Application of a ramp/atfault model to interpretation of the Naga thrust and possible implications for petroleum exploration along the

Naga thrust front

AUTHORS W. Norman Kent Kent GeoScience Associates, P.O. Box 1082, Richmond, Texas, 77406; wnkent@kent_geo.com W. Norman Kent received a B.S. degree in geology from the University of Arizona (1970) and an M.S. degree in geology from Northern Arizona University (1975). He spent 25 years with Unocal Corporation as an exploration geologist (19752000). His background includes eld mapping, well site geology, lease sale acreage evaluation, prospect generation, integrated regional studies, and project management. He participated in and led exploration projects in North America, North Africa, the Middle East, India, and China. He now operates a consulting rm specializing in problems related to exploration in areas of limited data and complex structure, with active projects in India, Alaska, and eastern North America. Robert G. Hickman Structural Solutions, 1330 Sugar Creek Boulevard, Sugar Land, Texas, 77478; rhickman@pdq.net Robert Hickman received a B.S. degree in geology from Stanford University and an M.S. degree and Ph.D. in geology from the University of Wisconsin. He spent 25 years with Unocal Corporation as a structural geologist and coordinator of structural geology. His areas of expertise include analysis of compressional, extensional, and salt regimes and integrated regional studies. He is currently a consultant specializing in structural analysis. Udayan Dasgupta Hindustan Oil Exploration Co., LTD, HOEC House, Tandalja Road, Vadodara, India 390 020; udayan_dasgupta@hoec.com Udayan Dasgupta is currently general manager for Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Limited (HOEC) in Baroda, India. He received an M.Sc. degree in geology from Calcutta University, India, in 1969. Subsequently, he migrated to Canada and obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1978 for his research on fracturing in Mississippian carbonate reservoirs of Alberta. During this period, he also worked for Cominco Limited in exploring for

ABSTRACT The Assam-Arakan thrust belt extends along the India-Myanmar border, from the Chinese border on the north to the Bay of Bengal on the south. Tertiary nonmarine sediments dominate the stratigraphy within the frontal zone of this fold and thrust belt. Thrustfault ats occur in the upper Barail Group coaly interval, and ramps are localized by preexistent normal faults and stratigraphic discontinuities. As a result, the frontal zone of the thrust belt is characterized by multiscale imbricate structures. The Jaipur anticline occurs at the foreland edge of the Naga thrust imbricate zone, at the northeastern end of the Assam valley. Application of at/ramp geometric models, with a limited data set from the Jaipur anticline, allows creation of geometrically viable models for interpreting the general structure of the Jaipur anticline and for developing hydrocarbon exploration leads. The results of this method indicate that (1) the proven productive foreland trend extends several kilometers beneath the Naga thrust, and (2) zones of high dip in the thrust belt mark the location of prospect leads probably related to local thrust imbrication. The method provides a testable process of identifying prospective areas; therefore, it can minimize exploration expense and optimize exploration planning.

INTRODUCTION The Jaipur anticline is located on the southeast side of the upper Assam valley at the leading edge of the Naga thrust (Figure 1). This forelandmost surface expression of the Assam-Arakan fold and
Copyright 2002. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved. Manuscript received March 21, 2001; revised manuscript received May 28, 2002; nal acceptance June 24, 2002.

AAPG Bulletin, v. 86, no. 12 (December 2002), pp. 20232045

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carbonate-hosted base metals. He returned to India and joined Oil India Limited (OIL), where he worked in various capacities from exploration and development to strategic planning. During his early years with OIL, he worked in northeastern India, including the area covered by this article. He joined HOEC in 1994. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Hindustan Oil Exploration Company and Unocal Corporation conducted a signicant part of the data collection and analysis that led to this article during a joint investigation of Block AAP-ON-94/1. We wish to thank both companies for permission and aid in publication of this article. We also thank our colleagues at Unocal and Hindustan Oil Exploration Company for their help in preparing this article. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Oil India Limited, who allowed us to use the maps and data without which the research and documentation of this article would have been impossible. Geo-Logic Systems, LLC provided valuable aid in allowing us to use LithoTech structural modeling software for testing the viability of our interpretations. For this generosity, we are particularly appreciative. We extend special thanks to Charles Stewart, David Courtis, Steven Boyer, Shankar Mitra, Robert Milici, and W. A. Bally for their helpful critiques of this article.

