Abstract
ABSTRACT The occurrence of large volumes of crude oil and thermogenic gas in Plio-Pleistocene reservoirs and Holocene seeps of the Gulf of Mexico slope argues that the process of hydrocarbon generation and migration continues at the present time. Calculated thermal maturity models based on deep seismic stratigraphy indicate that Cretaceous and possibly Early Tertiary sediments are presently within the thermal maturity range for generation and expulsion of crude oil. The Cretaceous and Early Tertiary sediments are suggested as possible source rocks because younger sediments are thermally immature for crude oil generation, and older sediments are thermally overmature for crude oil preservation. The calculated thermal maturity profile for the slope indicates that some generation of crude oil could occur as shallow as 6 km, and that liquid hydrocarbons could be preserved as deep as 9 km. Thermogenic gas is stable at even greater depths. Migration with a strong vertical component must be invoked to explain thermogenic hydrocarbons in shallow reservoirs and seeps of the slope. The great depth at which liquid hydrocarbons and dry gas can be preserved in reservoirs of the Gulf of Mexico Salt Basin indicates that huge volumes of prospective section remain essentially unexplored.
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