Industrial Structural Geology: Principles, Techniques and Integration

The practical application of structural geology in industry is varied and diverse; it is relevant at all scales, from plate-wide screening of new exploration areas down to fluid-flow behaviour along individual fractures. From an industry perspective, good structural practice is essential since it feeds into the quantification and recovery of reserves and ultimately underpins commercial investment choices. Many of the fundamental structural principles and techniques used by industry can be traced back to the academic community, and this volume aims to provide insights into how structural theory translates into industry practice.
Papers in this publication describe case studies and workflows that demonstrate applied structural geology, covering a spread of topics including trap definition, fault seal, fold-and-thrust belts, fractured reservoirs, fluid flow and geomechanics. Against a background of evolving ideas, new data types and advancing computational tools, the volume highlights the need for structural geologists to constantly re-evaluate the role they play in solving industrial challenges.
Five anomalous structural aspects of rift basins in Thailand and their impact on petroleum systems
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Published:January 01, 2015
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CiteCitation
Chris K. Morley, 2015. "Five anomalous structural aspects of rift basins in Thailand and their impact on petroleum systems", Industrial Structural Geology: Principles, Techniques and Integration, F. L. Richards, N. J. Richardson, S. J. Rippington, R. W. Wilson, C. E. Bond
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Abstract
The intracratonic, supra-subduction zone setting of the Thailand rift basins caused the rifts to evolve in several ways differently from other intracratonic rifts. Key differences include: widespread occurrence of low-angle normal faults; basin inversion alternating with rifting; diachronous initiation and cessation of rifting; rapid post-rift subsidence; and extensive, low-displacement post-rift faults. These characteristics are related to hot, weak continental lithosphere, rapid evolution of the plate boundaries and stresses during the Cenozoic, and the history of subduction and accretion. Low-angle normal faults impacted the Sirikit Field by controlling the location of fluvio-deltaic reservoirs interfingering lacustrine shales (source and seal). Basin inversion alternating with syn-rift section is detrimental to prospectivity of the southern half of the Phitsanulok Basin by destroying syn-rift structure, and halting hydrocarbon maturation early in the basin history. The diachronous timing of basin development resulted in large, gas-dominated hydrocarbon accumulations in the eastern Gulf of Thailand basins, but was detrimental for younger basins that lack the post-rift section, and the greater variety of petroleum systems and traps that post-rift basins offer. The extensive low displacement–length ratio post-rift faults form significant hydrocarbon traps in the Pattani and North Malay basins. They represent a structural style not usually found in post-rift basins.
- accretion
- Asia
- basin inversion
- basins
- Cenozoic
- denudation
- deposition
- displacements
- extension faults
- extension tectonics
- Far East
- faults
- foreland basins
- geophysical profiles
- Gulf of Thailand
- intracratonic basins
- lithosphere
- Malay Basin
- normal faults
- North Pacific
- Northwest Pacific
- oil and gas fields
- Pacific Ocean
- paleogeography
- passive margins
- petroleum
- petroleum accumulation
- petroleum exploration
- pull-apart basins
- rift zones
- seismic profiles
- source rocks
- South China Sea
- stress
- strike-slip faults
- structural analysis
- subduction zones
- subsidence
- tectonics
- temperature
- Thailand
- thickness
- transfer faults
- West Pacific
- Krabi Basin
- Fang Basin
- Chiang Mai Basin
- Phitsanulok Basin
- Mergui Basin
- Pattani Basin
- Sirikit Field
- Khmer Basin