Sedimentology of a Lower Middle Pleistocene Reservoir in Garden Banks Area, Northern Gulf of Mexico: Integration of 3D Seismic, Cores, and Well Logs

The Upper Pleistocene submarine fan deposits in the Northern Gulf of Mexico have proven to be valuable targets for hydrocarbon exploration and extraction. The Garden Banks Area, 170 miles Southwest of Lafayette, Louisiana, is situated on the western flank of a submarine fan complex in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. The Garden Banks Area has producing wells in the Upper Pleistocene deep marine sandstones. Proprietary 3D seismic data, along with public-domain logs (gamma and resistivity) of ~25 wells and velocity data, for six blocks in the Garden Banks Area, totaling 54 square miles, has been used to map depositional packages and subsea morphology. Using the proprietary and public data we were able to map and describe the lithology of the depositional setting of an existing producing channel sand in the Garden Banks Field 236. This producing sand has been described on a regional scale, but not on a localized scale before. Using our method we were able to quickly show the depositional environment of the Pleistocene age sandstone and look for potential new drilling targets within the area.