the upper Viola (Welling/Fernvale) suggesting dissolution
before deposition of the Sylvan. The presence of sphaler-
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DOI:10.1190/INT-2019-0155.1
Mayes-Caney Shale is approximately 146 m (482 ft)
and the Goddard Shale is approximately 54 m (176 ft).
ite, copper sulfides, and pyrite with asphalt has been re-
ported in the Viola west of the study area in Pontotoc
County (Sykes et al., 1997a), indicating some hydrothermal
activity and associated hypogene karst likely due to move-
ment of brine and petroleum below the organic Sylvan
Shale, a confining and effective aquitard unit over the Viola.
A marine transgression led to deposition of the
Sylvan Shale (Amsden, 1984), with an average thickness
in the study area of approximately 29 m (96 ft). The over-
lying Hunton Limestone does not exceed 2 m (8 ft)
thickness in the study area and thins from the southwest
to the northeast due to local erosion. Shelf subsidence of
the Hunton surface resulted in the buildup of the trans-
gressive Misener Sandstone and Woodford Shale, with
the Woodford thickness of 52 m (171 ft). The Mississip-
pian Mayes-Caney Shale sequence records a clastic ad-
vancement from the south, with a rapid thinning of the
shale to the north across the platform due to slower dep-
osition and rapid subsidence of the basin to a southward
thickening of the Pennsylvanian Caney Shale, also called
the Goddard or Springer Shale (Elias, 1956; Arkoma Ba-
sin Study Group, 1961). The average thickness of the
Figure 3. Stratigraphy of well C relative to the geology of the western Arkoma
Basin. Circles V, C, J, and W represent interpreted horizons on seismic (the strati-
graphic column is modified after Bliefnick [1992] and Romero and Philp [2012]
and the well C log is modified after Fronterra Integrated Geosciences LLC, 2004,
Formation image interpretation report).
T424 Interpretation / May 2020
Jefferson Sandstone lenses are found at the edge of
the platform in the upper section of the Pennsylvanian
Springer/Caney Shale (Arkoma Basin Study Group,
1961). The Jefferson is composed of more than one sand-
stone that divides and amalgamates suggesting bar facies
and variable depositional surroundings in a marine envi-
ronment (Andrews, 2007a, 2007b). The Jefferson Sand-
stone has an average thickness of 34 m (110 ft) in the
study area. Cromwell Sandstone deposition occurred
with amplified movement to the south in a stable environ-
ment. Thin shale streaks in the sandstone indicate vari-
ability in subsidence rates. The average thickness of
the Cromwell Sandstone is approximately 50 m (164 ft).
The Wapanucka Limestone formed in shallow waters
before initiation of basin subsidence characterized by
superficial and localized movements of the seafloor with
a slow rate of deposition (Arkoma Basin Study Group,
1961; Suneson, 2012). The average thickness of the
Wapanucka is approximately 47 m (153 ft). Before the ad-
vancement of the Atoka Sea, Morrowan rocks were sub-
ject to erosion that increased northward across the basin.
During Atokan time, the deposition of coarse clastic rocks
occurred throughout the basin with increased subsidence.
A northward transgression occurred de-
positing younger shallow marine sands
and shale over older Atoka units in the
subsiding trough (Arkoma Basin Study
Group, 1961). Figure 3 shows the stratig-
raphy of well C in the study area.
Available data
The 3D seismic and wireline data
from three wells used in this study were
made available by Devon Energy. Fig-
ure 4a shows the seismic data coverage
and key well locations. Table 1 shows
the formation tops and thicknesses en-
countered in the three wells. The data
straddle the Hughes-Coal County line
in southern Oklahoma. The seismic data
have a 1 ms sample rate, 2.7 s record
length, and bin size of 33.5 × 33.5 m
(110 × 110 ft), and they consist of pre-
stack time-migrated data with 798 east–
west crosslines and 698 north–south in-
lines. The processing datum is 274.3 m
(900 ft) with a replacement velocity of
3048 m∕s (10;000 ft∕s) and areal cover-
age of 470 km2 (180 mi2 ). Fourier analy-
sis indicates the minimum and maximum
frequencies of 13 and 102.5 Hz at nega-
tive 20 dB, with a dominant frequency
of 57.5 Hz (Figure 4b). Vertical seismic
resolutions for the Viola and Wapanucka
are 27 m (89 ft) and 25 m (82 ft), respec-
tively. Well A is located in Hughes
County with total depth (TD) of 1847 m