The use of palaeo-thermo-barometers and coupled thermal, fluid flow and pore-fluid pressure modelling for hydrocarbon and reservoir prediction in fold and thrust belts

Abstract

Basin modelling tools are now more efficient to reconstruct palinspastic structural cross sections and compute the history of temperature, pore-fluid pressure and fluid flow circulations in complex structural settings. In many cases and especially in areas where limited erosion occurred, the use of well logs, bottom hole temperatures (BHT) and palaeo-thermometers such as vitrinite reflectance (Ro) and Rock-Eval (Tmax) data is usually sufficient to calibrate the heat flow and geothermal gradients across a section. However, in the foothills domains erosion is a dominant process, challenging the reconstruction of reservoir rocks palaeo-burial and the corresponding calibration of their past thermal evolution. Often it is not possible to derive a single solution for palaeo-burial and palaeo-thermal gradient estimates in the foothills, if based solely on maturity ranks of the organic matter.Alternative methods are then required to narrow down the error bars in palaeo-burial estimates, and to secure more realistic predictions of hydrocarbon generation. Apatite fission tracks (AFT) can provide access to time–temperature paths and absolute ages for the crossing of the 120 °C isotherm and timing of the unroofing. Hydrocarbon-bearing fluid inclusions, when developing contemporaneously with aqueous inclusions, can provide a direct access to the pore-fluid temperature and pressure of cemented fractures or reservoir at the time of cementation and hydrocarbon trapping, on line with the tectonic evolution. Further attempts are also currently made to use calcite twins for constraining reservoir burial and palaeo-stress conditions during the main deformational episodes. Ultimately, the use of magnetic properties and petrographical measurements can also document the impact of tectonic stresses during the evolution of the layer parallel shortening (LPS).The methodology integrating these complementary constraints will be illustrated using reference case studies from Albania, sub-Andean basins in Colombia and Venezuela, segments of the North American Cordillera in Mexico and in the Canadian Rockies, as well as from the Middle East.

Hydrocarbon Exploration Potential of Montenegro – A Brief Review

“…The turbidites may have reservoir potential where coarser-grained in more proximal palaeogeographic locations (Roure et al, 2010). However other Mesozoic basinal carbonates are not considered to have reservoir potential in Montenegro because they do not form traps within the east-dipping foreland.…”

“…18). As in Italy and Albania, the main challenge is to investigate thrustrelated structures in the Dalmatian thrust belt (Roure et al, 2010;Velaj, 2012;Bega, 2013). The carbonate build-up play is analogous to the discoveries on the Italian side of the Adriatic Sea (Flores, 1981;Mattavelli et al, 1993;Zappaterra, 1990;Bertello , 2010).…”

Paleo-fluids characterisation and fluid flow modelling along a regional transect in Northern United Arab Emirates (UAE)

“…Based on the main results of this project, some of which have already been described in previous publications (e.g. Breesch 2008;Breesch et al 2006Breesch et al , 2009Breesch et al , 2010aRoure et al 2010) this paper first documents the successive/ alternating episodes of interaction between meteoric and/or hydrothermal fluids with the rock matrix, as evidenced by field and petrographic studies. These analytical data are further discussed and compared with results of basin modelling, in order to better understand the spatial and temporal changes observed in the regional fluid flow and its incidence on diagenetic processes operating in an open system.…”

“…New subsurface constraints provided by deep seismic profiles were used to constrain the architecture of the cross-section, and to test various hypotheses on the Introduction Paleo-fluid flow is known to impact the reservoir properties of both carbonates and sandstones during successive geodynamic and tectonic stages involved in the long-lasting evolution of foreland fold-and-thrust belts (e.g. Roure et al 2005Roure et al , 2009, 2010 and reference therein). For instance, meteoric water can interact with the rock matrix during the early stages of plate convergence when foreland flexuring leads to emersion of a forebulge secondary porosity development in the foreland basin and eventually local karstification.…”

Fold–thrust belts: overlooked provinces or justifiably avoided?

“…Historically, analysis has been dependent on measurements of the maturity of organic matter, such as Ro and Tmax. Roure et al (2010) observe that apatite fission track data and analyses of hydrocarbon-bearing fluid inclusions can reduce the range of uncertainty and allow better prediction of the timing of hydrocarbon generation and the pressure/temperature conditions in the reservoir during cementation and hydrocarbon trapping. Capozzi & Picotti (2010) show how the analysis G. P. GOFFEY ET AL.…”