Sedimentology, Stratigraphy and Depositional Processes in Siliciclastic Turbidite Systems

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The global economy is driven by energy. With increasing attention being focused on the negative environmental effects of coal burning, liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons are becoming the principal source for our ever-growing energy needs. For producers this requires maintaining the current volume of hydrocarbon production, which in turn requires replacing production with new reserves. Presently, however, the new "elephant" fields (i.e. those capable of high-volume conventional oil and gas production) occur in deep-marine turbidite systems situated in very deep water, commonly more than 2500 m, off modern continental margins, like the eastern and northern coasts of Canada. In these areas exploration and production costs are prohibitive, and as a consequence necessitates careful economic consideration and concern. In order to make these exploration and exploitation efforts economic, companies must increase their chance of success and the volumetric output from each well. The variable that most impacts these economically significant parameters is the geological framework and how it controls reservoir occurrence and performance. A detailed understanding of reservoir architecture and performance, however, requires an understanding of sub-seismic-scale features, which therefore requires field-based outcrop and experimental investigation. Based on the Neoproterozoic Windermere Supergroup, part of this research will study the facies composition and stratal geometry of a deep-marine basin floor to slope siliciclastic succession. In addition, a companion experimental program will investigate the influence of sediment concentration on the characteristics of deposition from the very flows that build-up the deep-marine sedimentary record.