Hartshorne Sandstone Research Articles

Late Mississippian and Pennsylvanian depositional history in the Arkoma basin area, Oklahoma and Arkansas

The Arkoma basin was depositionally part of a broad, stable shelf along a passive continental margin during much of its history. During the Chesterian, Morrowan, and early Atokan, the depositional patterns on the shelf varied greatly, depending on the inconsistent development of carbonate environments and the intermittent introduction of terrigenous elastics (quartz arenites) from the north. Beginning with the middle Atokan, flexural downwarping of the south margin of the shelf was accompanied by down-to-the-south syndepositional normal faults developed sequentially to the north, as a result of continued collapse of the Ouachita trough. Lithic arenites were introduced into this developing trough from the east, apparently derived from a tectonic provenance southeast of the Ouachita trough, on the southwest margin of the Black Warrior basin. Further closure plus rapid deposition resulted in the closing and filling of this incipient foreland basin by the end of deposition of the middle Atoka. With further compressional deformation, the axis of deposition shifted farther northward with the development of a fully formed and continually subsiding foreland basin (beginning in late Atokan). Lithic arenites were transported westward along the axis of the basin (documented in earliest Desmoinesian). In Arkansas some of the early Desmoinesian sediments apparently came from the uplifted Ouachita thrust belt immediately to the south. During the rest of the early Desmoinesian (most of Krebs Group), with the continued subsidence of the foreland basin, extensive deltaic deposits (sublitharenites) were introduced from the north and provided the primary source of sediments to the foreland basin in Oklahoma. They apparently came from the continental interior to the west and north of the Ozark dome. Although there is evidence of a limited source of sediments from the Ouachita fold belt in Arkansas during the deposition of the Hartshorne Sandstone (earliest Desmoinesian), the fold belt to the west in Oklahoma was apparently quiescent and presumably standing at or near sea level throughout the time of deposition of the upper Atoka and the whole of the early Desmoinesian Krebs Group (Hartshorne, McAlester, Savanna, and Boggy Formations). Although added field confirmations are needed, it is concluded that renewed folding and uplift of the Ouachita fold belt following the deposition of the early Desmoinesian Krebs Group involved also the compression and folding of the Arkoma basin. This ended the progressive downwarping of this basin and shifted the depocenter still farther to the northwest. The core area of the Ouachita fold belt was extensively elevated for the first time resulting in the erosion and transportation of chert pebbles and other sediments to the northwest (Thurman Sandstone). Beginning with the middle Desmoinesian, Cabaniss Group deposition was in a narrow successor foreland basin located to the north-west of the Arkoma basin and to the northeast of the Hunton arch. The Ouachita fold belt was the primary source for terrigenous sediments, periodically including chert-pebble conglomerates, to this area throughout the remainder of the Pennsylvanian.

Influence of Grain Size and Temperature on Intergranular Pressure Solution, Quartz Cementation, and Porosity in a Quartzose Sandstone

ABSTRACT Cathodoluminescence petrography and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveal that grain size and temperature significantly influenced intergranular pressure solution, quartz cementation, and porosity evolution in the quartzose Hartshorne Sandstone (Middle Pennsylvanian) of the Arkoma basin. Among samples from each locality, a negative, linear relationship exists between mean grain size and volume of quartz dissolved by intergranular pressure solution. In contrast, a generally positive relationship exists between mean grain size and volume of quartz cement, although considerable variability exists in this relationship. A positive relationship also exists between mean grain size and porosity. Intergranular pressure solution directly reduced minus-cement porosity by causing tighter pack ng of detrital grains; it thereby controlled volumes of both cement and primary porosity. For this reason, little primary porosity is preserved in pressolved, finer-grained sandstones even though they contain small absolute volumes of quartz cement. Appreciably more primary porosity may be retained by unpressolved, coarser-grained sandstones even though they contain larger absolute volumes of quartz cement. These relationships also vary with thermal maturity, which increases eastward across the basin. This thermal maturity trend is the result of elevated temperatures associated with Mesozoic rifting and intrusive events in the Mississippi embayment. Among samples of equal grain size, more intergranular pressure solution, less quartz cement, and less porosity are evident in areas of higher thermal maturity. As is the case with grain size, the influence that temperature exerted on intergranular pressure solution is, in turn, reflected in volumes of quartz cement and porosity. Thus, primary porosity tends to be preserved preferentially in areas of lower thermal maturity even though the absolute volume of quartz cement is generally higher. In areas of higher thermal maturity, more quartz has been dissolved by intergranular pressure solution than is present as cement whereas the opposite is true in areas of lower thermal maturity. This suggests that intergranular pressure solution was an important agent of mass transfer during diagenesis of these quartzose sandstones.

