Restoration and structural balancing of the Cantarell-Sihil supergiant field

Abstract

The present work provides a series of restored cross-sections of the Cantarell-Sihil folded structure, southeastern Gulf of Mexico. This was done with Petrel software, from an OBC Kirchhoff seismic cube at depth, supported by several random seismic lines, well logs and geological contacts reported in several producing wells in the study area. Based on the seismic interpretation, we used the Move software for the sequential restoration of two sections, one oriented N-S and the other E-W, from the current deformed state to the initial state (Callovian). The results obtained indicate that the development of the Cantarell Ridge took place in three tectonic episodes: 1) A Jurassic to Cretaceous extension event that resulted in the deposition of evaporites of Callovian age and carbonates of variable thickness. Carbonate successions diminish in thickness laterally and reach a minimum atop the salt pillow. This slender succession offered little resistance and buckled under compression during the Tertiary, giving rise to the Sihil fault, which in turn served as a detachment surface for the beginning of the deformation and origin of the Cantarell structure. 2) An Oligocene contraction event of ~4 km occurs, which initiates the Cantarell thrust, prior to the Chiapaneco event. And 3) an extension event during the Pliocene to the Recent evidenced by the initiation of normal faults in the areas adjacent to Cantarell. The final restoration revealed that the initial stages of the deformation of the Cantarell ridge were not associated with the Chiapaneco event as has been suggested in recent years, and that the sedimentary sequence of the Cantarell region had a shortening of approximately 11 km, which influenced the formation of the Cantarell-Sihil supergiant oil field in southeastern Mexico.