UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

Stratigraphic Architecture of an Outcropping Deep-water Slope Channel Deposit:

Sedimentological Analysis of the Cretaceous Tres Pasos Formation, Chile

by

Ryan V. Macauley

A THESIS

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCE

CALGARY, ALBERTA

SEPTEMBER 2011

© Ryan V. Macauley 2011

ii

UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

The undersigned certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate

Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled " Stratigraphic Architecture of an outcropping

Deep-water Slope Channel Deposit: Sedimentological Analysis of the Cretaceous Tres

Pasos Formation, Chile " submitted by Ryan V. Macauley in partial fulfilment of the

requirements of the degree of Sample Masters.

Supervisor, Dr. Stephen Hubbard, Department of Geoscience

Dr. Per Kent Pedersen, Department of Geoscience

Dr. Derald Smith, Department of Geography

Date

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ABSTRACT

The outcropping Cretaceous Tres Pasos Formation, Chile, provides an opportunity to

examine the architectural complexities of a deep-water slope channel system. Present

towards the toe of a graded slope clinoform, the 2.5 km long outcrop is crosscut by

numerous gullies, which provide exceptional exposures of channel bodies and allow

projection into 3-D. Channels are characterized by: (1) erosive bases that define

channelform geometries 6-15 m thick and ~300 m wide; (2) a basal siltstone drape; (3)

thick-bedded turbiditic sandstone in axes; and (4) thin-bedded turbidites towards the

margins. This architecture records punctuated incision and sedimentary bypass followed

by depositional stages where channels are in-filled by collapsing turbidity currents.

Eighteen channels are delineated, vertically stacked and amalgamated into one another.

The overall stratigraphic architecture, comprising a composite sedimentary body 130 m

thick and 1000 m wide (along strike), is comparable to seismically imaged channel

systems from the world’s continental margins.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I am grateful to my supervisor Dr. Steve Hubbard. I would not have achieved

what I did without his guidance, technical expertise and endless enthusiasm. I am

thankful to have been given the opportunity to work with such a talented scientist and

with someone whom I consider a friend.

Funding for this research was graciously provided by Chevron Energy Technology

Company, Marathon Oil, ConocoPhillips and Talisman Energy with additional financial

support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (grant to S.

Hubbard). Numerous insightful discussions with colleagues from these companies

including Brian Romans, Andrea Fildani, Jake Covault, Julian Clark, Tim McHargue,

Kirt Campion, and many others, added significantly to this work. Fieldwork was assisted

by Rick Schroeder, Brett Miles, Kerrie Bann and Sean Fletcher. My colleagues at the

Centre for Applied Basin Studies need to be thanked for inspiring discussion,

constructive criticism and most of all their friendship. The dedicated efforts of Ross

Kukulski, Dustin Bauer, Erin Pemberton, Kevin Jackson and Keegan Raines warrant

specific acknowledgement.

The kind people of the Ultima Esperanza District in Chile were extremely welcoming

and I am particularly grateful to Mr. Jose Antonio Kusanovic and Ms. Tamara Mac-Leod

for granting access to the outcrops on their land. My sincerest gratitude goes out to the

staff at the Hotel Tres Pasos for providing warm meals and pleasant refuge after long

windy days in the field.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife Lisa for her companionship, patience and kind

words of encouragement throughout this entire process. Her passion and dedication to all

that she does inspires me daily.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPROVAL PAGE.................................................................................................................. ii ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. vii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... viii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................1 PROJECT MOTIVATION......................................................................................................1 DEEP-WATER DEPOSITS OF THE TRES PASOS FORMATION, MAGALLANES BASIN.............1 REFERENCES .....................................................................................................................6

CHAPTER TWO: SLOPE CHANNEL SEDIMENTARY PROCESSES AND STRATIGRAPHIC STACKING, CRETACEOUS TRES PASOS FORMATION SLOPE SYSTEM, CHILEAN PATAGONIA INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................10 BACKGROUND GEOLOGY................................................................................................11 METHODS AND STUDY AREA..........................................................................................12 STRATIGRAPHIC ARCHITECTURE ....................................................................................15 Sedimentation Units...............................................................................................15 Thick-bedded amalgamated sandstone (SUA1) ...............................................15 Thick- to thin-bedded semi-amalgamated sandstone (SUA2)..........................16 Thin-bedded non-amalgamated sandstone (SUA3) .........................................17 Channel Elements ..................................................................................................19 3D architecture of channel elements ...............................................................20 Channel Complex...................................................................................................22 Channel Complex-set.............................................................................................25 DEPOSITIONAL EVOLUTION AND SEDIMENTARY PROCESSES ..........................................26 DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................................28 Channel Complex and Channel Element Stacking Patterns ..................................28 Implications for Slope Channel Reservoirs ...........................................................34 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................34 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................35

