Plate Tectonics, Basin Analysis, and Exploration: ABSTRACT

Abstract

The purpose of basin analysis in exploration is to predict oil and gas occurrence. Successful prediction requires (1) an understanding of the physical processes of generation, migration, and trapping of oil and gas, and (2) a certain minimum of geologic information. Capabilities of basin analysis are expanded as we develop better links between the theory of plate tectonics that has revolutionized global geology and the specific geologic events and processes that determine oil and gas occurrence on the scale of a basin. By developing reliable tectonic models of physical processes, the artful prognosticator can obtain improved results in exploration of frontier provinces where geologic information is severely limited. In these circumstances, plate tectonics can be directly and reliably applied to problems of the pattern and timing within a basin of structures, subsidence, uplift, igneous activity, and thermal maturation, as illustrated by North Atlantic basins, California, Alaska, and elsewhere. An advantage of the tectonic approach to basin analysis is that it stimulates an integrated review of geologic and geophysical data with emphasis on timing of geologic events. It remains questionable whether plate tectonics can be applied to problems of the distribution of source and reservoir rocks or of hydrocarbons on the scale required for exploration of a basin. End_of_Article - Last_Page 465------------