thrust belt is within an area covered by a production-sharing contract for Block AAP-ON-94/1, currently held by Hindustan Oil Exploration Company of India. In the middle of 1998, Unocal Corporation and Hindustan Oil Exploration Company undertook a joint assessment of the exploration potential of this acreage block. Block AAP-ON-94/1 enclosed 870 km2, and, although several subcommercial discoveries were made in the block during the late 1800s, there has been little modern exploration in the area. Modern subsurface data in the block include one well with geophysical logs and 350 km of seismic data acquired in 1988. The Jaipur anticline became the main focus of the investigation because Digboi oil eld is located on Digboi anticline, which is the northeastern extension of the regional Jaipur anticline. Additionally, several oil and gas elds are present along the northeastern ank of the Jaipur anticline, in the footwall of the Naga thrust. The primary purpose of studying the Jaipur anticline was to evaluate the hydrocarbon exploration potential for the southern part of the anticline. An important secondary goal was to provide company management with a convincing indication that the areas potential could be evaluated reliably with existing data or with new data obtained within a reasonable time period. Early in the joint Hindustan Oil Exploration Company/Unocal assessment of Block AAP-ON-94/1, attention focused on a cross section by Oil India Limited through Digboi eld (Figure 2A) that is based on several of the Digboi eld wells. Although the cross section illustrates only a part of the structure, it raises several questions about the structures geometry and the areas exploration potential. These questions gain additional importance because a similar cross section (Figure 2B), covering more of the structure (Mathur and Evans, 1964), had been discussed in several subsequent publications (Berger et al., 1983; Mitra, 1990; Suppe and Medwedeff, 1990). Mathur and Evanss cross section shows the Digboi anticline to be a fault-propagation fold in which the thrust has apparently broken through the fold following the synclinal axial plane. This interpretation implies that, although there might be subthrust potential for the foreland trend, little potential exists in the hanging-wall features, because the anticline is breached to the core along most of its length south of the Digboi eld. Data from along the Naga thrust trend were proposed as counterpoints to this negative interpretation. In 1984, the Oil and Natural Gas Commission, India, conducted two seismic surveys in the frontal part of the thrust belt. The poor quality of the data that the commission acquired prohibited meaningful interpretation and prompted acquisition and processing of an experimental line to dene better seismic methods. Major thrusts and events above and below the thrusts are discernible on the experimental line (Dutta and Ray, 1993). The Changki-1 well was drilled through the second major thrust sheet, approximately 11 km toward the hinterland from the surface trace of the Naga thrust. The well and the experimental seismic data conrm the continuity of the foreland strata beneath the thrust belt, for a substantial distance (Figure 1). Ranga

2024

Application of a Ramp/Flat-Fault Model to the Naga Thrust (India)

Figure 1. Location and major structural elements of the Assam valley (after Berger et al., 1983; used with permission of Schlumberger Technical Services). Rectangle in the main gure indicates the location of the Jaipur anticline.

Rao and Samanta (1987) published an interpretation of the structural style of the Naga thrust belt that they based, in part, on the seismic data just described. However, management and peers reviewing the initial work discounted the applicability of the results because, the reviewers suggested, the two areas that are separated by approximately 125 km could differ in structural style. To support this contention it was noted that, except for the Borholla-Champang eld, which occurs immediately in front of and under the leading edge of the Naga thrust, all other elds proven to extend beneath the Naga thrust are located where the mountain front is oriented east-west at nearly 90 to its normal northeast-southwest trend (Figure 1) (Krishna Rao and Parasad, 1982). The initial data set available to evaluate Block AAP-ON-94/1 was limited but was not atypical of data sets provided by governments to evaluate areas covered by production-sharing contracts. Data provided included a description of the area, general geologic maps and cross sections, a seismic data set composed of every other line in the grid

within the block, and base map, well logs, and elevations for stratigraphic markers for the Tarajan No. 1, Kusijan No. 1, and Namrup No. 1 wells. The geologic maps were constructed by Oil India Limited at a scale of 1 in. 1 mi. The seismic grid was 24-fold 2-D data. Most of the lines were located immediately southeast of the thrust front, and only one dip line (D-58) crossed the Jaipur anticline (Figure 3). All of the seismic proles except line D-58 terminated at the block boundary. Two composite regional seismic lines provided the only seismic data west of the Naga thrust. SPOT and Landsat images of the Jaipur anticline area also were available. Given the initial inferences drawn from the two cross sections by Corps (1949) and Mathur and Evans (1964) and also given the limited data set, it might seem reasonable to conclude that, even with the substantial expenditure of money to obtain additional data, a reliable evaluation of the area could not be obtained. The intent of this article is to (1) describe the structural geology of Jaipur/Digboi anticline; (2) Kent et al. 2025

Figure 2. (A) Cross section and map displayed at OIL facilities at Digboi. (Published with the consent of Oil India Limited.) The cross section illustrates the structure of Digboi eld and shows steep dip on the Naga thrust ( 60 ) (See Figure 3 for location). The cross section is at true scale (1:1). (B) Cross section through Digboi eld, from Mathur and Evans (1964). The cross section shows two dip segments of the Naga thrust and illustrates that the Tipam Formation extends several kilometers beneath the Naga thrust (see Figure 3 for location). illustrate procedures for deducing the quantitative geometry of thrust-belt structures from a diverse but sparse data set; (3) indicate the relevance of the structural development of the Jaipur anticline to hydrocarbon exploration within the anticline and associated foreland structures; and (4) illustrate that although the Jaipur anticline and associated structures are complex structural features, most of the data and analysis for scoping exploration can be accomplished with a relatively small exploration budget. talline and metasedimentary rocks that are capped locally by an Upper Carboniferous through Triassic sequence of sedimentary strata (Bhandari et al., 1973). The Himalayan foothills belt formed in the late Tertiary in response to the collision of the Indian plate with Eurasia, and extends for hundreds of kilometers to the west of the Assam region. Thrusts bounding the eastern Himalayan foothills probably have been active since the Oligocene. The Mishmi Hills, at the northeastern head of the Assam valley, consist of an upthrust block of Archean gneisses and granites. The Assam-Arakan thrust belt bounds the Assam valley on the southeast and extends southwestward across northern and western Myanmar (Burma). The thrust belt developed as a result of differential movement between the Burma microplate and the Indian plate. Prior to collision of the Burma microplate, what is now the western part of the thrust belt was the eastward-facing margin of the Indian plate. The northwestern Assam part of the thrust belt is predominantly thin skinned and mainly involves Tertiary sed-

