Chapter

Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

15
15.1 Introduction (1994) defined petroleum system as “a natural system that
encompasses a pod of active source rock and all related oil
As far back as 1888, Carl Ochsenius noted that “the origin of
and gas and which includes all the geology elements and
petroleum . . . is always intimately connected with salt districts.”
processes that are essential if a hydrocarbon accumulation is
Modern geologists would dispute the word “always,” but there is
to exist.” The key elements of a petroleum system are the
no denying that there is a close association between hydrocar-
source rock, maturation, migration path, reservoir rock, trap,
bons and salt basins. From Spindletop to Ghawar, Tupi to
and seal (Figure 15.1). This section discusses the influence that
Thunder Horse, oil and gas fields formed or sealed by evaporites
evaporites can have on each of these key elements.
include some of the most significant discoveries in the history of
the petroleum industry. Kirkland and Evans (1981) noted that,
although evaporites constitute only 2 percent of the total volume 15.2.2 Source Rock
of sediments on continental platforms, they seal carbonate plat- In 1937, Woolnough noted that closed basins having restricted
forms containing roughly one-half of the world’s petroleum circulation were favorable for deposition of both source rocks
reserves. Warren (2006) presented a compilation showing that and evaporites. More quantitatively, Warren (2006) reported
evaporites seal fourteen of the world’s twenty-five largest oil that 78 percent of the world’s oil and gas is sourced in sedi-
fields and nine of the world’s twenty-five largest gas fields. ments deposited in restricted or silled anoxic systems located
This close link between evaporites and hydrocarbons is no in intrashelf basins on platforms or in restricted areas formed
accident. This chapter describes how evaporites can perturb by circular and linear sags. Many of these basins were at least
every aspect of a petroleum system, mostly for the better. intermittently evaporitic or hypersaline, suggesting a genetic
However, this enhanced prospectivity does come at a price, relationship between salt and source rocks (Kirkland and
in that drilling around and through salt is hazardous. The Evans 1981; Warren 1986; Evans and Kirkland 1988).
chapter closes by summarizing some of these risks. Brines in modern evaporitic depressions are typically
layered, with denser, more saline waters ponded at the base
of the depression (Figure 15.2). Deeper layers tend to be stable
15.2 Petroleum Systems compared with the more ephemeral surface waters, where
salinity can fluctuate dramatically owing to evaporation or
15.2.1 Overview mixing with fresher water.
The concept of a petroleum system was first introduced by Both flora and fauna in the upper water layer vary with
Dow (1974), who termed it an oil system. Magoon and Dow salinity. Very few species can survive when salinities in the

Figure 15.1. Elements of a petroleum system

including large salt structures.

Oil-filled Anticlinal
trap Fault-dependent trap
reservoir Seal Seal
Salt-flank
trap

Reservoir Migration

Source rock

Salt Maturation
window

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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

Figure 15.2. Water columns in an evaporite

depression are strongly layered, which controls
Algae, cyanobacteria Aerobic primary production organic productivity. Productivity is high in the
by oxygenic photosynthesis upper parts of the water column. The lower part of
the water column is hot, saline, and oxygen-poor,
Euphotic

which preserves organic material that settles to the

Decomposition, consumption bottom. After Warren (2006).
Bacteria, zooplankton,
metazoans
Secondary production

Halocline, thermocline
Purple and green sulfur Anaerobic primary production
bacteria and archaea by anoxic photosynthesis
Brine

H 2S
Sulfate
reduction Anaerobic decomposition
CO2 (fermentation, sulfate-reduction
CH4 methanogenesis)

Organic-rich
mudstones

Mesohaline Penesaline Figure 15.3. As salinity rises, biomass proportions

Gypsum and biological diversity decrease in modern marine
Carbonates Gypsum/anhydrite + halite saltwork ponds. An exception is for the halophile
species, such as brine shrimp and eubacteria. Few
Microalgae, ostracods species can survive at salinities significantly greater
bacteria and protozoa than that of seawater. After Warren (2006).
Biomass

Fish and Brine shrimp and Red halophilic

mangroves brine fly larvae eubacteria and
archaea
Seagrass and
seaweeds

35 70 100 150 200 250

Salinity (‰)
Seawater

upper layer are in the range of gypsum and halite precipitation as the environment returns to harsher conditions. This envir-
(>140%; Figure 15.3). However, cyanobacteria and green onmental variability leads to a “feast or famine” cycle, with
algae bloom when the upper layer is freshened by addition of periods of intense organic productivity alternating with times
less-saline waters, dropping salinities into the carbonate of relative organic starvation.
domain (70 to 140%). These photosynthetic microbes can A pulse in organic productivity associated with ephem-
color saline waters pink or red, especially at higher salinities. eral mesohaline surface conditions can swamp the ability of
Primary producers are grazed by ostracods, brine shrimp, and anaerobic decomposers in the lower water column to strip
brine fly larvae, producing a spike in those fauna as well. As is the sedimented organic material of its hydrogen. This is
true of many stressed environments, few species can thrive especially true if the water column is layered, with dense
here, but the limited number of competitors and predators brines concentrated at the base. The high temperatures,
can result in extraordinarily high productivity (Figure 15.4; extreme osmotic stress, and propensity toward anoxia asso-
Kirkland and Evans 1981). Thus, the low biodiversity associ- ciated with high salinities all tend to exclude aerobic
ated with mesohaline environments may be accompanied by a burrowing and grazing animals from bottom sediments.
surge in biomass. Thus, much of the organic material derived from the
Two factors contribute to pulses in primary productivity surface-water planktonic bloom may be preserved and
in hypersaline environments (Warren 2006): the occasional buried (Sonnenfeld 1985). The resulting source rocks typic-
presence of ephemeral less-saline surface waters and a supply ally comprise thin organic-rich layers laminated with micri-
of nutrients (nitrate/ammonia and phosphate). Where both of tic carbonates (Figure 15.5). The organic-rich layers formed
these conditions exist, biota in the shallow surface waters during periods of planktonic bloom, whereas the carbonates
periodically surge in productivity, followed by mass die-offs were deposited during intervening periods of organic

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

Marine tropical seagrass shoals

Marine upwelling zone
Biomass
Dry Valley Lake (Antarctica)

Abundance
Soap Lake (USA)
Drakesbad Hot Spring (USA)
Mono Lake (USA)
Great Salt Lake (USA)
Devils Lake (USA) Marine maxima Biodiversity
Borax Lake (USA) (upwelling zone
offshore Peru
Waldsea Lake (Canada) near 15°S) Environmental stress
Little Manitou Lake (Canada) (salinity, temperature,
Humboldt Lake (Canada) exposure)

Shark Bay (Australia)

Spencer Gulf (Australia)
Lake Werowrap (Australia)
Red Rock Lake (Australia)
Pink Lake (Australia)
Lake Corangamite (Australia)

Lake Nakuru (Kenya)

Lake Kilotes (Ethiopia)
Aranguidi Lake (Ethiopia)
Mariut Lake (Egypt)
Solar Lake (Sinai)
0 4000 8000 12,000 16,000 20,000
Primary productivity local maxima
(mg carbon/m2/day)
Figure 15.4. In saline ecosystems, total biomass can be very high at high salinities despite low biodiversity. If preserved, this organic matter can contribute
to rich source rocks. After Warren (2006).

Warren (2006) identified four major saline settings in

which source rocks have been deposited (Figure 15.6). Most
of the examples cited are from his chapter 9, which contains
references for further study.
The first type of saline environment in which source rocks
can be deposited is the basinwide setting, which has two
variants (Figure 15.6(a)). In basinwide evaporitic drawdowns,
source rocks are associated with thick basinwide evaporite salts
(typically halite dominated). In some cases the source rocks
were deposited in a hypersaline basin that was evolving toward
evaporitic conditions, so that the source rocks underlie the
main evaporites (for example, Messinian carbonates in the
Lorca basin, Spain; the Kupferschiefer Formation in the Zech-
stein basin of northwest Europe). In other cases the organic
material was deposited during a less saline period during
evaporite deposition, so that the source rocks are interbedded
within the salt (for example, Cane Creek, Chimney Rock, and
Figure 15.5. Pieces of Cane Creek “shale,” a source rock originally interbedded Gothic shales in the Paradox Formation salt, Paradox basin,
with salt, have been carried to the surface in the Onion Creek diapir, Paradox Utah (Figure 15.5); Athel Silicilyte in the Ara Salt, Oman).
basin, Utah. Pale dolomite intervals are interbedded with finely laminated, There are few large fields associated with source rocks
organic-rich black shales. White frosting on the outcrop is a patchy gypsum
crust washed downslope from the evaporites in which the Cane Creek block is deposited during basinwide evaporitic drawdowns because
encased. Photograph by Mike Hudec. (a) abundant salt precipitated from the groundwater tends to
plug the reservoirs, and (b) hydrocarbons have difficulty
starvation. Because the cyanobacteria and algae that flourish migrating through salt into suprasalt reservoirs.
in mesohaline conditions yield sapropelic organic matter, The other type of basinwide setting is the stratified marine
source rocks associated with evaporitic basins tend to be environment. Here, dense brines form on nearby shoalwater
oil prone (Malek-Aslani 1980). evaporitic platforms, then flow downslope to pond at the base

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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

carbonate platform (Figure 15.6(b)). During times of restricted

a Basinwide circulation, the water in these topographic lows becomes dens-
Drawdown ity stratified. Anoxic, mesohaline waters in the bottom of the
low preserve organic material. The upper part of the water
column may have normal marine salinities, and the surround-
ing platform may be dominated by carbonate grainstones and
packstones. The juxtaposition of source rocks, carbonate res-
Stratified marine ervoirs, and anhydrite seals deposited during sea-level low-
stands makes hydrocarbon systems on epeiric platforms the
most efficient and productive in the world. The most famous
example is the Upper Jurassic hydrocarbon system on the
Arabian Platform, where Hanifa Formation source rocks
supply oil to Arab Formation carbonates, sealed by interbed-
b Intraplatform lows ded anhydrites. Ghawar, the largest conventional oil field in
the world at more than 100 billion barrels, is one of the many
supergiant fields formed by this system. Other examples of
platform source rocks include the lower Smackover Formation
(the brown dense) of the northeast Gulf of Mexico basin, and
parts of the Sunniland Formation in Florida.
Third, evaporitic source rocks may accumulate in
c Rift lakes sediment-starved saline lakes in arid climates (Figure 15.6(c)).
The most common settings for these lakes are in continental
rifts and foreland basins. Most lacustrine source rocks accu-
mulate beneath density-stratified water columns, but some can
form in microbial mudflats around lake margins. Salinities of
the lake may or may not be high enough to deposit evaporites,
although many such lacustrine sequences do include thin
d Halokinetic lows evaporites interbedded with clastic and carbonate rocks.
Examples include the Bucomazi Formation, offshore Angola,
and the Lagoa Feia Formation, offshore Brazil, both related to
the opening of the South Atlantic, and the Green River Forma-
tion, Wyoming and Utah, which lies in a foreland basin.
Finally, evaporitic source rocks can be deposited in closed
Normal seawater Synrift sediments
topographic lows in the open ocean, provided that some
Brine Salt
nearby shallow salt can supply brine to create density stratifi-
Organic-rich sediments Undifferentiated units cation at the base of the depression (Figure 15.6(d)). As with
Evaporation Water flow the other settings described, the presence of basal anoxic brines
Figure 15.6. Evaporitic source rocks form in four main depositional settings. allows for preservation of organic material. No examples of
After Warren (2006). hydrocarbons sourced from this setting have been docu-
mented, but several modern examples of this environment
of the water column in the deep basin. Because there is no are known. These include the Orca minibasin, on the northern
major evaporative drawdown, no evaporites are deposited in Gulf of Mexico slope, in which brines are sourced from nearby
the deep basin. Instead, the slightly elevated salinity of the deep exposures of allochthonous salt, and a series of brine “lakes”
brine layer primarily serves to keep the bottom waters anoxic, resting on the deepwater accretionary complex of the Mediter-
preserving organic material in the sediments that settle ranean Ridge, where brine is sourced from thrust sheets bear-
through the water column. Bottom brines may be no more ing Messinian evaporites.
than 3 to 5% more saline than normal marine waters. In summary, salt can play two roles in the formation of
Examples include the Kimmeridge shales of the North Sea, source rocks. First, a major planktonic bloom can be triggered
and Cherry Canyon Formation of the Delaware basin, West by the onset mesohaline surface conditions, leading to a large
Texas. Source rocks deposited in stratified marine settings tend spike in organic productivity. Second, a stratified water
to yield much more productive petroleum systems because the column featuring anoxic, hypersaline bottom waters can pro-
absence of salt in the basin center leads to less reservoir tect organic matter from burrowing and grazing, preserving
plugging and more effective migration. kerogens during burial. All five of the environments described
The second type of saline environment in which source preserve organic material in anoxic bottom waters, but only
rocks can be deposited is the intrashelf low atop an epeiric basinwide drawdown, hypersaline lakes, and sometimes epeiric

