Structural fairway prospectivity

Exploring for Oil and Gas Traps
Series	Treatise in Petroleum Geology
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

Definition

Certain structural domains or specific portions of those domains provide the greatest opportunities for exploration success. Those areas are called prospective structural fairways. In a prospective structural fairway, the structural history, trap configuration, and major elements of the hydrocarbon system combine to present a likely scenario for an economic accumulation of hydrocarbons.

Important considerations in identifying a prospective structural fairway are as follows:

• Structural style
• Tectonic overburden or denudation
• Trap evolution and timing
• Presence of source and reservoir facies
• Timing of hydrocarbon generation and migration

Assessing fairway prospectivity

The above considerations and their interdependencies, along with the following data sources, help us assess which structural fairways might be prospective:

• Regional geologic data (tops, cross sections, maps)
• Natural and productive analogs of structures
• Reconnaissance seismic data
• Potential fields
• Remote sensing data (satellite and air photo)
• Surface geologic data
• Fabric analysis
• Tectonic subsidence analysis
• Surveys for remote detection of hydrocarbons

If the structural fairway has most, if not all, of the major components needed for a viable hydrocarbon system, the next step is to identify structural leads and convert these to prospects.

See also

• Structural exploration workflow
• Tectonic setting
• Structural domains
• Structural lead and prospect delineation
• Structural exploration:location selection
• Structural exploration: thrust belt example

External links

find literature about Structural fairway prospectivity

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