PABZT Project (Permian Basin Archival of Biostratigraphic Zone Tops) Become a PABZT Blue Ribbon Sponsor. To date, the project has had 25 undergraduates complete senior theses and 2 MS students, sponsorship will continue to allow student participation. UPDATE: we have begun to add API numbers to the data and have greatly increased the number of wells in the database. Please contact dustin.sweet@ttu.edu for more information.

Project Description

In 2011, a collection of biostratigraphic well reports covering over 126 counties in west Texas and New Mexico was donated to the Department of Geosciences at Texas Tech University. The PABZT project aims to digitally archive this collection in an ArcGIS database, specifically recording depths to biostratigraphic (namely fusulinid) tops of over 7000 wells  that were drilled between the early 1930’s and early 1970’s. Additionally, lithological data is being archived where reported. Biostratigraphic horizons included in the database so far range from the Ordovician Ellenburger Formation to the Leonardian, thus spanning most of the Paleozoic.  Currently, data archiving has covered counties that span across the Midland and Palo Duro basins.

Future Goals of the Project

Future goals of the project are to: 1) complete the archival of the biostratigraphic horizons from each county in the collection, 2) build a searchable, online, spatially manipulatable database for quick construction of specific biostratigraphic horizons within the greater Permian basin region.

PABZT Project Team

Ryan Robbins (B.S.Dec 2014)
Thesis Title: Development of the Permian shelf in the northern Midland basin, Garza and Crosby counties, Texas

Liam Armstrong (B.S. May 2015)
Thesis Title: Late Paleozoic development of the Northern Midland Basin shelf in Lubbock and Lynn counties, Texas

Heather Barnes (B.S. May 2015)
Thesis Title: Chronostratigraphic evolutionof the Pennsylvanian -Permian northern shelf of the Midland Basin within Hockley County, Texas

James Duncan (B.S. May 2015)
Thesis Title: Development of the Horseshoe Atoll in the Northern Midland Basin, Howard and Mitchell Counties, Texas

Kendall Hamrick (B.S. December 2015)
Thesis Title: Development of the Wolfcamp Formation and Horseshoe Atoll in the Midland Basin, Borden and Scurry County, Texas

Clinton Carr (B.S. December 2015)
Thesis Title: Chronostatigraphic Analysis of the Late Paleozoic Development of Irion and Reagan Counties, Texas

Tyler Roy (B.S. August 2015)
Thesis Title: Pennsylvanian Development of the Horseshoe Atoll in the Midland Basin, Martin and Dawson Counties, West Texas

Bill Reeves (B.S. December 2015)
Thesis Title: Structure of the Ordovician Ellenburger Formation in Fisher and Nolan counties, Texas

Josh Sharkey (B.S. December 2015)
Thesis Title: Chronostratigraphic evolution of the Pennsylvanian-Permian eastern shelf of the Midland Basin within Sterling and Coke Counties, Texas [2nd place poster: Geoscience Research Day]

Alex Geiss (B.S. August 2015)
Thesis Title: Development of the Eastern Midland Basin Shelf Within Tom Green County, Texas

Casey Shands (B.S. December 2015)
Thesis Title: Pennsylvanian uplift and early Permian subsidence of the Central Basin Platform in Ecotr and Midland counties

Mason Villarreal (B.S. December 2015)
Thesis Title: Pennsylvanian and Permian evolution of the Midland Basin in Terry and Yoakum counties, Texas

Daniel St.-Germain (B.S. December 2015)
Thesis Title: Late Paleozoic development of the southern Midland Basin

Sterling Lepard (B.S. May 2016)
Thesis Title: Permian and Pennsylvanian Evolution of the Central Basin Platform in Upton and Crane Counties

Seth Martin (B.S. August 2016)
Thesis Title: Evolution of Basin Fill within the southern Palo Duro Basin in Northwest Texas

Robert Nelson (B.S. August 2016)
Thesis Title: Strawn through Wolfcampian shelf edge progradation of the northeastern Midland Basin and southeastern palo Duro Basin, Kent, Dickens and Motley counties, west Texas.

Josh Newton (B.S. August 2016)
Thesis Title: Transition of the Midland Basin to the Matador Arch in Bailey, Parmer and Cochran counties defined through reconstruction of depth to fusulinid biozones.

Chris Spano (B.S. December 2016)
Thesis Title: Structural Intepretation of the Matador Uplift and Late Paleozoic time periods in the Palo Duro Basin in Hale and Floyd County, TX.

Katie Pevehouse (B.S. August 2017)
Thesis Title: Chronostratigraphic Study of the Central Basin Platform and Delaware Basin in Loving, Ward and Winkler Counties, Texas

Richard Bloomer (B.S. August 2017)
Thesis Title: Influence of the Marathon fold and Thrust Belt on sediment deposition in the southern Delaware Basin denoted by depths of Fusulinid biozone tops in Pecos County, TX  

Eric Anderson (B.S. August 2017)
Thesis Title: Chronostratigraphic evolution of the Eastern Shelf and Midland basin--Schleicher, Menard, Kimble and Concho Counties  

Anthony Pedraza (B.S. August 2017)
Thesis Title: Late Pennsylvanian to Early Permian evolution of the Ozona-Pecos Arch and its connection to the Central Basin Platform