The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin
V. 60. No. 9 (September 1976). P. 1463-1501, 44 Figs.
Plate Tectonics in Oii and Gas Expioration of Continental Margins^
Abstract The hypothesis of multiple crustai plates
floating on viscous material, called asthenosphere,
provides reason for viewing the earth's outer shell or
lithosphere as a dynamic system of shifting continents
and changing ocean basins that has shaped world ge-
ography during the past 200 m.y. concurrent with the
accumulation of roughly 90 percent of the known re-
serves of oil and gas, Plate tectonics offers a powerful
approach to exploring the continental margins (extend-
ing offshore to water depths of 15,000 ft or 4,600 m)
which reasonably could contain more oil and gas than
the land. Relative movements among crustai plates
suggest classification of continental margins (as diver-
gent, convergent, and transform), and discussion of
their origin in the context of structural style, tempera-
ture history, gross stratigraphy (Including source, res-
ervoir, and trap potential), and particularly the time and
place relation of these factors necessary for oii and gas
accumulation.
The formation of divergent, Atlantic-type, margins by
extension tectonics (including continental rifting, crust-
ai subsidence, and seaward tilting) reasonably encour-
ages exploration because high earth temperatures fa-
vorable for generation and expulsion of oil and gas
prevail at the same time and place as shallow-water
sedimentation (that favors the formation of sources,
reservoirs, and traps). Clues to possible oil and gas
provinces buried within or beneath thick carbonate
platforms or thick land-derived sediment include: fossil
rifts or pull-apart basins, peninsula and island spllt-offs,
remnants of tear faults or transverse grabens (aulaco-
gens), reefs, salt or slump-related features, volcanic
rocks, and onlap unconformities with stratigraphic
pinchouts.
Convergent, Pacific-type margins invite exploration
in Cenozoic sediments deposited during the formation
of several basin types that favor oil and gas generation,
expulsion, and accumulation for varied combinations
of reasons. These include rapid, deep burial and sub-
sequent uplift by thrust faulting adjacent to oceanic
trenches, and high earth temperatures associated with
extension faulting in marginal seas of Asian-Pacific
margins.
Continental collision, representing the final stage of
plate convergence, results in extreme contrasts of to-
pography, sedimentation, structure, and oil potential
and In realization that understanding the continental
margins of the present helps in the understanding of
ancient continental margins that now form parts of the
land, including most of the known reserves of oil and
gas.
INTRODUCTION
Present continental margins of the world com-
prise vast frontiers for oil and gas exploration ex-
tending offshore to water depths of 15,000 ft
(4,600 m). This prospective offshore area exceeds
the prospective onshore area already explored
and being produced (Fig. 1).
1463
THOMAS L. THOMPSON^
Tulsa, OI<lahoma 74102
How can we find the greatest concentrations of
economically recoverable oil and gas in this huge
frontier with the least expenditure of time, man-
power, and capital? Fortunately, development of
the plate-tectonics hypothesis is very timely to
help solve this problem by explaining the origins
of continental margins, and thereby suggesting
guidelines for oil and gas exploration.
Concepts of Plate Tectonics
The hypothesis of multiple crustai plates float-
ing on a viscous layer called asthenosphere, pro-
vides reason for viewing the earth's outer shell or
lithosphere as a system of shifting continents and
changing ocean basins (Figs. 2, 3). Plate tectonics
includes the related concepts of sea-floor spread-
ing, lithospheric subduction, continental drift,
continental collision, and transform faulting.
These dynamic processes have shaped the chang-
ing scene of world geography during the past 180
m.y., coincident with the time of accumulation of
approximately 90 percent of the known reserves
of oil and gas in the world.
Sea-floor spreading—Interpretation of magnetic
Uneations in oceanic areas and dating of oldest
sedimentary material overlying basaltic litho-
sphere have led to conclusions that the present
ocean basins are quite young and that new ocean-
ic crust forms by upwelling of basalt along ocean-
ic ridges in a process called sea-floor spreading
(Hess, 1962; Vine and Matthews, 1963; Vine,
1969). Thus, progressively older trends of basaltic
©Copyright 1976. The American Association of Petroleum
Geologists. All rights reserved.
'Manscripl received, March 27, 1975; accepted. February 12,
1976. This paper was presented as an AAPG Distinguished
Lecture at 50 localities in North America during October 1973
to May 1974; in part at the Circum-Pacific Energy and Mineral
Resources Conference. Honolulu. Hawaii, in August 1974; at
the Cairo Fourth Exploration Seminar. November 1974; as a
public lecture sponsored by Amoco International in Portugal,
Angola, Pakistan. Thailand. Taiwan, and Japan during
November and December 1974; in part at the AAPG Annual
Meeting in Dallas. April 1975; as a keynote at Exploration
Update '75. in Calgary. May 1975; and finally in Singapore,
Jakarta, and Manila during February 1976.
^Visiting Professor of Geology. University of Oklahoma
(formerly Research Associate. Amoco Production Company,
Tulsa).
The author appreciates the Input of many colleagues and the
support of Amoco management in the preparation and
presentation of this paper.
1464 Thomas L. Thompson

"^"•^1 SHtUaW IH'EII 10 MO FT ) •MO.OOI SO Ml.

I--, yn m w D K -ajKHiiaa so MI
• • DEEP WtTER .600 15000 r i 20 000 000 SO Ml
Mttr Kdilni at lul. VH
FIG. 1—Areal extent .it oil and gas prospectivitv of world.

FIG. 2 - Dvnamic earth model.

 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration
FIG. 3—System of shifting continenls and changini; ocean basins
lithosphere are present with increasing distance
from the spreading trends (Fig. 4). Although !,ev-
eral hundred holes have been sampled since 1968
by the Gtomar Challenger in the deep-sea drilling
program, the oldest known oceanic lithosphere
apparently is less than 195 m.y- old. Thus. 60 per-
cent of the earth's present surface formed since
Triassic time.
Lithospheric subduction—Unless one postulates
a rapidly expanding earth (60 percent since Trias-
sic time), then the formation of new lithosphere
implies an equal rate of lithospheric destruction
or underthrusting of one lithospheric plate be-
neath another. Lithospheric subduction reason-
ably takes place along the trends of deep oceanic
trenches, andesitic volcanoes, and trends of deep
earthquakes, all of which characterize the Pacific
Ocean margins.
1465
Conlineniul ilrlfi and conunenlat collision—The
absence of lithospheric subduction between some
sea-floor spreading trends and the adjacent conti-
nents (as in the Atlantic Ocean) implies continen-
tal drift to accommodate the generation of new
oceanic crust. On a nonexpanding earth, conti-
nental drift ultimately may result in continental
collision, wherein the intervening oceanic crust
has been subducted and oceans are drained by
deformation and uplift of ihe converging conti-
nental margins.
Transform faulting—In defining this special
class of faulting, Wilson (1965) implied transfor-
mation of one sense of movement to another, for
example, the transformation of lateral slip (along
a strike-slip fault) to dip-slip (along a normal or
reverse fault). The development of the plate-tec-
tonics hypothesis since 1965 has brought about
1466 Thomas L. Thompson

"IT

6d

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• III
• • •

t/5
!

