Structural Style and Hydrocarbon Habitat of the English Channel and Paris Basin

VINING, B. A., and D. ERRAT, Esso Exploration and Production Ltd., Surrey, U.K.

The structural style and hydrocarbon habitat of the English Channel and Paris basin are reviewed, and selected case histories are discussed. A new model for structural evolution invokes, in part, a detachment surface within the Early Jurassic sediments that differentiates the structural style of the Jurassic and younger sections from the underlying Triassic reservoirs. Compressional reactivation of certain faults in the Early Tertiary has resulted in the cessation of the generative capacity of Pliensbachian-Toarcian source rocks. A history of source rock maturation and migration is presented for Jurassic and Carboniferous source horizons that addresses structural configuration, fault profile analyses, and geologic timing.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91004 © 1991 AAPG Annual Convention Dallas, Texas, April 7-10, 1991 (2009)