Shallow Gas in Arkoma Basin--Pine Hollow and South Ashland Fields: ABSTRACT

The Pine Hollow and South Ashland fields located in Pittsburg and Coal Counties, Oklahoma, established a combined reserve exceeding 200 bcf of gas. The Hartshorne Sandstone of early Desmoinesian (Pennsylvanian) age is the producing zone at a depth of 4,000 ft (1,200 m). Gas, probably of biogenic origin, migrated into the reservoir shortly after deposition. Subsequent folding and faulting of the Ashland anticline resulted in repositioning of the gas in a downthrown fault trap. The upthrown anticline portion of the Hartshorne is water-bearing. Moderate well costs and high individual reserves have resulted in excellent economics. Competitive bidding on federal leases has resulted in a high bid exceeding $1 million for one tract in the South Ashland field. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1328------------

Influence of Grain Size and Thermal Maturity on Intergranular Pressure Solution and Quartz Cementation in a Quartz-Rich Sandstone: ABSTRACT

Detailed cathodoluminescent petrography and scanning electron microscopy reveal that grain size and thermal maturity have significantly influenced intergranular pressure solution and quartz cementation in the quartz-rich Hartshorne Sandstone of the Arkoma basin. Mean grain size of Hartshorne sandstones ranges from very fine to medium-grained. In any stratigraphic section, a negative, linear relationship exists between grain size and volume of silica dissolved via intergranular pressure solution. In contrast, either a positive, linear relationship or no significant relationship End_Page 583------------------------------ exists between grain size and volume of quartz cement. These relationships indicate that silica was selectively dissolved via intergranular pressure solution in finer grained sandstones and that, at least locally, quartz cement was selectively precipitated as overgrowths on detrital grains in coarser grained sandstones. Little primary porosity is preserved in the pressolved, finer grained sandstones, whereas appreciable primary porosity may be retained in coarser grained sandstones that contain more quartz cement. These relationships are also sensitive to thermal maturity, which increases eastward across the basin. This thermal trend is probably related to elevated temperatures associated with intrusions in as much as maximum burial depth of the Hartshorne decreases eastward. As thermal maturity increases, more intergranular pressure solution is evident for a given grain size whereas the volume of quartz cement does not change significantly. Thus, primary porosity tends to be preferentially preserved in areas of lower thermal maturity. In areas of higher thermal maturity, the sandstones have lost more silica via intergranular pressure solution than has been precipitated as quartz cement whereas the opposite is true in areas of lower thermal maturity. End_of_Article - Last_Page 584------------

Methane Production Potential from Hartshorne Coal Beds in Deep Parts of Pittsburg, Coal, and Hughes Counties, Oklahoma: ABSTRACT

