The Influence of Salt on the 3D Geometry and Evolution of Inversion Structures

Jennifer Elder Brady
Rutgers University Geological Sciences
Piscataway, New Jersey
[email protected]

The presence of salt controls the geometry of inversion structures in many petroliferous basins (offshore Canada, North Sea, offshore Norway, Persian Gulf). Many of these basins experienced multiple episodes of deformation and were later inverted. These basins have salt in the pre-rift and/or syn-rift sections. The spatial and temporal evolution of salt-related inversion structures is difficult to decipher in field and seismic examples. Therefore, scaled experimental models are useful for understanding their evolution.

To understand the influence of salt on the geometry and evolution of inversion structures, I will conduct a series of scaled experimental models with two episodes of deformation: oblique and orthogonal extension followed by oblique and orthogonal shortening. Wet clay and viscous putty are the modeling materials for brittle overburden and salt, respectively. I will run experiments with no putty, putty in the pre-rift section, and putty in the syn-rift section. I will photograph and analyze the temporal and spatial evolution of structures in map view. After the model has dried, I will analyze cross sections. Cross sections and map views will be used in combination to restore the models back through time. I will compare the results from the scaled experimental models with field and seismic examples from inverted salt basins.

A better understanding of the influence of inversion structures on fluid-flow behavior and distribution in salt-related hydrocarbon basins is vital for reservoir success. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the tectonic evolution of inversion structures in salt basins will be highly valuable to the petroleum industry.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90033©2004 AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid