PROVENANCE, PALEO-REDOX CONDITION, TECTONIC SETTING AND SANDSTONE CLASSIFICATION

ABSTRACT

Major oxides and trace elements analysis was carried out on eight (8) ditch cutting samples of PA-well, Onshore, Niger Delta Basin, to define their paleo-redox condition, provenance studies, tectonic setting, sandstone classification, Sedimentological analysis revealed four (4) main lithofacies comprising of sandstone, shaly sand, sandy shale, and shale. Geochemical results indicate that the average value of silica (83.71wt.%) is far higher than the average values of the rest oxides which shows the duration and intensity of weathering and destruction of other minerals during transportation. The trace elemental ratios of V/Cr and U/Th indicated an oxic environment of deposition. Bivariate plot of Ni versus Tio2, plot of La/Sc versus Th/Co and trace elemental ratios of Th/Sc, Th/Co, Cr/Th, La/Sc establishes that the source of the sediment are from felsic rock. Different chemical classification schemes characterized the sediments as quartzarenite, sublitharenite and Fe-rich sand. The plot of K2O/Na2O versus SiO2 and Log (K2O/Na2O) versus Log (SiO2/Al2O3) all plotted mainly in the passive margin zone.