Bureau of Mines investigations show the Hartshorne coal beds of the Arkoma basin are among the most gassy in the United States. The Hartshorne coal beds in Haskell and End_Page 1499------------------------------ LeFlore Counties, Oklahoma, contain 1.1 to 1.5 Tcf of methane; these coal beds are expected to contain a similarly high methane content in deep parts of the basin farther west in Pittsburg, Coal, and Hughes Counties. Various geophysical logs from gas wells were used to analyze thickness and sedimentary facies of the Hartshorne formation in the Arkoma basin. Bulk density and sonic logs indicate the presence of lower and upper Hartshorne coal beds with an apparent thickness of up to 8 ft (2.4 m), flanking a linear body of Hartshorne Sandstone in Pittsburg and Coal Counties. The natural gas produced from wells along this and other linear trends of thick Hartshorne Sandstone probably originated in the associated coal beds. The depth of the coal (up to 4,000 ft or 1,219 m) and its proximity to several gas fields producing from the Hartshorne Sandstone suggest a high methane content (200 to 600 cu ft/ton) for the Hartshorne coal beds in the western parts of the Arkoma basin. However, methane content is not as high as in coal beds farther east at similar depths because of the lower rank (less thermal maturation and therefore lower gas generation) of coal beds in Pittsburg, Coal, and Hughes Counties. Effective placement of gas drainage wells should take into consideration the thickness and depth of coal, possible communication with the natural gas-bearing Hartshorne Sandstone, and rank of associated coal beds. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1500------------

High-Constructive, Tidally Influenced Deltaic Sedimentation in Arkoma Basin: Desmoinesian Hartshorne Sandstone: ABSTRACT

The Hartshorne Sandstone and associated fine-grained facies of the Arkoma basin were deposited in a high-constructive, tidally influenced delta system which prograded longitudinally from east to west in an elongate, foreland basin during Ouachita suturing. Prodelta facies (generally mapped as upper Atoka) consists of dark gray, nonfossiliferous shales. Delta front facies deposited near the mouth of an active distributary channel include interlaminated siltstones and sandstones of distal bar origin and ripple-bedded and trough cross-bedded sandstones of distributary-mouth bar origin. Delta front facies deposited in interdistributary areas consists of lenticular, wavy, and flaser-bedded sandstones, siltstones, and shales deposited under the influence of tidal currents. Delta plain facies is sandstone, siltstone, shale, and coal deposited in distributary channels, interdistributary bays, crevasse splays, marshes, and swamps. Distributary channel sandstone bodies display shoestring geometry (50 to 60 m thick), 1 to 3 km wide, tens of km lon ) and internally are unidirectionally trough cross-bedded. Their linear geometry and thickness relative to other delta facies suggest that channels were structurally localized, that the delta was elongate, or a combination of the two. Interdistributary bay facies comprise locally fossiliferous shale and silty shale. Crevasse splay facies coarsen upward from shale through ripple-bedded sandstone to trough cross-bedded sandstone. Marsh and swamp facies are carbonaceous shale and coal. In Arkansas, the Hartshorne displays a single, progradational sequence of prodelta, delta front, and delta plain facies. In Oklahoma, the prodelta and delta front facies are capped by a complex assemblage of delta plain facies which records at least three episodes of active sedimentation followed by delta plain abandonment. Understanding the genesis of these delta plain facies will enhance petroleum and coal exploitation efforts within the Hartshorne of the Arkoma basin. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1499------------

Anticipating Coal Mining Problems in Hartshorne Formation, East-Central Oklahoma, Using Sedimentary Facies Analysis: ABSTRACT

A study of sedimentary facies associated with the Hartshorne coal beds of east-central Oklahoma provides an opportunity for preventive planning to minimize mining problems. Sedimentary facies within the Hartshorne formation End_Page 724------------------------------ include delta distributary sandstones and interdistributary bar-fill shales, siltstones, and sandstones. One distributary channel sandstone body displays a shoestring geometry, over 12 mi (19.2 km) long and 1 mi (1.6 km) wide, with an average maximum thickness of 200 ft (61 m). This sandstone rests directly on and locally replaces the Lower Hartshorne coal bed. Three major mining problems are related to this sandstone body: (1) the Hartshorne sandstone in this area is a natural gas reservoir which might emit gas into adjacent coal mines; (2) the sandstone body is directly related to local discontinuities and rolls in the Lower Hartshorne coal bed; and (3) an unstable roof may be locally associated with trough cross-bedding and jointing near the base of the sandstone, and with facies changes and slickensides along the lateral margins of the sandstone body. In contrast to this sandstone body, interdistributary bay deposits, because of their relative homogeneity and lateral persistence, do not present potential facies-related mining problems. Potential mining problems associated with these facies are local and are directly related to structural and stress-release features which are difficult to predict in advance of mining. To insure safe and economic coal production from the Hartshorne formation, the distribution of major sandstone bodies overlying the coal beds must be considered when planning degasification programs and shaft, slope, and main entry locations. End_of_Article - Last_Page 725------------

