--> ABSTRACT: Deepwater Exploration in the Lower Congo Basin Angola: The Use of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico as an Analog, by I. J. Stewart; #91021 (2010)

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Deepwater Exploration in the Lower Congo Basin Angola: The Use of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico as an Analog

STEWART, IAN J.

The deepwater Lower Congo Basin, Angola, West Africa, is a frontier province at an immature stage of exploration. The stratigraphic section records Oligocene through to Pliocene slope depositional sequences, overlying Late Cretaceous age carbonate and clastic sediments above Early Cretaceous age salt. The salt has evacuated to form complex diapir and canopy geometries at have markedly affected the dispersal of the Tertiary slope reservoir systems.

The basin is a direct analog to the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, both in terms of structural development, and in the formation of an intra-slope depositional topography that controlled the sediment dispersal. Application of stratigraphic principles and structural models from the Gulf of Mexico has focused exploration to date, and will provide keys for the future development of this new petroleum province.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91021©1997 AAPG Annual Convention, Dallas, Texas.