TECTONIC SETTING The greater Assam region consists of four tectonic provinces: (1) the eastern Himalayan fold and thrust belt, (2) the Mishmi Hills uplift, (3) the Assam-Arakan thrust belt, and (4) the upper Assam foreland basin, which includes the Brahmaputra arch (Figure 1). The eastern Himalayan foothills belt consists of southeastward-verging thrust sheets of Precambrian crys2026

Application of a Ramp/Flat-Fault Model to the Naga Thrust (India)

Figure 3. Index map showing geography of the Assam region and locations of subsurface data. imentary strata. This part of the belt is 10 to 40 km wide and extends 425 km from the Dauki fault south of the Shilong plateau to the Mishmi Hills uplift in the north. This zone is strongly imbricated and consists of six to eight major overlapping thrust sheets. The northwestward margin of this belt is conventionally called the Naga thrust, although it does not represent a single continuous fault (Mathur and Evans, 1964; Berger et al., 1983). Activity on the frontal faults of this thrust belt probably started during the middle Miocene. The Assam valley extends through the upper Assam basin, which is a composite foreland basin that is located between the eastern Himalayan foothills and Assam-Arakan thrust belt. The basin is terminated to the northeast by the Mishmi Hills block, and to the southwest it is partly disrupted by the Shilong plateau basement uplift. In the subsurface, a ridge of Precambrian rocks, here referred to as the Brahmaputra arch, roughly bisects the Assam basin. This arch plunges northeastward, from outcrops in the Mikir Hills, to the northeastern part of the basin, where the plunge of the arch becomes northerly. On the northern ank of the arch, upper Paleozoic strata are interpreted to overlie Precambrian rocks and to be truncated beneath Paleogene strata. Elsewhere, Paleocene and Eocene units thin and lap out against the arch; overlying Oligocene and Miocene units thin over it. Sediments on the south ank of the arch are cut by normal faults that roughly parallel and dip away from the axis of the arch (Bhandari et al., 1973; Das Gupta and Biswas, 2000).

TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY OF THE ASSAM BASIN AND THE NAGA HILLS The upper Assam basin and Naga Hills, which make up the frontal part of the northern Assam-Arakan thrust belt, share a common, but subtly different, Tertiary stratigraphy (Figure 4). The Tertiary sequence is divided into Paleogene and Neogene sequences that are separated by a major Oligocene unconformity (Raju and Mathur, 1995). In the Assam Kent et al. 2027

Figure 4. Generalized stratigraphic column and petroleum system information for the upper Assam basin (modied from Raju and Mathur, 1995; reprinted with permission from Elsevier Science).

basin, Paleogene strata are divided into three major units. The Paleocene Langpar Formation is composed of marine quartzitic sandstone and minor claystone. The overlying Jaintia Group consists of the lower Eo2028

cene Sylhet Formation, which is composed of siliceous shale with limestone and sandstone interbeds, and the middle to upper Eocene Kopili Formation, which consists of shale and ne-grained sandstone. All of these

Application of a Ramp/Flat-Fault Model to the Naga Thrust (India)

units were deposited in a shelfal area along the southeast-facing continental margin that existed prior to the collision of the Burma microplate with India. Basinward, within what is now the interior of the AssamArakan thrust belt, deep-water strata that are partly age-equivalent to these latter units are referred to as the Disang Group. The third major Paleogene unit is the upper Eocene to lower Oligocene Barail Group, which is composed of sandstones of the Tinali Formation and overlying mudstones and coals of the Moran Formation that were deposited in a marginal-marine to uvial setting along the southeast-facing continental margin. The close of Barail deposition was followed by basin uplift and erosion that probably was related to early stages of Himalayan uplift, but that also coincides with the middle Oligocene global-eustatic lowstand (Vail et al., 1977). Unconformably overlying the Barail Group is the Nahorkatiya Group, which comprises the lower Tipam Formation and the upper Girujan Formation. The upper Miocene Tipam Formation sandstone is largely of uvial origin, and the heavy mineral content of the unit (Bhandari et al., 1973) indicates derivation from the rising Himalayas. Depositional transport of the Tipam Formation sand was toward the south, which in the early Miocene was not blocked by the Assam-Arakan thrust belt and the Shilong plateau uplift. The overlying lower and middle Miocene Girujan Formation consists of lacustrine shales and uvial deposits. It may reect changes in drainage patterns related to initial development of the thrust belt to the south, or lacustrine ooding related to foreland basin subsidence. This unit is thickest in the eastern part of the Assam valley and thins and interngers with uvial sandstone to the west. The Girujan Formation is unconformably overlain by the upper Miocene Namsang Formation, which consists of poorly consolidated uvial sandstone with interbedded clay and lignite. Both the Girujan and the Namsang formations are truncated by a regional unconformity that cuts downsection to the west. West of the Jaipur anticline, the Pliocene Dhekiajuli Formation unconformably overlies the Girujan and Namsang formations. The Dhekiajuli Formation consists of unconsolidated uvial and alluvial fan deposits and appears to grade vertically into the overlying alluvium. East of the Jaipur anticline, the Dhekiajuli Formation correlates with the basal part of the Dihing Formation, which also appears to grade vertically into the overlying alluvium (Das Gupta and Biswas, 2000).

