Structure and prospects of Alpine basins and foredeep, Aquataine basin: Exploration in the foreland of an Alpine fold and thrust belt

Conference · Wed Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:6849696

Masset, J; Le Vot, M; Villien, A ^[1]

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1. Elf Aquitaine Production, Boussens (France)

The Aquitaine basin lies in the immediate foreland of the Pyrenean fold and thrust belt. As a result, the area shows a very complex structural setting, because inherited structures dating back from the Hercynian are reactivated by the Early Cretaceous extension and later on by the compressive episodes of the Pyrenean orogeny. In this context, the traps for the fields (tilted blocks) are linked to inherited structures and results from a complex history of Early Cretaceous extension and basin subsidence, both northward and southward. The area shows an almost complete stratigraphic record, extending from the Precambrian crystalline basement to the Tertiary. The main reservoirs are located within Barremian to Kimmeridgian dolomites below 3000 m, where average matrix porosities are low (3-5%), with highly fractured zones allowing excellent production. The main source rocks are also Kimmeridgian to Barremian. The seals correspond to Albian-Aptian shales and shaly limestones. The Aquitaine basin has a complex history, both structurally and stratigraphically. Therefore, knowledge of tectono-sedimentary units of inherited features related to Early Cretaceous extension is fundamental for petroleum exploration.

• OSTI ID: 6849696
• Report Number(s): CONF-9310237--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States) Journal Volume: 77:9
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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03 NATURAL GAS
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CARBONATE ROCKS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DOLOMITE
EUROPE
EXPLORATION
FRANCE
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGIC TRAPS
GEOLOGY
GROUND SUBSIDENCE
LIMESTONE
MINERAL RESOURCES
MINERALS
MOUNTAINS
OROGENESIS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
POROSITY
PRECAMBRIAN ERA
RESERVOIR ROCK
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SEALS
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SHALES
SOURCE ROCKS
STRATIGRAPHY
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WESTERN EUROPE