Chapter 2 Williston Basin Province—Stratigraphic and Structural Framework to a Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources Click here to return to Volume Title Page By Lawrence O. Anna, Richard Pollastro, Stephanie B. Gaswirth Chapter 2 of 7 Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Williston Basin Province of North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota, 2010 By U.S. Geological Survey Williston Basin Province Assessment Team U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series DDS–69–W U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior KEN SALAZAR, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2013 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod To order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Anna, L.O., Pollastro, Richard, and Gaswirth, S.B., 2013, Williston Basin Province—Stratigraphic and structural framework to a geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources, chap. 2 of U.S. Geological Survey Williston Basin Province Assessment Team, Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Williston Basin Province of North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota, 2010 (ver. 1.1, November 2013): U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series 69–W, 17 p. iii Contents Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................1 Province Boundary ...............................................................................................................................1 Physiography .........................................................................................................................................2 Stratigraphic Setting .....................................................................................................................................2 Major Sequences..................................................................................................................................3 Sauk................................................................................................................................................3 Tippecanoe....................................................................................................................................5 Kaskaskia ......................................................................................................................................5 Absaroka ......................................................................................................................................7 Zuni .................................................................................................................................................8 Tejas ...............................................................................................................................................8 Tectonics and Structural Setting .................................................................................................................8 Precambrian ..........................................................................................................................................8 Paleozoic Wrench Fault System .......................................................................................................10 Structure-Stratigraphic Model ........................................................................................................11 Carbonate System........................................................................................................................................12 Basin Production..........................................................................................................................................12 Assessment Results ....................................................................................................................................14 Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................................16 References Cited..........................................................................................................................................16 Figures 1. Map showing location and physiographic features of the Williston Basin Province ..............................................................................................................................2 2. Map showing thickness of Phanerozoic strata in the Williston Basin ................................3 3. Schematic diagram showing unconformity bounded slices of Phanerozoic strata in the Williston Basin. .......................................................................................................4 4. Diagram showing geologic time scale, major stratigraphic sequences, first- and second-order sea level curves, and ages of petroleum source and reservoir rocks in the Williston Basin ...............................................................................5 5. Generalized stratigraphic chart and associated total petroleum system for the Williston Basin ..................................................................................................................6 6. Maps showing Williston Basin depositional patterns of the Tippecanoe and lower Kaskaskia sequences ...............................................................................................7 7. Maps showing Precambrian structural and tectonic configuration of the Williston Basin and surrounding area .......................................................................................9 8. Structural configuration of the Williston Basin contoured on subsea elevations on top of the Red River Formation ........................................................................11 9. Diagram showing possible relation between lineaments mapped at the surface and fault configuration at depth ................................................................................12 10. Diagram showing oil and gas production in the Williston Basin ........................................13 11. Map showing oil and gas production distribution in the Williston Basin Province ............................................................................................................................14 Table 1. Williston Basin Province assessment results ........................................................................15 Williston Basin Province—Stratigraphic and Structural Framework to a Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources By Lawrence O. Anna, Richard Pollastro, Stephanie B. Gaswirth Abstract Montana (fig. 1). The assessment was based on geologic prin- ciples and applied the total petroleum system (TPS) concept. The U.S. Geological Survey completed an assessment of A TPS consists of one or more assessment units (AUs), which the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Williston Basin are mappable parts of a petroleum system in which discovered in 2008. The assessment of undiscovered oil and gas used and undiscovered fields constitute a single, relatively homoge- the total petroleum system concept, which includes mapping neous population. The assessment methodology was based on the distribution of potential source rocks and known petro- the numerical simulation of the estimated number and sizes of leum accumulations and determining the timing of petroleum undiscovered fields. The TPS includes all genetically related generation and migration. This report is an introduction to the petroleum within a limited, mappable geologic space, along geologic features that were used to develop conceptual models with other essential mappable geologic elements (reservoir, used in the assessment process. The assessment focused on seal, and overburden rocks) that control the fundamental the geologic framework of the basin to determine the origin of processes of generation, expulsion, migration, entrapment, source and reservoir rocks, timing and type of tectonic events and preservation of petroleum (Magoon and Dow, 1994). and the configuration of resulting structures, formation of traps Assessment units are assessed individually depending on their and seals, and thermal history of the basin. homogeneity in terms of geology, exploration considerations, Six major stratigraphic sequences, each bounded by and geologic risk. major unconformities can be distinguished within the more This chapter describes the geologic framework for the than 16,000 ft of Phanerozoic rocks in the Williston Basin. Williston Basin and some of the conceptual models and guid- The influence of paleostructure on sedimentation is reflected by lithofacies