Combination trap

Exploring for Oil and Gas Traps
Series	Treatise in Petroleum Geology
Part	Traps, trap types, and the petroleum system
Chapter	Classification of exploration traps
Author	Richard R. Vincelette, Edward A. Beaumont, Norman H. Foster
Link	Web page
Store	AAPG Store

Secondary or even tertiary trapping elements commonly modify the primary trapping agent. Structural traps may have a stratigraphic component or vice versa. Sometimes the distinction whether the trap belongs to one system or another is quite blurred. Traps with two or more trapping elements are called combination traps.

Primary trapping element

To determine what the primary trapping element is, consider each element of the trap and ask, “Would the trap exist if that element were not part of the trap?” We could also ask, “Which element would I look for first if I were exploring for this trap?”

Classifying combination traps informally

To classify a combination trap informally, list the primary trap element first, followed by secondary and tertiary trap elements. You can classify a combination trap informally in at least two different formats. For example, Upper Valley field, Utah, shown in the map and cross section below, could be classified informally as (1) a hydrodynamically modified anticlinal trap or as (2) a hydrodynamic/anticlinal trap.

Figure 2-3 . Copyright: RMAG.

Classifying combination traps formally

We classify a trap formally by listing the regimes, classes, and families for the primary, secondary, and (if necessary) tertiary systems. For example, the diagram below shows the formal classification for Upper Valley field.

Figure 2-4 See text for explanation.

Combination structural traps

Some structural traps are combinations of the three structural trap regimes: fold, fault, Structural traps and fracture. The Buck Peak field shown below is an example of a combination structural trap.

Figure 2-5 Modified. Copyright: Vincelette and Foster, 1992; courtesy RMAG.

Buck peak formal classification

The diagram below shows the formal classification for the Buck Peak field, which is a combination structural trap.

Figure 2-6 See text for explanation.

See also

• How to use the classification scheme
• Classifying traps

External links

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