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Leslie B. Magoon

Publications and source records attributed to Leslie B. Magoon.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1981

Petroleum geology of Cook Inlet basin: An exploration model

Oil exploration commenced onshore adjacent to lower Cook Inlet on the Iniskin Peninsula in 1900, shifted with considerable success to upper Cook Inlet from 1957 through 1965, then returned to lower Cook Inlet in 1977 with the COST well and Federal OCS sale. Lower Cook Inlet COST No. 1 well, drilled to a total depth of 3,775.6 m, penetrated basinwide unconformities at the tops of Upper Cretaceous, Lower Cretaceous, and Upper Jurassic strata at 797.1, 1,540.8, and 2,112.3 m, respectively. Sandstone of potential reservoir quality is present in the Cretaceous and lower Tertiary rocks. All siltstones and shales analyzed are low (0 to 0.5 wt. %) in oil-prone organic matter, and only coals are high in humic organic matter. At total depth, vitrinite readings reached a maximum ave age reflectance of 0.65. Several indications of hydrocarbons were present. Oil analyses suggest that oils from the major fields of the Cook Inlet region, most of which produce from the Tertiary Hemlock Conglomerate, have a common source. More detailed work on stable carbon isotope ratios and the distribution of gasoline-range and heavy (C 12 + ) hydrocarbons confirms this genetic relation among the major fields. In addition, oils from Jurassic rocks under the Iniskin Peninsula and from the Hemlock Conglomerate at the southwestern tip of the Kenai lowland are members of the same or a very similar oil family. The Middle Jurassic strata of the Iniskin Peninsula are moderately rich in organic carbon (0.5 to 1.5 wt. %) and yield shows of oil and of gas in wells and in surface seeps. Extractable hydrocarbons from this strata are similar in chemi al and isotopic composition to the Cook Inlet oils. Organic matter in Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks is thermally immature in all wells analyzed. Oil reservoirs in the major producing fields are of Tertiary age and unconformably overlie Jurassic rocks; the pre-Tertiary unconformity may be significant in exploration for new oil reserves. The unconformable relation between reservoir rocks and likely Middle Jurassic source rocks also implies a delay in the generation and expulsion of oil from Jurassic until late Tertiary when localized basin subsidence and thick sedimentary fill brought older, deeper rocks to the temperature required for petroleum generation. Reservoir porosities, crude oil properties, the type of oil field traps, and the tectonic framework of the oil fields on the west flank of the basin provide evidence used to reconstruct an oil migration route. The route is inferred to commence deep in the truncated Middle Jur ssic rocks and pass through the porous West Foreland Formation in the McArthur River field area to a stratigraphic trap in the Oligocene Hemlock Conglomerate and the Oligocene part of the Tyonek Formation at the end of Miocene time. Pliocene deformation shut off this route and created localized structural traps, into which the oil moved by secondary migration to form the Middle Ground Shoal, McArthur River, and Trading Bay oil fields. Oil generation continued into the Pliocene, but this higher API gravity oil migrated along a different route to the Granite Point field.

Alaska↗
USGS1979

Two oil types on the North Slope of Alaska: implications for future exploration

Forty oil samples from across the North Slope of Alaska have been analyzed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey. Results of these analyses suggest two separate genetic oil types. The first type, the Simpson-Umiat oil type, occurs in reservoir rocks of Cretaceous and Quaternary age and includes oils from seeps in the Skull Cliff, Cape Simpson, Manning Point, and Ungoon Point areas; the Wolf Creek test well 3, and the Umiat oil field. These are higher gravity, low-sulfur oils with no, or slight, odd-numbered n-alkane predominance and pristane to phytane ratios greater than 1.5. The second type, the Barrow-Prudhoe oil type, occurs in reservoir rocks of Carboniferous to Cretaceous age and includes oils from South Barrow gas field, Prudhoe Bay oil field, and the Fish Creek test well 1. Physical properties of Barrow-Prudhoe oils are variable, but in general the oils are medium-gravity, high-sulfur oils with a slight even-numbered n-alkane predominance and pristane to phytane ratios of less than 1.5. The two types are believed to originate from different source rocks; the Barrow-Prudhoe type may have originated from a carbonate or other iron-deficient source rock, and the Simpson-Umiat type from a siliciclastic source rock. Occurrences of the two oil types, when outlined on a map, indicate at least two exploration fairways. The fairway for the Barrow-Prudhoe type is along the Barrow arch, and the fairway for the Simpson-Umiat type is the area of the best reservoir development for the Nanushuk Group.