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

8 0

7
1

6
Thermal conductivity (W/m°C)

2 Shale
5 Sa
lt

4 3

Depth (km)
San
dsto Temperature
ne
without salt
3 Limes layer
tone 4
Basalt
Salt
2
Shale 5
1
Water
6 Shale
0
0 100 200 300 400
Temperature (°C)
Figure 15.7. Salt has a much higher thermal conductivity than other rock 7
types, especially at temperatures below 200 °C. After Mello et al. (1995). 0 100 200 300
Temperature (°C)
Figure 15.8. A 1-km-thick salt layer encased in shale causes a 20 °C cooling of
platforms incorporate mesohaline surface waters. A planktonic the subsalt shale. After Mello et al. (1995).
bloom in surface waters is certainly beneficial for source-rock
formation, but preservation of organic material along the
water bottom is absolutely required. restricted than changes in continuous salt layers. Rocks along
the flanks of diapirs may be either heated or cooled, depending
15.2.3 Maturation on how high up the structure the rocks occur and whether the
Salt has a significantly higher thermal conductivity than most salt reaches the surface.
other rocks, especially at low temperatures (Figure 15.7). This
high conductivity is the key to salt’s role in influencing hydro- 15.2.4 Migration
carbon maturation (Mello et al. 1995). Salt layers and struc- Hydrocarbon migration refers to the movement of liquid and
tures tend to modify temperatures in source rocks near the gaseous hydrocarbons from their source or generating beds
salt, retarding or accelerating hydrocarbon maturation. through permeable formations into reservoir rocks. According
The simplest case illustrating salt’s influence on tempera- to Schowalter (1979), the main driving force for the movement
ture is that of a horizontal salt layer encased in shale of hydrocarbons from source to reservoir is buoyancy because
(Figure 15.8). In this situation subsalt temperatures are hydrocarbons are less dense than water. The magnitude of the
lowered by 20 °C/km of salt thickness. Thus a 2-km-thick salt buoyancy force may be modified by superimposed hydro-
layer encased in shale would produce a 40 °C drop in subsalt dynamic forces.
temperatures, retarding maturation in subsalt source rocks. Salt tectonics affects hydrocarbon migration by means of at
A salt layer would need to be thick and laterally continuous least six processes: creating topography, folding, faulting, rise
in order to affect regional maturation of hydrocarbons, so this of salt stocks and walls, emplacement of salt sheets and can-
effect is most pronounced for autochthonous salt and salt opies, and welding (Figure 15.10). The literature on these
canopies. processes is vast, but we are not aware of any syntheses that
Temperature distributions around piercement structures systematically address their influences on hydrocarbon migra-
are more complex, depending on the shape of the diapir, tion. This section will summarize the processes and discuss
presence of salt in the source layer, and whether salt reaches their roles in vertical and horizontal hydrocarbon migration.
the surface (Figure 15.9). In general, rocks above diapirs are
heated because salt transmits heat to overlying sediments. 15.2.4.1 Creating Topography
Rocks below diapirs are cooled for the same reason. However, Subsurface salt flow causes subsidence above areas of salt
diapir-related temperature changes are much more areally expulsion and uplift above areas of salt rise. This pattern of

428
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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

a0 10° b0 10°
30° 30°
50° 1 50°
1
70° 70°
90° 90°
2 2
110° 110°
130° 130°

Depth (km)
Depth (km)

3 3
150° 150°
170° 170°
4 4
190° Salt
5 210° 5 190°
230° 210°
6 250° 6 230°
V.E. × 3.5 V.E. × 3.5
270° 250°
7 7
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Distance (km) Distance (km)

c 0 10° d 0 10°
30° 30°
1 50° 1 50°
70° 70°
90° 2 90°
2
110° 110°
Depth (km)
Depth (km)

130° 3 130°
3
150° 150°
4 170° 4
Salt 170°
Salt
5 5
190°
190°
210°
6 6 210°
230°
230°
V.E. × 3.5 250° V.E. × 3.5
7 7
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Distance (km) Distance (km)

e 0 10° f 0 10°
30° 30°
1 50° 1 50°
70° 70°
2 90° 90°
2
Salt 110° Salt 110°
130°
Depth (km)

130°
Depth (km)

3 3
150° 150°
4 170° 4 170°
190°
5 5 210°
190°
230°
210°
6 6
250°
230°
V.E. × 3.5 V.E. × 3.5 270°
7 250° 7
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Distance (km) Distance (km)

Figure 15.9. Steady-state temperature distributions within and around various salt geometries show the thermal effects of the salt bodies. Salt structures
are axisymmetric and encased in shale. A salt-absent configuration (a) is provided for comparison. Temperatures below salt are depressed, temperatures above
salt structures are elevated, and temperatures adjacent to salt may be depressed or elevated depending on the salt geometry. After Mello et al. (1995).

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

a Creating topography d Rise of stocks and walls

Topographic
relief

Datum

b Folding e Emplacement of allochthonous salt

c Faulting f Welding
Bending faults

Weld as
seal
Fault
detached
on salt

Basement
fault Weld as migration pathway

Figure 15.10. Salt structures can affect fluid migration in a variety of ways.

uplift and subsidence creates surface relief unless sedimenta- Figure 15.11. The
tion is fast enough to keep pace with vertical movements a Sedimentation
relief forms
< vertical movements:
interplay of
Elevation head drives sedimentation rate and
(Figure 15.11). The largest salt-related topography in our subsurface fluid flow salt rise rate creates
experience is 1,400 m along the Sigsbee Escarpment in the surface relief. This
∆z topographic relief creates
deepwater northern Gulf of Mexico. On a slightly more Flu
id f an elevation head, Δz,
modest scale, minibasins on the northern Gulf of Mexico slope low
which drives subsurface
Salt
can locally obtain as much as 850 m of relief, and reliefs of fluids toward
100 to 400 m are common. topographic lows.
Salt-related topography influences hydrocarbon migration
in two ways. First, surface relief creates a pressure head that b Sedimentation
no relief
≥ vertical movements:

tends to make subsurface fluids flow away from topographic

highs and toward topographic lows (Figure 15.10(a)). The
pressure head resulting from topography is typically not the
only force acting on subsurface fluids. There are many situ-
ations (dipping beds, for example) in which hydrocarbons can

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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

Figure 15.12. Topographic highs above diapirs

divert sediment-transport systems around the
diapirs, producing sand fairways in the interdiapir

32.0°N
80
80
areas. This example shows the percentage of

Wilcox outcrop
70 Boggy sand in the Wilcox Formation, East Texas basin.

60
After Seni and Jackson (1983a).

60
60 Creek
80 Concord
N Brushy

50
Creek

70
Bethel

70
60
Keechi

70
60 60

70
Palestine

60
70

60 Palestine
60

80
70

80
Butler
70
70 70 80
90 80 80
Oakwood
80

31.5°N
70 80

70
70

96.0°W 95.5°W
Salt diapir 0 15 mi
70–100% sand in Wilcox Well control
County line 0 25 km
60–69% sand in Wilcox Contour interval = 10%
50–59% sand in Wilcox

flow toward topographic highs. Still, topographic head must Where dipping beds trap a large hydrocarbon column, the
influence direction and rates of hydrocarbon migration, espe- fluid pressure at the top of the trap can reach the least principal
cially in the shallow subsurface. stress, hydrofracturing the topseal and allowing hydrocarbons
Second, topography has a profound effect on sedimentary to leak upward (Flemings et al. 2002). This fracturing creates a
facies both in clastic and in carbonate depositional environ- new migration pathway, sometimes allowing fluids to vent to
ments (Figure 15.12; Section 15.2.5.1). These facies, in turn, the surface to form pockmarks or mud volcanoes (Figure 15.13;
control the basic permeability framework through which Cartwright et al. 2007).
hydrocarbons will later attempt to migrate. The distribution
of reservoirs and topseals is largely a function of the topog- 15.2.4.3 Faulting
raphy when the units were deposited and is predictable
Faults have long been recognized as efficient conduits for
through structural restoration.
hydrocarbon migration. However, many faults can also trap
hydrocarbons, suggesting that they are more complex than a
15.2.4.2 Folding simple highway for fluid flow. Indeed, most fault-zone rocks
Subsurface flow of salt deforms rocks overlying the salt, have lower permeabilities than their host rocks, suggesting that
forming folds of various types. Folding tilts permeable beds their steady-state leak rates should be small (Aydin 2000).
to form migration pathways, as hydrocarbons rise buoyantly Many workers have thought that most fluid flow along faults
up carrier beds toward structural highs (Figure 15.10(b)). occurs during rupture events, when large volumes of fluids can
However, folding can also lead to erosion and formation of migrate up the faults (Sibson 1981). Faults may then act as
angular unconformities, which can block fluid flow. On the seals between slip events or after the fault stops slipping.
one hand, this folding forms a stratigraphic trap; on the other For the purpose of discussing hydrocarbon migration, it is
hand, the supply of hydrocarbons to traps located farther convenient to divide faults in salt basins into three main types:
updip may be disrupted. faults related to stratal bending, faults detached on salt, and

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

basement faults (Figure 15.10(c)). Each of these fault types has

a A
Vent 4
A’
Auger
B
Macaroni a different depth of penetration; consequently, they affect
0 migration in different parts of the section.
Seafloor
Beds in the outer arc of any fold are stretched, which can
form fractures or normal faults. In salt basins, these types of
2
faults are most common in the crests or hinge zones of salt-
cored folds, normal-fault rollovers, thrust-related folds, and
Depth (km)

4 arched diapir roofs. Bending-related normal faults die out

downward toward a neutral surface. In salt-cored folds, this
neutral surface typically lies near the top of salt, or perhaps a
6 P- short distance up into the roof (Schultz-Ela et al. 1993). Thus,
Q-ssand
R and bending-related faults can assist vertical migration from top of
S--sand salt upward in salt-cored anticlines, and over some narrower
sa
8 nd
0 6 km stratigraphic range in other types of folds.
Salt
V.E. × 2.85 As the name implies, faults detached on salt extend down
into the salt layer but not beneath it. Salt-detached faults may
b be either extensional or contractional, depending on the
regional tectonics or position in a gravity-driven system. In
contrast to bending-related faults, which die out downward
6

toward the salt layer, most salt-detached faults have their

largest throws at the top of salt, which is typically offset.
N Basement faults offset units below the autochthonous salt.
Basement in this context refers to all units below the autoch-
5

thonous salt layer, including presalt sedimentary rocks. Base-

4

6 ment faults can thus serve as conduits from presalt source

7 rocks up to the autochthonous source layer, through which
A fluids may migrate if the source layer is welded. Hydrocarbons
may migrate along the basement fault directly through the salt
if the fault throw is large enough to completely offset the
Ea

