The Miocene Frio
Formation in South Texas is a major deep natural gas reservoir. The
Frio Formation contains a variety of coastal plain and paralic facies,
including very large shale-filled channels. The
depositional environments and the depositional sequence stratigraphy of
the
Frio Formation in South Texas are poorly understood. Improved
sedimentological
and sequence stratigraphic models will greatly enhance exploration and
field
development efforts in the Frio Formation of South Texas.
The Frio Formation in Willacy
County was chosen as a
case study area for a sedimentological and stratigraphic study because
of the
availability of core, paleontological data, well logs, and 3-D seismic
surveys
in the study area. This project will
develop a depositional model for the Frio Formation within a regional
sequence
stratigraphic framework. This
information should, not only increase our understanding of the Frio
Formation,
but also provide a detailed model that can be used as an analog for
other
Tertiary formations in the subsurface along the southern Texas Gulf
Coast.