«/» O
 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration
the widespread use of the term, transform fault-
ing, in discussion of movement parallel with the
boundaries of adjacent segments of lithosphere
on ocean ridges (Fig. 4) and movement parallel
with the boundaries of adjacent lithospheric
plates, as along the margin of Pacific North
America (Fig. 5).
Useful in the development of plate tectonics
and related concepts are: Wegener (1924),
Du Toit (1937), Hess (1962), Wilson (1965), Tak-
euchi et al (1967). Dewey and Bird (1970), Dewey
(1972), Le Pichon et al (1973), and a series o'f
symposium volumes (Blackett et al, 1965; Max-
well et al, 1970; Bird and Isacks, 1972; Shagam et
al, 1972; Wilson et al, 1972; Tarlmg and Run-
corn, 1973). Since 1968, these concepts have been
supported strongly by data of the JOIDES (Joint
Oceanographic Institute Deep Earth Sampling)
expeditions and accepted widely by the scientific
community.
Classification of Plate Boundaries and
Continental Margins
The worldwide distribution of earthquakes sug-
gests breaking of the lithosphere into a mosaic of
semirigid plates that move relative to each other
(Fig. 5). This provides the basis for classifying
plate boundaries and continental margins as di-
vergent, convergent, and transform. In essence,
extension faults, compression faults, and strike-
slip faults occur on a crustal scale, respectively
characterizing divergent, convergent, and trans-
form plate boundaries and continental margins.
The world distribution of continental-margin
types based on plate tectonics shows a present
dominance of divergent margins around the At-
lantic Ocean, a dominance of convergent margins
around the Pacific Ocean, and a complex distri-
bution of margin types around the Indian Ocean
(Fig. 6).
The indicated transform margins imply domi-
nance of strike-slip faulting in transformation
from one sense of displacement to another; how-
ever, the transformations nearly always include
components of divergence or convergence. For
example, along Pacific North America, the trans-
formation from divergence at the East Pacific
Rise to convergence in the western Gulf of Alas-
ka includes the prominent San Andreas strike-slip
fault system of California and the equally promi-
nent Fairweather strike-slip fault system of south-
east Alaska. A combination of strike-slip and di-
vergence is expressed by the split-off of Baja
California from North America to form the Gulf
of California. Combinations of strike-slip and
convergence are expressed by the formation of
the Transverse Ranges in southern California and
1467
the transition from (he I ,iir'.weather fault system
to the .Aleutian fault s\slciii in the nt)rthern Ciulf
of Alaska. In this report, transform movements
are discussed in the context of either divergent or
convergent systems. In fact, oblique-slip diver-
gence and oblique-slip convergence may domi-
nate most plate interactions.
The relative effects of crusial divergence versus
crustal convergence reasonably explain the strong
contrasts between Atlantic and Pacific Ocean
margins. Although in convergent systems conti-
nental margins generally coincide with plate
boundaries, in divergent systems the continental
margins move progressively farther away from
the plate margin as new oceanic crust forms.
Thus, divergent margins in midplate positions of
the Atlantic Ocean contrast with convergent mar-
gins in plate-edge positions in the Pacific Ocean.
Objective
My discussion is intended to characterize con-
tinental margins of the world from the viewpoint
of plate tectonics with reference to the predicta-
bility of those geologic factors necessary for oil
and gas generation and accumulation. Although
the stratigraphic factors of oil and gas source and
reservoir potential are included in the discussion,
emphasis is placed on the crustal tectonics related
to the heat necessary for oil and gas generation,
and the structural styles that would influence the
migration and trapping of oil and gas, particular-
ly on the time and place relations of these several
factors.
DIVERGENT CONTINENTAL MARGINS
Prominent continental rises, gentle continental
slopes (1 to 3°), broad continental shelves, and
broad coastal plains characterize the morphology
of divergent margins of extended ocean basins
such as those around the Atlantic Ocean. Howev-
er, various geographic localities, when considered
collectively, suggest a time sequence of stages in
the formation of divergent continental margins
(Fig. 6).
Tectonic Formation of Divergent Margins
The divergent-margin sequence begins with
tectonic upwarp, rifting, and volcanism, as in
eastern Africa (stage I), progresses through early
sea-floor spreading represented by the Red Sea
and the Gulf of Aden (stage II), to the extended
ocean stage represented by the equatorial Atlan-
tic (stage III). As new ocean basins extend by
addition of new oceanic crust along spreading
trends, the divergent continental margins move
progressively farther away from the accreting-
plate margin. Passive subsidence with essentially
1468 Thomas L. Thompson

I ° ^ t 8 !g O I

O
[I!
 90° \f.Cfi 150° ISO" 150" 120

i
(D
O

S"
3
o"
w

O
o
3
mm

5"
3

I
MARGIN TYPES ^ ^ CONTINENTAL RIFT CENOZOIC
I
DIVERGENT ^ ^ - S P R E A D I N G RIDGES CRUST O
3

SUBDUCTION ZONE S OCEAN

mCONVERGENT
-•.5!£)DEEP EARTHQUAKES
TRANSFORM TRANSFORM FAULTS
FIG. 6—Classification of continental margins based on plate tectonics.
1470
T " i
K P L A NATION
EARThflUAKt EPICENTERS
15° h - ^ - -h. -^
EARTHQUAKE MECHANISMS
RIDGE CREST
FIG. 7—Ridge-ridge transform faults in South Atlantic
(after Sykes, 1967).
no earthquakes or volcanism characterizes diver-
gent continental margins, except in the rift and
early sea-floor-spreading stages.
Areal extension fau/ling—Parallelism of the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge with continental margins on
opposing sides of the Atlantic Ocean suggests
origination of the ridge in its present segmented
form broken by fracture zones perpendicular to
the ridge segments (Fig. 6). Otherwise, if the
spreading segments had formed an unbroken
ridge, the continental margins would have experi-
enced tremendous distortion in order to account
for known age distributions of oceanic crust and
still maintain parallelism with the Mid-Altantic
FIG. 8—Three-stage model of rifting and sea-floor spreading (modified after Heezen. I960;
Dewev and Bird, 1970).
Thomas L. Thompson
Ridgc. Such distiirliiHis it hi.- continental mar-
gins are not apparent; laiiur, the fracture /.ones
tend to terminate at continental margins or short
distances inland.
Fracture zones that cut across the ridge crest
between adjacent spreading segments are termed
ridge-ridge transform faults. These faults localize
most earthquakes associated with sea-floor
spreading. First-motion studies by Sykes (1967)
demonstrate that displacements along these trans-
form faults are in the opposite sense to the offset
of adjacent ridge segments of sea-floor spreading
(Fig. 7). This seems reasonable with the recogni-
tion that new oceanic crust moves outward from
each spreading ridge segment in both directions
perpendicular to the ridge.
Fracture trends extending beyond current
spreading-ridge segments remain as fossil evi-
dence of earlier strike-slip displacements along
transform faults and lead to a postulate that ini-
tial continental breakup includes strike-slip fault-
ing, as well as crustal rifting (normal faulting that
allows upwelling of magma from the astheno-
sphere). The rectilinear pattern formed by this
areal extension faulting suggests control by preex-
isting, orthogonal fracturing, known to character-
ize continental crust in general (Gay, 1973).
Upwarp and rifling (siagc I)—The characteris-
tics of stage I in the formation of divergent conti-
nental margins include formation of basaltic
magma in the upper asthenosphere, thinning of
 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration 1471

V
3Cf

??