A’
5

st

salt layer.
Au
ge
rR

15.2.4.4 Rise of Salt Stocks and Walls

id
ge

1.0 At least five lines of evidence indicate that salt stocks and salt
6
walls can act as conduits for vertical migration of fluids
0.8 (Warren 2006, his chapter 8; Cartwright et al. 2007). First,
Pore pressure ratio

fluid-escape structures such as mud mounds, mud volcanoes,

0.6 oil seeps, and pockmarks cluster above diapirs or along diapir
margins in many basins. Second, shallow gas anomalies are
0.4 clustered above salt diapirs in some areas. Third, geochemical
anomalies around diapirs in the Gulf of Mexico basin provide
0.2 evidence of migration along diapir flanks. Fourth, localized
6

patterns of cementation around some diapirs indicate prefer-

0 10 km ential flow of cementing (often saline and metal-bearing) fluids
0.0
along salt faces. Finally, the distribution of hydrocarbons
Contour Interval: 1 km B Seafloor vent
in many salt basins seems difficult to explain unless fluid is
Figure 15.13. Overpressures near the updip pinchout of reservoirs can migrating up the flanks of salt stocks and walls.
fracture the topseal. (a) Section and (b) map of Auger minibasin, Gulf of Mexico. At least three processes are likely to create migration con-
Map contours are depth of the Q-sandstone reservoir in kilometers below sea
level. Map colors show the ratio of fluid overpressure to hydrostatic effective duits adjacent to diapirs (Figure 15.14). First, diapir rise lifts,
stress. The structurally highest part of the reservoir is on the west side of the rotates, folds, and fractures strata above and adjacent to the
minibasin. Calculations suggest that overpressures at the updip end of the salt (Alsop et al. 2000; Davison et al. 2000b). This movement
reservoir approach effective stress, fracturing the topseal. Consistent with this,
the updip pinchout of the reservoir is overlain by a series of fluid-escape forms complex fracture and fault networks adjacent to diapirs,
structures at the seafloor. After Reilly and Flemings (2010). along which hydrocarbons can migrate. Second, rotation of
bedding adjacent to or above salt diapirs can create high-relief
hydrocarbon traps. Fluids in these traps may become over-
pressured because they are hydraulically connected to deeper

432
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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

Diapirs concentrate regional

a Diapir rise fractures
adjacent rocks b Overpressure at crest of high-
relief traps fractures topseal c strain, fracturing surrounding
rocks
Shortening
Map view
Load from
sediments
and structural Fluids
escape Original
relief on trap shape
pressurizes from
Salt crest
fluids
of trap

Figure 15.14. Fractures can be created adjacent to salt diapirs by diapiric rise, overpressures, and regional stresses.

parts of the basin, as well as because they may be filled with many salt sheets therefore develop overpressures during sheet
buoyant hydrocarbons. If pore pressures at the crest of the trap emplacement, maintaining very high (near-initial) porosity
exceed the least principal stress, the topseal is fractured, and permeability (House and Pritchett 1995; Pepper and Yu
driving fluid flow vertically (Reilly and Flemings 2010). Finally, 1995). Overpressure may be maintained if the sheet continues
diapirs’ mechanical weakness means that preexisting diapirs to block rise of fluids from dewatering subsalt sediments. This
tend to concentrate strain during regional deformation. Exten- overpressured zone near the base of salt (sometimes called the
sion or shortening of a diapir causes faulting and fracturing of disturbed zone or gumbo zone) can serve as a conduit for fluid
surrounding wall rocks, enhancing vertical migration (House migration. Migration of fluids along the base of allochthonous
and Pritchett 1995). Consistent with this idea, Hood et al. salt can perturb fluid migration in two ways (Figure 15.15).
(2002) argued that pinched-off diapirs in the Gulf of Mexico First, fluid-pressure gradients in most sedimentary basins
were even more effective than faults as migration conduits. are vertical, so fluids tend to move upward. Rising fluids are
Given the abundant evidence of efficient fluid migration deflected along the base of impermeable salt until they reach a
along diapir flanks, why should large volumes of oil and gas be closed structural high, or some point at which they can leak
trapped along the flanks of many diapirs? If diapir flanks are upward (typically a weld or the edge of the canopy)
such good migration conduits, how can they also seal? (Figure 15.15(a)). Thus, the role of allochthonous salt is to
The answer may lie in time-varying permeabilities along a focus hydrocarbon migration toward structural highs in the
salt flank, which can occur in several ways. First, fluids may base of salt, and from there into the suprasalt section through
migrate along faults and fractures only during dilational any gaps in the canopy (House and Pritchett 1995; Pepper and
periods associated with slip events (the seismic pumping Yu 1995). Consistent with this model of hydrocarbon migra-
mechanism of Sibson 1981). Between or after slip events, the tion, McBride et al. (1998) noted that all forty-two fields or
fractures heal and fluids are trapped. Slip events might be discoveries in their study area on the outer shelf and upper
related to halokinetic processes or to regional tectonic events slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico are located directly in,
that deform the diapir (Cartwright et al. 2007). Second, chem- above, or very close to migration foci in the base of salt.
ical changes in migrating fluids may cause cementation along Second, migration of undersaturated water along the base
the migration pathway, trapping any hydrocarbons that had of salt sheets leads to salt dissolution, locally creating basal cap
already migrated into place. Third, hydrocarbons trapped rock (House and Pritchett 1995). Salt dissolution increases
along a diapir flank could be in dynamic equilibrium with the density of water, causing it to sink and, thus, potentially
fluids actively migrating up the diapir flank. In this scenario initiating a density-driven subsalt convection system. We
the fluid pressures of hydrocarbons trapped against the salt are not aware of any documented examples of this type of
flank are in balance with pressures in the migration conduit, circulation, but it seems mechanically reasonable. Numerical
so there is no pressure drive for the hydrocarbons to leak out modeling of this dissolution-driven subsalt convection
of the trap. (Figure 15.15(b)) suggests that it may take several million years
to start, but once established it may achieve flow velocities of
15.2.4.5 Emplacement of Allochthonous Salt 2 to 6 mm/yr in shale-dominated lithologies, comparable to
Advance of extrusive or shallowly buried salt sheets and can- rates of compaction-driven fluid rise calculated by Harrison
opies places a dense, impermeable cap of crystalline salt above and Summa (1991) in the Gulf of Mexico basin. If these
relatively uncompacted sediments, loading them and prevent- calculations are correct, then density-driven circulation could
ing them from dewatering. Sediments immediately beneath be an important component of subsalt fluid flow.

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

Figure 15.15. Allochthonous salt has a major

a influence on fluid migration. (a) Fluids are diverted
by impermeable salt to flow along the base of salt.
These fluids may be trapped in base-salt structural
Seafloor highs or may leak through windows or welds in
a canopy. (b) Fluids dissolving salt from the base of
Leak a salt sheet become denser, potentially triggering
around
salt tip a subsalt convection system driven by sinking of
dense brines. Contours are salinity above sea
water, in weight percent. After Sarkar et al. (1995).

Leak
through
weld Hydrocarbons
trapped in
base-salt
structural high

Migration along
base-salt
disturbed zone

b 6 Myr

Salt

0 Brine flow vector

4 0 5 km
0.5 mm/yr
difference
Salinity

8 V.E. × 2
12
16
20+

No
15.2.4.6 Welding Seal Can fluids reach weld?
Salt welds are critical parts of many migration pathways, either
Yes
because the welds are being counted on to leak hydrocarbons
into overlying traps (McBride et al. 1998; Rowan 2004) or, less Yes
Can fluids migrate along weld? Leak
commonly, because the weld is an element of trap seal, as in
the Kaskida discovery in the northern Gulf of Mexico or the No
Wahoo discovery in the Campos basin, Brazil (Wagner and
No
Jackson 2011; Figure 15.10(f)). Because welds are so important, Seal Can fluids cross weld?
and because they can either seal or leak, much recent attention
has been focused on characterizing their behavior in fluid Yes
migration systems. The best summaries of welds as seals are No Is there an exit path for fluids Yes
in Rowan (2004) and Wagner (2010), from which much of this Seal crossing weld? Leak
discussion is taken.
Figure 15.16. A flow chart poses questions to determine whether a salt weld
Seal analysis of welds boils down to four questions seals or leaks.
(Figure 15.16). (1) Can fluids access the weld? (2) Can fluids
migrate along the weld? (3) Can fluids cross the weld? (4) Is migration pathways above, below, and within the weld
there an exit path for fluids passing through the weld? (Figure 15.17).
Answering these questions requires an understanding of the To begin, a weld can’t leak if it is never in contact with
lithology, internal structure, geometry, and availability of fluids. Thus, welds are likely to seal if they are underlain by a

434
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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

conformable shale sequence or have configurations in which an incomplete weld, fluids are drawn toward the vulnerable
permeable carrier beds pinch out before reaching the weld. leak, leading to further dissolution and a progressively larger
Subsurface fluids may also be diverted from welds by base-salt hole in the salt. Thus, an old discontinuous weld is more
geometry or by adverse hydraulic gradients (McBride et al. likely to leak than a younger one because any leak patches
1998). Conversely, a weld that is underlain by brittle or highly enlarge by runaway dissolution. Furthermore, a salt layer
permeable rocks, such as porous sandstones or fractured car- may also leak through fracture systems or other anomalous
bonates, has a better chance to leak because fluids can be zones; a surprising amount of formation water and even
supplied freely to the weld. hydrocarbons have been encountered in the interior of
Once fluids reach a weld, the next question is whether the supposedly impermeable salt structures (see Chapters 3 and
fluids can leak out along the weld surface. Leakage might occur 8). On the whole, thick salt sequences are more difficult
if there is a fracture halo around the weld or if the weld is itself to breach than thin ones, but even sequences tens of
a fluid conduit. If fluids can exit along the weld, the weld leaks, meters thick are capable of being breached under the right
regardless of whether there is the potential for cross-leakage. circumstances.
Only if fluids cannot escape along the weld surface does it Assuming that fluids can be supplied to the weld from
matter whether fluids can flow across the weld. A weld com- beneath and that the weld leaks, is there a transport path by
posed of ductile, low-permeability rocks, such as evaporite or which fluids can exit the weld? This pathway could be along
mudstone, is likely to seal. On the other hand, a weld com- the weld if the weld is a migration conduit or into an overlying
posed of brittle or higher-permeability rocks like anhydrite, carrier bed if such a bed comes into contact with the weld.
carbonate, or sandstone is likely to leak. Shear displacement Welds that are overlain by conformable shales will not leak
along the weld surface has opposing effects. The damage zone into carrier beds, but fluids may still leak out along the weld
of fractured wall rocks can increase permeability, but fault surface.
gouge or shale smear can promote sealing (Rowan 2004; At first glance, Figure 15.16 appears to suggest that welds
Rowan et al. 2012). should leak only in special cases. However, two consider-
The best case for weld seal is if the weld is incomplete – ations temper this conclusion. First, for a weld to seal, it
that is, if it still contains a continuous layer of salt. Even must seal everywhere. Over geologic time, even a small hole
here, however, there are risks of leakage if undersaturated in a weld will allow large volumes of underlying fluid to leak.
fluids can dissolve a hole in the salt. If dissolution breaches The larger the areal extent of a weld, the greater the risk of
leakage. Weld leakage is a good thing if migration through a
Leak Seal weld is being counted on to charge supraweld traps but a bad
HCs fail to thing if the weld is relied on to seal a subweld hydrocarbon
HCs leak HCs leak across
along weld into minibasin
reach weld
Cemented accumulation. Fortunately, a single weld can do both at the
weld same time: a weld may trap underlying hydrocarbons if that
portion of weld juxtaposed against the reservoir seals (or
HCs trapped even better if the reservoir pinches out before reaching the
against “weld”
weld), whereas the same weld may transmit hydrocarbons to
overlying traps if other parts of the weld leak. Second, the
longer a weld exists, the more time there is for some other
process, like dissolution, faulting, or shearing, to disrupt
the seal. Old welds are therefore more likely to leak than
younger welds.
Figure 15.17. A complex array of structures combine to determine whether Finally, any analysis of weld seal must consider the timing
welds seal or leak along hydrocarbon (HC) migration paths. of welding relative to migration. Other factors being equal,

