by lower crust-upper mantle With mantle plumes causing the Late Trias- interactions that include, among others, buoyant mantle sic North Atlantic Rifting, the evolutionary scenario plumes and lateral plate tectonics. In order to better here is appropriate explanation for continental rifting understand how such a total geologic system operates, followed by basin initiation and subsequent deepening it is necessary to think of this entire sediment - basin - and in-filling and locating hydrocarbons. Plume and crust - upper mantle complex as a single unit. We must crust interactions and derivatives are a constant input seek new and pertinent explanations for hydrocarbon impacting hydrocarbon formation. occurrences including these mantle and crust influ-

28 Program and Abstracts Lithological and Geochemical Analysis to Reduce Uncertainty in the Exploration of Unconventional Gas Deposits in the Burro-Picachos Basin, Northeastern Mexico

Herrera Palomo, Alberto Centro de Geociencias Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract In the search for unconventional reservoirs, one ited in slope environment, thickness of 30 to 70 of the geological formations most studied in the United m, and TOC content of 0.91% to 2.51%. States is the Eagle Ford (Upper Cretaceous), which extends from the state of Texas in United States to the Biozone C: northeastern portion of the Mexican republic. The • Rotalipora, black shales deposited in suboxic Eagle Ford Formation consists of argillaceous lime- basin, thicknesses of 60 to 95m, and TOC con- stones and siltstone deposited in a mixed tent of 1.86% to 5.2. environment. These lithologies have petrophysical and geochemical characteristics sufficient to be considered With the thickness distribution of the proposed as producing gas and/or oil, depending on the content units, it can be interpreted that the variation in the of organic matter and the degree of maturity thermal water depth depends on the topographic relief that reached. prevailed in the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian– In the northeast of the State of Coahuila, based Turonian) in the northeastern portion of Mexico: in a on lithology, paleontological content, and TOC, Eagle shelf and basin environment, influenced by Maverick Ford formation can be divided into three units: Basin. Geochemical data analyzed and the proposed Biozone A: subdivision, indicates that Biozone C drive is the thickest, and has more TOC content in the northeastern • Heterohelix sigali and Helvetoglobotruncana part of the Burro-Picachos Basin; the predominant type helvética, dominated by limestone, in platform of kerogen in the area is the type III. environments, thicknesses of 16 to 100m, and Using the Dykstra-Parson method to determine TOC content of 0.56% to 1.65%. the homogeneity of the distribution of values of each proposed unit, Biozone A has a higher degree of homo- Biozone B: geneity than Biozone C. However, based on TOC and • Whiteinella archaeocretacea, limestone and cal- degree of homogeneity, Biozone B has a lower degree careous shales, interbedded lithologies, depos- of exploration.

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 29 Stratigraphy of Fredericksburg-Washita Division (Albian), Comanche- Cretaceous, Texas, Emphasizing Person and Georgetown Formations

Rose, Peter R. Rose & Associates, LLP. 718 Yaupon Valley Austin, Texas 78746 email: [email protected]

Abstract A regional network of five interlocking strati- 1. The Burt Ranch Member (basal Segovia Forma- graphic cross-sections compiling the published work of tion), the Regional Dense Member (basal Person many geologists throughout central and southwest Formation), and the Kiamichi Member (basal Texas demonstrates the true stratigraphic relationships ) are stratigraphic equiva- among formations of the Lower Cretaceous Fredericks- lents, all three being in the Adkinsites bravoensis burg and lower Washita subcycles. Strongly supported Ammonite Zone (lowermost Washita) by a long-established ammonite zonation, these 2. The peritidal Person Formation is the shelf-inte- detailed stratigraphic cross-sections show lateral rela- rior equivalent of the pelagic-shelf Georgetown tions between formations (Kainer, Formation, except for its uppermost member, the Person, Fort Terrett, Segovia, Fort Lancaster, and Dev- Main Street, which forms the thin remnant ils River) of the Central Texas Platform with equivalent Georgetown Formation on the distal Central formations of the East Texas Basin (Walnut, Comanche Texas Platform. Peak, Goodland, Georgetown) and the Maverick Basin 3. Thus the Person Formation is properly assigned of South Texas (West Nueces, McKnight, Salmon to the lower Washita subcycle, not the Freder- Peak). These cross-sections document the following icksburg. regional stratigraphic relationships:

30 Program and Abstracts Integral Analysis of the Opening of the Gulf of Mexico and its Relationship with the Sedimentary Basins Generation