CENOZWC V0LC4NIC6

mm PRECAMBRIAN a?"

f l l l l '^'"^^s:.i^.
500 Ml r , . " . ^ ' V ' - - - ; .-,v\

'•'-:"-!x'- /
500 KM

Itlftpte^'
IK^^a^

s,«»,

FIG. 9—Tectonic features associated with divergent trends m East Africa and Red Sea area.

the overlying lithosphere (probably by plastic
flow in the lower part and areal extension faulting
in the upper part), broad tectonic upwarp, and
volcanism at the surface of the earth (Fig. 8).
Two reasonable causes have been recognized
for the formation of basaltic magmas and the ap-
parently related lithospheric thinning and tecton-
ic upwarp. Formation of basaltic magma may re-
sult from increased temperatures caused by con-
centrations of radioactive minerals in the deeper
earth; this is the "hot-spot" theory of Wilson (see
Jacobs et al, 1974), which presumes that lithos-
pheric thinning results directly from the forma-
tion of magma. Alternatively, basaltic magma
may result from pressure reduction on the asthe-
nosphere caused by areal-extension faulting (and
1472 Thomas L. Thompson

NORTHERN RED SEA

WEST EAST

WEST SOUTHERN RED SEA EAST

FIG. 10—Seismic-reflection profiles across northern and southern Red Sea areas
(from Phillips and Ross. 1970).

therefore thinning) of the overlying lithosphere.
As in the hot-spot theory, tectonic upwarp would
result directly from the volume increase repre-
sented by the change from solid rock to basaltic
magma. In contrast to the hot-spot theory, how-
ever, tectonic thinning would cause formation of
basaltic magma rather than be a result of it.
Continental rifting and sea-floor spreading rea-
sonably are initiated by broad areal extension of
the lithosphere. This conclusion is suggested by
the apparent absence of compressive structures in
the hthosphere all the way from the eastern foot-
hills of the Andes Mountains, across the Mid-At-
lantic Ridge and Africa to the Persian Gulf. Per-
haps radioactive hot spots cause points of
weakness in the lithosphere, thus localizing litho-
spheric thinning and rift formation in the broader
context of lithosphere in extension.
Early sea-floor spreading (stage II)—Continued
lithospheric thinning by plastic flow and area ex-
tension faulting eventually results in collapse of
the tectonic upwarp over magma blisters. The
process of sea-floor spreading begins with separa-
tion of the continental lithosphere, transgression
of ocean water, and upwelling of basaltic magma
to the earth's surface as oceanic lithosphere. High
temperatures associated with trends of sea-floor
spreading proceed from magma at shallow depths
beneath spreading oceanic ridges (Langseth,
1969).
Subsided margins (stage III)—Tectonic subsi-
dence in the formation of divergent continental
margins may range up to 40,000 ft (12,000 m),
depending on several factors. Assuming isostatic
balance, the controls for subsidence include the
amount of thinning of continental crust, in-
creased density due to cooling of new oceanic
crust as it moves away from spreading trends to
form deep ocean floor (Sclater et al, 1971), and
the amount of loading by sediment influx from
the adjacent continents.
Shallow-Water Sediments and High
Temperatures of New Ocean Basins
Initiation of sea-floor spreading from continen-
tal rifting may have special significance for petro-
leum exploration because high earth temperatures
(that favor generation of oil and gas) are present
concurrently with shallow-water deposition of
sediments that favor the formation of sources,
reservoirs, and seals for petroleum. Thus, we can
anticipate black (euxinic) muds for source, shore-
line sands and carbonate reefs for reservoirs, and
evaporites for seals. This same combination of
source, earth heat, reservoir, and seal may lie sub-
sided under continental margins of extended
ocean basins, buried by an influx of sediment
from the adjacent continents.
Rifl trends in east Africa and Red Sea—The dis-
tribution of Precambrian rock illustrates the
 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration
FIG. 11—Tectonic features of northern Red Sea region (photograph from
Apollo 7).
broad, tectonic upwarps that characterize initial
extension of continents where Cenozoic volcanic
rocks demonstrate magmatic upwelling (Fig. 9).
The suggestion of high earth temperature was ver-
ified in the southern Red Sea where deep drilling
encountered temperatures of 500°F (260°C) at a
depth of 8,000 ft (2,438 m) in rocks of Miocene
age. This deep drilling recovered small amounts
of gas as the only evidence of petroleum, which
presumably would have been destroyed within a
few million years by such high temperatures.
Reflection-seismic profiles suggest a less ad-
vanced stage of rifting in the northern Red Sea
when compared with the southern (Fig. 10). A
deep rift with no sediment cover marks the hot
southern Red Sea where magmas apparently
welled up to the ocean bottom during early sea-
floor spreading. In contrast, the northern Red Sea
shows essentially unbroken sediment cover
draped over tilted fault blocks in a broad down-
warp. A "just right" earth-temperature history
may help to explain association of commercial
petroleum with this northern Red Sea region.
Prospectivity of fossil rifts suggested by oil and
gas in Gulf of Suez—Conditions favorable for oil
and gas generation without destruction may pre-
vail in areas adjacent to primary rifts, in those
1473
areas still in the earlier stages of rifting, or in ar-
eas of fossil rifting that have cooled appreciably
during subsequent sedimentation.
The giant El Morgan field was discovered in
the Gulf of Suez which may be interpreted as a
fossil rift with high paleotemperatures (Fig. 11).
The distribution of Precambrian terrain demon-
strates a broad tectonic upwarp that characterizes
continental rifting and early stage sea-floor
spreading. Transform faulting along the Gulf of
Aqaba has allowed widening of the Red Sea rela-
tive to the Gulf of Suez. Thus, the Gulf of Suez
remains as a fossil of an older rift with marine
sedimentation but apparently without upwelling
of magma to the ocean bottom. Production at El
Morgan comes from intcrbedded sandstones and
evaporites of Miocene age that have been draped
over tilted fault blocks (Fig. 12). The carboniza-
tion level of disseminated organic matter indi-
cates paleotemperatures somewhat higher than at
present.
Fossil rifts and petroleum in Africa, Europe, and
North Atlantic—The idea of fossil rifts being pro-
spective for oil and gas accumulation may apply
to the Sirte basin of North Africa, the North Sea
basin, and the rifted margins of extended ocean
basins in general (Fig 13). Determination of the
 1474 Thomas L. Thompson

GULF OF SULi,
EL MORGAN FIELD
GULF OF AOABA-

• • SEDIMENT COVER
UJ PRECAMBRIAN BASEMENT L . '? i°

FIG. 12—Structural profile across Gulf of Suez-northern Red Sea area

(Base Map from Nation a

Geographic 1968)

(CiHOIOiC ^
IMESOZOIC
PRE-ME$OZO(C ^ PETROLEUM
RJFTS E3PALE0-NEAT TREND ^>J/
FIG. 13—Fossil rifts and petroleum accumulations in Africa. Europe and North Atlantic.
 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration 1475

F I G . 14 Divergent triple junction in E-.ast Africa (modified after McKensie. 1970).