Box 15.1 – Welds in the Campos Basin, Brazil

Salt welds are the only known pathways to charge the postsalt evaporite thickness was mapped from wells and estimated from
petroleum system of the Campos basin in offshore Brazil. Most amplitude variations of the weld reflection in about 8,000 km2 of
hydrocarbons in the Campos basin originated in presalt lacus- 3D seismic data. Weld area was calculated by mapping areas of
trine shale in the Aptian Lagoa Feia Formation. Hydrocarbons salt less than 100 m thick.
rose through the salt welds into reservoirs of Albian carbonate At the time of writing, more than seventy proprietary wells
mounds and Upper Cretaceous to Tertiary turbidites. An empir- in the greater Campos basin have drilled through evaporites.
ical study by Wagner (2010) examines variations in weld area and Forty-one wells penetrated evaporites thinner than 100 m. Only
remnant evaporite thickness and compares them with explor- ten of these wells intersected halite and anhydrite; the remaining
ation outcomes. The results are summarized here. Remnant thirty-one wells contained only anhydrite. Thick evaporite

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

Box 15.1 – (cont.)

n = 41 100
100

25 km2
Dry hole

10 km2
Subcommercial
accumulation
80 Commercial
80

Remnant evaporite thickness (m)

accumulation
Volume % anhydrite

60
60
40 50 m

40
20
30 m

0 20
1 50 100 150 200 250 300
Evaporite thickness (m)
Figure 15.18. Borehole results from the Campos basin, Brazil, indicate that
the proportion of anhydrite in welds rises as the evaporites dissolve and 0
become thinner, either because low-viscosity halite was expelled more 1 10 100 1000
rapidly than high-viscosity anhydrite or because the more soluble halite is Weld area (km2)
preferentially dissolved. After Wagner and Jackson (2011).
Figure 15.19. In the Campos basin, Brazil, source rocks are below the salt,
so oil must migrate through welded windows in the salt to charge suprasalt
traps. Drilling results for suprasalt traps show that successful wells correlate
with welds thinner than ~50 m and larger in area than ~10 km2. A large
sections contain abundant halite and minor amounts of anhyd- area of weld is more likely to contain patches of completely dissolved
evaporites, which are presumed to leak hydrocarbons. After Wagner (2010).
rite, but thin welds contain mostly anhydrite (Figure 15.18).
Halite is present in only one of the twenty-one wells containing
<50 m of evaporites. The dominance of anhydrite in thinned success with broad, thin welds. This finding is not surprising,
evaporites supports the idea that low-viscosity halite was but the empirical results are a useful quantitative guide to
expelled more rapidly than high-viscosity anhydrite. However, weld risk (Figure 15.19). Incomplete welds containing thin
other processes are equally likely. Because anhydrite is less sol- remnant evaporites (less than ~50 m) in large areas (more
uble than halite and potash evaporites, anhydrite would have than ~25 km2) correlate with successful wells in the Campos
been steadily concentrated as halite dissolved and the weld basin. The inference is that welds leak if they are thin and
thinned. Facies variations could also have caused anhydrite to broad but seal if they are thick and small in area. Hydrocar-
be more common in some places. bons migrated through evaporites that are at present as thin
These variations in weld thickness and composition would as ~18 m or as thick as ~60 m. Anhydrite is the main evaporite
have affected migration of hydrocarbons. There are many pos- in the advanced welds and is stronger and less ductile than
sible reasons why exploration wells do not reach commercial halite. Thus, anhydrite is likely to make a poorer seal than
accumulations of hydrocarbons, so it is difficult to infer the halite, so perhaps less than ~50 m of halite could be a seal
relative importance of salt welds. Nevertheless, sampling only for hydrocarbons. Of course, in a discontinuous weld hydro-
wells that intersect reservoirs above welds that formed before carbons could rise through thin rents that are near thicker salt
hydrocarbon migration peaked in the Miocene can eliminate the that is actually intersected by wells.
reservoir risk. What remains is a positive correlation of well Key references: Guardado et al. (1989, 2000); Wagner (2010).

welds that form before hydrocarbons start to migrate are the reservoirs (Figure 15.20). This influence begins during reser-
most likely to be pathways. voir deposition, because topography created by salt flow influ-
ences facies distribution both in carbonate and in clastic
environments. Following burial, salt affects reservoir diagen-
15.2.5 Reservoirs esis, because fluids sourced from or focused by salt can
The most spectacular result of salt tectonics is the formation of enhance or degrade reservoir porosity and permeability. Fur-
large structures that may form hydrocarbon traps. Less imme- thermore, growth of salt structures creates fractures, which are
diately obvious, but equally important for petroleum geology, a critical element in the producibility of many reservoirs.
is the influence that salt has on the distribution of hydrocarbon Finally, salt formations can themselves act as reservoirs.

436
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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

Figure 15.20. Salt influences hydrocarbon

a Deposition b Diagenesis reservoirs by controlling deposition, diagenesis,
and fracturing, and sometimes by acting as a
Reef Cemented reservoir.
Seafloor zone

Sand
Salt bodies

c Fracturing d Salt as reservoir

Cap rock

Sandstone Limestone Anhydrite

Shale Salt Gypsum

15.2.5.1 Influence of Salt on Reservoir Deposition level. If the topographic high is emergent, then the crest of the
The influence of salt diapirs on thickness of surrounding structure is eroded, supplying debris to the surrounding area.
sedimentary units was recognized very early in the study of If the topographic high is in the photic zone, carbonate shoals
salt tectonics. In 1871, Pošepný noted preferential develop- and reefs may form on top of the salt structure. The best-
ment of angular unconformities in strata flanking salt domes, known modern examples of this phenomenon occur on car-
and Wendlandt and Knebel published the modern concept of a bonate platforms in the Persian Gulf (Figure 15.22). However,
withdrawal basin in 1929. carbonate shoals and reefs can form above salt diapirs even in
Understanding the effects of salt flow on sedimentary facies clastic-dominated systems (for example, La Popa basin,
has proceeded more slowly. The influence of salt tectonics on Mexico; Box 15.2). If environmental conditions are not suit-
carbonate deposition was recognized as early as 1926, when able for reef development, topographic highs whose crests are
Ellisor proposed that reefs could be localized on topographic near wave base may be capped or fringed by shorefaces (Kieft
highs above rising salt domes. The evolution of ideas has been et al. 2010). Finally, topographic highs that are below the
much slower for clastic environments. Trusheim (1960) photic zone will tend to accumulate muddy sediments, with
mentioned that salt-induced topography could affect clastic sands in the nearby depressions.
facies distribution but did not elaborate. It was not until the In deep-marine environments, sedimentation is dominated
early 1980s that Seni and Jackson (1983a, 1984) produced the by sediment gravity flows. These flows are diverted away from
first systematic treatment of salt’s influences on clastic systems. topographic highs, so these highs tend to accumulate shale-
The primary process by which salt tectonics influences prone, condensed intervals. The accumulation of sand adjacent
sediment deposition is through creation of surface relief. Relief to the topographic highs depends on the configuration of the
is created whenever rates of uplift or subsidence associated slope (Prather 2003). One end member is a graded slope having
with salt flow exceed local sedimentation rates. Most topo- a few salt-cored topographic highs on the middle-to-upper
graphic highs created by salt movement are cored by salt slope. Here sediment gravity flows are typically diverted around
structures, although turtle structures can also produce topog- the diapirs and continue downslope before depositing sand in
raphy. The effects of relief on facies deposition are different for fans near the toe of slope. Thus, in the middle-to-upper slope,
continental, shallow-marine, and deep-marine systems reservoirs tend to be in channel sands that may not lie immedi-
(Figure 15.21). ately adjacent to the diapirs. At the other end of the spectrum
In continental environments, regional fluvial channels are are slopes containing numerous intraslope minibasins
typically deflected away from topographic highs, leading to (Chapter 7). Minibasins create ponded accommodation that
sand (reservoir) deposition in the adjacent basins traps sediment gravity flows on the slope, leading to the depos-
(Figure 15.12). The structural crest may be eroded, in which ition of stacked submarine fans and sheet-sand reservoirs.
case the resulting, locally derived debris (for example, alluvial These sands tend to pinch out toward the diapirs forming the
fans) may interfinger with fluvial sands near the diapir. margins of the minibasin, creating stacked structural-
In shallow-marine environments, facies types and extents stratigraphic traps (Figure 15.13, Box 15.3). In toe-of-slope fans,
depend on the elevation of the topographic high relative to sea sands may onlap and partly overlie structural highs.

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

Debris derived
from diapir or its roof
interfingers with
fluvial sands
Fluvial channels
diverted around
Emergent crest diapir
is a sediment
source

elf
Sh
n
lai
v er sed
ir o en
i ap ond les
D y c ha
b s
pe
Slo Shoreface sands
Sh above diapir
elf
ed
ge
R ise Reef above
diapir crest
Sediment-transport
systems diverted
away from diapirs
on graded slope

Minibasin
sands

S
on and
in to st s pin
toe ruc ch
-of tur ou
-sl al t
op hig
ef h
an
s

Figure 15.21. Diapir topography influences facies distribution in all depositional environments.

Another process that can affect reservoir distribution in salt altering the chemistry of fluids that flow through reservoir
basins is the shedding of debris from salt-cored topographic pores, (b) modifying fluid-migration pathways, and (c)
highs. These redeposited sediments may comprise a wide range changing the ambient temperature.
of compositions and depositional fabrics. The sediments may Saline fluids can affect diagenesis in two ways. First, they
be relatively fine grained if they are reworked by fluvial may precipitate evaporite cements, plugging pore spaces.
systems or turbidity currents, or they can be composed of Evaporite plugging is common in carbonates beneath bedded
much larger blocks if sediment transport is primarily by evaporites and has also been reported in sandstone reservoirs
sliding or slumping. Source material can be from the roof of adjacent to salt domes (Davison et al. 2000b; Warren 2006).
the diapir or from the salt itself if the diapir is exposed. In Second, saline fluids can dissolve metals, which can result in
many cases, diapir-sourced reservoirs are likely to have poor precipitation of metal-rich cements (Figure 15.31) or in metal-
reservoir quality. lic alteration of the host rock (Warren 2000a). The most
economically significant form of fluid alteration is reflux dolo-
15.2.5.2 Influence of Salt on Reservoir Diagenesis mitization, which is common on carbonate platforms that
The influence of salt on reservoir quality is not limited to periodically become evaporitic (Figure 15.32; Pray and Murray
controls on depositional facies. Salt can also affect reservoir 1965; Warren 2000b). In reflux dolomitization, isolation or
quality by impacting diagenesis in three principal ways: (a) restriction of seawater on the platform forms evaporatively

438
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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

a Topography b Facies
Dominant
wind direction Zone of
coral-algal
reefs
Yas Island
salt dome

Cha
nne
l

Jebel
Dhanna
salt dome
Arabian
shoreline

Bathymetry 0 5 km
(fathoms)
0–2
2–4
Gravel Coral/Algal
4–6
6–8 Lamellibranch
8–10 Compound grain/
10–12 Lamellibranch
Sands Coral/Algal
12–14
14–16 Imperf. Foram./
16–18 Pelletoid
18+ Oolite
Muddy sands Lamellibranch
Lamellibranch
Mud (<10% Insol. Res.)
Salt dome