Cruz, Tomas Rodríguez Exploration Geologist Pemex Exploration and Production (retired) e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract This paper integrates, analyzes, and interprets the Oxfordian period is characterized by a large positive existing geological and geophysical information geomagnetic chron, which explains the absence of related to the opening of the Gulf of Mexico. The polarity changes in the magnetic response for the Gulf analysis of this information has the objective to of Mexico. consider the opening of the Gulf of Mexico as a Another proposal is that the Sierra de Chiapas is result of global tectonic processes. Without doubt, the transpressional front that represents the final stage in the gulf opening and is associated with the edge the opening of the Gulf of Mexico has its origin in effect of gravity anomaly that can be observed in the the interaction of two important tectonic events overall gravimetric maps. that generated the separation of Pangea: the Faral- The proposed model assumes that the magmatic lon Plate subduction in the Pacific and on the arc causes continental rifting, creating basins contain- opening of the Central Atlantic, whose start is ing red beds deposits that are located parallel to the marked by the presence of the Central Atlantic orientation of the arc; these rifting areas evolve to form magmatic province. the subbasins of Chihuahua, Sabinas, and Burgos in the A proposal of this work is that as much oceanic northeast of Mexico and Tampico Misantla, Veracruz, crust was generated in the Oxfordian, as part of the and Southeastern basins in eastern Mexico. stage in the Central Atlantic Jurassic opening. This

Mesozoic of the Gulf Rim and Beyond: New Progress in Science and Exploration of the Gulf of Mexico Basin 31 Albian Stratigraphy of the San Marcos Platform, Texas: Why the Person Formation Correlates with Upper Fredericksburg Group not Washita Group

Scott, Robert W. Hojnacki, Rachel University of Tulsa and University of Tulsa, Geosciences Department Precision Stratigraphy Associates 800 South Tucker Ave. 149 W. Ridge Road Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104 Cleveland, Oklahoma 74020 Lai, Xin e-mail: [email protected] Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Campbell, Whitney Development-Langfang University of Tulsa, Geosciences Department Hebei 065007, China 800 South Tucker Ave. Wang, Yulun Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104 Oklahoma State University, School of Geology 105 Noble Research Center Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078

Abstract Uppermost Aptian-Albian-lower Cenomanian on wire-line well logs and inferred biostratigraphy that strata of the Texas Comanchean Series represent three correlated the upper Edwards Group Person Formation long-term transgressive-regressive cycles: the Trinity, with the lower parts of the Washita Group. This cor- Fredericksburg, and Washita groups that are composed relation crosses a widespread subaerial unconformity mainly of marine limestone and shale. Each group is that separates the Washita from the underlying Freder- composed of shorter term deepening-shallowing icksburg in the northern East Texas Basin and in the cycles. On the Central Texas San Marcos Platform and Fort Stockton Basin. New biostratigraphic and sedi- its downdip equivalents, subsurface strata above the mentological data show that the Person actually Trinity Group are grouped into the Edwards and correlates with the upper part of the Fredericksburg in Washita groups. Correlations in the 1960s were based the Gulf Coast.

32 Program and Abstracts Author Index

Hernandez, Leopoldo 8 A Herrera Palomo, Alberto 29 Adams, Rich 28 Hills, Denise J. 25 Hojnacki, Rachel 32 B Barbeau, David 19 J Beltrán-Triviño, Alejandro 17, 20 Juárez-Arriaga, Edgar 20 Bird, Dale 7 Bitter, Mark R. 27 K Blum, Mike 15, 22, 23 Kovas, Edward 14 Bovay, Ann Caroline 24 Bowman, S. 16 Brand, John H. 3 L Breyer, John 10 Lai, Xin 32 Lawton, Timothy F. 20 C Lawver, L.A. 1 Longoria, Jose F. 11 Campbell, Whitney 32 Lowery, Christopher M. 15, 26 Cerón, Alejandro 8 Lowrie, Allen 28 Chapman, Tim 13 Cossey, Stephen P.J. 27 Cruz, Tomas Rodríguez 31 M Martens, Uwe 17, 20 D Milliken, Kristy 22, 23 Miranda C., Ernesto 8 Denne, Richard 10 Monreal, Rogelio 11 Dunbar, David 7 N E Norton, I.O. 1 Ehlinger, Steve 13 Nuttall, Peter 7 Essex, Caleb W. 21 O F Ocampo-Díaz, Yam Zul Ernesto 20 Fiduk, J. Carl 2 Fillon, Richard H. 5 Frederick, Bruce C. 15, 22 P Padilla y Sánchez, Ricardo José 18 G Parker, Brandon W. 9 Pascoe, Rob 7 Galloway, Bill 23 Pashin, Jack C. 25 Giallorenzo, Michael 14 Pepper, Andy 4 Gomes, Sonnet 19 Pindell, James 8 Guohai, Jin 25 R H Robinson, Delores M. 16, 21 Harding, Andrew 13 Rose, Peter R. 30

Author Index A-1 S W Schafer, Kirk 14 Walker, Luke 13 Scott, Robert W. 32 Wang, Yulun 32 Snedden, John W. 1, 15, 22, 23, 24 Weber, Ryan D. 9 Stabler, Colin 12 Weislogel, Amy L. 16, 19, 21 Stockli, Daniel 20 Wiley, Kory S. 16

T X Taylor, Jack 14 Xu, J. 24

A-2 Program and Abstracts