1476 Thomas L. Thompson

1. UPWARP 2. FRACTURE

i*-;' f

3. GRABEN 4. SPREADING
FIG. 15—Sequence of formation of divergent triple junctio
 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration 1477

most prospective segments of divergciil ni,irgins

requires understanding of the tectonic mecha-
nisms involved in continental breakup.
Divergent triple junctions and aulacogens The
Afar terrain of eastern Africa, the Niger delta re-
gion of western Africa, and the Arbuckle-Ouachi-
ta region of Oklahoma may represent successive
stages of the same tectonic process related re-
spectively to new ocean basins (divergent triple
junction), expanded ocean basins (aulacogen del-
la), and continental collision (southern Oklahoma
aulacogen).
First-motion studies on earthquakes in eastern
Africa suggest that three plates (Arabian, Nubian,
and Somalian) are moving away from the point of
intersection of three earthquake trends (Fig. 14),
The sequence of events leading to the present in-
cluded tectonic upwarp, fracture, graben forma-
tion, and early sea-floor spreading (Fig. 15).
Matching coastlines across the Gulf of Aden
support the suggestion that Arabia has moved
away from Africa (Fig. 16). The Afar terrain ap-
pears to block the restoration of Arabia against
Africa. However, basalts younger than the rifting
apparently comprise most of the Afar terrain. The
Gulf of Tajura appears as a small embayment 16—EarK stage sea-floor spreading in East Africa
projecting into the Afar terrain, opposite the iCJcniini II)
southwest corner of Arabia.
The serrated margins in the Gulf of Tajura ap-
parently result from areal extension faulting (Fig. those along the nit trends of the Afar triple junc-
17), including northwest-trending normal faults, tion (compare F-igs. 9. 19. inset). While sediment
and east-northeast-trending fracture zones, map- was being eroded from the tectonic upwarp and
ped by Backer et al (1973). Although probably deposited in a graben system forming along the
buried by the influx of sediment during subsi- rift trend, sea water apparently encroached from
dence, this same pattern of extension faulting rea- the west and the south, evaporites formed as ir-
sonably characterizes the margins of extended regular patches, perhaps isolated by rugged ter-
ocean basins in general. rain along transform faults. With further crustal
The northerly-trending lineations and white ar- extension, basaltic magmas welled up in the for-
eas that appear on Figure 17, on closer examina- mation of new oceanic lithosphere. The Benue
tion, can be recognized as basaltic flows broken trough was left as the sediment-filled fossil arm
by normal faults with evaporites in grabens (F'ig. (aulacogen) of the Niger triple junction from
18). This might be described as oceanic crust which the Niger delta prograded onto cooling and
without the ocean, although much of the terrain subsiding sea floor.
extends below sea level. Heat residual from the cooling crust at the Ni-
The separation of Africa from South America ger triple junction may account for the generation
in Early Cretaceous time apparently involved a and expulsion of petroleum in Tertiary sediments
divergent triple junction in the Niger delta region of the Niger delta. L niested Cretaceous objec-
(Fig. 19). By analogy with the Afar triple junc- tives associated with evaporites can be antici-
tion, the Benue trough was similar to the East pated beneath the Niger delta, perhaps within
African rift, the prominent transform faulting in reach of the drill along the periphery of the delta
the equatorial Atlantic was similar to the trans- and within the Benue triiugh.
form faulting in the Gulf of Aden, the South At- The southern Oklahoma aulacogen, as defined
lantic seaway was similar to the Red Sea, and the by the Russian geologist Shatski (in Wickham et
hump of Brazil was similar to the corner of Ara- al, 1975). parallels Precambrian trends and ex-
bia. The distribution of Precambrian rocks along tends 450 km into the Mid-Continent from its
the restored rift trends of the Niger triple junction junction with the Ouachita foldbelt in southeast-
suggests the same type of tectonic upwarps as ern Oklahoma. The histor\ of the aulacogen in-
1478 Thomas L. Thompson

FIG. 17—Areal extension faulting during early stage continental break-up in East Africa (Apollo
9).
 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration
EVAPORITES
Areal extension of basalt terrain hv normal faulting m East .Africa (photograph by Haroun Tazieff).
eludes three stages: a rifting stage from latest Pre-
cambrian through Middle Cambrian time; a sub-
siding stage from Late Cambrian through Early
Devonian time; and a deforming stage from Late
Devonian to Early Permian time. The rifting
stage was dominated by mafic intrusions and ex-
trusions, followed by silicic igneous activity.
Cambrian faulting suggests that the early aulaco-
gen was a graben with uplifted flanks. During the
subsidence stage, the aulacogen accumulated 5 to
10 times more shallow-water sediment than adja-
cent areas. The deformational stage was dominat-
ed by large vertical displacements which formed
the Anadarko, Marietta, and Ardmore basins,
and the Wichita, Criner, and Arbuckle uplifts.
Left-slip displacements are indicated by offset fa-
des boundaries, as well as fold axes which trend
at an acute angle to the faults. Deformation with-
in the aulacogen may be related genetically to a
collision which formed the Ouachita Mountains
and deformed the continental margin of early Pa-
leozoic time. Oil and gas production in southern
Oklahoma comes mostly from sandstones and
1479
carbonates deposited during the subsiding stage
from Late Cambrian through Early Devonian
time.
The margins of extended ocean basins include
other possible remnants of divergent triple junc-
tions with potential exploration objectives in au-
lacogens, prograded deltas, and subsided pull-
apart basins. Features possibly related to diver-
gent triple junctions include the Cuanza delta of
offshore Angola, the Congo delta, Amazon delta,
Zambezi delta off southeast Africa, Godevari
trough of eastern India. Gulf of St. Lawrence,
Georgia embayment, and Mississippi embayment
(see Burke and Dewey, 1973).
Pull-apart basins and island splil-offs—Oil and
gas productive basins of eastern Brazil and west-
ern Africa represent multiple-graben formation
(pull-apart) in the separation of South America
from Africa along the south-trending arm of the
Niger triple junction (Fig. 19). The Reconcavo
basin produces most of Brazil's oil and gas where
normal faults demonstrate areal extension of the
lithosphere. Oil production is associated with
 00
o

RIFTS
3-
O
3
V)

3-
O
3
</)
O
3

PRECAMBRIAN
HOCKS

PAieOZCMC ROGCS

EARLY CRi
FIG. 19—Tectonic mechanisms of crustal extension at divergent continental margins (after Burke et al, 1971).
 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploratior 1481

Uj

10 50
DISTANCE IN IVIIL£S
FIG. 20—Pull-apart basin in Mozambique Channel. East Africa, travel time is two
way (Lamont Geological Observatory. 1970).