PETROLEUM SYSTEMS There are two petroleum systems in the upper Assam basin (Figure 5). As a result of tectonism, hydrocarbon accumulations related to each system occur along two distinct trends. The oldest petroleum system is the PaleoceneEocene system. Source rocks of this system are organic-rich carbonaceous shales, coals, and a few thin carbonate units of the upper Paleocenelower Eocene Sylhet Formation and the upper Paleocene Langpar Formation (Handique and Bharali, 1981). The producing clastic units of the lower Eocene and upper Paleocene Lakadong and Langpar formations are interbedded with the source rock intervals. The carbonate units reect marine incursions. Organic matter is predominantly type II, with subordinate type I macerals. Although conclusive evidence of matching source rock to oil has not been developed, proximity indicates a link between oil in the Eocene Paleocene reservoirs and the interbedded shale units. The second petroleum system is the Oligocene Miocene petroleum system. In this system, the source rocks and reservoir units also are intercalated. Source rock intervals occur within the Oligocene Barail Group. Biomarker ratios in carbonaceous shale units of the Moran Formation of the Barail Group are closely correlated with the moderate-gravity, waxy oil produced from the Barail and Tipam reservoirs (Raju and Mathur, 1995). The Barail source rocks were deposited in fresh to brackish water in turbid conditions, as indicated by the presence of interbedded coals, spherulitic siderite concretions, and abundant arenaceous foraminifera (Saikia and Dutta, 1980). The reservoir units of this petroleum system are the Oligocene uvial sandstone units of the Barail Group and the uvial-lacustrine Miocene Tipam Sandstone and Girujan Clay. The uvial-paralic character of reservoir units in both petroleum systems results in many local-intraformation seals. The Miocene Girujan Clay provides a regional top seal. Burial and loading by the developing Assam-Arakan fold and thrust belt provided the overburden necessary for generation of the hydrocarbons within both systems. Although long-distance migration is not required for either petroleum system, the volume of trapped hydrocarbons suggests that migration over moderate distance probably occurred. Nahorkatiya, Jorajan, and associated satellite elds are along the crest of a structural nose that plunges beneath the Naga thrust and forms a focus for migration (Figure 6). The area of mature source rocks illustrated Kent et al. 2029

Figure 5. Petroleum system elements and associated depositional and tectonic environments.

Figure 6. Hydrocarbon kitchen and migration pathways for petroleum systems of the upper Assam basin. The map illustrates a dynamic system rather than an event; thus, the boundary of the active source areas migrated northwestward in time. The base map for this gure is modied from Rath et al. (1994).

in Figure 6 is diagrammatic. The actual western limit is controlled both by depositional and tectonic loading, and it migrated westward over time. The eastern limit of the source area is a function of both where the source rocks become supermature and where the Barail thrust carries them.

PRODUCING TRENDS Assam Shelf Producing Trend Along the Brahmaputra arch, traps for both petroleum systems form a single producing trend. Normal faults associated with early Tertiary extension form the major trap type. The similarity of trap type and the superposition of the two petroleum systems result in two parallel subtrends. The two trends are parallel with the axis of the arch, with the older petroleum system forming a producing subtrend that is closer to the crest of the arch. However, several elds have stacked pay and produce from reservoirs of both petroleum systems. Additionally, some of the Paleogene elds are formed by stratigraphic pinch-outs onto the basement. Exploration in the Assam shelf trend began with seismic surveys in the 1950s and resulted in the discovery of several large elds, including Nahorkatiya eld (Carmalt and St. John, 1984), which has an estimated ultimate recovery of 707 MMBOE. The Assam shelf trend produces from sandstone reservoirs of Paleocene to Miocene age. Initially, the main reservoirs discovered were the Oligocene uvial sandstone units of the Barail Group, but production was established soon after in the Miocene Tipam Sandstone and, recently, in Paleocene and lower Eocene sandstone units. Currently, nearly half of Oil India Limiteds production in Assam comes from these older units (Rath and Devi, 1999). Naga Foothills Trend The Naga foothills trend produces from compressional folds and fault traps along the leading edge of the Assam-Arakan fold and thrust belt. In the Naga foothills trend, the primary reservoirs are the lower units of the Tipam Formation, with secondary reservoirs in the Girujan and Namsang formations. The high wax content of the oil from Digboi eld suggests an upper Barail source and supports Corpss (1949) suggestion

