Depositional Facies, Diagenesis, and Reservoir Character of Mississippian Cyclic Carbonates in the Mission Canyon Formation, Little Knife Field, Williston Basin, North Dakota

Abstract

Little Knife Field is located near the structural center of the Williston Basin in west central North Dakota, south of the Nesson Anticline, in parts of Billings, Dunn, and McKenzie Counties, T144-145N, R97-98W (Fig. 10-1). Production is from the Mission Canyon Formation (lower Mississippian). The Mission Canyon lies between the Lodgepole Limestone below and the Charles Formation above, and all three combine to form the Madison Group. At this location, the Mission Canyon is 465 feet thick (142 m) and contains several porous hydrocarbon-bearing zones. The field lies within the Little Knife Anticline, a broad, low, northward-plunging anticlinal nose with less than 1 degree of structural relief (Fig. 10-2). The top of the Mission Canyon at the crest of the structure lies at a depth of 9600 to 9700 feet (≈3 km). The field is approximately 12 miles (19.2 km) long and 2.5 to 6 miles wide (4–9.3 km).