0 5 km

Figure 15.22. Local relief created by salt diapirs in the Persian Gulf has a major effect on shallow-marine carbonate facies. The other major factor is the prevailing
wind direction, which elongates facies tracts downwind. The northern diapir is an island, whereas the southern one is on the coastal plain. After Purser (1973).

concentrated Mg-rich brines, which sink gravitationally into created by salt tectonics can focus fluids toward some parts
underlying sediments. These fluids react with calcite sediment of the basin and away from others, creating spatial variability
(CaCO3) to form dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2). Dolomitization of in diagenesis. Bedded salt and subhorizontal salt sheets are
shallowly buried carbonate sediment builds a rigid dolomite especially effective barriers for vertical fluid flow, protecting
framework that resists compaction. Primary porosity is thus units opposite the fluids and forcing units on the same side as
well preserved in these deposits, enhancing the quality of the the fluids to react over much longer time spans.
resulting reservoir. Reflux dolomitization has been important in Salt’s influence on temperature has also been discussed in
many of the world’s largest carbonate plays, including those in Section 15.2.3. Rocks above salt have elevated temperatures,
the Permian basin of West Texas and on the Arabian platform. enhancing chemical reactivity and diagenetic intensity, thus
The capacity of salt to modify fluid-migration pathways potentially reducing reservoir quality. Even more important,
has been discussed in Section 15.2.4. Migration conduits rocks below salt are cooler than they otherwise would be at that

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

Box 15.2 – Carbonate Reservoir Distribution in La Popa Basin, Mexico

La Popa basin, Mexico, is one of the smallest known salt-tectonic sandstones deposited on a coastal plain and continental shelf.
basins, comprising only six exposed diapirs and two exposed The only carbonates in this sequence are a series of discontinu-
welds. However, spectacular exposures and relatively easy access ous beds present solely near the margins of the diapirs
have resulted in detailed study of these diapirs and their adja- (Figure 15.23). There is broad agreement that these localized
cent stratigraphy; La Popa’s influence upon the evolution of salt- carbonate units (or lentils) grew on topographic highs related
tectonic models thus far outweighs its diminutive size. Here we to diapir rise. Carbonate-platform facies are distributed asym-
focus on the development of carbonates above diapir-induced metrically across the diapirs, suggesting that carbonate environ-
topographic highs. ments were different on windward and leeward sides of the
Most of the wall rocks exposed at diapir contacts in La Popa structures (Figure 15.24).
basin belong to the Maastrichtian–Eocene Difunta Group, However, carbonate lentils are interbedded with sandstones
although units as old as Aptian are locally present. The Difunta and shales, indicating that carbonate deposition was not con-
Group comprises mostly siliciclastic mudstones, siltstones, and tinuous on top of the diapirs. Giles and Lawton (2002) attributed

La Popa lentil

La Popa
salt weld

Salt

Figure 15.23. The La Popa limestone lentil forms a 200-m-high cliff next to a former salt wall, now squeezed shut to leave the La Popa salt weld. View to the
northwest. Photograph by Martin Jackson, salt interpretation by Mark Rowan.

South-southwest North-northeast
Southern margin (windward) Bank top Northern margin (leeward)
al l
im sta
s
ite

to /
rm ef

sit ic
p
ox di
tu pe
id

po ap
fo re
re

s
pr ef
lci Slo
rb

at k
co

de llod
to re

pl Bac
re

ef

A
Fo

Re
ca

Sea level
80 m 100 m

70 m
40 m 30 m
20 m
Salt

0 500 m

Reef core Calciturbidites Shoreface, grainstone dunes

Backreef/grassbanks
Fore reef Debris flows Storm-reworked banks
Figure 15.24. Facies and geometry vary from the windward to leeward side across La Popa diapir in the La Popa basin, Mexico. After Giles et al. (2008).

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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

Box 15.2 – (cont.)

Diapir rises faster than Diapir margin fails, producing angular

sediment accumulates unconformity and overlying debris flow
Sea level

Rise
Extensional
fractures Carbonate Shear along
lentil unconformity
during flap
folding
Debris flow 1
with clasts
Subsidence
from salt
Cusp
HS2
Exotic
clast HS1 HS2
HS1

Sediment accumulates Diapir rises faster than sediment

faster than diapir rises accumulates. Next halokinetic
sequence starts forming.

Overlap Debris
Lentil 2 flow 2
Lentil 1

HS3 Onlap

Cusp Cusp HS
MFS 4

HS
3
HS2
Cusp
HS1 MFS
HS2

Figure 15.25. Halokinetic sequences form adjacent to La Popa diapirs as sedimentation rate fluctuates with respect to diapir rise rate. HS = halokinetic
sequence. MFS = maximum flooding surface. After Giles et al. (2004).

this cyclicity to changes in sedimentation rate through time, flanking the diapir, truncating diapir-flank stratigraphy and leav-
which produced halokinetic sequences (Figure 15.25; Section ing an apron of debris above the resulting unconformity
5.4.2.1). During times of slow sedimentation, the diapir rose (Figure 15.25(b)). Subsequent limestones deposited above
faster than sediments accumulated around its periphery, thus the diapir flank are preserved. An increase in sedimentation rate
increasing diapir relief. This relief raised the seafloor into the resulted in onlap and overlap of diapir-related topography to the
photic zone and protected raised areas from siliciclastic inunda- point where siliciclastic sediments buried the lentils. The cycle
tion, allowing limestone deposition to begin over the crest of the began again when sedimentation rate declined again.
diapir. These earliest limestones are typically not preserved, Key references: McBride et al. (1974); Giles and Lawton (1999, 2002); Giles
but were instead eroded and slumped down the steep slopes et al. (2008).

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

Box 15.3 – Siliciclastic Reservoir Distribution in Auger Minibasin, Gulf of Mexico

Eroded

Ponding
p s Andros
di
p minibasin Spill
ee 400
St
0 Thick N. Auger fault
45 k
300

ic
Th

Po
A

nd
ing
Ero xis -tr
Ba
30

sin

sio
0

-a
Auger Auger

nal nding
Thin ridge
40

ma
e
0

Auger

rgin
50 field
0 ch
an
ne
ls Salt
Auger
minibasin

60
0

Sediment
Thick exit point (?)

0 Macaroni
50 field
N
0 Ponding
40
0 5 km Macaroni
0 3 km Sediment exit point
Contour interval = 25 m A’
Interchannel Lobe
Salt weld
Sediment entry/exit point Channel Salt diapir
Salt walls surrounding
minibasin Figure 15.27. Late Pliocene sediments at Auger field were deposited on a
slope just below the northeast entry point into the minibasin. By contrast,
Figure 15.26. Pliocene sediments were transported into Auger minibasin sediments at Macaroni field represent progressive infilling of minibasin
through four entry points, including one that passes across Auger field near bathymetry near the southern rim of the minibasin. After Booth et al. (2003).
the north end of the minibasin. Sediments bypassing the minibasin could
leave only through a single exit in the south across Macaroni field. The
contrasting positions of Auger and Macaroni fields in the minibasin led to
very different patterns of reservoir deposition. Contours are sediment
isochores for Pliocene cycle 3.7A . After Booth et al. (2003).

Auger minibasin is an intraslope minibasin located in the minibasin. Sediment distribution and facies within Auger mini-
northern Gulf of Mexico. Reservoir distribution in the basin has basin were strongly influenced by basin topography and position
been extensively studied, owing to the presence of the Auger within the sediment transport system (Figure 15.27). Auger field,
and Macaroni fields in Pliocene sediments (Figure 15.26). which is located next to the northeast sediment entry point, lay
Pliocene sediments were transported into Auger minibasin in a very different depositional setting from that of Macaroni
through entry points on the northeast, north, northwest, and field, located adjacent to the sediment exit point. Furthermore,
west sides of the minibasin (Figure 15.26). These sediments were facies varied through time as a result of changes both in sedi-
either deposited within Auger minibasin or spilled into Tampa ment supply and in relief, as the minibasin repeatedly filled and
minibasin through an exit point at the south end of Auger then spilled sediment downslope into Tampa minibasin.

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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

Box 15.3 – (cont.)

High-relief sill Reservoir facies at Macaroni field record the progressive

Macaroni
filling of minibasin bathymetry (Figure 15.28). At the start of
Northwest Southeast the studied interval, large relief on the southern rim of the
minibasin trapped both sand- and mud-rich portions of turbi-
dites. Thin sands pinch out toward the edge of the minibasin in
an overall low net-to-gross fill sequence. Rapid aggradation
caused by ponding of the turbidity currents and their deposits
soon lowered the relief on the southern sill, leading to a
second phase of deposition. Flow-stripping of the turbidity
currents trapped sands in Auger minibasin, while much of the
mud-rich portion was transported southward over the sill into
Tampa minibasin. The middle part of the basin fill thus has a
much higher proportion of sand than the lower part, and sands
extend all the way to the minibasin margin. During the final
stages of deposition, aggradation built the topographic surface
Low-relief sill up to the stable profile for the minibasin (that is, the system
was in grade), thereby beginning a new phase of channel
incision and bypass as turbidity currents flowed across Auger
minibasin and through the spill point into Tampa minibasin.
Facies in the upper part of the basin fill are dominated
by vertically amalgamated erosional channel or mass-flow
complexes.
In contrast to the ponded setting that was so important in
controlling reservoir deposition at Macaroni field, sediments at
Auger field were deposited on a slope just below the northeast
entry point (Figure 15.29). Sediment accumulation was slower at
Auger than at Macaroni because, in the absence of a downslope
sill, much of the sediment bypassed the Auger area and was
deposited farther basinward. Facies at Auger field are a mixture
Bypass and incision
of submarine fans, variably amalgamated channel complexes,
and overbank deposits. Erosion of older deposits by younger
Incision
channels was important. As an additional complication, the flow
of sediments through the northeast entry point was not con-
stant. At some times sediments were trapped by topographic
depressions farther updip and so did not pass through the
northeast entry point into Auger minibasin (Figure 15.29(a)). At
other times, turbidity currents entering the minibasin at this
entry point were erosive rather than depositional (Figure 15.29
(c)). Reservoir distribution and type are complex at Auger field as
a direct result of its structural setting downdip of a major salt-
cored topographic high.
Sedimentation patterns in Auger minibasin thus illustrate a
Sediments from previous stages Salt wide range of effects of salt-induced relief on reservoir depos-
ition. Changing topography in minibasins can shift deposition
Sand Channel fill
from ponding to bypass, or it can influence the style of slope
Shale-dominated deposition. The differences in reservoir deposition between
Auger and Macaroni fields (Figure 15.30) are largely a function
Figure 15.28. At Macaroni field, the succession of depositional of the different topographic settings of the two fields.
patterns records progressive infilling of minibasin topography. After Booth
et al. (2003). Key references: Booth et al. (2000, 2003); Dean et al. (2002); Kendrick
(2000); Winker and Booth (2000).

depth, thus retarding diagenetic reactions and potentially pre- the presalt play not only because it forms topseal for the traps
serving primary reservoir quality. Mello et al. (2011) stated but also because salt has kept the presalt section cool, thus
that the 2,000 m of salt resting above presalt reservoirs in the preserving the liquid phase of hydrocarbons and primary
Santos basin, Brazil (Figure 15.33), is critical to the success of porosity in relatively deep carbonate reservoirs.