that the oil in the Naga foothills may come from earlier accumulations in the Barail or Tipam that were disrupted by the compressional tectonic events. However, two distinct oil types are produced from interbedded reservoirs at Kharsang eld (Figure 3). One of the two hydrocarbon types is high-wax (810% wax) 34 API oil, whereas the second is low-wax (0.5% wax) 17 API oil. The proximity of two apparently different oil types suggests that tectonic activity has mixed oils from two petroleum systems, possibly the same two systems seen in the Assam Shelf producing trend. Exploration in Assam began in the Naga foothills trend with the drilling of wells near oil seeps in the Makum-Namdang-Ledo mining area in the 1860s (Figure 3). Although the rst commercial oil discovery in Assam was made in this trend at Digboi in 1889 (Visvanath, 1997), the trend is relatively immature. Fewer than a half dozen signicant exploration wells have been drilled in this trend, and only three elds currently produce from it.

STRUCTURE OF THE JAIPUR ANTICLINE The Jaipur anticline is an asymmetrical, arcuate, doubly plunging fold bounded by the surface trace of the Naga thrust along its northwest side (Figure 7). Beds along the narrow northwest limb dip from 50 to 70 into the Naga thrust. The outcrop width of the southeast ank of the fold is more than 10 times the width of the opposite ank. Dip on the beds is steep at the crest (70 to 50 ) and decreases toward the southeastern ank to as low as 10 . At the location where the Assam Railway crosses the Jaipur anticline, the structure is offset approximately 1.5 km by a right-lateral fault, the Assam Railroad tear fault. Northeast of the railway, in the Digboi area, the crest of the anticline is eroded to just below the top of the Tipam Sandstone. The fold appears less asymmetrical, and both limbs are well developed. Southeast of the railway, in the Kusijan area, two small anticlinal closures occur at the crest of the major fold and are separated by a small syncline cored by Girujan Clay. South of the Kusijan area, the structure is eroded through the Tipam Sandstone and is expressed as only a monoclinal dip that decreases from 60 at the Naga thrust, to 20 to the southeast where the beds are covered by alluvium (refer to Figure 7 for locations). Kent et al. 2031

Figure 7. Generalized geologic map of the Jaipur anticline, with location of oil and gas elds (Oil India Limited, 1952; reproduced with the consent of OIL). The location of the Kusijan structural model (Figure 9) is noted. The rectangle encloses the area in which downplunge viewing was used to determine the anticipated geometry of the structural models. The dashed line within this area illustrates the down-plunge projection of two dip segments of the Naga thrust, as seen in Figure 2B. The change in dip of the Naga thrust occurs near the point at which the fault intersects the anticlinal axial plane. It is equivalent to the point at which the Naga thrust breaks through the fault-propagation fold, from the initial thrust ramp to the trend of the synclinal axis.

STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION Methods Building on concepts rst developed by J. L. Rich (1934), Suppe (1983) published a landmark article in which he outlined geometric and kinematic properties of folds developed above thrusts with ramp-at geometry. After publication of this article, it was demonstrated that, in the brittle frontal region of fold and thrust belts where no thick ductile units occur in the stratigraphic column, most folds can be modeled as either fault-bend folds or fault-propagation folds. Elements in both of these classes of folds have been shown to have well-dened geometric relationships to the underlying fault (Suppe, 1983, 1985; Mitra, 1990). The most important geometric relationship for these structures is the relationship between fault shape and fold shape. An observation in Suppes 1983 article 2032

that is signicant for interpretation of the Jaipur anticline structure is that most fault-bend folds involve multiple imbrications. As a consequence, each successive imbrication produces a quantum increase in the forward and back dip in overlying imbricates. The dip panels in structurally higher thrust sheets have a dip spectrum (0, I, II, etc.) related to the number of fault ramps underlying the structural panel. If the fundamental (undeformed) cutoff angle can be determined, then the geometry of deeper imbricates can be predicted from the pattern of shallow-dip domains. Conversely, the dip spectra are a function of the number of fault ramps at a given location and of the fundamental cutoff angle. Given the preceding assumptions, Mathur and Evanss (Figure 2B) cross section provides a reasonable representation for the general geometry of the Jaipur anticline (see Figure 3 for location). Surface geologic data, together with well data from the Kusijan and Tarajan areas, provide insights into geometric changes

