Introduction
The most important factors behind the generation of hydrocarbons in sedimentary basins are temperature and time. The temperature regime in a basin is affected by various geological processes throughout the history of the basin. This includes processes related to basin geometry, such as basin formation, deposition/erosion of sediments and faulting, and physical processes related to compaction, heat flow and fluid flow.
Hydrocarbon generation potential in many basins is a critical factor in the prospectivity of potential traps. One of the tools used for exploration is a basin modelling program. With increasing geological complexity of relevant sedimentary basins, there is a growing need for basin modelling systems that can handle more of the complex controlling geological processes that lead to the generation and migration of hydrocarbons.
It is particularly important to be able to represent the present geometry of the basin properly and to be able to reconstruct a realistic description of the geometry over geological time. With large errors in the present and palaeo-geometry, simulations of the temperature history and the hydrocarbon generation and migration history will be unreliable.
BMT™
The BMT™ program (BMT™ – Tectonic Modelling of Basins – a trademark of RF-Rogaland Research) comprises a powerful and broadly applicable set of tools for solving exploration problems in basins around the world. BMT™ is an advanced two-dimensional (2-D) basin modelling system with high resolution and structural reconstruction capabilities. The ability to create area balanced cross-sections in environments with normal or reverse faults, and to analyse the interplay between tectonic processes, heat flow and timing of generation and distribution of hydrocarbons in a basin, makes BMT™ a tool for the expert user. Due to the high resolution capabilities, BMT™ also has the power to analyse complex tectonic processes, including salt diapirism and igneous intrusions, and to model the related heat flow response.
BMT™, designed for a Unix environment, has been developed at RF-Rogaland Research by a team of geoscientists, mathematicians and software engineers. Basin modelling development has been underway more or less continuously since 1985. BMT™ was the first commercial system for combining tectonic modelling with the temperature history and hydrocarbon generation modelling in a single integrated program. It is still the only system on the market bridging the gap between structural geology and basin modelling. This is a very important point, because better insight into the tectonic processes responsible for the basin evolution has a direct bearing on the predictive power of basin models.
Processes
BMT™ is used to simulate the geological processes that affect the temperature evolution and hydrocarbon maturation throughout the history of a basin.
This includes the following processes:
- sediment deposition, erosion and compaction;
- structural restoration of normal and reverse fault complexes;
- user-defined restoration of salt geometries;
- isostatic response to sediment loading, erosion and fault movements;
- tectonic response to lithospheric thinning;
- dependence of rock thermal conductivity and heat capacity on mineralogy, porosity and temperature;
- thermal and subsidence effects of magmatic intrusions and underplating;
- heat flow into the basin associated with lithospheric thinning;
- transient (or steady state) heat transport within the basin; and
- thermal maturation of organic matter.
BMT™ can constrain a number of critical parameters in basin, play or prospect assessment. The system is especially well suited for establishing the controls on the subsidence history of the basin and the timing of hydrocarbon generation, but can also provide valuable information on timing of trap formation and possible hydrocarbon migration pathways.
Category:
Geosciences
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