FIG. 21—Areal extension faulting in southern California and Mexico (Apollo 9).
1482 Thomas L. Thompson

FIG. 22—Locations where shallow-water rocks were recovered from deep water under subsided margins
of extended .icean basins (cores from JOIDES)

Cretaceous evaporites under the Gabon shelf.
Giant-field reserves associated with Cretaceous
evaporites have been established under several
hundred feet of water offshore Cabinda. More
deeply subsided margins of Africa (such as Ango-
la) and opposing Brazil may include unexplored
pull-apart basins with oil and gas potential.
Island (and peninsula) split-offs, such as Mada-
gascar, Tasmania, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and Baja
California, form distinctive features of divergent
margins, perhaps resulting from pull-apart with a
dominant strike-slip component of displacement
or from rift cross-trends. Huge grabens under the
Mozambique channel demonstrate pull-apart
(Fig. 20), but the distribution of continental frag-
ments (Madagascar and the Seychelles-Mauritius
Ridge) relative to Africa, India, and the Carlsberg
oceanic ridge suggests strong left-slip component
of displacement. Cretaceous tar sands on the west
coast of Madagascar may reflect former high
earth temperatures associated with a triple junc-
tion at the mouth of the Zambezi River. Sri Lan-
ka may have rifted away from India in a fashion
similar to Madagascar from Africa. Unexplored
Palk Strait (between India and Sri Lanka) may
have had a high thermal history favorable for oil
and gas generation.
Oil-prolific Bass Strait between the southeast
corner of Australia and Tasmania apparently re-
sults from complex displacements on strike-slip,
normal, and transform faults during separation of
Australia from Antarctica and the Lord Howe-
New Zealand Ridge (Elliott. 1972). Shallow-water
rocks have subsided and trend eastward under
unexplored deep-water margins of the Tasman
Sea.
Right-slip displacements apparently dominate
the Pliocene to recent rifting of Baja California
away from the North American mainland (Fig.
21). High temperatures at spot locations in the
Gulf of California and Imperial Valley reason-
ably reflect penetration of magma high in the
lithosphere along short-spreading trends that join
transform faults (Elders et al, 1972).
Extension mechanisms active in Miocene time
with associated basalt formation and heat may
help to explain the generation and accumulation
of giant oil and gas fields of the Los Angeles ba-
sin and lead to new discoveries offshore, on the
southern California borderland.
 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration
Thick Sediments of Extended Ocean Basins
Sediment thickness i)n the subsided niargnis of
extended ocean basins ranges up to 40.01)0 ft (12,
000 m). depending on the several tectonic factors
noted previously. Although extension faulting
reasonably characterizes the basement structure
of divergent margins in general, the character of
the sediment sequence provides variability which
leads to classification.
Evidence of subsidence—Cores of shallow-water
rocks recovered by deep-sea drilling demonstrate
the tremendous subsidence related to the forma-
tion of divergent continental margins and suggest
that extensive regions once were in shallow water
or above sea level (Fig. 22). Lagoon deposits and
reefs of Paleocene age were sampled under 5,000
ft (1,500 m) of water in the Indian Ocean. Non-
marine Jurassic and overlying black shales of
Cretaceous age came from under 7,000 ft (2,500
m) of water on the Falkland plateau. Cretaceous
coquina came from 7,000 ft of water at the flank
of the Rio Grande Ridge, southeast of Brazil. .Al-
SEA l£VEL
lOKM- TimiiiLmiiilijili i j n . i i j l u n i r i f n f a
sob KM
CARBONATES
S^^
SEA LEVEL-
tOKW-
SEA LEVEL
10 KM
SEA LEVEL-
IO KM-
COMTINCNTAl CRUST
500 KM
FIG. 23—Types of margins present in extended ocean basins (after Beck. 1972).
1483
gal limestone '>f prc-Vliocene tige come from
6,000 ft (2.000 111. oi A.Iter northeast of Brazil.
Nonmannc Creldccous locks came from Orphan
Knoll undei 6.()0() ft ol i\aler east of Newfound-
land. Reefs of E^arh ( reiaceous age were cored at
depths of 6,000 ft in the Gulf of Mexico, thus
suggesting a shallow-water origin for Jurassic
evaporites there.
Classification ol extended ocean margins—Sub-
sided margins of extended ocean basins generally
fit into one of four types (or a combination of
these types) that depend on the relative signifi-
cance of land-derived sediment, carbonate depos-
its, slump faulting, and evaporites (Fig. 23). Con-
trols for the preceding characteristics, for variable
patterns of unconformities, and for the relative
amounts of shallow-water versus deep-water sedi-
ment on these divergent margins include the rates
of sediment input, the rates of tectonic subsi-
dence, and eustatic changes m sea level.
Suggestions of oil and gas prospectivity—Oil
shows on Challenger Knoll in the deep Gulf of
Mexico stirred interest in deep-water exploration
CLASTIC
OCEANIC CHUST \
1000 KM
CAtaONATf
PIATPOKM
MAJtXDtLTA
WITH
GKAVITY PMJiriNG
' OCEANIC CRUST-
lood
1484 Thomas L. T h o m p s o n

100 MILES »- 10 MILES

SEISMIC PROFILE STRUCTURE SECTION

FIG. 24—Locatton and section of JOIDES core hole with oil shows on Challenger Knoll in deep Gulf of Mexico
(after Ewing et al, 1969).

-25 miles-
WATER DEPTH
11 - . - ! - '

FIG. 25—Prospective structures with thick sediment in deep Gulf of Mexico.

 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration
in 1968, when oil-saturated cap rock from a salt
dome was recovered from a few hundred feel be-
low the ocean bottom in 11.720 ft (3,572 m) of
water (Fig. 24). Challenger Knoll (about 10 mi or
16 km in diameter) shows on the seismic profile
as a small bump on the ocean bottom above a
sediment-buried piercement feature, interpreted
as a salt dome.
JOIDES coring in 1969 (site 9) penetrated sand
turbidites of Miocene age as evidence of reservoir
potential under deep water (Fig. 25): the Kane
Surveys of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Geological
Survey revealed salt domes and thick sediment
under virtually the entire Gulf of Mexico (Fig.
26). The unexplored area in the Gulf of Mexico
exceeds the explored area by at least 10 times.
The Blake Plateau, east of Florida, illustrates a
subsided carbonate platform with a prospective
reef (Fig. 27). Deep-water sediment above shal-
low-water sediment on the Blake Plateau (where
the rate of sedimentation did not keep pace with
tectonic subsidence) contrasts with continuous
shallow-water sedimentation on the Bahama
Banks where sedimentation did keep pace with
tectonic subsidence.
The continental margins of New Jersey, south-
eastern Canada (Laurentian cone), and western
France (Bay of Biscay), respectively, illustrate a
possible extension fault (Fig. 28), salt-related
structures (Figs. 28, 29), and a stratigraphic
SALT
X I *- ^ I f .-f
FIG. 26—Areal extent of deep-water oil and gas potential in Gulf of Mexico (after Meek, 1973).
1485
pinchout (Fig. 30), funned in thick, land-derived
sediment under the sontiiiental rise. Recognizing
the subsidence hislors of such divergent margins
suggests a shallow-watei origin for much of the
sediment sequence, now under deep water.
CoNVERGF.N r C O M iNE\ I \i, MAR{;INS AND
COLLISIONS
Because the earth forms a sphere, divergence of
continents away from trends of sea-floor spread-
ing implies convergence of continents and the
prospect of continental collisions elsewhere (as-
suming no significant expansion of the earth). As-
suming 60 percent of the earth's present litho-
sphere formed by sea-floor spreading within the
past 195 m.v. since Triassic time, then 60 percent
must have been consumed and continental colli-
sion somewhere would be assured.
Tectonic Formation of Convergent Margins
The characteristics of Pacific and northeast In-
dian Ocean margins seem consistent with the idea
of lithospheric-plate convergence and subduction.
These characteristics include deep oceanic
trenches, steep continental slopes (3 to 30°), nar-
row continental shelves and coastal plains, the
uplift of marine sediment as island or mountain
trends, and the formation of andesitic volcanoes.
Isostatic gravity lows along the continental slopes
suggest dynamic downwarp of the oceanic crust
LAYERED SEDIMENT
1486 Thomas L. Thompson

FIG. 27—Section across subsided carbonate platform. Blake Plateau. F lorida.