CHAPTER THREE: QUANTIFYING INTRA-CHANNEL ARCHITECTURE OF DEEP-WATER SLOPE CHANNEL STRATA USING CHANNEL METRICS: A PREDICTIVE METHOD INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................43 STUDY AREA AND BACKGROUND GEOLOGY ..................................................................45 SLOPE CHANNEL MODEL ................................................................................................46 DATASET AND METHODS................................................................................................49 Net-to-Gross Ratio .................................................................................................49 Amalgamation Ratio ..............................................................................................49 Maximum Thickness of Amalgamated Sandstone ................................................51

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SEDIMENTATION UNITS ..................................................................................................51 Type one.................................................................................................................51 Type two ................................................................................................................53 Type three ..............................................................................................................53 Type four................................................................................................................53 Type five ................................................................................................................54 APPLICATION OF METRICS TO WELL-EXPOSED CHANNEL TRANSECTS...........................53 MM Margin............................................................................................................54 Gold Margin...........................................................................................................54 Comparison of the Two Margins ...........................................................................56 RESULTS .........................................................................................................................56 Channel Axis Data .................................................................................................58 Channel Off-axis Data ...........................................................................................58 Channel Margin Data.............................................................................................60 Amalgamation Ratio vs Net-to-Gross....................................................................60 Maximum Amalgamated Sandstone vs. Channel Element Thickness...................62 Sedimentation unit proportions..............................................................................63 POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF RESULTS..........................................................................64 Predicting/interpreting depositional model from well and seismic data................64 Incorporation of data into reservoir models...........................................................65 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................67 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................68

CHAPTER FOUR: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ........................................................73 SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................73 FUTURE WORK ...............................................................................................................75 CONCLUDING STATEMENT..............................................................................................77 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................77

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 – Channel complex width analysis ................................................................... 28

Table 3.1 – Description of sedimentation unit types and interpreted sedimentary processes........................................................................................................ 52

Table 3.2 – Channel metrics tabulated from outcrop........................................................ 57

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 – Laguna Figureoa study area overview............................................................ 2

Figure 1.2 – Stratigraphy and paleogeography................................................................... 4

Figure 1.2 – Stratigraphy and paleogeography……………………………………………5

Figure 2.1 – Basin stratigraphy and study area................................................................. 11

Figure 2.2 – Outcrop overview and stratigraphic cross-section ....................................... 13

Figure 2.3 – High resolution image of the Laguna Figueroa area .................................... 14

Figure 2.4 – Stratigraphic hierarchy classification scheme .............................................. 16

Figure 2.5 – Bed characteristics of the Tres Pasos Formation.......................................... 18

Figure 2.6 – Architecture of a channel element margin.................................................... 19

Figure 2.7 – Stacked channel elements............................................................................. 21

Figure 2.8 – Planform expression of channel elements at Laguna Figueroa .................... 23

Figure 2.9 – Depositional-strike-oriented cross-sections.................................................. 24

Figure 2.10 – Simplified three-stage model of complex-set development ....................... 27

Figure 2.11 – Quantitative results of channel element stacking analysis ......................... 29

Figure 2.12 – Channel complex width analysis and average vertical offset rates ........... 30

Figure 2.13 – Comparing Tres Pasos stacking patterns with other slope channel systems ....................................................................................................... 33

Figure 3.1 – Study area overview ..................................................................................... 44

Figure 3.2 – Channel element architecture ....................................................................... 47

Figure 3.3 – Intra-element architecture schematic............................................................ 48

Figure 3.4 – Quantitative metrics...................................................................................... 50

Figure 3.5 – Comparison of two margins ......................................................................... 55

Figure 3.6 – Overview of mean quantitative metrics........................................................ 58

Figure 3.7 – Histograms of net-to-gross and amalgamation ratios................................... 59

Figure 3.8 – Histograms of maximum amalgamated sandstone thicknesses and element thicknesses...................................................................................... 61

Figure 3.9 – Relative proportions of sedimentation unit types ........................................ 62

Figure 3.10 – Amalgamation ratio vs. net-to-gross ratio and maximum amalgamated sandstone vs. channel element thickness ..................................................... 63

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Figure 3.11 – Picking element boundaries........................................................................ 66

Figure 3.12 – Schematic cross-section and theoretical gamma ray curves ...................... 67

Figure 4.1 – Slope channel stratigraphic hierarchy ......................................................... 73

Figure 4.2 – Channel element internal architecture .......................................................... 74

Figure 4.3 – Regional contex for future work................................................................... 76