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

Box 15.3 – (cont.)

a Sands trapped updip of Auger b High net/gross sheet and lobe sands
carried into Auger from northeast

Auger ridge

Auger
fault

Channels from northwest incise

c underlying Auger fans d Erosive channels from north and northwest
incise underlying units

Interchannel Slump
Channel Salt
Lobe
Figure 15.29. A typical fourth-order sequence at Auger field evolves in four main stages. (a) Turbidites are ponded to the northeast of Auger ridge and on
the downthrown side of Auger fault, trapping the bulk of the sand-sized sediment before it can reach the Auger minibasin. (b) Sediments spill into Auger
minibasin, depositing high net/gross sheet and lobe deposits in Auger field area. (c) and (d) Erosive channels cut across Auger field area, incising many of the
previously deposited reservoir sands. After Booth et al. (2003).

thus providing pathways to shallower traps. Understanding

15.2.5.3 Influence of Salt on Reservoir Fracturing fracture networks is thus a critical part of characterizing many
Natural fractures (opening-mode fractures and faults) can hydrocarbon plays.
control the hydraulic properties of many reservoirs (Hennings Most fractures form by processes such as regional deform-
2009). However, fractures are very much a two-edged sword. ation, uplift, and changes in pore pressure, which can have
On the one hand, fractures may enhance reservoir permeabil- little to do with local structures (Olson et al. 2009). However,
ity if they are open and connected. On the other hand, frac- local features like folds, faults, and salt structures can create
tures can reduce permeability if they are low-porosity features new arrays of fractures and modify existing fracture sets. Salt
like deformation bands or are preferentially cemented. Fur- can affect both regional and local fracture sets by (a) influ-
thermore, fractures can provide migration pathways through encing the growth of folds and faults, (b) altering regional
low-permeability units and breach topseals in deeper traps, strain patterns, (c) allowing diapir growth, (d) dissolving,

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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

Box 15.3 – (cont.)

Auger Macaroni

Salt
Salt

Amalgamated sheet sands and/or Major condensed

“Background” muds
highly amalgamated channels zones/drapes
Erosional channel and/or Isolated and/or loosely
Minor condensed zones
mass-transport complexes amalgamated channels

Figure 15.30. Between Auger and Macaroni fields, Auger reservoirs are dominated by channels deposited on a slope, whereas Macaroni sands formed in
ponded accommodation space. After Booth et al. (2003).

(e) influencing depth of burial, (f) altering diagenesis, and (g) detachment above salt facilitates formation of a linked kin-
creating overpressure. ematic system connecting extension on the shelf and upper
The character of fractures genetically associated with folds slope to shortening in deep water. Thus, fracture patterns may
and faults can be diverse and is sensitive to the size and shape be different in different parts of a salt basin even before the
of the folds and faults and to how the governing structure larger structures start forming.
evolves (Hennings et al. 2000; Faulkner et al. 2010). High- Most salt diapirs are surrounded by a zone of intense
curvature areas, or other areas of localized strain within folds, fracturing and small-scale faulting (for example, Alsop
may contain abundant conductive or sealed opening-mode et al. 2000; Davison et al. 2000a, b; Smith et al., 2012).
fractures, or conductive or sealing faults. Available data suggest that faulting becomes most intense
Even in the absence of macroscopic folds and faults, frac- near map-view bends in the diapir contact, as at the ends
tures can form as a result of very small regional strains (Olson of salt walls. It is therefore likely that fracture intensity
et al. 2009). Salt tectonics can influence regional strain pat- also increases in these areas. Diapir-flank and diapir-crest
terns, for example, on a passive margin where a salt fracture systems can increase reservoir permeabilities,

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

Landward Basinward
a Early migration of H2S up dome flank leads to
pyrite cementation Reflux of dense brines
dolomitizes adjacent carbonates
Southwest Northeast

Local Fe2+ (?)

Pyrite Water
cement

Platform evaporites Platform carbonates

Claiborne
and Wilcox 100 m
H2
Groups
S
Butler 100–1000s km
dome Fe
Figure 15.32. Dense brines formed by evaporation sink into the underlying
2+ Midway
Group platform, reacting with carbonate sediments to form reflux dolomite. After
(?
Warren (1991).
)

Navarro
Marl
stratigraphic record contains more evaporite residues than
intact salt beds, suggesting that dissolution breccias may be
b Later migration of CH4 and Ba2+ up dome flank
leads to calcite and barite cementation more common than currently recognized.
Salt tectonics also causes uplift above areas of salt inflation
(bacteria)
Calcite and and subsidence above zones of deflation. Uplift and subsidence
Ca2+, SO42- = barite influence the burial depth of rocks, influencing fracture
(dissolution) cements growth, just as these loading conditions influence fracturing
in nonsalt settings.
Section 15.2.5.2 describes how salt affects reservoir diagen-
C

esis by altering fluid chemistry, modifying fluid-migration

H4

pathways, and changing ambient temperature. Any process

that affects diagenesis may then also affect fracturing, since
Ba

diagenesis changes the mechanical properties of deforming

2+

rocks, promoting or impeding fracturing (Laubach et al.

2009). Furthermore, thermally driven reactions in stagnant
0 100 m
fluids, as well as reactions accompanying fluid migration, tend
to alter or cement any preexisting fractures.
Figure 15.31. Fluid flow and diagenesis evolve through two main Salt’s impermeability allows it to block fluid migration,
chemical stages adjacent to Butler dome, East Texas basin. (a) During early
phases of fluid migration, fluids rich in H2S migrated up the flank of the dome
leading to overpressured sediments adjacent to many salt
from depth. These fluids reacted with Fe2+, sourced either from depth or structures and below many salt layers. Overpressure decreases
from local clays and iron oxides, to form pyrite cement. (b) Later, methane the effective stress, making fracturing more likely.
and Ba2+ migrated up the flank of the dome to react with Ca2+ and SO42–,
formed by dissolution of anhydrite at the dome crest, to form a second
generation of barite and calcite cement. After Enos and Kyle (2002).
15.2.5.4 Salt as a Reservoir
The vast majority of salt-related hydrocarbon reservoirs are
located above, below, or on the flanks of salt. However, in a few
but they also run the risk of breaching topseals, as sug- cases the evaporite sequence itself acts as the reservoir. We
gested by the fluid-ascension zones around many diapirs distinguish two types of intrasalt reservoir: cap rock and intra-
(Section 15.2.4.4). Alternatively, fractures near the salt face salt source rocks.
may be filled by evaporite minerals, thereby decreasing Cap-rock reservoirs are of minimal economic significance
permeability. but of huge historical import. The modern oil industry was
Evaporites dissolve whenever they come into contact with inaugurated by the 1901 discovery of oil in cap rock above
undersaturated surface or formation waters. Dissolution is Spindletop salt dome (Box 1.3). This discovery triggered the
common in the shallow subsurface, but it may occur at any first Texas oil boom, initially focused on drilling the cap rock
depth. Dissolution of salt creates a collapse breccia in overlying of every salt dome that could be found. By the 1930s, oil had
units, which increases their permeability. Warren (2006, his been found in the cap rock of twenty-nine domes along the
chapters 7 and 10) described a number of reservoirs in the U.S. Gulf Coast, of which five were prolific producers: Spindle-
western Canada basin, Permian basin, and North Sea whose top, Humble, Batson, Sour Lake, and Lake Washington (Saw-
permeabilities have increased as a result of dissolution of telle 1936). The reservoir for these discoveries was secondary
underlying evaporites. He further suggested that Earth’s limestone, derived from bacterial alteration of anhydrite in the

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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

Tupi
Northwest Southeast

3
Two-way time (s)

Salt
4

Reservoir section
5

0 3 km

Figure 15.33. In the Tupi discovery, Santos basin, Brazil, a thick section of stratified Aptian salt sealed hydrocarbons and transmitted heat toward the surface,
keeping the underlying reservoirs cool and, thus, helping to preserve reservoir quality. Seismic data courtesy of CGG.

presence of hydrocarbons (Section 5.10.3). Porosity was derived structural high by a different process (Figure 15.34). The
from a combination of volume loss during anhydrite alter- settings are end members, so hybrids exist.
ation, dissolution, and fracturing produced by stretching of the In each setting, some traps differ depending on whether the
dome crest during diapir rise (for example, Lock et al. 2004; reservoir is siliciclastic or carbonate. Clastic reservoirs typically
Lacazette et al. 2007). thin onto topographic highs, so structural highs may be
Section 15.2.2 discusses the systematic association of evap- flanked by a variety of siliciclastic onlap or truncation traps.
orites and source rocks, which occurs because evaporite In shallow-marine settings, however, carbonate reservoirs may
basins have periods of extremely high organic productivity be deposited preferentially above topographic highs as carbon-
coupled with anoxic bottom conditions. This combination ate shoals and reefs (Figure 15.22). Because this distribution is
can produce hydrocarbon source rocks completely encased unlike the typical distribution of siliciclastic reservoirs, it
in salt. Intrasalt source rocks are typically unable to charge merits separate treatment.
extrasalt reservoirs because the hydrocarbons cannot be Despite the differences in structural setting and reservoir
expelled through the impermeable salt. However, the absence type, there are just a few trap types that are important in salt
of migration pathways out of the source is a virtue in plays tectonics. These are anticlinal closures, fault-block traps, ero-
that directly target the source rock. The best known of these sional truncations, stratigraphic pinch-outs, salt-face trunca-
productive intrasalt source rocks are the Cane Creek “shale” tions, crestal reefs and shoals, and cap-rock traps.
(actually laminated dolomite containing thin organic-rich
layers) in the Paradox basin, USA (Hite et al. 1984), and the 15.2.7 Seals
Athel Silicilyte (an organic-rich chert) in the Oman salt basin
Evaporites seal an estimated 50 percent of the world’s known
(Warren 2006, his chapter 10). Porosity and permeability in
total petroleum reserve, even though they constitute less than
these rocks may be due to undercompaction caused by the
2 percent of the world’s sedimentary rocks (Grunau 1987).
inability of fluids to escape, to early generation of hydrocar-
Many supergiant fields are sealed by evaporites, including
bons, and to fracturing caused by flow of the encasing salt
both the world’s largest oil field (Ghawar, Saudi Arabia)
layer. In some cases salt flow has broken the source rock up
and the world’s largest gas field (North Dome, Qatar). Salt
into small stringers, making them more difficult to target
can trap large hydrocarbon columns at very high pressures
during exploration.
(Box 15.4).
The reputation of evaporites as excellent hydrocarbon seals
15.2.6 Traps rests on four physical properties, which are maintained over a
Salt has a range of deformational styles, all of which can wide range of pressures and temperatures (Warren 2006;
produce structural and stratigraphic traps. We classify salt- Schoenherr et al. 2007a). First, the fact that salt is a crystalline
related traps into five settings, each of which produces a solid means that its porosity and permeability are very low.

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

Siliciclastic Carbonate
Anticline Reefs, shoals
Fault-block traps Fault-block
traps
Crest hou
t Ero
Pinc sion
al tr iclin
e
unc
atio Ant
n k
oc
pr
Ca

Upturn trap Upturn trap

against salt against salt

Fault-
block Fault-block
trap trap
Pinch-
Erosional out
Flank truncation

Reef, shoals

Erosional Fault-block Reef, shoals

truncation traps
Pinchout
Turtle
Anticline in
turtle core

Anticline
Reef, shoals
n
ncatio Anticline
nal tru Fault-block
Erosio u t traps
Rollover cho
Pin

Fault-block traps

Fault-block Erosionaln Reef, shoals

traps truncatio
t
Pinchou Fault-block
traps

Thrust
Anticline Anticline

Carbonate reservoir Gypsum

Siliciclastic reservoir Anhydrite
Hydrocarbon-filled reservoir Salt

Figure 15.34. Diverse types of hydrocarbon traps form near salt structures, with first-order differences between siliciclastic and carbonate settings.