(OOO'S)
FEET
SiA LtvEL -0

'r ce?iio2oic IIM^"

^5
SAIT ?

60 MILES

FIG. 28—Section across detrital continental rise, New Jersey.

 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration 1487

0 1 5
SCALE IN MILES
FIG. 29—Section across possible salt sir l l C t l l re in ihick sedimem und c! , ;i jit'n'ian cone ot
• tern Can,:ida.

8Ay Of BISCfiV
(Stride et a I 1969)

WATER DEPTH
2 5 0 0 FEET '/

THICKHESS
/' 3,000' I Minimum)
a ^ a ^ ^ ^ ^ k ^ - * ^ ^ n CRETACEOUS

FIG. 30—Stratigraphic pinchout under continental slope of western France (after Stride et al, 1969).
1488 Thomas L. Thompson

^ - ^ SOLID MANTLE
FIG, 31-- Types of convergenl ni.irgms present in Asian-Pacifn .mil Andean region.

(Vening Meinesz, 1934; Bowin. 1972; Grow.
1973). Distribution of shallow, intermediate, and
deep-focus earthquakes along an inclined plane
which proceeds landward from the trench sug-
gests underthrusting (Benioff. 1955; Isacks el al.
1968; Stauder, 1968).
Contraction of Pacific basin and rates of margin
convergence—Assuming a balance of crustal for-
mation and destruction in the Indian Ocean, then
the area of the Pacific Ocean is assumed to be
contracting at a rate roughly equal to the exten-
sion of the Atlantic Ocean basin. In essence, the
amount of subduction along Pacific convergent
margins must balance the amount of new crust
being generated along ihe Hast Pacific Rise, plus
the Mid-Altantic Ridge. Estimates of conver-
gence rates in the Pacific basin range up to 4 in.
(10 cm) per year (Lc Pichon. 1968). or 140 mi (224
km) in the last 2 m.\.
Andean versus Asian-Pacific convergent mar-
gins—Convergent margins consist of two types
repre.sented by the Pacific margin of South Amer-
ica (Andean), and the Pacific margin of Asia
(Asian-Pacific). In contrast to the Andean con-
vergent margin, where reverse faulting is a promi-
nent feature inland from the trend of andesitic
volcanoes, the .Asian-Pacific convergent margin
includes normal faulting and the formation of

\K>LCmC RfDGE
BLOCK FAULT BASIMS j THRUST FAULT BASINS

C3 CENOZOIC mB METAMCmPNlC
^MESOZOIC ESI IGNEOUS
FIG. 32—Elements of western Pacific convergent margins
 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin ExploratiO'i
FIG. 33—Diagrammatic section showing subsurface temperaluns .ii con-
vergent margins (after Sugimura and t.\e(la, I*'"'.'*;
small ocean basins on the landward side of the
andesitic volcano trends (Fig. 31).
Two contrasting tectonic trends along Asian-Pa-
cific margins—The continental margins between
the Asian and Pacific plates include two contrast-
ing tectonic trends on opposite sides of the ande-
sitic volcano trend (Fig. 32). Thrust-fault basins
under continental slopes adjacent to deep oceanic
trenches contrast with block-fault basins general-
ly under the small ocean basins on the landward
side of the andesitic volcanoes. However, com-
plications in this apparently simple relation arise
from time-sequential changes in the angle of con-
vergence between plates.
Oil and Gas Along Block-Fault Trends of
Asian-Pacific Convergent Margins
Plate convergence in the western Pacific appar-
ently distorts the distribution of earth heat, such
that the isotherms in general are depressed be-
neath trenches, and elevated beneath the trend of
volcanoes and the trend of block-fault basins
(Fig. 33). The high temperatures proceed from
basalt magmas known to well up in these "back-
ridge" regions (Karig, 1974).
High-temperature association of oil and gas with
block-fault-basin trend—Indonesia includes sever-
al giant oil and gas accumulations associated with
high earth temperatures along the block-fault-ba-
sin trend (Fig. 34). The giant Minas field in cen-
tral Sumatra and recent discoveries in the Java
Sea produce from sandstones of Miocene age at
shallow depths (less than 6,000 ft or 1,829 m).
High temperatures are associated with giant oil
accumulations in reefs of Miocene age in West
Irian, New Guinea. The giant Arun gas field of
northern Sumatra produces from reefs of Mio-
cene age.
Deep earthquakes as guide to high-temperature
trends of oil and gas production—The geographic
1489
coincidence of deep earthquakes with high earth
temperatures along the block-fault-basin trend in
Japan and Indonesia suggests an empirical means
of predicting high-temperature trends that might
favor oil and gas accumulation in similar tectonic
settings elsewhere in the world (Fig. 35). Other
productive regions that coincide with possible hot
trends based on earthquake distribution include
south-central Burma and perhaps the Oriente ba-
sin of Ecuador and Peru. Eventually, Bristol Bay,
Alaska, may join the ranks of major producers of
this type.
Tectonic origin of block-fault basins with high
temperatures at convergent margins—Possible ex-
planations for block-faulting with upwelling of
magma include e.xtensional bending of litho-
sphere as it subsides with the downgoing slab of
oceanic lithosphere (Fig. 32), upward flow of
asthenospherc caused by encounter with the
downgoing slab, subduction of spreading ridges,
or the torniation of ihombic pull-apart basins
caused by subparallel interaction of converging
plates. Oil and gas production in the Japan Sea is
believed to reflect high temperatures associated
with rhombic pull-apart basins of Miocene age,
formed by subparallel plate convergence. A
change in the angle of plate convergence in Japan
(from oblique to perpendicular) since Miocene
time apparently has caused compression and
high-angle reverse faulting on former normal
faults.
Oil and Gas Prospectivity along Thrust-Fault
Trends of Convergent Margins
Convergence between oceanic lithosphere and
continental lithosphere may result in thermal gen-
eration of oil and gas in sediments as young as
Pleistocene age because of rapid deep burial asso-
ciated with subduction. Mountainous source ar-
 (Bast M ^ from o
National Geographic 1967)

3-
o
3
Q)

H
3-
o
3
•o

PETROLEUM o
3

MEAT
I6N&0U6
CEMOZOie
MtMxoie
FIG. 34—Oil and gas accumulations at convergent margins in southeast Asia.
 BLOCK FAULT
BASINS

