Revised Stratigraphy, Depositional Systems, and Hydrocarbon Exploration Potential for the Lower Cretaceous Muddy Sandstone, Northern Denver Basin

Abstract

The reservoir sandstones of the Lower Cretaceous Muddy Sandstone, the major hydrocarbon-producing reservoir in the northern Denver basin, are restructured into six informal members (MS-1 to MS-6) based on sedimentary structures, ichnofacies, geophysical logs, bounding discontinuities, and sediment distribution patterns. Bounding discontinuities defining allostratigraphic units are used to assign these six informal members to three major depositional systems that may be used to redefine hydrocarbon reservoirs, leading to new exploration targets in this mature basin.