Petroleum Geoscience EAB -7- 151

Basin, structures and traps

Dr. Julie D. Bell RPG, PhD bellj@lsbu.ac.uk

What is a sedimentary basin?

A sedimentary basin is a depression filled with sedimentary rocks.

Areas of basins can be 1 to 10 km plus

 A sedimentary basin is
a depression filled with sedimentary rocks formed by any tectonic process filled with sediments, organics and water elements necessary to create a petroleum system are put in place traps are formed by tectonic processes.

Reservoir models are made of the particular parts of basin that the company has located a play.

Classification of sedimentary basins

Sedimentary basins can be classified according to
structural genesis (or how they were developed) evolutionary history (that can be linked to petroleum systems and play development)

The foundations of sedimentary basins

Read Basin Analysis Principles and Applications Philip A. Allen and John A. Allen page 3-- 218

The foundations of sedimentary basins The mechanics of sedimentary basin formation

Petroleum geologist - basin modelling

At its most basic, a basin modelling exercise must include:
burial history thermal history of the basin maturity history of the source rocks. expulsion, migration and trapping of hydrocarbons

Basin evolution
Number and variety of plays increases with basin evolution, as tectonics and sedimentary patterns become more complicated. Different basin cycles can be present
pre-rift syn-rift Transitional Post-rift

Same or different petroleum systems can be present due to changes in cycles

How to understand evolution?

Determine history of the basin fill including
composition, primary structures, and internal architecture, can be synthesized into a model of stages of development, or a basin model

 Sedimentary basins are regions of prolonged subsidence of the Earth. The driving mechanisms of subsidence are principally driven by processes in the lithosphere. The earth consists of different zones.

Geometries in a basin

Geometries in sedimentary basins

Applied study for petroleum not academic, petroleum traps Structural geology - study of 3D distribution of rock units with respect to their deformational histories

Planar features
bedding planes foliation planes fault planes fold axial planes

Other features
joints Stretching Structures are present on all scale from macro to micro

Bedding planes - normal bedding

Bedding planes - folded beds

Fault planes

Bedding and normal and fold planes

Fold axial planes - Anticline

Strike the direction that the beds are facing ie. NE Plunge the angle that the beds are from the ground surface ie 45

strike

plunge

Fold axial planes - Synclines

Traps

Traps
Read Petroleum Geosciences Gluyas and Swarbrick Section 4.5 p 148-169

Structural traps (fig 4.36 p149) Stratigraphic (fig 4.37 p150) Evaporites and salt domes (fig 4.47 p160)

Formation of traps and timing are critical

Structural traps
Read Petroleum Geosciences Gluyas and Swarbrick Section 4.5.3 p 151-163

What are the 6 types?

Salt dome traps

What are the 8 parts?

Wytch field is a synclinal fault basin with a stratigraphic pinchout trap