The Smackover Formation of Texas is located in the East Texas Basin, in North-East Texas, and is “one of three Mesozoic basins flanking the northern rim of the Gulf Coastal Plain” (Foote et al., 1988, p.3). “Subsidence from rifting and crustal attenuation in addition to subsequent sediment loading results in a maximum of 23,000 feet of subsidence in the center of the basin” ( an idea originally published in Seni and Jackson,1984, quoted from Foote et al., 1988, p.3). The area of the basin valued for oil and gas resources is 30,577 mi2(Fig. 1) (Seni and Jackson, 1984; additionally, the area’s hydrocarbon accumulation likelihood, on the basis of sedimentary rock volume is 64,043 mi2 (Dolton et al., 1981).
The East Texas Basin