The geometry and emplacement of conical sandstone intrusions

Conical sandstone intrusions with a geometry comparable with that of many igneous sills have been identified using 3D seismic data from large areas of the North Sea and Faeroe-Shetland Basins. These intrusions are of reservoir scale, ranging from 100 to 2000 m or so in diameter, 50-300 m in height,...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cartwright, J, James, D, Huuse, M, Vetel, W, Hurst, A
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2008
_version_ 1797093426855936000
author Cartwright, J
James, D
Huuse, M
Vetel, W
Hurst, A
author_facet Cartwright, J
James, D
Huuse, M
Vetel, W
Hurst, A
author_sort Cartwright, J
collection OXFORD
description Conical sandstone intrusions with a geometry comparable with that of many igneous sills have been identified using 3D seismic data from large areas of the North Sea and Faeroe-Shetland Basins. These intrusions are of reservoir scale, ranging from 100 to 2000 m or so in diameter, 50-300 m in height, and 1-80 m in thickness (aperture). They are concentrated in specific stratigraphic intervals in the Cenozoic fills of both basins. Two geometrical end members are recognised and defined here: 'apical cones' and 'flat-based bowls'. The former consist of inward dipping conical inclined sheets meeting at a prominent apex and the latter of similarly dipping discordant margins climbing from the edges of a concordant sheet. Both end members are associated with domal folds that are interpreted as resulting from the hydraulic elevation of the overburden during intrusion, and which are analogous to similar structures associated with bowl-shaped igneous sills. Measurements of aperture (ω) versus distance exhibit systematic relationships with the structural relief of these folds, offering a potentially predictive method for estimation of sandstone intrusion aperture and reservoir volume prior to drilling. A growth model for these end-member geometries is presented, drawing on existing theory for igneous sill emplacement. Aperture versus distance plots (ω -X) are used to illustrate two contrasting models for aperture inflation during propagation, but these require much further data before any specific growth model can be adopted. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
first_indexed 2024-03-07T04:00:12Z
format Journal article
id oxford-uuid:c44db9f6-4580-46b2-83e1-168336e4a8a2
institution University of Oxford
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-07T04:00:12Z
publishDate 2008
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:c44db9f6-4580-46b2-83e1-168336e4a8a22022-03-27T06:22:30ZThe geometry and emplacement of conical sandstone intrusionsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:c44db9f6-4580-46b2-83e1-168336e4a8a2EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2008Cartwright, JJames, DHuuse, MVetel, WHurst, AConical sandstone intrusions with a geometry comparable with that of many igneous sills have been identified using 3D seismic data from large areas of the North Sea and Faeroe-Shetland Basins. These intrusions are of reservoir scale, ranging from 100 to 2000 m or so in diameter, 50-300 m in height, and 1-80 m in thickness (aperture). They are concentrated in specific stratigraphic intervals in the Cenozoic fills of both basins. Two geometrical end members are recognised and defined here: 'apical cones' and 'flat-based bowls'. The former consist of inward dipping conical inclined sheets meeting at a prominent apex and the latter of similarly dipping discordant margins climbing from the edges of a concordant sheet. Both end members are associated with domal folds that are interpreted as resulting from the hydraulic elevation of the overburden during intrusion, and which are analogous to similar structures associated with bowl-shaped igneous sills. Measurements of aperture (ω) versus distance exhibit systematic relationships with the structural relief of these folds, offering a potentially predictive method for estimation of sandstone intrusion aperture and reservoir volume prior to drilling. A growth model for these end-member geometries is presented, drawing on existing theory for igneous sill emplacement. Aperture versus distance plots (ω -X) are used to illustrate two contrasting models for aperture inflation during propagation, but these require much further data before any specific growth model can be adopted. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
spellingShingle Cartwright, J
James, D
Huuse, M
Vetel, W
Hurst, A
The geometry and emplacement of conical sandstone intrusions
title The geometry and emplacement of conical sandstone intrusions
title_full The geometry and emplacement of conical sandstone intrusions
title_fullStr The geometry and emplacement of conical sandstone intrusions
title_full_unstemmed The geometry and emplacement of conical sandstone intrusions
title_short The geometry and emplacement of conical sandstone intrusions
title_sort geometry and emplacement of conical sandstone intrusions
work_keys_str_mv AT cartwrightj thegeometryandemplacementofconicalsandstoneintrusions
AT jamesd thegeometryandemplacementofconicalsandstoneintrusions
AT huusem thegeometryandemplacementofconicalsandstoneintrusions
AT vetelw thegeometryandemplacementofconicalsandstoneintrusions
AT hursta thegeometryandemplacementofconicalsandstoneintrusions
AT cartwrightj geometryandemplacementofconicalsandstoneintrusions
AT jamesd geometryandemplacementofconicalsandstoneintrusions
AT huusem geometryandemplacementofconicalsandstoneintrusions
AT vetelw geometryandemplacementofconicalsandstoneintrusions
AT hursta geometryandemplacementofconicalsandstoneintrusions