The Southern Tail‐End Graben, Danish Central Graben, is characterized by a lateral variation in the thickness and mobility of pre‐rift Zechstein Supergroup evaporites, allowing investigation of how supra‐basement evaporite variability influences rift structural style and tectono‐stratigraphy. The study area is divided into two structural domains based on interpretations of the depositional thickness and mobility of the Zechstein Supergroup. Within each domain, we examine the overall basin morphology and the structural styles in the pre‐Zechstein and supra‐Zechstein (cover) units. Furthermore, integration of two‐way travel‐time (TWT)‐structure and ‐thickness maps allows fault activity and evaporite migration maps to be generated for pre‐ and syn‐rift stratal units within the two domains, permitting constraints to be placed on: (i) the timing of activity on pre‐Zechstein and cover faults and (ii) the onset, duration and migration direction of mobile evaporites. The northern domain is interpreted to be free from evaporite‐influence, and has developed in a manner typical of brittle‐only, basement‐involved rifts. Syn‐rift basins display classical half‐graben geometries bounded by thick‐skinned faults. In contrast, the southern domain is interpreted to be evaporite‐influenced, and cover structure reflects a southward increase in the thickness and mobility of the Zechstein Supergroup evaporites. Fault‐related and evaporite‐related folding is prominent in the southern domain, together with variable degrees of decoupling of sub‐Zechstein and cover fault and fold systems. The addition of mobile evaporites to the rift results in: (i) complex and spatially variable modes of tectono‐stratigraphic evolution; (ii) syn‐rift stratal geometries which are condensed above evaporite swells and over‐thickened in areas of withdrawal; (iii) compartmentalized syn‐rift depocentres; and (iv) masking of rift‐related megasequence boundaries. Through demonstrating these deviations from the characteristics of rifts free from evaporite influence, we highlight the first order control evaporites may exert upon rift structural style and the distribution and thicknesses of syn‐rift units.
Multiple state-of-the-art inversion methods have been implemented to integrate 3D seismic amplitude data, well logs, geologic information, and spatial variability to produce models of the subsurface. Amplitude variation with angle (AVA) deterministic, stochastic, and wave-equation-based amplitude variation with offset (WEB-AVO) inversion algorithms are used to describe Intra-Triassic Mungaroo gas reservoirs located in the Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. The interpretation of inverted elastic properties in terms of lithology- and fluid-sensitive attributes from AVA deterministic inversion provides quantitative information about the geomorphology of fluvio-deltaic sediments as well as the delineation of gas reservoirs. AVA stochastic inversion delivers higher resolution realizations than those obtained from standard deterministic methods and allows for uncertainty analysis. Additionally, the cosimulation of petrophysical parameters from elastic properties provides precise 3D models of reservoir properties, such as volume of shale and water saturation, which can be used as part of the static model building process. Internal multiple scattering, transmission effects, and mode conversion (considered as noise in conventional linear inversion) become useful signals in WEB-AVO inversion. WEB-AVO compressibility shows increased sensitivity to residual/live gas discrimination compared to fluid-sensitive attributes obtained with conventional inversions.
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