To develop high-resolution sequence stratigraphic models to predict the 4-D distribution of reservoir and seal in slope turbidite settings. This will be achieved by detailed sedimentology coupled with the interpretation of key surfaces and stacking patterns.
Structural analysis of the Ceres syntaxis, to understand the partitioning mechanism between the Tanqua and Laingsburg sub-basins and the tectonic control on slope development in the two systems.
Study area:
Permian-aged turbidite complexes of the Karoo Basin, South Africa . Outstanding 3-D exposures of basin floor, slope and siliciclastic shelf deposits, and the Cape Fold Belt on the southern coast of the Western Cape including its northern branch, the Cederberg Mountains.
Deliverables:
Predictive models for the sedimentological and stratigraphic development of basin floor to shelf successions and the spatial/temporal distribution of reservoir and seal facies.
Structural model for the evolution of the Ceres syntaxis, its effect on partitioning the two sub-basins and an understanding of tectonic controls on slope evolution and sediment supply over time.
Datasets on facies proportions, geometries of channel and sheet sands and minimum lengths of shales, concretion horizons, etc.
An objective set of downhole recognition criteria for different facies associations and key surfaces, including spectral gamma-ray characteristics.
Reservoir models rendered onto present day digital topography, showing the 4-D anatomy of the palaeo-slope facies associations and key surfaces.
