Three-dimensional geometry and evolution of a salt-related growth-fault array: Eugene Island 330 field, offshore Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico

doi:10.1016/S0264-8172(98)00021-X

Marine and Petroleum Geology

Volume 15, Issue 4, June 1998, Pages 309-328

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-8172(98)00021-X Get rights and content

Abstract

The geometry and evolution of a growth-fault array bounding the Eugene Island 330 Field were studied using 3-D seismic interpretation and analysis of displacement patterns. The 3-D geometry of the kinematically coherent fault array is complex and characterized by both lateral and vertical branching and linkage of individual fault segments, so that fault patterns and interactions very considerably between different structural levels. Three types of faults are distinguished: growth faults with throw increasing downward; compensation faults with closed tip lines; and composite faults, which combine elements of both growth and compensation faults. Reconstruction of the fault array's evolution using displacement backstripping illustrates the growth and linkage of some isolated faults and the upward separation of others into distinct segments. The results may have important implications for understanding the history of hydrocarbon migration and entrapment in the EI-330 field and other fault-bounded minibasins in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Citation Excerpt :
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PaperThree-dimensional geometry and evolution of a salt-related growth-fault array: Eugene Island 330 field, offshore Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Tectonophysics

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Tectonophysics

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Journal of Structural Geology

Geologic evolution of a Plio-Pleistocene salt-withdrawal minibasin: Eugene Island Block 330, offshore Louisiana

Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists

Fluid flow in a faulted reservoir system: fault trap analysis for the Block 330 Field in Eugene Island, South Addition, offshore Louisiana

Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists

Model for hydrocarbon migration and entrapment within faulted structures

Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists

Overlapping faults, intrabasin highs, and the growth of normal faults

Journal of Geology

Gulf of Mexico growth fault drilled, seen as oil, gas migration pathway

Oil and Gas Journal

Displacement geometry in the volume containing a single normal fault

Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists

Three-dimensional seismic interpretation and fault sealing investigations, Nun River Field, Nigeria

Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists

Paper
Three-dimensional geometry and evolution of a salt-related growth-fault array: Eugene Island 330 field, offshore Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico