Structural Model Assessment in Deep-Water Compressional Settings: Exploration Impact in the Gulf of Mexico and Amazon Slope Basins

By

 Steve Matthews¹, Peter Bentham¹, Tim Buddin², Rich Gibson³, N. Purnell¹

(1) BP Exploration, Sunbury-on-Thames, United Kingdom (2) BP Exploration, Houston, TX (3) BP Exploration, Calgary

 BP’s active exploration of several deep-water slope basins presents recurring exploration risks which are being addressed partly through integrated structural-geological interpretation and modelling.

The large prospective structures which are frequently developed in the ‘down-dip’ compressional-toe regions of the Gulf of Mexico and Amazon deep-water environments have been generated by gravitational movement of the entire slope basin, which in the Gulf of Mexico has involved substantial synchronous salt flow.

This presentation is focused on key elements of the structural workflow, integration between structural interpretation and basin modelling, and the resultant contribution to risk reduction which has been applied recently during exploration of these basins.

Key exploration-scale issues include crustal structure, heat flow, source presence, trap geometry and complexity prediction in sub-salt settings, and palaeo-structural impact on charge history and depositional system evolution. A selection of examples will be presented which illustrate application of exploration-scale structural workflow prior to recent field discovery and during ongoing appraisal within the Gulf of Mexico, and during early exploration in the Amazon slope basin.