Fluid flow in the South Eugene Island area, offshore Louisiana: results ofnumerical simulations

Numerical simulations of heat and fluid transport in the South Eugene Islan d (SEI) area, offshore Louisiana, suggest fluids migrate from deep, abnorma lly pressured sediments, along fault zones, and into overlying oil and gas reservoirs. In the simulations, fluid flow along the fault produces a narro w thermal anomaly around the fault. A negative thermal anomaly forms adjace nt to the thermal maximum when permeable sediments dip away from the fault zone. In the simulations, this negative thermal anomaly dissipates 100-200 years after it forms. The presence of a similar negative thermal anomaly in the SEI area suggests that fluid movement in the area is a recent event. T he observation that the thermal maximum in the study area is not centered a bout the fault zone further suggests that the primary vertical conduit for fluid flow in the SEI area is not a major fault but minor splay faults in t he hanging wall. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.