Application of a Ramp/Flat-Fault Model to the Naga Thrust (India)

along the trend of the Jaipur anticline and Naga thrust and suggest potentially prospective areas. Naga Thrust Kusijan Model (Surface and Well Data) For folds that develop above faults, and where folded strata have relatively uniform thickness, the cutoff angle can be estimated from the dip of the beds within the back-dip panel, because these beds parallel the underlying fault ramp (Tearpock and Bischke, 1991). The lowest dip observed on the back-dip panel of the Jaipur anticline is 20 , suggesting a similar value for the cutoff angle. However, in the case of the Jaipur anticline, the dips in the back-dip panel are not constant and may indicate a concealed imbricate. A contour map was constructed on dip measurements extracted from the geologic map. The purpose of this map was to visualize the rate of change in dip and the areas of anomalous dip and to determine where the Naga thrust steps from

its decollement to its ramp (the boundary between the I/0 dip-domain) (Figure 8). The stratigraphic position of the decollement was estimated by examining the geologic map in areas where the fault-propagation fold has been removed or nearly removed by erosion. In such an area south of the Burai Dihing River, coal seams (Figure 3) in the Moran Formation of the Barail Group are the oldest known strata in the hanging wall. This relationship suggests that the decollement is within this unit. Well data from the Kusijan No. 1 well provide the remaining data necessary to make a preliminary structural model. This well penetrated the Naga thrust plane at 1233 m and the base of the Moran coal unit in the footwall at approximately 3800 m. Accounting for regional dip can further rene the structural model. The regional dip at the top of the Barail Group was estimated to be 3.5 (Mallik and Raju, 1995). The location and estimated magnitude of the footwall cutoff can be determined by making a cross

Figure 8. Dip-domain map generated by contouring surface dips taken from 1:63,360 scale geologic maps made by Oil India Limited personnel. Heavy dashed line shows the I/0 dip-domain boundary. This is the surface projection of the point where the Naga thrust changes from at to ramp geometry. Areas of high dip at the leading edge of the Naga thrust, indicated by the arrows labeled 1, are interpreted to be places where one or more small-scale imbricates occur near the front of the thrust. Larger areas of high dip, indicated by the arrows labeled 2, are interpreted to represent concealed medium-scale imbricates of the Naga thrust. Kent et al. 2033

section that connects the surface trace of the fault, the fault cut in the Kusijan No. 1 well, and the subsurface projection of the I/0 dip-domain boundary (Figure 9; see Figure 7 for location). Using the footwall cutoff angle and the internal angular relationships described by Suppe (1985), in conjunction with down-plunge viewing, a representation of the near-surface structure can be constructed. However, no attempt was made in this study to model the near-surface small-scale imbricate structures. Seismic Interpretation As noted in a preceding section, the data set included a grid of seismic data (Figure 3). Line D-58, the only line in the data set that crosses the Jaipur anticline (Figure 10), is coincident with the previously described cross section (Figure 9). Although this line clearly shows the location of the I/0 dip-domain boundary (Figure 10B), the location and geometry of the Naga thrust are less obvious.

The initial interpretation followed the cross section model and interpreted the Naga thrust to be a nearly planar surface connecting the surface trace of the fault with the base of the ramp ( I/0 domain boundary). In this interpretation, the strong reective zone east of the I/0 dip-domain boundary at approximately 2.5 s is interpreted to be a reector associated with the upper Barail coals (Figure 10A). The map-view thickness of the Barail outcrop is less than 600 m where it lies parallel to the fault and is thickened by imbrication. If the Barail units above the fault are between 300 and 500 m thick, and the interval velocity of the upper Barail is between 3000 and 3200 m/s (Prasad and Mani, 1983), the Naga thrust should occur between 0.100 and 0.156 s below the top of the Barail. At 0.120 s below the near-top Barail reector in the seismic data, there is a continuous reection that marks the termination of other reectors and that suggests a possible position for the fault. This horizon was mapped as the Naga thrust.

Figure 9. Kusijan structural model constructed using kink-fold geometry (Suppe, 1983) and data from Kusijan No. 1 well and the surface geology map. The model depicts the large-scale geometry of the Jaipur anticline and the Naga thrust, but does not resolve the smaller scale features. 2034 Application of a Ramp/Flat-Fault Model to the Naga Thrust (India)

To further investigate the fault geometry, the time-structure map of the Naga thrust was combined with a top Tipam Formation time-structure map from the information docket (Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, 1994) and overlain on a regional map showing fault trends (after Mallick and Raju, 1995) (Figure 11). This map conrms the location of the atto-ramp transition, as determined from the surface geologic map, but does not explain the width of the Girujan Formation outcrop or the steep dips that have been mapped near the surface projection of the I/0 dip-domain boundary (Figure 10D). Seismic line D-58 demonstrates problems common to seismic data in fold and thrust belts. In areas where beds have high dips, seismic energy is reected away from the geophones. Data are either not recorded or the data recovery is poor, as was the case in the region between the surface trace of the Naga thrust and shotpoint 1245 on line D-58. Beneath thrust planes, seismic data are degraded by the velocity pull-up caused by the superimposed higher-velocity material of the thrust sheet and by refraction of seismic waves away from the surface of the dipping thrust. Ray tracing of the seismic waves shows that, of the two effects, the dispersal of energy by refraction is the most difcult to deal with because it results in a data shadowzone that is hard to image. The combination of high dips and high contrasts in velocity can produce seismic images in the time domain that are quite different from the same data displayed in depth (Figure 10C). Given the quality of the seismic data, the inherent weakness of seismic techniques noted in the preceding section, and concerns about unexplained structural elements, the initial interpretation was reexamined. All available geologic data were posted on the prole before the data were interpreted. Posting of these data on the seismic line shows that beds dipping at 40 occur within 2 km of the surface projection of the base of the ramp ( I/0 domain boundary). Erosion of the Namsang Formation before deposition of the Dihing Formation removed beds with high dips even closer to the ( I/0) domain boundary. Beds dipping at nearly twice the value of the cutoff angle estimated in Figure 10, in close proximity to the ( I/0) domain boundary, suggest that two fault imbricates may be present. One possible interpretation that honors the geology and seismic data and includes two faults is shown in Figure 10C. This diagrammatic interpretation shows depositional thickening of the Girujan Formation, but requires less thickening than would be required in a onefault solution. In this interpretation, the higher than

