Regional correlation of facies within the Haynesville formation from onshore Alabama: analysis and implications for provenance and paleostructure

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Date
2016
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University of Alabama Libraries
Abstract

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

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Electronic Thesis or Dissertation
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Geology
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