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.
The role of fluid pressure in contractional systems: examples from the Southern Canadian Rocky Mountains
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Published:January 01, 2015
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CiteCitation
Paul A. Mackay, 2015. "The role of fluid pressure in contractional systems: examples from the Southern Canadian Rocky Mountains", 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
Fold and thrust belts are contractional systems created by tectonic plate collisions, creating stress conditions where the maximum principal stress is horizontal and the minimum principal stress is vertical. The stress orientation favours the development of low-angle reverse faults. The trigger mechanism for thrust activation as a recurring seismic event is related to fluctuations in fluid pressure. The fluctuating fluid pressure creates a temporal cycle of elevated and relaxed fluid pressure that shifts the system in and out of failure conditions. The generation of hydrocarbons from organic material is a source of fluids and a means of temporally fluctuating the fluid pressure. In the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains the major detachments follow organic-rich strata that have generated hydrocarbons. The nature of the fluids impacts the size and distributions of faults within the tectonic wedge. The critical taper of the wedge is modified by the presence of high fluid pressure.
- Alberta
- basins
- British Columbia
- Calgary Alberta
- Canada
- Canadian Cordillera
- Canadian Rocky Mountains
- contraction
- decollement
- deformation
- displacements
- distribution
- failures
- faults
- fluid pressure
- fold and thrust belts
- foreland basins
- hydrocarbons
- kerogen
- Lewis thrust fault
- North America
- North American Cordillera
- organic compounds
- plate collision
- plate tectonics
- Rocky Mountains
- source rocks
- stress
- style
- tectonic wedges
- thrust faults
- water-rock interaction
- Western Canada
- Western Canada Sedimentary Basin
- McConnell thrust fault