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Abstract
(1.2.1): A 3-D geologic/petroleum
system model of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin
(WCSB) was created by using elevations on the top of
the Lower Cretaceous Mannville Group as a reference horizon
for stacking 18 isopach intervals from the base of the
Devonian Woodbend Group and age equivalent formations,
stratigraphically upward to the ground surface; this
includes an estimated thickness of eroded sediments based
on 1-D burial history reconstructions for 33 wells across
the study area. Each interval for the construction of
the 3-D model was chosen on the petroleum system basis
of whether it is primarily composed of reservoir, hydrocarbon
source, seal, overburden, or underburden strata, as well
as the quality and areal distribution of well and other
data. Data from numerous databases and data sets were
accessed to create the isopach intervals. Interval boundaries
are primarily formation tops that were derived from data
retrieved from the databases. Because formation names
commonly change across province and national boundaries,
formations that comprise the intervals were chosen based
on age-equivalent strata. These isopach files were gridded
at approximately 1-kilometer spacing and saved for publication
as zmap-format grid files.
Purpose
This publication contains zmap-format
grid files of isopach intervals that represent strata
associated with Devonian to Holocene petroleum systems
of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) of Alberta,
British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, Canada. Also included
is one grid file that represents elevations relative
to sea level of the top of the Lower Cretaceous Mannville
Group. Vertical and lateral scales are in meters. The
age range represented by the stratigraphic intervals
comprising the grid files is 373 million years ago (Ma)
to present day. File names, age ranges, formation intervals,
and primary petroleum system elements are listed in table
1.
Metadata associated
with this publication includes information on the
study area and the zmap-format files. The digital files
listed in table 1 were compiled as part of the Petroleum
Processes Research Project being conducted by the Central
Energy Resources Team of the U.S. Geological Survey,
which focuses on modeling petroleum generation,migration,
and accumulation through time for petroleum systems
of the WCSB. Primary purposes of the WCSB study are
to 1. Construct the 1-D/2-D/3-D petroleum system models
of the WCSB. Actual boundaries of the study area are
documented within the metadata; excluded are northern
Alberta and eastern Saskatchewan, but fringing areas
of the United States are included. 2. Publish results
of the research and the grid files generated for use
in the 3-D model of the WCSB. 3. Evaluate the use of
petroleum system modeling in assessing undiscovered
oil and gas resources for geologic provinces across
the World.
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