The formation of Salt Traps and their importance in the Gulf of Mexico - Research Paper Example

Whereas many traps can be identified, the salt dome traps will be given the greatest emphasis on this paper. When masses of salt are thrust upward with clastic rocks, they tend to block other substances that might come along porous rocks. Due to the fact that salt is impermeable, they block the hydrocarbons in the underlying permeable rocks and create a reservoir. The Gulf of Mexico is one of the leading petroleum producing provinces in the world for more than 100 years (Hudec, Jackson & Peel 77).

It remains one of the most active and intensely explored regions due principally to the tight sand and shale gas which promise greater potentials into the future. The regional stratigraphy of the Gulf of Mexico has been a bit elusive due to the fact that the classification of various features has been generally impeded by the changes of oceanic processes. Nonetheless, deep water margins that occasionally exhibit salt mobility further complicate the potentials of exploration. The most critical aspects of such a program however must rely on adequate understanding of the charge, reservoir development and trap integrity for intensive exploration activities to be deployed (Gemmer et al 202).

Charge refers to the time of sedimentation processes as correlated to the allochthonous emplacement of salt as well as the rate of formation of salt welds. The process of reservoir development is critical because it determines the manner of sand distribution during the process of evolution within the basin (Seldon & Flemings 202). The third consideration which is trap integrity is crucial because it is a factor directly related to how salt trap structures change over time and the influence such changes may pose to petroleum migration.

The region of the Gulf of Mexico is often cited as the most potential even in the 21st century as a result of the new findings from geological explorations (Fort & Jean-Pierre 270; Seldon & Flemings 202). Deep sea oil exploration traditionally