Q VOLCANIC
i
ISLAND ARC O
O

o'
THRUST FAULT 0)

BASINS O
o
3
PETROLEUM 5'
3

/ ^ PLATE
MOVEMENT
{
SEA FLOOR
SPREADING
I
TRENDS O
-3

FIG. 35—Oil and gas accumulations at convergent margins of Pacific and Indian Oceans.
1492 Thomas L. Thompson
dip TfiiNeH
SEMMfUTt
eONVEftOENCE
70 MIUViMY
FIG. 36—Possible trend of oil and gas generation at convergent margin in western Gulf of Alaska.
eas for sediment and steep continental slopes fa-
vor rapid burial of organic material with turbi-
dites. Rapid subduction of oceanic crust under
continental margins may carry sediments to
depths which provide requisite thermal environ-
ments for generation of oil and gas from organic
. s o MIIES-
FIG. 37—Thrust-fault mechanism for burial and subse-
quent uplift of deep-water sediment.
matter disseminated in the sediment. Continued
subduction of oceanic crust under continental
slopes may cause thrust faulting such that oil and
gas accumulations are uplifted toward the ocean
bottom and eventually to the surface of the earth.
Source potential for oil and gas—Some of the
subduction zones at converging plate boundaries
provide the basic ingredients for generating oil
and gas. A deep trench formed during subduction
provides a natural repository for organic-matter-
rich sediment.
Continental margins in general favor prohfic
marine life, the organic remains of which are the
recognized source of almost all oil and gas, less
than one percent being attributable to lacustrine
or other nonmarine deposits. Upwelhng of deep,
cold water from trenches provides the mineral in-
gredients necessary for biotic proliferation that
may make convergent margins particularly favor-
able for petroleum generation. JOIDES cores
near trenches commonly show concentrations of
organic carbon in excess of 0.5 weight percent,
often adequate for thermal generation of petro-
leum in commercial quantities.
Burial of organic matter prior to oxidation is
essential to oil and gas generation. Basins associ-
ated with converging-plate boundaries apparently
provide optimum conditions for rapid burial, to
protect the organic matter, because mountainous
regions provide a ready source of sediment and
the steep continental slopes characteristic of these
regions accelerate the transport of sediment by
 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration
slumping and turbidity flow to the lowoi slope
and trench.
Evidence for rapid, deep burial, and uplifi in west-
ern Gulf of Alaska—A compacted core of Pleisto-
cene sediment recovered by JOIDES (Site 181)
from the continental slope adjacent to the Aleu-
tian Trench apparently has been subjected to
pressure and temperature conditions that are in-
consistent with its present depth of burial, just a
few hundred feet below sea bottom. When com-
pared to Gulf of Mexico standards, the carboni-
zation level of the contained organic material sug-
gests a former depth of burial of at least 8.000 ft
or 2,438 m (Grayson and LaPlante, 1973).
How did the compacted core of Pleistocene age
reach this stage of diagenesis (70 to 73 weight per-
cent organic carbon) and yet be at a depth of only
a few hundred feet below the ocean bottom? One
might postulate deposition on hot oceanic crust at
a spreading trend, but analysis of other JOIDES
cores from the northwestern Pacific indicated
NW 819
TUWtt
IMTES
KODtflK i. ^
„ J
FIG. 38—Hypothesis for petroleum generation during continental-margin subduction.
1493
lower carbonization levels (65 to 70 percent).
Present high earth tempera:ures mighl explain the
anomalous carbonization, hut oceanic trenches
generally are geotherniailv cold. Furthermore, no
recent volcanism has been noted in the vicinity of
JOIDES hole 181. Rapid lithospheric conver-
gence at the Aleutian Trench could have caused
rapid, deep burial, compaction, and diagenesis
(carbonization), and subsequent uplift of the
Pleistocene sediment. In essence, perhaps the sed-
iment was carried to the heat and returned.
Thrust-fault hypothesis for generation and expul-
sion of oil and gas—In the western Gulf of Alaska,
cooled and subsided oceanic lithosphere appar-
ently has wedged 70 mi (112 km) under continen-
tal lithosphere since the beginning of Pleistocene
time and may have contributed to conditions suit-
able for petroleum to accumulate along the outer
continental margin (Fig. 36). Trench and lower
continental slope deposits of Cretaceous and ear-
ly Tertiary age have been tightly folded, meta-
SE
LOISE iOIDES
SEWWEMTS HOLEItl
1494
morphosed. and uplifted to form land areas .id|a-
cent to the Aleutian Trench on the Kenai Penm-
sula. Kodiak Island, and Shumagin Islands
(Moore, 1973).
How did these deep-water sediments get bur-
ied, metamorphosed, and uplifted? Furlherniore,
how can we explain the compacted and carbon-
ized mudstone of Pleistocene age recovered by
JOIDES (Site 181) on the lower continental
slope?
Thrust faulting, wherein mechanical burial
plays a dominant role, may explain rapid burial
and subsequent uplift implied here (Fig. 37).
Thrust faulting may bury trench sediments to
depths of several miles and subsequently uplift
them to the ocean bottom on a continental slope.
Such a process implies consolidation of the sedi-
ment pile at depth, uplift, and slumping of sedi-
ment from high on the slope to the lower slope
and trench, seaward advancement of the conti-
nental slope and trench, and sequential formation
of thrust faults successively farther seaward.
Deeper paths of tectonic transport may result
in generation and expulsion of oil and gas. We
may visualize sediment slumping and flowing
down an oversteepened continental slope, accu-
Nprth
- t i N f Of sefTiOfj
0 y. I ^t
, ^^^^
FIG. 39—Sections illustrating convergent-continental margin in western Gulf of Alaska.
Thomas L. Thompson
mulating in the .Aleutian i rench area, being ear-
ned downward along ,i subduction zone bv the
subsiding oceanic plate and buried to such depths
that the sediment would bo compacted into rock
(Fig. 38). The increased temperatures at this
depth (approximately 15,000 ft or 5,000 m) would
cause diagenesis of organic matter to form oil and
gas. Sequential formation of new thrust faults at
the base of the continental slope would cause
thickening of the sediment pile, steepening of the
continental slope, and seaward advancement of
the slope and trench. Continued thrust faulting
could transpt)rt compacted sediment (and per-
haps oil and gas accumulation) to shallower
depths.
The thrust-fault process suggested here could
satisfy the general requirements for crustal mate-
rial balance from the viewpoint of plate tectonics;
could account for the gravity minima, the wedge
shapes of seismic velocity units, the distribution
of earthquakes: and could explain the net trans-
formation and uplift of sediment deposited be-
neath the sea to sedimentary rocks in mountains
above the sea.
Application of ihrusl-faull hypothesis to oil and
gas exploration—The outer continental margins at
a Ml. South
100 Ml
.... ^
 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration 1495

o h-
UJ
o o H o
o UJ o o UJ
o
o u.
o o UJ
o
o
CM
m
CM o u. lA
r"
i 1
1
H

o
\^
flC
"i ^,

0. ^ as
'£ -o
T3 <u
T3 «
•S u
H 1-
•o <^
C "^
=^-d
rt .y
I j ^t:
3 -a
M O
c S
^ X

