The Paleomagnetic, Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility, Geochronology, and Petrography of the Buena Vista Dike, North-Central New Mexico
Geno Castillo
Geology, New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM, USA
[email protected]
Abstract
The Buena Vista dike, located in north-central New Mexico, outcrops on the eastern side of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, near the transition zone between the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains. This dike intrudes the Cretaceous Benton Group, which consists of the Niobrara Formation that overlies the Benton Formation, Carlisle Shale, Greenhorn Limestone, Graneros Shale, and Dakota Sandstone, which make up the Las Vegas Sub-basin. Source rocks that are immature can be positioned within the oil porthole sufficiently from the thermal effects of igneous intrusions. Fractures are developed in the course of thermal cooling after emplacement, or latterly during brittle tectonic deformation. This can provide some secondary permeability and porosity, which provides pathways for migration of fluid through barriers that are impermeable. Located in Cuu Long Basin, which is off the shore of Vietnam there are five major oil fields produced from granite (Nguyen and Hung 2003). Their production has been between 100 and 1400 million barrels from each individual field reserve. The source rocks in this area are from upper Oligocene. The recorded oil columns range from 1000 – 1500 meters (3281 – 4921 feet) (Shepherd 2009). This study will employ paleomagnetic, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, gravity / magnetic surveys, and geochronology to determine, the time of emplacement, the primary flow direction to assess source area. Petrography will be utilized to characterize the composition and infer melt regions and igneous differentiation processes. This research will give insight if the Buena Vista dike can influence hydrocarbon migration pathways.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90199 © 2014 AAPG Foundation 2014 Grants-in-Aid Projects