Alaska↗
USGS1978

Geologic framework of lower Cook Inlet, Alaska

Three seismic reflectors are present throughout the lower Cook Inlet basin and can be correlated with onshore geologic features. The reflections come from unconformities at the base of the Tertiary sequence, at the base of Upper Cretaceous rocks, and near the base of Upper Jurassic strata. A contour map of the deepest horizon shows that Mesozoic rocks are formed into a northeast-trending syncline. Along the southeast flank of the basin, the northwest-dipping Mesozoic rocks are truncated at the base of Tertiary rocks. The Augustine-Seldovia arch trends across the basin axis between Augustine Island and Seldovia. Tertiary rocks thin onto the arch from the north and south. Numerous anticlines, smaller in structural relief and breadth than the Augustine-Seldovia arch, trend northeast parallel with the basin, and intersect the arch at oblique angles. The stratigraphic record shows four cycles of sedimentation and tectonism that are bounded by three regional unconformities in lower Cook Inlet and by four thrust faults and the modern Benioff zone in flysch rocks of the Kenai Peninsula and the Gulf of Alaska. The four cycles of sedimentation are, from oldest to youngest, the early Mesozoic, late Mesozoic, early Cenozoic, and late Cenozoic. Data on organic geochemistry of the rocks from one well suggest that Middle Jurassic strata may be a source of hydrocarbons. Seismic data show that structural traps are formed by northeast-trending anticlines and by structures formed at the intersections of these anticlines with the transbasin arch. Stratigraphic traps may be formed beneath the unconformity at the base of Tertiary strata and beneath unconformities within Mesozoic strata.

Alaska↗
USGS1977

Geologic framework of lower Cook Inlet, Alaska

Lower Cook Inlet is located in south-central Alaska between lat 58°45' and 60°30' N. and between long 151° and 154° W. (fig. 1). Geographic features on the perimeter of the area are the Aleutian Range on the northwest, Kalgin Island on the northeast, the Kenai Peninsula on the east, the Barren Islands on the southeast, and the Kamishak Hills-Cape Douglas area on the south. Augustine Island, a prominent active composite volcano, is in the southwestern part of lower Cook Inlet. Lower Cook Inlet is part of a large bay that is nearly surrounded by mountains except where it opens southeastward into the Gulf of Alaska and southward into Shelikof Strait. In anticipation of oil and gas lease sales in lower Cook Inlet, the U.S. Geological Survey acquired geological and geophysical data to study the geologic framework and petroleum geology of this area. These data were included in the lower Cook Inlet environmental impact statements (Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Office, 1976a, b) and are being made available to other government agencies and the public.

Alaska↗
USGS1975

Hydrocarbon potential, geologic hazards, and the technology, time-frame and infrastructure for exploration and development of the lower Cook Inlet, Alaska; a preliminary assessment

The Lower Cook Inlet Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) contains 5600 km 2 of submerged land in less than 200 m of water 150 to 350 km southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. This area could contain from 0.3 to 1.4 billion barrels of oil and from 0.6 to 2.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas depending upon the statistical confidence level indicated. The known geology of this submerged area, is extrapolated to the offshore from onshore data. The sedimentary rocks are as old as Triassic and as young as Pleistocene. The Mesozoic strata include volcanic rocks, volcanoclastic and marine clastic sediments. Tertiary, rocks from which the oil and gas in Upper Cook Inlet are produced, consist of nonmarine conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and coal. The potential objective section for oil and gas in this OCS area ranges from Middle Jurassic through the Tertiary. The present structural configuration of this area is a northeast trending trough filled with Tertiary sediments. The trough is flanked by two major faults, the Bruin Bay fault on the northwest and the Border Ranges fault on the southeast. Between these faults is the OCS area containing anticlinal structures and faults which may be traps for hydrocarbons. Potential geologic hazards are present in this area. It is an area of intense tectonism expressed as seismic activity (earthquakes) and volcanic eruptions which produce many natural disturbances including tsunamis. This distribution of soft sediment and other submarine features which relate to geologic hazards are only generally known.

Alaska↗