448
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 15.2 Petroleum Systems

Second, this intrinsically low permeability is difficult to modify

a Discontinuous evaporites
by shear fracturing because long-term stresses inside fluids
Suture
such as salt are nearly isotropic. Third, low permeabilities are
Weld difficult to modify by dilational fractures, because ductile flow
of salt is nondilatant. Finally, even if all of these barriers to
fracturing could be overcome, salt tends to anneal after
Thinner, impure deformation, restoring the salt to its original sealing condition.
evaporite facies Despite the apparent perfection of salt as a seal, however,
Weld there are some conditions under which evaporite seals can be
breached (Figure 15.35).
First, evaporite seals must be continuous to be effective
b Migration adjacent to salt (Figure 15.35(a)). Welds offer potential leak points through
both bedded and diapiric evaporites. In salt sheets, sutures
may provide a permeable pathway through the salt. In bedded
evaporites, lateral facies variations may provide leakage path-
Migration up
salt-face ways for subsalt fluids. Saltern and deepwater evaporites tend to
fracture zone have excellent lateral continuity, but evaporite-plugged carbon-
ate platforms and mudflats contain more impurities and lateral
Edge of salt facies variations and are therefore more prone to problems with
Lateral migration in subsalt reservoir
lateral continuity (Warren 2006). The thicker the evaporite
sequence, the more likely it is that at least one of its layers will
c Permeable salt have the lateral continuity needed to seal. Warren (2006) sug-
gested that an evaporite seal more than 30 m thick is excellent,
whereas an evaporite seal more than 10 m thick is adequate.
Salt Second, evaporite seals can be circumvented if fluids can
Fracture
halo around
Impure evaporites migrate laterally within adjacent rocks to some place where the
Sediments
active fault evaporites do not exist (Figure 15.35(b)). Examples would be
Migration pathway
hydrocarbons migrating laterally in a reservoir below bedded
salt to a weld, or migrating along the face of a diapir through a
Fluids migrate
fracture system in wall rocks.
along grain boundaries Third, under some circumstances evaporites can become
Figure 15.35. Evaporite seals can be breached as a result of discontinuous more permeable (Figure 15.35(c); Section 3.6.3). High shear
evaporites, damage zones next to salt bodies, or permeable salt. stresses or low confining pressures can produce dilatant

Box 15.4 – The Alborz-5 Blowout

The Alborz-5 well, central Iran, targeted fractured limestones of 5 million barrels of oil during the blowout, of which 1.5 million
the Oligo-Miocene Qom Formation in a compressional anticline barrels was collected in three lakes formed by damming the
(Figure 15.36). The well discovered Alborz field, the first oil field rivers of oil from the well (Figure 15.37(b)). The oil in the lakes
in the central Iranian thrust belt. The well was also the first in was later pumped into storage tanks. Eventually it was decided
central Iran to drill through the Miocene Gachsaran evaporites, to flare the oil and gas, as a safety measure to stop the spread of
taking more than five months to penetrate the 381 m of evapor- oil over the ground. Flow lines were put in to divert the oil to
ites overlying the limestone. the east and west, away from the wellhead. There the oil was
On August 26, 1956, the well exited the salt and drilled set on fire, creating a spectacular fire that burned for months
5 cm into the oil-bearing limestone. The well blew out, des- (Figure 15.37(c)).
troying the rig (Figure 15.37(a)). The blowout preventer was The high fluid pressures in the Alborz-5 well illustrate the
immediately closed, but fluid pressures were so high that the tremendous sealing capacity of the salt. However, drilling experi-
packers were torn out and the preventer did not hold. Later ence in the field also illustrates factors that can lead to leakage of
calculations suggest that the oil beneath the salt seal was hydrocarbons through the salt. The Alborz-1–4 wells failed to
pressured nearly to lithostatic pressure (roughly 60 MPa at reach the target objective, but three of them did intersect the
that depth). crestal thrust fault (Figure 15.36). In all cases live oil flowed from
The well was capped on September 13 (three weeks into the the thrust zone. The only known source rock is below the salt,
blowout) but could not be closed in because of the high fluid suggesting that oil must have leaked through the salt
pressures. Blowout continued for almost three months before along the thrust fault. We suggest that slip episodes along
the well caved in, stopping flow. The well produced more than the thrust created shear fractures in the salt. Subsalt oil

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

Box 15.4 – (cont.)

South-southwest North-northeast Figure 15.36. The Alborz-5 well, central

Alborz 5 Alborz 3 Iran, penetrates the crest of a large
Qom syncline Qarachai syncline detachment fold, the Alborz anticline. The
1 well ends at a depth where the blowout
occurred, at the top of the Qom Limestone.
0 After Mostofi and Gansser (1957).

Depth (km)
-1
-2
-3
? ? 0 3 km
-4
V.E. × 1
Alluvial Miocene evaporites
Pliocene Miocene Oligo–Miocene, Qom Limestone
Oligo–Eocene, volcanics

a b c

Figure 15.37. The Alborz-5 blowout evolved through three stages. (a) Destruction of the drilling rig. (b) An oil lake was formed by damming the oil from
the blowout. (c) Flaring of the oil. Photographs by Augusto Gansser, images courtesy of Ursula Markus.

overpressured to near-lithostatic conditions entered these frac- fault, although evidently at rates too slow to affect reservoir
tures, hydrofracturing the salt to create additional permeability. pressures.
Thus, the crest of the field is actively leaking up the crestal thrust Key references: Mostofi and Gansser (1957); Gretener (1982).

microfractures, which can increase salt permeability by as they permit entry to undersaturated water. This water dissolves
much as six orders of magnitude. High shear stresses cannot salt, enlarging the leakage pathways.
be maintained for long periods inside salt, but short-term
events like fault-slip episodes can perturb stresses enough to
make fractures. Furthermore, at depths greater than 3 km 15.3 Drilling Hazards
fluids at pressures near lithostatic can migrate along a network Salt’s unique physical properties can lead to a variety of
of channels along grain-boundary triple junctions. These frac- problems while drilling above, below, adjacent to, and inside
tures or tubules may permit hydrocarbons to enter the salt; of salt (Willson and Fredrich 2005; Perez et al. 2008). Most
they can be even more destructive of salt’s sealing capacity if of these problems are related to stress changes (Luo et al.

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 15.3 Drilling Hazards

a Drilling above salt b Drilling through salt

Tension above structural highs Mobile
Suture evaporites Brine pocket

Dirty salt An Stress

Compression Bitumen hyd
above rite deviation
Fractured structural
carapace lows Higher halite
mobility at high T

Isolated clastic or Intrasalt

carbonate inclusion shear zone

c Exiting salt/drilling below salt d Drilling around salt

Overturned, shale-prone beds Increased
horizontal Faulted and
stress Salt pushes out fractured
Rubble against wall rocks
zone wall rocks
Subsalt
Base-salt shear
Bitumen shear zone Rubble zone
zone Salt-flank
Overpressured Upturned,
Rotated fluids trapped shear
e zone shale-prone
Hydrostatic

stresses
r

against salt
ssu

Bitumen beds
Depth

in fault
Fluid pre

Pressure Pressure on source

zone regression layer transmitted
below salt up diapir

Figure 15.38. Drilling above, through, below and around salt all have different challenges.

2012; Nikolinakou et al. 2012, 2014), pore-pressure variation, gradient; Figure 15.39). If the decreased horizontal stress
salt creep, rubble zones, inclusions in the salt, and bitumen is not recognized, mud weight may exceed the fracture
(tar) associated with many salt structures. This section gradient, injecting the formation and leading to lost
reviews these hazards and discusses how they are related to returns. By contrast, structural lows in the top of salt
salt evolution. We do not discuss techniques for ameliorating are typically in compression, increasing the minimum
drilling problems, as industry practices are continually horizontal stress. From a stress perspective, it may there-
evolving. fore be safer to drill in salt-cored synclines than above
salt-cored anticlines.
15.3.1 Drilling above Salt
Two salt-related issues cause particular problems when drilling 15.3.2 Drilling through Salt
above salt structures. (Figure 15.38(a)). First, a brittle fractured Key problems associated with drilling through salt include hole
carapace may lie immediately above salt. Second, salt struc- closure due to salt creep, changes in drillability and fluid
tures distort the surrounding stress field, potentially altering pressure associated with non-evaporite inclusions, overpres-
the fracture gradient. sure kicks caused by brine pockets, encounters with mobile
Carapace sections are typically older and better cemented bitumen (tar), and the tendency for some wells to deviate in
than other suprasalt lithologies, especially if they contain car- preferred directions (Israel et al. 2008; Figure 15.38). Some of
bonate rocks. They may therefore be prone to fracturing. these problems can be predicted through seismic observations,
These fractures can be a problem if they contain overpressured but others cannot.
fluids, causing a pressure kick in the well. The fractures can Salt creep is perhaps the most fundamental problem asso-
also cause problems if they are normally pressured or under- ciated with drilling through salt. Salt creep may close an open
pressured, because drilling mud may flow into the fractures, hole, or it may load casing later in the well’s history (Weijer-
causing lost returns. mars et al. 2013, 2014). The rate of flow of salt into an open
The crest of a salt structure is typically in extension, hole depends on the pressure difference between the salt and
lowering the horizontal stress (equivalent to the fracture the mud weight. Salt pressures are in most situations easily

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

Figure 15.39. Strains adjacent to salt are

a Displacement vectors influenced by salt shape. The finite-element model
simulates an irregular sheet of viscoelastic salt
relaxing against elastic–perfectly plastic sediments
10 m with a Mohr–Coulomb plastic yield criterion. (a)
Displacement vectors show convex portions of the
salt expanding laterally into concave parts. At the
top of salt, this equates to salt diapirs expanding
against adjacent minibasins. (b) Horizontal strains
resulting from these displacements. Positive values
indicate shortening. There is horizontal extension
above the diapirs and horizontal shortening in the
minibasins. After Luo et al. (2012).

Salt

VE=1
1 km
Displacement vector
b Horizontal strain
-1.0 0 1.0

Convex Concave Strain (× 10-2)

Concave
Convex
VE=1
1 km

calculated, and halite typically flows slowly on a drilling time Lower-viscosity evaporites. Many evaporites (for
scale. As a result, most halite creep can be controlled by example, carnallite, sylvite, and tachyhydrite; Section 3.4.3)
varying mud weight. However, several conditions can make it are much weaker than halite and so flow much faster.
more difficult to control salt creep. These include An encounter with a thick layer of a more mobile evaporite
High temperatures. The flow rate of salt is temperature may cause serious hole-control problems.
dependent, so deeper, hotter salt flows faster than salt at “Dirty” salt. Mixtures of clay and halite can be extremely
shallower depths. mobile and, thus, difficult to drill through.
Small grain size. Solution–precipitation creep of salt is most
effective at small grain size, so fine-grained salt is weaker and Non-evaporite inclusions in evaporite sequences may have
flows faster than coarse-grained salt. This weakness is most originally been interbedded with evaporites and then trans-
pronounced in ultra-fine-grained mylonite zones, which ported with the evaporites during flow, or else included within
may move orders of magnitude faster than the coarser evaporites by suturing or some other deformational process.
grained salt around it. Many inclusions are imaged on seismic data because of their

452
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 15.3 Drilling Hazards

Figure 15.40. Overpressures develop beneath

a t = 0.2 Myr an advancing salt sheet. The finite-element model
simulates viscoelastic salt advancing across
poroelastic sediments. The model is undrained, so
all of the vertical load imposed by the advancing
salt is carried by pore fluids. Very high pore
pressures develop beneath the sheet. These
pressures are proportional to sheet thickness,
so they change over time. Finite-element model by
Gang Luo.

b t = 1.0 Myr

c t = 1.8 Myr
1 Salt sheet
0
(km)

