Mannville Group
Stratigraphic range: Early Cretaceous
TypeGeological group
Sub-unitsGlauconitic Sandstone, Ostracod Beds, Ellerslie Member, Grand Rapids Formation, Clearwater Formation, McMurray Formation, Waseca Sand, Sparky Sand, General Petroleum Sand, Rex Sand, Lloydminster Sand, Cummings Member, Dina Member, Pense Formation, Cantuar Formation, Success Formation
UnderliesColorado Group
OverliesRundle Group, Banff Formation, Wabamun Formation
Thicknessup to 145 metres (480 ft)[1]
Lithology
PrimarySandstone
OtherShale
Location
Coordinates53°18′31″N 111°09′15″W / 53.3087°N 111.1541°W / 53.3087; -111.1541 (Northwest Mannville 1 well)
RegionAlberta, Saskatchewan
CountryCanada
Type section
Named forMannville, Alberta
Named byNauss, 1945

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

It takes the name from the town of Mannville, Alberta, and was first described in the Northwest Mannville 1 well by A.W. Nauss in 1945.[2]

Lithology

The Mannville Group consists of interbedded continental sand and shale in the base, followed by a calcareous sandstone member, marine shale, glauconitic sandstone and salt and pepper sandstone. An additional non-marine sequence is present in north-eastern Alberta.

Hydrocarbon production

Bitumen is produced from the McMurray Formation at the Athabasca Oil Sands. Heavy Oil is produced from the Wabiskaw Member of the Clearwater Formation in the Wabasca oil field, and from multiple formations in the Lloydminster and Provost areas in eastern Alberta and western Saskatchewan. Natural gas is extracted from the Ostracod and Glauconite beds in southern Alberta, and light oil is extracted from the Ellerslie Member in central and southern Alberta. Multiple oil fields[3] and gas fields[4] tap into the Manville Group.

Total gas reserves amount to 316,799 x 106m³ in the Lower Mannville and 644,774 x 106m³ in the Upper Mannville.[5] Recoverable oil reserves amount to 105.64 x 106m³ in the Lower Mannville and 199.20 x 106m³ in the Upper Mannville.[6]

Distribution

The Mannville Group reaches a thickness of 145 feet (40 m) in its type locality. It occurs in the sub-surface in central Alberta, extending east-west from Edmonton to Lloydminster and north-south from the Deep Basin to the United States border. It is present in the sub-surface in west-central and southern Saskatchewan.

Relationship to other units

The Mannville Group is discomformably overlain by the Joli Fou Formation shale of the Colorado Group. It rests unconformably on the older Paleozoic carbonates.

It is correlated with the lower Blairmore Group in the Canadian Rockies foothills and to the Bullhead Group and the Spirit River Formation of the Fort St. John Group in north-western Alberta. It is also equivalent to the Cantuar Formation in Saskatchewan and the Swan River Formation in Manitoba.

Subunits

The Mannville Group includes the following sub-units:

Central and southern Alberta

Subdivision Sub-unit Age Lithology Max
Thickness		 Reference
Upper Upper Mannville marine shale and sandstone
Glauconitic Sandstone Early Cretaceous very fine to medium grained quartz sandstone with siderite and glauconite 35 m (110 ft) [7]
Lower Mannville
Ostracod Beds Early Cretaceous Unit A: shale and fossiliferous limestone
Unit B: argillaceous limestone with ostracod fossils
Unit C: dark shale with siltstone and sandstone interbed
Unit D: fine to medium grained lithic calcareous sandstone with kaolinite and chert		 40 m (130 ft) [8]
Ellerslie Member Early Cretaceous Upper: fine grained sand with sandy shale and shaley sand lenses
Lower: medium grained quartz sand, siltstone, coal		 40 m (130 ft)
30 m (100 ft) 		[9]
Detrital Beds Early Cretaceous Chert pebbles, lithic sandstone, shale, siltstone 70 m (230 ft) [10]

Athabasca region

Sub-unit Age Lithology Max
Thickness		 Reference
Grand Rapids Formation Albian bitumenous fine to medium sand (A, B and C sands, separated by silt and shale) 125 m (410 ft) [11]
Clearwater Formation Albian black and green shales and sand 85 m (280 ft) [12]
Wabiskaw Member Albian glauconitic sands with black fissile shale 35 m (110 ft) [13]
McMurray Formation late Barremian to Aptian fine grained bituminous sands 60 m (200 ft) [14]

Lloydminster region

Sub-unit Age Lithology Max
Thickness		 Reference
Colony Sand Early Cretaceous friable glauconitic and argillaceous sandstone 15 m (50 ft) [15]
McLaren Member Early Cretaceous very fine grained sandstone and shale 18 m (60 ft) [16]
Waseca Sand Early Cretaceous sand with silt and shale 25 m (80 ft) [17]
Sparky Sand Early Cretaceous sand and shale 12 m (40 ft) [18]
General Petroleum Sand Early Cretaceous very fine to fine grained quartzose sand 15 m (50 ft) [19]
Rex Sand Early Cretaceous very fine to fine grained quartzose sand with silt and shale 14 m (50 ft) [20]
Lloydminster Sand Early Cretaceous unconsolidated quartz sand with silt 30 m (100 ft) [21]
Cummings Member Early Cretaceous shale with beds of salt-and-pepper sandstone 27 m (90 ft) [22]
Dina Member Early Cretaceous quartz sandstone with siltstone and shale 60 m (200 ft) [23]

Southern Saskatchewan

Sub-unit Age Lithology Max
Thickness		 Reference
Pense Formation Albian fine grained sandstone, clay, shaly silt 36 m (120 ft) [24]
Cantuar Formation Aptian to Albian mudstone and sandstone 120 m (390 ft) [25]
Success Formation Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous quartzose sandstone and siltstone 75 m (250 ft) [26]

References

  1. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Mannville Group". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  2. ^ Nauss, Arthur William, 1945. Cretaceous stratigraphy of Vermilion area, Alberta, Canada; American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), AAPG Bulletin, vol. 29, no. 11 (November), pp. 1605-1629.
  3. ^ Alberta Geological Survey. "Oil Production from the Lower Mannville". Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  4. ^ Alberta Geological Survey. "Gas Production from the Lower Mannville". Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  5. ^ Alberta Geological Survey. "Gas Production from the Upper Mannville". Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  6. ^ Alberta Geological Survey. "Oil Production from the Upper Mannville". Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  7. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Glauconitic". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  8. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Ostracod". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  9. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Ellerslie". Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  10. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Detrital". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  11. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Grand Rapids". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  12. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Clearwater". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  13. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Wabiskaw". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  14. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "McMurray". Archived from the original on 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  15. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Colony Sand". Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  16. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "McLaren Member". Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  17. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Waseca". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  18. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Sparky". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  19. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "General Petroleum". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  20. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Rex". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  21. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Lloydminster". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  22. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Cummings". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  23. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Dina". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  24. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Pense Formation". Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  25. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Cantuar Formation". Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  26. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Success Formation". Retrieved 2010-01-03.
Categories