Print this page
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.