expected dips are the result of imbrication caused by a fold-accommodation fault within the Girujan Formation at the ank of the Jaipur anticline. The seismic interpretation was converted from time domain to depth domain (Figure 12A) and restored using LithoTech cross section balancing software (Figure 12B). The restoration implies that preDhekiajuli/Dihing normal faults with down-to-theeast displacement have been omitted from the footwall interpretation, as have the small-scale imbrications in the Girujan Formation at the I/0 domain boundary. These additional faults are necessary to explain the additional Girujan/Namsang thickness in the subthrust. The abrupt thickening of the Girujan Formation in the hanging wall may or may not actually occur. The thinning coincides with the I/0 dip-domain boundary and may be the result of post-Girujan erosion. Because there is no velocity control for the shallow units east of the anticline, the thickening may also be an artifact of velocity or it may be due to structural features within the upper 0.5 s of data mute of the seismic section. Summary of Large-Scale Structural Interpretation The surface geology (Figure 7), combined with the two cross sections (Figures 2, 9) and the seismic section (Figure 10), indicates that the Jaipur anticline is a faultpropagation fold with nearly constant overall geometry along its trend. However, these data also suggest that variation along the length of the structure is the result of modication of the fault-propagation fold by secondary structures. Lateral projection of the line dening the at-toramp boundary of the Naga thrust into the foreland illustrates that in many places the boundary is parallel with the trend of foreland normal faults (Figure 11). This observation suggests that the preexisting extensional fault pattern inuenced the location of the compressional structures. Such an interpretation, as illustrated by Mathur and Evans in 1964 (Figure 13A), implies discontinuous eastward thickening of both the Cenozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphic units across the extensional faults, rather than the continuous eastward thickening of units shown in our models. Cutoff-angle data also suggest that normal faults inuenced the initiation of ramp development. The mechanism for development of large-scale tip line folds, as described by Saint Bezar et al. (1998) and illustrated in Figure 13B, is similar to that envisioned for the Jaipur anticline. Dahlen et al. (1984) show that Kent et al. 2035

Figure 10. Seismic line D-58. (A) Seismic data without interpretation. (B) Seismic data illustration areas where data are questionable or absent. Continued.

in western Taiwan, reactivated normal faults produce the highest range (2831 ) of basal cutoff angles of the observed fault types. The relatively high estimated cutoff angle for the Naga thrust may also be a result of this mechanism. Although the large-scale structure of the Jaipur anticline may be relatively straightforward, the modication of this structure by smaller scale features creates the points of economic interest for petroleum exploration.

TEAR FAULTS AND LATERAL RAMPS Although most folds associated with frontal ramps can be modeled as either fault-bend folds or fault-propagation folds, structures associated with lateral ramps can be more diverse. A block diagram for a footwall 2036

frontal ramp and associated lateral ramp is shown in Figure 14A. Figure 14B1 illustrates the predeformation geometry through an incipient ramp along prole 1 in Figure 14A. Figure 14B2 illustrates the geometry along prole 2 in Figure 14A, after thrust displacement of the hanging wall. Figure 14C1C2 illustrates the transport of a more complex hanging wall ramp, from position 1 to 2 in Figure 14A. Using these concepts, we can more easily demonstrate the relationship between preexisting normal faults and lateral ramps of the Naga thrust. A normal fault intersects the west ank of the Jaipur anticline at an oblique angle, at approximately the point where the Assam Railway crosses the structure (Figure 7). The seismic data are equivocal, but they suggest, along with the surface data, that the normal fault displaced the decollement horizon prior to thrusting. This had the

Application of a Ramp/Flat-Fault Model to the Naga Thrust (India)

Figure 10. Continued. (C) Seismic data with interpretation. The interpretation shows the position of the transition of the Naga thrust from the decollement to the ramp ( I/0 dip-domain boundary). This point coincides with the point independently determined from the geologic map. Beds dipping at 40 within 2 km of the base of the ramp indicate that two faults are present in the section. However, the dip data do not reveal whether the additional faulting or imbrication is above or below the Naga thrust. (D) Geologic map showing the location of seismic line D-58 and surface data used in interpretation.

effect of creating a lateral ramp that causes the difference in surface expression of the Jaipur anticline in the Digboi and Kusijan areas. Thus the Assam Railway normal fault is an important structure in providing lateral closure for Digboi eld.

