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Reservoir pressure and seafloor venting: Predicting trap integrity in a Gulf of Mexico deepwater turbidite minibasin

¹ Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802; present address: Shell International Exploration and Production B.V., Volmerlaan 8, Postbus 60, 2280 AB, Rijswijk, Netherlands; b.seldon{at}shell.com
² Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, 307 Deike Building, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802; flemings{at}geosc.psu.edu

Ben Seldon received a bachelor's degree in geology and geophysics at the University of Durham, England, in 2000. He worked for one year with the GeoPOP (Geosciences Project into Overpressure) Research Group and then received his M.S. degree with the Penn State GeoSystems Initiative in 2003. He is now a production geologist with Shell International Exploration and Production in the Netherlands.Peter B. Flemings is a professor with the Penn State University Department of Geosciences. He received his B.A. degree from Dartmouth College and an M.S. degree and a Ph.D. in geology from Cornell University. He was an associate research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and the Crosby Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research focuses on the study of fluid flow in sedimentary basins.

Pore pressures in two sands equal the least principal stresses in the overlying shale seals in the Popeye-Genesis deepwater Gulf of Mexico minibasin, located in lease Blocks GC72 and GC205. We interpret that sand pressures are dilating fractures in the cap rock and inducing fluid migration from the crest. These leak points limit the sand pressure to the least principal stress at its crest and ultimately ensure the integrity of the hydrocarbon traps at the offset Genesis and Popeye fields. Mud volcanoes, gas hydrates, and biological vent communities overlie the leak points. In overpressured basins with significant structural relief, pore pressures may converge on the least principal stress at the structural crests. When this occurs, fluid pressures can be predicted throughout a hydraulically connected reservoir volume, and this can be used to estimate trap integrity and potential column heights and to design safe and economic drilling programs.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. L. Sweet and L. T. Sumpter Genesis field, Gulf of Mexico: Recognizing reservoir compartments on geologic and production time scales in deep-water reservoirs AAPG Bulletin, December 1, 2007; 91(12): 1701 - 1729. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. A. Stewart and R. J. Davies Structure and emplacement of mud volcano systems in the South Caspian Basin AAPG Bulletin, May 1, 2006; 90(5): 771 - 786. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]