Hydrocarbon accumulation in basins with multiple phases of extension and inversion: examples from the Western Desert (Egypt) and the western Black Sea
<p>Folds associated with inverted extensional faults are important exploration targets in many basins across our planet. A common cause for failure to trap hydrocarbons in inversion structures is crestal breaching or erosion of top seal. The likelihood of failure increases as the intensity of...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Solid Earth |
| Online Access: | https://se.copernicus.org/articles/12/59/2021/se-12-59-2021.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Folds associated with inverted extensional faults are
important exploration targets in many basins across our planet. A common
cause for failure to trap hydrocarbons in inversion structures is crestal
breaching or erosion of top seal. The likelihood of failure increases as the
intensity of inversion grows. Inversion also decreases the amount of
overburden, which can adversely affect maturation of source rocks within the
underlying syn-extensional stratigraphic section. However, many rift basins
are multi-phase in origin, and in some cases the various syn-rift and
post-rift events are separated by multiple phases of shortening. When an
inversion event is followed by a later phase of extension and subsidence,
new top seals can be deposited and hydrocarbon maturation enhanced or
reinitiated. These more complex rift histories can result in intra-basinal
folds that have higher chances of success than single-phase
inversion-related targets. In other basins, repeated inversion events can
occur without significant intervening extension. This can also produce more
complicated hydrocarbon maturation histories and trap geometries. Multiple
phases of rifting and inversion affected numerous basins in North Africa and
the Black Sea region and produced some structures that are now prolific
hydrocarbon producing fields and others that failed. Understanding a
basin's sequence of extensional and contractional events and the resulting
complex interactions is essential to formulating successful exploration
strategies in these settings.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1869-9510 1869-9529 |