--> Abstract: Salt Dynamics: Excess Maturity, Timing, and Flow Speed, by R. O. Thomsen and I. Lerche; #91006 (1991)

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Salt Dynamics: Excess Maturity, Timing, and Flow Speed

THOMSEN, R. O., and I. LERCHE, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

A method for assessing the time of onset of diapirism and salt flow speed is demonstrated. Using vitrinite reflectance measurements from wells drilled on top of a salt structure, it is possible to determine the excess maturity caused by the focusing of heat due to the higher thermal conductivity of salt. The method is based on calculation of the thermal anomaly surrounding a rising salt diapir. For a given salt speed, a time-temperature integral is calculated and converted into a synthetic vitrinite reflectance value. The modeled vitrinite reflectance values are compared with the observed values at given depths, and the process is repeated with various speeds of the rising salt until consistency of predicted and observed values is obtained. The method can easily be tailored to thermal indicators other than vitrinite reflectance, thereby enhancing the resolution of the thermal history and constraining both the onset of salt rise as well as the speed. The Lulu 1 well from the Danish North Sea is a case history used to illustrate the procedure.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91006 © 1991 GCAGS and GC-SEPM Meeting, Houston, Texas, October 16-18, 1991 (2009)