•- o
<-* Q,
1496 Thomas L. Thompson

§g

-o -a
— c

00"

C3 . S

r3 O
 Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration
continent-ocean basin subduction zones nia\ be
more favorable for preserving oil and gas accu-
mulation than the inner continental margins be-
cause the same process that may form oil and gas
also may destroy oil and gas as the process inten-
sifies inland toward the volcanic-island and
mountain trends. For example, the old Katalla oil
field (which produced from lower Tertiary rocks)
perhaps was noncommercial because of faulting,
uplift, and erosion that may have dissipated a for-
merly more valuable accumulation (Fig. 39). The
apparent absence of pre-Cenozoic petroleum ac-
cumulations along Pacific margins in general may
be the result of this destructive process.
I visualize a trend of oil and gas somewhere
between the lower, continental-slope trend of or-
ganic carbonization and the shoreline trend of
metamorphosed and uplifted older rocks, perhaps
along the outer shelf and upper slope.
Shale diapirs and near-surface normal faults
may form important corollary effects of thrust
faulting under the continental margins. However,
distribution of lithologic units in northern Gulf of
Alaska (south of Katalla) indicates thickening of
the sediment sequence and uplift of successively
older rocks inland from the continental slope.
Thus, Miocene sediments are adjacent to Plio-
cene, lower Tertiary adjacent to Miocene, and
Cretaceous adjacent to lower Tertiary (Fig. 39).
Petroleum in young Cenozoic sediments of the
Orinoco delta offshore east of Trinidad may have
originated in older rocks that have been uplifted
from hotter levels by thrust faulting (Fig. 40).
These thrust faults reflect the same northeast
trend of structures evident on Trinidad and
would suggest northeast-trending petroleum
sources beneath the more obvious northwest-
trending structures formed in the overlying Ceno-
zoic sediments by slump faulting toward the
downslope of the Orinoco delta. A reflection pro-
file across the north end of the Puerto Rico
Trench indicates oceanic crust wedging under the
Antilles Island Ridge. A reflection profile near
the south end of the Antilles Island Ridge sug-
gests thrust faulting in thick sediments under the
continental slope. These thick sediments probably
were deposited by the Orinoco River from the
southwest. Continued influx of sediment from the
Orinoco River apparently has provided the re-
quired reservoir and unruptured traps for oil and
gas above the compacted and thrust-faulted older
sediments postulated here as the source.
Other petroleum-productive regions that may
reflect the thrust-fault hypothesis for generation
of oil and gas include shorehne Peru and the San-
ta Barbara Channel-Ventura basin trend.
1497
Other regions of mtercsl closely analogous to
the western Gulf of Alaska Include: the eastern
margin of the Philippmc Islands; the southern
margins of Indonesia. New Britain, and Solomon
Islands: and the western margins of Central and
South America. In each of these localities, as in
the western Gulf of Alaska, a substantial land
area for sediment source lies in close proximity to
the associated trench. Oil and gas potential of
these sites depends in part on the lithologic na-
ture and elevation of the sediment source, i.e.,
whether a substantial component of clastic mate-
rial is available for the formation of reservoirs.
Oceanic crust converging with oceanic crust
should result in mechanical characteristics similar
to those of the previously mentioned regions in
the sense of a subduction zone, similar favorabili-
ty from the standpoint of organic production, but
less favorable sources of land-derived sediments.
Such regions include the island margins adjacent
to other deep oceanic trenches; for example, the
outer Aleutian Trench; the Kuril, Ryukyu, Mari-
ana, New Hebrides, Kermadec, and Tonga
Trenches; the South Sandwich Trench; and the
northern part of the Puerto Rico Trench, east of
the Lesser Antilles Islands. Although these areas
generally receive less land-derived sediment, they
may include reef carbonate rocks that would pro-
vide petroleum-reservoir potential in close prox-
imity to subduction zones. For example, carbon-
ate reefs of Cenozoic age can be anticipated close
to known oil seeps on the Tonga Islands.
Continental Collisions
The end result of continental convergence
would be continental collision. When all interven-
ing oceanic crust has been consumed by subduc-
tion, the intervening oceans would be drained by
uphft of the converging continental margins. The
morphology of the converging margins would in-
fluence orogeny and basin history during conti-
nental collision (Wilson. 1965; Dewey and Burke,
1974).
Early-stage collision in northeast Indian Ocean—
In the Timor Sea of the northeastern Indian
Ocean, a fossil divergent margin of northwest
Australia is converging with Indonesia (Fig. 41).
Aulacogens, areal extension faulting, and unme-
tamorphosed Mesozoic and Paleozoic sedimenta-
ry rocks of northwest Australia contrast with
thrust-faulting and metamorphosed pre-Cenozoic
rocks of Indonesia. Folds forming in thick sedi-
ments of the Timor Trough strike northeast, es-
sentially perpendicular to structures that trend
along the Bonaparte and Agfura aulacogens.
Thick sediments that underlie the eastward struc-
1498 Thomas L. Thompson

WATER DEPTH
7000 FEET

•'HBSTIIAIIA

10 50
DISTANCE IN MILES
FIG. 42—Section illustrating deformation of thick sediment in Timor Sea between Australia
and Indonesia fl.amont (ieological Observatorvi Travel time is two wav

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FIG. 43—Clironologic sequence of closing of Tetfiys Sea.

Plate Tectonics in Continental Margin Exploration 1499

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tural extension of the Java Trench (under the Ti-
mor Sea) are being deformed by the initial ap-
proach to coIUsion between Australia and In-
donesia (Fig. 42).
Closing of Tethys seaway—Extreme variations
in tectonic effects resulting from continental colli-
sion follow as a natural consequence of irregular
shapes of colliding margins. Thus, closing of the
Tethys seaway during Mesozoic and Cenozoic
times caused elevation of the earth's highest
mountains a n d nearby preservation of the earth's
greatest k n o w n oil and gas province (Figs. 43, 44).
Continental collision resulted in the elevation
of marine Cenozoic rocks 5 mi (8 km) above sea
level as part of the Himalaya Mountains. In con-
trast, thick sediments of the ancient south margin
of the Tethys seaway lie only slightly deformed
under the oil-prolific Persian Gulf, apparently
saved from collision destruction by transform
movement of India past Arabia. T h e trend of
convergence includes remnants of the old seaway
as inland ocean basins such as the Black a n d Cas-
pian Seas, with their associated giant oil a n d gas
accumulations (Fig. 44).
CONCLUSIONS
1. Oil a n d gas accumulations under the present
continental margins of the world could equal or
exceed produced a n d unproduced oil and gas un-
der the land.
2. The plate-tectonics hypothesis offers a pow-
erful approach to exploration of continental mar-
gins.
3. U n d e r s t a n d i n g the present continental mar-
gins helps understand ancient continental mar-
gins that now form parts of the land.
4. Part of our challenge for the future includes
recognizing the ancient volcanic-island ridges, the
squashed and uplifted sediment piles of ancient
divergent margins, the remnants of ancient ocean
basins, a n d particularly the association of these
features with oil and gas provinces.
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