The revolution in the stratigraphic sciences has impacted all aspects of petroleum exploration and development. It is now possible to reconstruct depositional history on a scale of tens to a few hundreds of thousands of years. Depositional systems and sequences can be recognized from seismic reflection patterns, log patterns, and biologic evolutionary sequences. The Recent is now truly the basis for understanding paleogeography, depositional patterns, reservoir geometries, and attributes. Not only is it possible to predict patterns of physical sedimentary attributes, but the relationship of structural and depositional histories can now be modeled. The interrelationship of basinal history, subsidence, depositional sequences, and onlap and offlap patterns can be understood and predicted. The history of rising and falling sea levels has been defined on scales ranging from millions to a few hundred thousand years. High-stand, flooding surfaces, and low-stand depositional sequences can be defined from petrophysical, seismic, and depositional patterns. The multivariant analysis of stratigraphic attributes and their patterns can be the basis for predicting the presence and distribution of unconformities, reservoir intervals and their potential productivity, and permeability and porosity distributions. From the analysis of stratigraphic sequences, it is possible to predict reservoir seals, distribution of overpressured intervals and zones, and avenues of petroleum migration. Without the reconstruction of the regional stratigraphic framework, it is impossible to interpret seismic, petrophysical, and depositional patterns. Stratigraphic analysis requires that time-rock correlations be developed prior to determining the structural history. Prediction of the time and place for the entrapment of hydrocarbons requires the knowledge of fluid-flow “plumbing” patterns, the presence of source rocks, the location of overpressured intervals, and identification of hydrocarbon seals. Facies mapping is required to determine the nature and distribution of reservoir units. Stratigraphic analysis includes time-rock correlation based upon paleontology, patterns of seismic reflections, basinal history, and stratigraphic paleogeographic …