An excellent post for those that want to learn. Some consider this discussion not" news"- I beg to differ. In the Laredo September 2013 presentation turbidity seemed important to them on one of their slides. As for mineral rights. I want to know every thing I can about my minerals to the smallest detail. Wolfcamp or Cline? Is certainly relevant for vertical pugh clause, allowable and acreage designation from the Railroad Commission. Thank you for the post, I want to know more since this is an historical play. I mean Pioneer says it's number 2 behind Saudi Arabia.
Przzz said:
It is the same yet different. And the lithology / thickness / mineralogy / thermal history / organic content / etc. varies across the Midland Basin north to south and east to west.
In the guts (deep) of the paleo Midland Basin (i.e. when these formations were deposited), one is looking a deep, quiet water area and low tidal / wave energy. Basically an enclosed basin in warm/ semi arid area. Not a lot of rain and evaporation is a key weather factor.
Deposition is a mix of sediment that is settling out from the water in the basin plus sediments being shed into the basin from the adjoining higher platforms and shelf areas that rim the basin.
Very fine grained sediment is the rule - siltstones and fine grained carbonates being deposited in a rhythmic sequence of layers over time. Silt, limestone, shales,mixes of all three aforementioned members, some organic rich, some organic poor. Thickness of individual zones varies from a few inches to tens of feet. And the areal extent of any one "depositional body" can range from a few acres to covering miles of area.
Biggest difference between the two formations is the age of the section. The Cline in Pennsylvanian in age while the Wolfcamp is younger (Permian).
This is thumb nail overview of the system. Obviously a lot more complexity than what is shown here.