--> ABSTRACT: The Third Dimension in Burial History Reconstructions, by David A. Wavrek and Colin Barker; #91030 (2010)

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The Third Dimension in Burial History Reconstructions

David A. Wavrek, Colin Barker

Techniques for burial history reconstruction are now well established and are used routinely. Several commercial computer programs are available. These reconstructions provide a record of the depth of any rock unit at a given geographic location through geologic time. If such calculations are made for a number of locations, the points can be contoured to provide a structure map for any particular time included in the reconstruction, a convenient tool for following the development of structural traps through time. If this reconstruction is combined with one of the widely used thermal models (such as Lopatin), then one can deduce the status of the trap at the time of oil generation. This potential exploration tool is illustrated using examples from a variety of geologic settings. In continental interior basins, long-distance petroleum migration is common and potential traps on basin flanks may have followed different burial histories from axial source rocks. Clearly, timing is critical and trapping configurations need to develop before source rocks become mature. Traps that develop late are more likely to be dry or to contain only la e-stage gas. During the development of unconformities, sealing rock units may be removed from the crest of anticlinal traps. Burial reconstructions can be used to establish whether this movement occurred before the trap was filled, or after oil accumulated (in which case the oil will have been lost). Many other combinations of the development of maturity in source rocks with the timing of trap development are possible using the methods presented.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91030©1988 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, 20-23 March 1988.