Plate tectonic studies
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Exploring for Oil and Gas Traps | |
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Series | Treatise in Petroleum Geology |
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Part | Predicting the occurrence of oil and gas traps |
Chapter | Exploring for structural traps |
Author | R.A. Nelson, T.L. Patton, S. Serra |
Link | Web page |
Store | AAPG Store |

Global map of tectonic plates. USGS.
Information provided
Plate tectonic studies provide the following kinds of information:
- Regional geologic framework
- Types of major structures expected in the play
- Whether the area may have been affected by more than one deformation event and/or more than one deformational style
- Age and relative timing of deformation
- Relation between structural trap development and other hydrocarbon systems events, such as source, seal, and reservoir deposition
When to use it
Always use plate tectonics. Although it is most useful in frontier basins, it is helpful even in mature basins. Knowing how a structural play fits into the regional tectonic picture may yield new ideas and approaches to exploration.
How to use it
This inexpensive technique is applied directly from the following:
- Regional literature in professional journals
- Interactive computer programs showing plate positions and configurations during geologic history
- Independent or “spec” regional studies integrating all aspects of the petroleum geology of a large region
Examples of use
- Watson, M. P., A. B. Hayward, D. N. Parkinson, and Z. M. Zhang, 1987, Plate tectonic history, basin development and petroleum source rock deposition onshore China: Marine and Petroleum Geology, vol. 4, p. 205–225, DOI: 10.1016/0264-8172(87)90045-6.
- Redfern, P., and J. A. Jones, 1995, The interior rifts of Yemen-analysis of basin structure and stratigraphy in a regional plate tectonic context: Basin Research, v. 7, p. 337–356, DOI: 10.1111/bre.1995.7.issue-4.
- Pindell, J. L., and S. F. Barrett, 1990, Geological evolution of the Caribbean region: a plate-tectonic perspective, in G. Dengo, and J. E. Case, eds., The Caribbean Region (vol. H of the Geology of North America series): Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America, p. 405–432.
- Harding, T. P., and J. D. Lowell, 1979, Structural styles, their plate-tectonic habitats and hydrocarbon traps in petroleum provinces: AAPG Bulletin, vol. 63, p. 1016–1058.
- Dickinson, W. R., and H. Yarborough, 1978, Plate Tectonics and Hydrocarbon Accumulation: AAPG Continuing Education Series 1, 148 p.
- Busby, C. J., and R. V. Ingersoll, eds., 1995, Tectonics of Sedimentary Basins: Cambridge, Mass., Blackwell Scientific, 570 p.
- Beydoun, Z. R., 1991, Arabian Plate Hydrocarbon Geology and Potential—A Plate Tectonic Approach: AAPG Studies in Geology 33, 77 p.
- Yin, A., and S. Nie, 1996, A Phanerozoic palinspastic reconstruction of China and its neighboring regions, in A, Yin, and T. M. Harrison, eds., The Tectonic Evolution of Asia: Cambridge, Mass., Cambridge University Press, p. 442–485.
See also
- Frontier reconnaissance techniques and tools
- Potential fields
- Remote sensing
- Regional maps and cross sections
- Structural geology fieldwork
- Natural analogs