Salt Traps

Trap Types

Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico Salt

Composition of Salt Domes

Salt Deposition
Restricted marine basins

Mostly halite Minor traces of gypsum or anhydrite Often the two are interbedded and folded

Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah

Gypsum, Ca(SO4).2H20

Halite, NaCl

Salt moves driven by buoyancy

Salt density= 2 g/ cm3 Salt undergoes no compaction Shale Density is initially 40% water Initial Density = 1.8 g/ cm3 Water expelled during compaction Final Density = 2.4 g/ cm3

Internal flow of salt

Jackson et al. 1990

Salt at the Surface

Salt Structures -Iran

Salt Glacier - Iran

Sequential Stages of a Salt Diapir

Variety of Salt Structures

Detection of Salt Domes

Gravity surveys Find gravity lows Low density Seismic Imaging

Gravity

GM-SYS Profile model of salt structure integrating seismic reflection, FTG gravity, and magnetic data (EarthExplorer, 2009).

Seismic Image of a Salt Dome

Geosoft GmsYs-3D model of a salt body embedded in a 3D density volume (Earth Explorer, 2009)_

3D Seismic Interpretation of Salt Structures

Sandbox Experiment
Relationship between salt dome and normal faulting
http://www.beg.utexas.edu/indassoc/agl/animations/AGL95-MM-001/index.html

GUGLIELMO, G., Jr., , B. C. VENDEVILLE, D. D. SCHULTZ-ELA, and M. P. A. JACKSON Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin,

Extension Above Salt Diapir

Salt Structures vs. Tectonic Structures

Caused by movement of salt, not by plate boundary stresses Often linked to sedimentation Often localized by tectonic structures Both upwards movement of salt and salt withdrawal cause deformation

Salt movement affects sediment thickness

Salt in the North Sea

Salt Traps

Salt is the best seal

Examples of Petroleum Salt Provinces Gulf of Mexico North Sea Middle East

Zagros Mts., Iran

La Popa Basin, Mexico

Ekofisk Field analog

Ekofisk Formation
W E
Late Cretaceous
Shallow Sea Continued regional subsidence Rising sea level Active phytoplankton growth

Van der Bark & Thomas, 1980

Late Cretaceous: Ekofisk Formation Danish North Sea

Time

Salt Domes Pierce the Strata

8km

CI = 30ms

Fractures around Salt Domes

Ant-Tracking displaying radial fracture pattern around salt domes

8km