Chapter One: IntrOduCtIOn

prOjeCt MOtIvatIOn

Rapid growth in consumption of fossil fuels and declining conventional onshore reserves has pushed petroleum producers to search for new resources in offshore environments. Expansion into this new exploration frontier resulted in some of the most significant oil discoveries in recent decades (e.g., Rangel et al. 2003; Porter et al., 2006) and launched an exploration explosion based primarily on seismic reflection data used to identify potential hydrocarbon reservoirs. Advances in deep-water drilling technologies have extended exploration limits into ever-deeper waters; however, drilling in such remote, high-risk regions requires considerable capital resources. These high costs have encouraged extensive research into deep-water slope deposits, with the intention of providing a better understanding of these complex sedimentary environments (e.g., Prather et al., 1998; Pirmez et al., 2000; Abreu et al., 2003; Deptuck et al., 2003, 2007; Posmentier and Kolla, 2003; Saller et al., 2004; Sullivan et al., 2004; Mayall et al., 2006). Unlike other, subaerial and shallow marine depositional environments, direct observations of sedimentary processes in the deep-sea are limited. As a result, our collective understanding of continental slope sediment distribution was much more poorly understood relative to other settings until recently.

Advances in seismic reflection data acquisition and processing techniques (e.g., Sikkema and Wojcik, 2000; Beyer, 2001) have produced vivid 3D images of subsurface turbidite depositional systems at increasingly high resolution (e.g., Booth et al., 2003; Adeogba et al., 2005; De Ruig and Hubbard 2006; Deptuck et al., 2007). Despite these advances there still remains a significant gap between what is imaged seismically and the bed- and sedimentary body- scale information needed to efficiently delineate and develop a deep-water reservoir. Because subsurface sedimentological and architectural data is typically sparse, outcrop analogues are relied upon for critical insight into reservoir heterogeneity and facies distribution (e.g., Gardner et al., 2003; Prelat et al., 2009; Pringle et al., 2010).

deep-water depOsIts Of the tres pasOs fOrMatIOn, Magallanes BasIn

The focus of this thesis is the outcropping slope channel deposits of the Tres Pasos Formation, located adjacent to Laguna Figueroa in the Ultima Esperanza District of Chile (Fig 1.1). The outcrop was first reported in an MSc thesis from the University

1

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of Wisconsin by Smith (1977). Regionally, the Tres Pasos Formation comprises deposits of a southward prograding, graded slope system that ultimately filled the Magallanes foreland basin axially (Shultz et al., 2005). The formation is up to 1.8 km thick and consists primarily of fine-grained slope strata with a basal sandstone unit of variable thickness. The outcrop adjacent to Laguna Figueroa is part of this basal sandstone package that directly overlies the bathyal mudstone deposits of the upper Cerro Toro Formation. The slope channel units were deposited in proximity to the toe of a slope clinoform characterized by at least 870 m of relief (Hubbard et al., 2010). Sediment of the formation was largely sourced from uplift and denudation of the Andean fold-thrust belt (Figure 1.2A; Katz 1963; Natlund et al., 1974; Dalziel et al. 1974; Wilson 1991; Fildani and Hessler, 2005; Romans et al., 2011; Fosdick et al., 2011) and records the final phase of sedimentation in the > 5 km thick succession of deep-marine strata preserved in the Magallanes basin (Fig. 1.2B; Fildani et al., 2009; Romans et al., 2011). The results of this thesis build on a series of PhD theses completed at Stanford University that have focused on the stratigraphic and tectonic evolution of the Magallanes Basin (Crane, 2004; Fildani, 2004; Shultz, 2004; Hubbard, 2006; Romans, 2008; Armitage et al., 2009; Covault, 2009; Jobe et al., 2010; Bernhardt et al., 2010; Fosdick et al., 2011).

The deposits of 18 slope channels are exposed along a 2.5 km long transect along depositional dip at Laguna Figueroa. The stratal package at Laguna Figueroa is 130 m thick and is comparable in scale and architecture to that of numerous producing reservoirs from continental margins around the globe. The outcrop is crosscut by numerous gullies perpendicular to depositional dip, which provide excellent 2D and 3D exposures of deep-water slope channel geometries (Fig 1.1C). These unique perspectives allow for the well-constrained strata to be mapped and reconstructed by projecting channel elements into and out of the plane of the outcrop. This study uses these reconstructions and traditional sedimentological observations recorded at high-resolution (Fig 1.3), to describe slope channel stacking patterns and interpret the sedimentary processes responsible for transporting large volumes of coarse, clastic sediment into the deep basin.

