S. Malloy et al., UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS OF SUBSALT OVERPRESSURE DEVELOPMENT IN OFFSHORE LOUISIANA, GULF-OF-MEXICO, Mathematical geology, 28(6), 1996, pp. 687-699
The confining pressure exerted by the prograding Tertiary clastic wedg
e has caused extensive salt deformation in the Gulf of Mexico. The hig
h rates of lateral salt motion from the Louisiana shelf break to the S
igsbee Escarpment are expected to have significant impact on the dynam
ic evolution of the surrounding sedimentary formations. The evolution
of fluid pressure in supra- and subsalt sediments has been modeled in
a series of pseudo-wells along a profile intersecting numerous salt sh
eers and structures offshore Louisiana. Based upon the estimated rates
of salt has movement, the timing can be determined for insertion/depl
etion of salt in the sediments as the salt has moved through, and by,
sediments on its way basinward. An execution of a series of 1-D fluid/
flow compaction models has enabled estimation of the spatial variation
in overpressure build-up with time; indicating that overpressure unce
rtainty is about 10-20% about a mean of about 40 atmospheres, with unc
ertainties on salt thickness and salt speed roughly comparable in impo
rtance in contributing to the uncertainty. The quantitative behaviors
suggest that the speed of lateral salt insertion and the thickness of
the salt are the main factors causing anomalous overpressure buildup.
A quantification of the dynamic behaviors is significant when modeling
the timing of potential trapping of hydrocarbons beneath salt sheets
and of the subsalt overpressure to be expected in subsalt drilling.