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Vertical effective stress and temperature as controls of quartz cementation in sandstones: Evidence from North Sea fulmar and Gulf of Mexico Wilcox sandstones

Oye, Olakunle J.; Aplin, Andrew C.; Jones, Stuart J.; Gluyas, Jon G.; Bowen, Leon; Harwood, Joseph; Orland, Ian J.; Valley, John W.

Vertical effective stress and temperature as controls of quartz cementation in sandstones: Evidence from North Sea fulmar and Gulf of Mexico Wilcox sandstones Thumbnail


Authors

Olakunle J. Oye

Leon Bowen leon.bowen@durham.ac.uk
Senior Manager (Electron Microscopy)

Joseph Harwood

Ian J. Orland

John W. Valley



Abstract

We present quantitative petrographic data, high spatial resolution oxygen isotope analyses of quartz cement, basin modelling and a kinetic model for quartz precipitation for two Paleocene-Eocene Wilcox Group sandstones from Texas and two Jurassic Fulmar Formation sandstones from the Central North Sea. At each location, one sandstone has been buried to ca. 145 °C and one to ca. 185 °C. A key difference between the Wilcox and Fulmar burial histories is that the Wilcox sandstones are currently at higher vertical effective stresses and, from basin modelling studies, have been subjected to generally higher vertical effective stresses through their burial history. The amounts of quartz cement in the Wilcox sandstones are between 12 and 18%, and between 2 and 6% in the Fulmar sandstones. High-spatial-resolution oxygen isotope data obtained from the quartz cements suggest temperature ranges for quartz precipitation from 60 to 80 °C to values approaching maximum burial temperature. Factors such as grain coatings or the timing of petroleum emplacement cannot explain the differences in the amounts of quartz cement. Petrographic data show that most of the silica for quartz cement can be derived from intergranular pressure dissolution. Although the sample set is small, we interpret the results to suggest that the differences in quartz cementation in Fulmar and Wilcox sandstones can be explained better by differences in their vertical effective stress history than their temperature history; in this case, the supply of silica rather than the precipitation of quartz becomes an important control on the rate and extent of cementation.

Citation

Oye, O. J., Aplin, A. C., Jones, S. J., Gluyas, J. G., Bowen, L., Harwood, J., …Valley, J. W. (2020). Vertical effective stress and temperature as controls of quartz cementation in sandstones: Evidence from North Sea fulmar and Gulf of Mexico Wilcox sandstones. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 115, Article 104289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2020.104289

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 7, 2020
Online Publication Date Feb 8, 2020
Publication Date May 31, 2020
Deposit Date Feb 12, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Marine and Petroleum Geology
Print ISSN 0264-8172
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 115
Article Number 104289
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2020.104289

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