The primary objectives of this thesis are twofold: (1) to gain insight into the channelized transfer of sediment across continental slopes; and (2) to analyze the bed- through sediment body- scale sedimentological characteristics (Fig 1.3) of slope channel strata in order to better constrain reservoir properties in analogous subsurface deposits. The thesis includes two papers. Chapter two uses sedimentological observations to characterize the stratigraphic architecture of the Tres Pasos Formation at Laguna Figueroa. Chapter three focuses on quantification of bed-scale observations, or channel metrics. These properties describe the studied slope channels in a format that can be used

3

by geologists to interpret intra-channel architecture adjacent to a wellbore and build more realistic reservoir models.

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Fig. 1.3. Measured section Sub BB4, collected at the centimeter-scale, from the Laguna Figueroa study area. Channel element bases, which are commonly draped by fine-grained bypass deposits are identified with dashed lines. Without insight from outcrop these boundaries are difficult to define. Bed- through sediment body- scale sedimentological observations are used to characterize slope channel strata in order to better constrain reservoir properties in analogous subsurface deposits.

5

referenCes

Abreu, V., Sullivan, M., Pirmez, C., and Mohrig, D., 2003, Lateral accretion packages (LAPs): an important reservoir element in deep water sinuous channels: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 20, p. 631-648.

Adeogba, A.A., McHargue, T.R., and Graham, S.A., 2005, Transient fan architecture and depositional controls from near surface 3–D seismic data, Niger Delta continental slope: AAPG Bulletin, v. 89, p. 627-643.

Armitage, D.A., Romans, B.W., Covault, J.A., and Graham, S.A., 2009, The influence of mass-transport-deposit surface topography on the evolution of turbidite architecture: The Sierra Contreras, Tres Pasos Formation (Cretaceous), Southern Chile: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 79, p. 287 – 301.

Bernhardt, A., Jobe, Z.R., and Lowe D.R., 2011, Stratigraphic evolution of a submarine channel-lobe complex system in a narrow fairway within the Magallanes foreland basin, Cerro Toro Formation, southern Chile: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 28, p. 785 – 806.

Beyer, L.R., 2001, Rapid 3-D screening with seismic terrain: The Leading edge, v. 20, no. 4, p. 386 – 395.

Booth, J.R., Dean, M.C., DuVernay III, A.E., Styzen, M.J., 2003, Paleo-bathymetric controls on the stratigraphic architecture and reservoir development of confined fans in the Auger Basin: central Gulf of Mexico slope: Marine and Petroleum Geology Vol. 20, p. 563 – 586.

Covault, J.A., 2009, Development of turbidite architecture on tectonically active continental margins: Multiscale investigation of the Quaternary Borderland, Tertiary Molasse Basin, Austria, and Cretaceous Magallanes Basin, Chile: Unpublished PhD thesis, Stanford University, Stanford, 262p.

Crane, W.H., 2004, Depositional history of the Upper Cretaceous Cerro Toro Formation, Silla Syncline, Magallanes Basin, Chile: Unpublished PhD thesis, Stanford University, Stanford, 275p.

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Deptuck, M.E., Sylvester, Z., Pirmez, C., and O’Byrne, C., 2007, Migration-aggradation history and 3-D seismic geomorphology of submarine channels in the Pleistocene Benin-major Canyon, western Niger Delta slope: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 24, p 406-433.

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Gardner, M.H., Borer, J.M., Melick, J.J., Mavilla, N., Dechesne, M., and Wagerle, R.N., 2003, Stratigraphic process-response model for submarine channels and related features from studies of Permian Brushy Canyon outcrops, West Texas: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 20, p. 757-787.

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Jobe, Z., Bernhardt, A., and Lowe, D.R., 2010, Facies and Architectural Asymmetry in Conglomerate-Rich Submarine Channel Fill, Cerro Toro Formation, Sierra Del Toro, Magallanes Basin, Chile, : Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 80, p. 1085 – 1108.

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Mayall, M., Jones, E., and Casey, M., 2006, Turbidite channel reservoirs–key elements in facies prediction and effective development: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 23, p. 821-841.

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Prelat, A., Hodgson, D.M. and Flint, S.S., 2009, Evolution, architecture and hierarchy of distributary deep-water deposits: a high-resolution outcrop investigation from the Permian Karoo Basin, South Africa: Sedimentology vol. 56, p. 2132–2154.

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and the Holocene Santa Monica Basin, California: Unpublished PhD Thesis, Stanford University, Stanford, 281p.

Romans, B.W., Fildani, A., Hubbard, S.M., Covault, J.A., Fosdick, J.C., and Graham, S.A., 2011, Evolution of deep-water stratigraphic architecture, Magallanes Basin, Chile: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 28, p. 612 – 628.

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