THE EFFECT OF DEEP EARLY PALEOZOIC FAULTING ON PERMIAN-AGED STRATA WITH SEISMIC ATTRIBUTE ANALYSIS IN ECTOR COUNTY, TEXAS

In West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico, the Permian Basin has been home for decades of oil and gas exploration since the 1920’s. This complex sedimentary foreland basin formed during the development of the Marathon-Ouachita Fold Belt during the collision of Gondwana and Laurentia. As a result, tectonic activity gives an uplift to the Central Basin Platform (CBP) and the subsidence of the Midland and Delaware Basins. These various faults opened migration pathways for hydrocarbons that contributed to the development of the San Andres reservoirs that are known for being on the most producing reservoirs in the Permian Basin. These reservoirs also have a well-known history of production with advancements in technology and production. Previous studies done in San Andres reservoirs in the CBP have shown the results of CO₂ injection for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) within the residual oil zones (ROZ). This has developed further projects involving depleted oil and gas wells to be used for long term CO­₂ storage. We used various seismic attributes representing curvature to observe deep-seated Early Paleozoic faults and the Permian-aged formations to observe possible correlations. We have found lineaments in the Permian-aged formations that were in orientation with the Early Paleozoic faults and last seen visible within the San Andres formation. The lineaments observed represent curvature which can help identify flexures. The extent and connectivity of these flexures can be observed to further understand the possible migration of fluids in oil and gas exploration and long-term CO₂ storage.