-10
0 2.5 5.0 0 10 km

Overpressure (MPa)

impedance contrast with the salt. Inclusions can be problem- short-term stresses created inside of salt that have not yet had
atic during drilling for two reasons. First, they may be either time to relax.
harder or softer than the surrounding evaporites, causing
mechanical problems during drilling. Second, fluids in the
inclusions may be either underpressured or (more commonly) 15.3.3 Exiting Salt/Drilling below Salt
overpressured, causing lost returns or a pressure kick. Fluid Exiting salt is probably the most dangerous moment in any
pressures associated with inclusions are especially problematic subsalt drilling program. The wellbore passes instantaneously
when overpressured and underpressured inclusions are from a relatively simple environment having near-isotropic stress
encountered in the same well, so no single mud weight can and no fluid pressure into a world of unknown stresses, fluid
handle both. pressures, and material properties. Lots of things can go wrong,
Less commonly, wells may encounter pockets of brine many of which are not easily remedied. Problems at salt exit can
inside the salt (Section 8.3.7.3). These pockets are typically include high overpressures near the base of salt, highly deformed
pressured to near-lithostatic conditions, causing wells to take subsalt sediments, base-salt or subsalt shear zones, encounters
a strong pressure kick. In most cases these pockets have limited with mobile bitumen (tar), and stress rotation (Figure 15.38).
volume, so they are not a long-term problem. Salt is impermeable under most conditions, so fluids
Most encounters of bitumen (informally known as “tar” in migrating upward from compacting subsalt sediments can be
the industry) occur below the base of salt (Section 15.3.3). trapped beneath a horizontal salt layer (either bedded or
However, bitumen has also been encountered inside salt, either allochthonous). Fluid pressures in this environment can
in inclusions or in its own space inside of salt. How bitumen approach lithostatic (Box 15.4). This problem is particularly
gets inside of salt is not clear, but once there, it complicates common beneath salt sheets, which are emplaced rapidly
drilling by flowing into the wellbore. above near-surface, uncompacted sediments (Luo et al. 2015;
Finally, several authors have noted a tendency for wells to Figure 15.40). Drilling is further complicated because fluid
deviate (“walk”) in a preferred direction inside of salt. Such pressures typically decrease downward from the base of salt
deviations tend to be consistent from well to well in closely (pressure regression), so that mud weights high enough to
spaced areas, leading to the suggestion that the deviation is contain near-lithostatic pressures at the base of salt will inject
due to stress anisotropies inside the salt. This explanation the formation farther downhole.
runs counter to the assumed long-term stress homogeneity Beneath salt sheets or salt overhangs, sediments may also
inside salt, but the deviation may be explained as a result of be highly deformed. Beds can be rotated or overturned as a

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

result of salt emplacement (Section 6.2.3), potentially causing

stress rotation due to bedding anisotropy. Furthermore, beds a³ 1 b³ 2

may have undergone shear failure during deformation, modi-

fying their physical properties and drillability. In extreme
cases, high pore pressures may allow subsalt units to fail in
situ, forming a rubble zone.
Conventional wisdom maintains that most of the shear
between an advancing salt sheet and its fixed substrate occurs
in the salt, since salt is typically the weaker material, except
near the surface, where salt has much higher fracture strength Salt Salt
than shallow siliciclastic sands and muds (Figure 3.24). Finite-
element modeling (Maria Nikolinakou, personal communica-
tion) indicates that salt sheets may slide along their bases
where shear stresses are high and the substrate is highly over-
pressured. In these situations, the salt sheet may effectively
hydroplane across the underlying section. Furthermore, the
VE=1 VE=1
subsalt section may be weaker than salt if it is undercompacted 0.5 km 0.5 km
because of high overpressures, or if a rubble zone has formed.
If so, a subsalt shear zone may form in sediments beneath the Figure 15.41. Stresses must rotate around salt so that one of the principal
stresses is always normal to the salt contact. This is because, in the absence of
sheet. In either case, encountering an active shear zone could sliding along the contact, salt contacts have zero shear stress. In this example, a
shear off a wellbore or collapse casing. sphere of viscoelastic salt relaxes against elastic sediments. One of the principal
Mobile bitumen is much more common below the base of stresses is always normal to the contact. Dots show regions where the stress is
out of plane. After Luo et al. (2012).
salt than within salt, especially beneath salt sheets in the Gulf
of Mexico. In many cases, bitumen is encountered immedi-
ately upon salt exit or very close to the base of salt. In other
instances, bitumen has been drilled hundreds or thousands of the well such that the wellbore emerges normal to the salt–
meters deeper. There is debate over whether this bitumen has sediment interface.
migrated upward from undermature source rocks or whether
it represents the residue of in situ degradation of more mature
hydrocarbons. There is likewise uncertainty over whether the 15.3.4 Drilling around Salt
bitumen resides in pore spaces or occupies its own space. Little Rising salt tends to lift and shoulder aside sediments, creating
has been published on the topic. Perhaps the most in-depth an environment rife with drilling hazards. Salt-flank settings
publications arose from Hess’s experiences at Pony field in the are not normally as challenging as subsalt, because drilling in
deepwater Gulf of Mexico (Han et al. 2010). These workers salt flanks does not normally involve an abrupt transition from
argued that the chemical composition of the bitumen there the relative predictability of intrasalt into the wildly variable
indicates that the bitumen is an early maturation product of adjacent sediments (although this is not universally true; some
Jurassic source rocks that has migrated up faults to be trapped salt-flank wellbores do drill through salt). Nonetheless, salt
beneath salt. Bitumen far below salt occurs along the fault- flanks have a lengthy list of drilling hazards, including strongly
plane migration routes. The viscosity and behavior of the deformed sediments, high pore pressures, shear zones near the
bitumen are evidence that it occupies its own space in the edge of salt, and altered stresses (Figure 15.38).
rocks, rather than lying within pore spaces. Further work is At least four major processes deform salt-flank sediments.
needed to determine whether these conclusions are valid else- Least intense is bedding rotation due to withdrawal of under-
where. Whatever the origin, mobile bitumen can be a very lying salt, which may cause beds to dip away from the salt at
serious problem, often requiring side-tracking the well in an 10 to 20 °C. Much more significant is bedding upturn that
attempt to avoid it. occurs when diapirs rise and break through their ephemeral
In the absence of a base-salt shear zone, the salt–sediment roofs. Beds in these upturns steepen toward the salt, and they
interface is typically assumed to be a surface of zero shear can reach vertical or even be overturned. Uplifted roof sedi-
stress. If so, then principal stress axes must rotate so that one ments in this setting tend to be shale prone, and this process is
of the principal stress directions is normal to the interface thought to explain the origin of shale sheath. Next, many
(Figure 15.41). Boreholes drilled at an angle to these axes diapirs expand outward as they grow, imposing large strains
will then be subject to shear stress, complicating an already on adjacent wall rocks (Figure 15.42). Finally, rise of salt may
difficult situation. Many operators therefore prefer to drill form shear zones and faults in adjacent sediments if the sedi-
through gently dipping base-salt contacts, or else deviate ments are weaker than salt. The result of all these mechanisms

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 15.3 Drilling Hazards

b is that sediments adjacent to salt flanks may be highly faulted,

fractured, and sheared and may exhibit a variety of styles of
Synkinematic soft-sediment deformation. In extreme cases, salt-flank sedi-
sediments
ments may undergo shear failure in situ to form a rubble zone.
b Several factors combine to alter the stresses around salt
a
a structures. First, salt is mechanically a fluid, which means that
Initial stresses relax to near-isotropic values inside salt. For tall salt
sediments structures like domes or walls, the isotropic stresses are near
Hoop
the overburden stress. Salt diapirs having internal horizontal
strain (%) stresses near overburden pressure therefore push out against
>0
0
sediments whose horizontal stresses are typically only a frac-
Horizontal section
tion of the overburden stress, producing elevated horizontal
stresses in the wall rocks (Figure 15.43). In some cases the
-40
Salt radial horizontal stress can become the maximum principal
a
2 km a Initial stress. Concurrent with this, the outward expansion of the
b
-80 V.E. × 1 b After 3 Myr diapir stretches the wall rocks in the circumferential (hoop)
direction, decreasing the hoop stress. Second, salt diapirs are
Figure 15.42. The finite-element model simulates an axisymmetric diapir of hydraulically connected to source layers that are pressurized by
viscoplastic salt rising adjacent to drained (no excess pore pressures) poro-
elastoplastic sediments. The flowing salt causes the salt outline to move from a the entire weight of the overburden column. These pressures
to b, lifting and pushing the roof outward. Contours show extensional hoop are transmitted up the diapir, where they contribute to the
strains (circumferential stretching) in the salt accumulated during simulation. already elevated horizontal stress pushing out against adjacent
Negative values indicate extension. The inset map-view sketch illustrates that
the dome expands outward, increasing the radius of any horizontal dome sediments (Figure 15.44). The magnitude of this effect
section. After Nikolinakou et al. (2014). decreases or is eliminated when the source layer is welded.
Third, near-surface salt structures may form a topographic
high. Salt-cored topographic highs tend to spread laterally,
placing adjacent rocks under compression. These rocks may

Out-of-plane
a Displacement vectors b Vertical strain c Horizontal strain d (hoop) strain

4m

Salt

VE=1 VE=1 VE=1

1 km 1 km 1 km
VE=1 -1.0 0 1.0
0.5 km

Strain (× 10-3)
Figure 15.43. Diapirs push out against surrounding units, altering the stress in the wall rocks. The finite-element model simulates a sphere of viscoelastic salt
relaxing against elastic sediments. (a) Displacement vectors show how an originally spherical salt body is shortened vertically and extended laterally to push
against the wall rock. (b) Stresses in the wall rock are bridged around the viscous salt, increasing vertical stresses and strains at the side of the sphere.
(c) Horizontal expansion of the sphere elevates horizontal strains even more than the vertical strains. Shortening strains are positive. (d) Horizontal expansion
of the sphere stretches rocks in the circumferential direction (hoop strain). After Luo et al. (2012).

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 Influence of Salt on Petroleum Systems

a b

Salt overpressure
4

(MPa)
3
2
SALT 1
0

b
After 2 Myr of sedimentation V.E. × 1 2 km

Figure 15.44. Loading in the source layer causes a diapir to rise, as shown by this finite-element model. (a) Loading by a minibasin whose average density is
greater than salt increases pressures in the salt. Salt overpressures are defined as the difference between the measured salt stress and the integrated salt
overburden at any given depth, a concept analogous to pore-fluid overpressures. (b) Flow vectors in the salt are normal to overpressure contours, indicating
that excess pressures within the salt provide the potential for salt flow. After Nikolinakou et al. (2014).

Figure 15.45. Horizontal expansion of a salt

a Horizontal displacement, drained b Change in pore pressure,
undrained diapir increases pore pressure next to it if wall-rock
permeabilities are low. The finite-element model
Displacement
(m) simulates a sphere of viscoelastic salt relaxing
1.81 against poro-elastoplastic sediments. (a) In a
Underpressure drained case (no excess pore pressures), relaxation
1.00 of the sphere pushes adjacent sediment out by
almost 2 m (positive displacements are to the
0.00 right). A large area near the dome yields plastically.
-0.60 (b) In an undrained case (no fluids are allowed to
SALT SALT Excess pore escape, so excess pore pressures develop), the
pressure loading caused by lateral dome expansion causes
fluid overpressures. After Nikolinakou et al. (2012).
∆ pore pressure
(MPa)
18
Plastic zone Underpressure 0

1 km
V.E. × 1 -38

shorten if they are weak enough, as, for example, in imbricate to salt. Elevated pore pressures can play key roles in forming
thrust wedges around the margins of salt sheets. rubble zones or shear zones.
Pore pressures may be elevated next to salt for two reasons. There must be shear between a rising salt diapir and the
First, outward expansion of the dome causes shortening of fixed or subsiding wall rocks. This shear zone is localized in the
adjacent rocks, elevating pore pressures if permeabilities are weakest material, which is the salt under most circumstances.
low (Figure 15.45). Second, beds typically dip radially away However, wall rocks may be weaker than salt if wall rocks are
from salt diapirs, so pore pressures generated in the basin unconsolidated or highly overpressured. If so, then units next
center migrate updip to the salt face. If vertical migration up to the salt may be highly sheared.
the salt face is inhibited, high pore pressures are formed next

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