Date of Award
Fall 12-2016
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Program
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Department
Geology and Geophysics
Major Professor
Abu K. M. Sarwar PhD
Second Advisor
Mark A. Kulp PhD
Third Advisor
Michael G. Fitzgerald PhD
Abstract
Sub-salt oil and gas formations in deep-water northern Gulf of Mexico are high priority targets. Advances in seismic processing allow for high-resolution, below-salt imaging. Understanding the modes of salt emplacement provide insight into sub-salt traps and potential drilling hazards.
A sub-salt sedimentary unit lies in the Keathley Canyon protraction. Autosutures created the transport-parallel lineaments of the upper surface of the unit. In addition, highly variable sediment aggradation rates created ramps, flats, and basal cutoffs along the base of the allochthon as salt and sediment competed for space. Seismic models identify modes of salt emplacement, salt/sediment interactions, and mechanisms responsible for the morphology.
Petrophysical assessments highlight an abnormally pressured, dirty salt environment transitioning into a gouge zone. Dirty salt adds an element of difficulty to managing borehole pressures requiring a unique mud-weight plan designed to resist formation pressures without fracturing lithology.
Recommended Citation
Brassieur, David Aaron, "An Investigation Into the Origin, Composition, and Commercial Significance of a Sedimentary Subsalt Formation: Keathley Canyon, Gulf of Mexico" (2016). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 2245.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2245
Included in
Geology Commons, Geomorphology Commons, Geophysics and Seismology Commons, Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.