Spirit River Formation

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Spirit River Formation
Stratigraphic range: middle Albian
FalherMBR.JPG
Falher graywake and shale
Type Geological formation
Unit of Fort St. John Group
Sub-unitsNotikewin Member, Falher Member, Wilrich Member
Underlies Peace River Formation
Overlies Bluesky Formation
Thicknessup to 348 feet (110 m) [1]
Lithology
Primary sandstone, shale, siltstone
Other coal, ironstone, greywacke
Location
Coordinates 55°46′30″N118°54′22″W / 55.775°N 118.906°W / 55.775; -118.906 (Imperial Spirit River No. 1 well, in 12-20-78-6W6M)
RegionFlag of Alberta.svg  Alberta, Flag of British Columbia.svg  British Columbia
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Type section
Named for Spirit River
Named byBadgley, 1952

The Spirit River Formation is a stratigraphical unit of middle Albian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

Contents

It takes the name from the Spirit River, and was first described in Imperial Oil Spirit River No. 1 well by Badgley in 1952. [2]

Lithology

The Spirit River Formation consists, from bottom to top of fine to medium grained argillaceous sandstone, dark shale, ironstone, greywacke, shale, siltstone, coal and dark shale with thin sandstone and siltstone stringers. [1]

Hydrocarbon production

Gas is produced from channels developed in the Falher Member in northern Alberta.

Hydraulic fracturing in Canada

'Massive' hydraulic fracturing has been widely used in Alberta since the late 1970s to recover gas from low-permeability sandstones of the Spirit River Formation. [3] :1044 Massive hydraulic fracturing has been widely used in Alberta since the late 1970s. The method is currently used in development of the Cardium, Duvernay, Montney and Viking formations in Alberta, Bakken formation in Saskatchewan, Montney and Horn River formations in British Columbia.

Distribution

The Spirit River Formation reaches a maximum thickness of 348 metres (1,140 ft). It is found in the sub-surface in the Peace River Country, in an area stretching from Fort St. John, British Columbia to the Lesser Slave Lake from west to east, and from Grande Prairie, Alberta to Manning, Alberta from south to north.

Relationship to other units

The Spirit River Formation is conformably overlain by the Peace River Formation and conformably underlain by the Bluesky Formation. It grades laterally to the Buckinghorse Formation shales to the north-east, and into the sandy facies of the Malcolm Creek Formation south of the Wapiti River. It is equivalent to the upper Mannville Formation in Central Alberta and to the Clearwater Formation and Grand Rapids Formation in the upper Athabasca River area. [1]

Subdivisions

The Spirit River Formation is composed of the following sub-divisions from base to top:

Sub-unit LithologyMax
Thickness
Reference
Notikewin Memberfine to medium grained argillaceous sandstone, dark shale, ironstone 28 metres (90 ft) [4]
Falher Member greywacke, shale, siltstone, coal 215 metres (710 ft) [5]
Wilrich Memberdark shales thin sandstone and siltstone stringers154 metres (510 ft) [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluesky Formation</span>

The Bluesky Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Lower Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the hamlet of Bluesky, and was first described in Shell's Bluesky No. 1 well by Badgley in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montney Formation</span>

The Montney Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Lower Triassic age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in British Columbia and Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardium Formation</span> Stratigraphic range in western Canada

The Cardium Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the fossilized heart-shaped cockle shells in the family Cardiidae present. It was first described along the Bow River banks by James Hector in 1895. It is present throughout western Alberta and in northeastern British Columbia, and it is a major source of petroleum and natural gas.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernie Formation</span>

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The Fort St. John Group is a stratigraphic unit of Lower Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the city of Fort St. John, British Columbia and was first defined by George Mercer Dawson in 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peace River Formation</span>

The Peace River Formation is a stratigraphical unit of middle Albian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoky Group</span>

The Smoky Group is a stratigraphical unit of Late Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redknife Formation</span>

The Redknife Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunvegan Formation</span>

The Dunvegan Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Cenomanian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

The Schooler Creek Group is a stratigraphic unit of Middle to Late Triassic age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It is present in northeastern British Columbia. It was named for Schooler Creek, a left tributary of Williston Lake, and was first described in two oil wells northwest of Fort St. John, by F.H. McLearn in 1921. Exposures along Williston Lake serve as a type locality in outcrop.

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The Clearwater Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Early Cretaceous (Albian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in northeastern Alberta, Canada. It was first defined by R.G. McConnell in 1893 and takes its name from the Clearwater River near Fort McMurray.

The Mannville Group is a stratigraphical unit of Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viking Formation</span>

The Viking Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horn River Formation</span>

The Horn River Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

The Woodbend Group is a stratigraphical unit of Frasnian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

The Duvernay Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Frasnian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

Toad Formation, Grayling Formation, and Toad-Grayling Formation are obsolete names for the strata of the Early to Middle Triassic Doig and Montney Formations. They were applied in the foothills and Rocky Mountains of northeastern British Columbia, on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Although the names are considered obsolete, their usage persists.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Peace River Formation" . Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  2. Badgley, Peter C., 1952. Notes on the subsurface stratigraphy and oil and gas geology of the Lower Cretaceous series in central Alberta (Report and seven figures); Geological Survey of Canada, Paper No. 52-11, 12 p.
  3. Cant, Douglas J.; Ethier, Valerie G. (August 1984). "Lithology-dependent diagenetic control of reservoir properties of conglomerates, Falher member, Elmworth Field, Alberta,". Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists . 68 (8).
  4. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Notikewin Member" . Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  5. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Falher Member" . Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  6. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Wilrich Member" . Retrieved 2009-02-11.