Stratigraphy of Deeper Marietta Basin in Oklahoma and Texas: ABSTRACT

The Marietta basin is in southern Oklahoma between the Muenster arch on the southwest and the Criner Hills uplift on the northeast; it extends from Love County, Oklahoma, southeastward through Cooke and Grayson Counties, Texas, the deepest part being known as the Gordonville trough. The folded and faulted buried ridge (mid-basin ridge) on which the Southeast Marietta field is located has a more southward strike than the present basin axis, and divides the basin into two parts. The thickest sections of Atoka and older sediments were deposited north of the ridge. The Gordonville trough developed in Late Mississippian End_Page 193------------------------------ or Early Pennsylvanian time from a gentle downwarp into a deep, relatively narrow trough with steep, commonly faulted sides, growing progressively as it received up to 5,000 feet or more of sediments of Atoka, Morrow, and possibly Springer (Goddard?) ages. The Atoka and Morrow boundaries are indefinite on the basis of present knowledge. Some geologists place the top of the Atoka at the base of the Davis Sand (Grayson County, Texas). The writer has placed the top at an oolitic limestone (Lester?) midway between the Baker and Davis Sands. Westheimer believes the sand in the Ardmore basin Dornick Hills correlates with the Hartshorne Sandstone of the Arkoma basin and the Davis Sand of Grayson County. The sandstone correlated as Davis or micaceous in the Southeast Marietta field is several hundred feet higher stratigraphically than the Davis Sand of Grayson County. A thick section of pre-Atokan appears northward as well as eastward from the mid-basin ridge. This is believed to be mostly Morrowan-lower Dornick Hills, Springer (Goddard?), and Caney. The boundaries are indefinite and based on electric-log characteristics, related to early sample work. More qualified determinations are necessary in samples from later wells. Post-Atokan Dornick Hills also thickens eastward and northward in Grayson County, but thins and disappears southwestward against the lower faulted margin of the Muenster uplift. The same components may be noted in the Des Moines or Strawn (Deese), although the thickening here may be more related to the development of the present Gordonville trough by foundering and filling during erosional destruction of the Ouachitas. More intense folding and thrust faulting, even deep within the basin, complicate considerably the development of structure and stratigraphy because of the loss of section (a loss which is not the result of depositional factors). End_of_Article - Last_Page 194------------

Application of Sedimentary Directional Features and Scalar Properties to Hydrocarbon Exploration

Ripple marks, cross-bedding, and groove casts are examples of directional features of sediments. Systematic downcurrent variations in grain size or mineral composition are examples of scalar properties. Although directional features normally are considered to be the tools of the surface geologist, these features also can be used by the subsurface geologist by means of the oriented core and the dipmeter. Recent literature abounds with reports of new types of scalar properties. Directional features and scalar properties of sediments are used to determine paleocurrent direction. The integration of paleocurrent data with environmental information yields a paleogeographic map, from which prediction of favorable areas for wildcat exploration and the exploitation of wildcat discoveries can be made. A directional features ^rarr paleocurrent direction + depositional environment = paleogeographic map study of the early Desmoinesian Hartshorne Formation in the Arkoma basin, Oklahoma, indicates that the productive Hartshorne Sandstone in the discovery gas well of the South Pine Hollow field of Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, is probably a deltaic distributary channel sandstone with a NE-SW alignment. This type of study could have been used to exploit the discovery well; the information needed to reach the same conclusion by subsurface geology was not available until some time after the initial discovery.

