3D seismic characterisation of the Cantarell Field, Campeche Basin, Mexico

• Main Author: Ricoy-Paramo, Valente
• Published: Cardiff University 2005
• Subjects: 553
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.583545

A detailed 3D seismic investigation coupled with key well data of the Cantarell Field located in the southern Gulf of Mexico was undertaken with the view to developing a seismic-structural framework in order to address the geological features observed in the Cantarell Field. The Cantarell Field hosts a world class petroleum system. The most productive reservoir of the giant Cantarell Field is a complex brecciated and fractured Upper Cretaceous carbonate system that has been interpreted as a response to subaerial exposure and karstification. The 3D seismic interpretation shows the Cantarell area to be intensely deformed by a complex array of thrusts, normal, reverse and strike-slip fault systems that uplifted the Mesozoic carbonate sequences. This work details the structural evolution and shows how the broader understanding of the structural history allows a re-examination of the reservoir model and in particular the development of key fracture sets, that are so critical for the production strategy deployed on the field. From the regional interpretation of seismic lines coupled with key well data a depositional setting is interpreted to have evolved from a shallow ramp during the Jurassic to a scarp dominated platform margin at the end to the Cretaceous. During the Cenozoic the basin underwent significant subsidence and the sedimentation style switched from carbonate dominated to a siliciclastic dominated. The structural interpretation allowed suggesting three main phases of structural deformation, which exhibit evidence of reactivation: (1) Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Early extension, (2) Mid Miocene to Pliocene compression, and (3) Pleistocene to recent mild extension. From the spatial distribution of seismic facies assemblages, this work proposes a polyphase model for the origin of the Upper Cretaceous calcareous breccias: (1) Late Cretaceous sedimentary breccias occurring in a basinal setting as cyclic talus deposits in a carbonate-slope-apron system. (2) During the Neogene structural evolution the area resulted in a complex array of thrusts and fractures which resulted in the development of tectonic breccias occurring at various scales. (3) Subaerial to medium depth karstification related to the Neogene structural evolution of the area which resulted in a thrust controlled uplift of 1000 metres, affecting the breccias situated at the crest of the Akal block. This model has major implications for future field development and the understanding of the fractured reservoir system in this basin.