AAPG HEDBERG CONFERENCE

"Mobile Shale Basins - Genesis, Evolution and Hydrocarbon Systems"

June 5-7, 2006 -- Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Spatio-Temporal Variations and Kinematics of Shale Mobility in Krishna-Godavari Basin, India

Neeraj Sinha, R. J. Singh, Mainak Choudhuri, Debajyoti Guha, Arindam Dutta, Sudipta Sinha.

Reliance Industries Limited, Petroleum Business (E&P)

DAKC, PHQ, Thane-Belapur Road

Koperkhairane, Navi Mumbai--40010

Maharashtra, India

phone: 00919322406397, [email protected]

Tertiary sediment loading on the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous passive margin rift fills in the offshore Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin generated different episodes and patterns of mobile, shale-cored structures from Paleocene to Pliocene. The Paleocene-Eocene shales in the deeper shelf and upper slope areas moved in a series of thrust slices whereas the younger Pliocene – Pleistocene shales moved as individual bulges. . The trends of shale bulges/toe thrusts are sub-parallel or slightly oblique to those of growth faults and the shelf-slope breaks .The trends of canyons and sediment fairways in the upper slope areas are perpendicular to highly oblique to those of the growth faults. Lithological variability and shifting depocenters, prevailing tectonic conditions and available space in the system for translation in space and time-- all apparently influenced the spatio-temporal distribution of the shale-cored structures. A relation is also seen between the location of the thrusts/shale cored anticlines and the escarpments formed at ocean-continent boundary. 2D palinspastic restorations, incorporating all the above variables, confirm the linkages between the trends of sediment fairways, growth faults and mobile shales in the KG Basin.