The widespread availability of 3-D seismic surveys in the Permian Basin is dramatically changing the way explorationists interpret structures in the Basin. High quality,data allows the industry to image faults and anticlines with a clarity never before possible. Structures previously hidden by poor data are now clearly seen on state-of-the-art 3-D surveys.

The nature and style of faulting in the Permian Basin continues to be a source of debate. It has long been recognized that faulting in the lower Paleozoics produced a number of high fault blocks that strongly influenced Permian platform carbonate deposition. Past interpretations relied mainly on well control and poor quality 2-D data. This allowed wide latitude in fault interpretation.

Some workers interpreted predominantly normal faults; others predominantly high angle reverse faults. The well control shows both normal and reverse faulting occurs in the basin. Some workers took the middle-of-the-road approach and interpreted all faults as near vertical. It turns out that all are correct to some degree.

Most of the faulting in the Permian Basin exhibits characteristics of small scale strike-slip movement that occurred in two or more episodes. Several examples will be discussed which clearly show a single fault system may exhibit normal throw at one location and switch to reverse throw along strike. Individual fault planes also change from normal to reverse throw upwards from deep to shallow horizons. Both positive and negative flower structures are also recognized.

Individual fault blocks are now visible where only poor quality age of gross structures existed previously. This means the potential exists for many undiscovered traps in the Permian Basin.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90937©1998 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Salt Lake City, Utah