An Application of Directional Features and Scalar Properties of Sediments to Hydrocarbon Exploration: ABSTRACT

Ripple marks, cross-bedding, and groove casts are examples of directional features of sediments. Variations in grain size or mineral composition are examples of scalar properties. Although directional features normally are considered to be the domain of the surface geologist, by means of the oriented core and more recently the dipmeter, these features also can be used by the subsurface geologist. Recent literature abounds with reports of new types of scalar properties. Directional features and scalar properties of sediments are used to determine paleocurrent direction. The integration of paleocurrent data with environmental information yields a paleogeographic map. Prediction of favorable areas for wildcat exploration and the exploitation of wildcat discoveries can then be made from the paleogeographic map. The Desmoinesian-age Hartshorne Formation of eastern Oklahoma is a shallow but major gas producer within the Arkoma basin. A study in the nature of directional features ^rarr paleocurrent direction + depositional environment = paleogeographic map is presented. This study indicates that the probable nature of the productive Hartshorne sandstone in the discovery well of the South Pine Hollow field, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, is a deltaic channel sandstone with a northeast-southwest alignment. This information could have been used to exploit the discovery well. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1689------------

Concepts of the Atoka: ABSTRACT

The Atoka was named and defined as the formation between the Hartshorne Sandstone above and the Wapanucka Limestone below (1900, 1901). The basal part of the Atoka is considered by some to correspond with the Kessler Member of the Morrow. Minute fusiform fusulinids are known from the basal Atoka at Clarita, Oklahoma; and it is commonly believed that is entirely a post-Atokan genus. However, Fusulina was already described from beds assigned an Atokan age (in New Mexico and Wyoming); and now prolific was found about 400 feet below the Hartshorne northwest of Clarita. It would be logical not to expect lithologic boundaries, no matter how locally persistent, to coincide with major steps in evolution of embedded fossils, no matter how seemingly rapid. Hence, biostratigraphic boundaries postulated on the evidence of evolution of fusulinids need not correspond with lithologic boundaries, although they may do so at places. The first appearance of the fusiform fusulinid Fusulinella appears to coincide roughly with the basal sediments of the Atoka, at least in the type area of the Atoka; but the first appearance of is undoubtedly well within the upper and perhaps even middle part of the original Atoka. End_of_Article - Last_Page 356------------

Correlations of Pennsylvanian Strata in Arkansas and Oklahoma Coal Fields

Investigations in the Oklahoma and Arkansas coal fields have enabled the writers to establish definite correlations between the formations present in the two areas. These correlations differ considerably from those in current use, as will be pointed out in the following discussion. In 1899, Taff published a report on the geology of the McAlester-Lehigh coal field of Oklahoma and defined the formations of the southeastern Oklahoma coal fields as now recognized. These are, from oldest to youngest, the Hartshorne sandstone, McAlester shale, Savanna sandstone, and Boggy shale. The Hartshorne sandstone in the McAlester-Lehigh field averages about 250 feet in thickness with a unit of shale in the middle part that contains the Lower Hartshorne coal. The McAlester shale in that field averages about 2,000 feet in thickness and is made up largely of dark marine shale that includes the Upper Hartshorne coal near the base and several sandstone beds and the McAlester coal in the middle portion. The Savanna sandstone averages about 1,200 feet in thickness, is made up of about equal amounts of sandstone and shale, and contains the Cavanal coal near the middle. The Boggy shale is about 2,850 feet thick, is made up largely of shale that contains many thin sandstone beds and that contains in the lower portion the Lower and Upper Witteville coals. The formations of the McAlester district were traced eastward to the Arkansas state line by Taff and Adams. The locations of the formational boundaries near the state line, as shown on the map accompanying that report, agree very closely with the boundaries as mapped by the present writers in 1930 and 1931. The recent mapping by the writers of the formational boundaries and of all traceable units within the formations was done by plane-table traverses starting at the type localities of the formations and continuing eastward to the state line.