Evaluation of Lowside Traps in Mature Basins - The North Sea

C. Jones, D. Phelps, G. Gray

The Viking Graben, North Sea, is an area where exploration opportunities for conventional, highside structural traps, dominated by the rotated fault block province, have been largely exhausted. Significant prospectivity remains in the exploration for lowside traps (e.g., Columba, N.W. Hutton fields). Delineation of these potentially significant hydrocarbon accumulations, will rely not only on the precise interpretation of high quality 3-D seismic, but also the successful application of innovative structural interpretation techniques (fault seal analysis and projection systems--FAPS^TM and structural balancing/restoration--GEOSEC^TM), with the integration of a wide range of geological data (e.g., pressure, geochemistry, stratigraphy) that will aid in th detection and risking of lowside trapping potential.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91020©1995 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, May 5-8, 1995