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Understanding the thermal evolution of deep-water continental margins

Nature volume 426, pages 334–343 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Areas of exploration for new hydrocarbons are changing as the hydrocarbon industry seeks new resources for economic and political reasons. Attention has turned from easily accessible onshore regions such as the Middle East to offshore continental shelves. Over the past ten years, there has been a marked shift towards deep-water continental margins (500–2,500 m below sea level). In these more hostile regions, the risk and cost of exploration is higher, but the prize is potentially enormous. The key to these endeavours is a quantitative understanding of the structure and evolution of the thinned crust and lithosphere that underlie these margins.

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Figure 1: Exploration at deep-water margins.
Figure 2: Margin categories in the Atlantic Ocean.
Figure 3: Structure and evolution of extensional margins.
Figure 4: Strain rate and heat flow at margins.
Figure 5: Animated margin evolution.
Figure 6: Structural and thermal maturation offshore of West Africa.
Figure 7: Three-dimensional imaging of an oil field.

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Acknowledgements

We thank K. Gallagher for peer review. S. Jones allowed us to show his unpublished basin animations (Fig. 5). A. Butler, R. Hardy, S. Jones, G. Kirby, D. Lyness, B. Lovell, M. Mayall, T. Minshull and J.-C. Sempere provided substantial help. We are grateful to BP, Sonangol and partners for permission to publish this paper and especially the seismic section and amplitude maps of Fig. 7. Some figures were prepared using GMT.

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Author notes

  1. Nicky White

    Present address: Department of Geology, Trinity College, Dublin, 2, Ireland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Bullard Laboratories, Madingley Rise, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0EZ, UK

    Nicky White

  2. BP Exploration Operating Company Ltd, Compass Point, 79–87 Kingston Road, Knowle Green, Staines, TW18 1DY, Middlesex, UK

    Mark Thompson & Tony Barwise

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Correspondence to Nicky White.

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White, N., Thompson, M. & Barwise, T. Understanding the thermal evolution of deep-water continental margins. Nature 426, 334–343 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02133

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