FAULT IMBRICATION Possibly the most striking feature of the frontal part of the Assam-Arakan thrust belt is the degree of structural imbrication. This characteristic prompted early workers to refer to the area as the Belt of Schuppen (imbricates). The overlapping arcuate map pattern

that results from imbrication is apparent on both smallscale and large-scale maps. Three types of imbrication are noted in the Belt of Schuppen: (1) large-scale imbricate structures originating from a similar or common decollement, (2) medium-scale imbricate structures originating from similar or common ramps, and (3) small-scale imbricate structures that occur at the leading edge of the Naga thrust. Leading-Edge Imbrication Leading-edge imbrications are small-scale features that occur at the locus of maximum displacement Kent et al. 2037

Figure 11. Regional map showing fault trends (after Mallick and Raju, 1995; used with permission from the Society of Professional Well Log Analysts) with time-structure map overlays. The rectangle encloses a time-structure map of the Naga thrust plane, based on seismic data. East of this map are dashed contours extracted from a top Tipam Formation time-structure map from the information docket for Assam and Arunachal Pradesh blocks (Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, 1994). This map compares the transition from at to ramp of the Naga thrust ( I/0 dip-domain boundary), as derived from seismic data and from the geologic map. The strike of this boundary is also compared with the trend of the basinal normal faults by projecting it laterally into the basin (heavy dashed lines northwest of Naga thrust).

Figure 12. The seismic interpretation of Figure 10, restored using LithoTech cross section balancing software. Panel A is the seismic interpretation converted from time domain to depth domain, onto which surface and well data have been projected. Panel B is the depth interpretation, restored using a exural slip algorithm. Interpretation of the hanging-wall geology is simplied, because in the hanging wall, there is a complex interrelationship between the regional unconformities noted at arrows 1 through 2 and fold-accommodation faults such as the one noted at point 3. 2038 Application of a Ramp/Flat-Fault Model to the Naga Thrust (India)

Kent et al. 2039

Figure 13. (A) Mathur and Evans (1964) diagrammatic section across upper Assam showing normal down-to-basin faults later inverted during the compression related to the development of the thrust belt. (B) The Jaipur anticline appears to have a kinematic evolution similar to that of the Jebel Tabast and Taddighoust anticlines of Morocco, as interpreted by Saint Bezar et al. (1998; reprinted with permission from Elsevier Science), if differences in system scale are noted. In this interpretation, preexistent normal faults are lines of weakness that initiate transition from at to ramp on later thrust faults.

Figure 14. (A) Block diagram of footwall frontal and lateral ramps (from Woodward et al., 1989; reproduced by permission of the American Geophysical Union). (B1) Cross section along line 1 in Figure 13A prior to deformation; (B2) Cross section along line 2 in Figure 13A after movement of the hanging wall up the footwall ramp. These two cross sections illustrate the deformation related to dipping lateral ramps and the effect of inverting the volume above the thrust fault. (C1) Cross section along line 1 in Figure 13A prior to deformation. Cross section C1 is a before-deformation cross section at line 1 in Figure 13A as the section is modied to include the second dipping lateral ramp and a vertical lateral ramp at the arrow. (C2) Cross section along line 2 in Figure 13A, after movement of the hanging wall up the ramp. These two cross sections show the development of a tear fault as the result of a lateral ramp. This set of illustrations, developed by Boyer (in Woodward et al., 1989), is for fault-bend folding. However, similar effects are seen for fault-propagation folds and breakthrough fault-propagation folds.

along the strike of a fault-propagation fold (Figure 8). The leading-edge imbricate structures are present on the Digboi and Kusijan cross sections (Figures 2A, 9) and appear to occur in areas where neither exural nor nonbedding parallel slip alone can accommodate strain. These features explain areas of high dip near the Naga thrust, because each imbricate fault increases the order of the overlying dip domain (areas indicated by the number 1 in Figure 8). Although these leading-edge imbricate structures are small relative to the size of potential hydrocarbon traps and to the Jaipur anticline, features of this magnitude can become economically signicant during eld development. 2040

Ramp Imbrication The map pattern of the overlapping imbricates along the trace of the Naga thrust, the position of the areas of higher-order dip near the intersection adjacent arcs of the fault trace (Figures 3, 8), and the poor-quality seismic data of line D-58 together suggested the working model illustrated in Figure 15. Based on the empirical bow-and-arrow rule (Elliott, 1976), the length of each arc along the trace of the fault is roughly 15 times the displacement of the related imbricate. Thus, the multiscale arcuate pattern suggests a composite of overlapping imbricate faults on a variety of scales.

Application of a Ramp/Flat-Fault Model to the Naga Thrust (India)

Figure 15. Map and cross sections of accommodation zone for breakthrough fault-propagation fold. The map shows three imbricate faults that transfer thrust displacement along strike. This map is proposed as a model for the Naga thrust, in which the Naga thrust is envisioned as a composite structure. Following the bow-and-arrow rule (Elliott, 1976) the length of each arc along the trace of the fault is predicted to be roughly 15 times the displacement of the related imbricate. Cross section AA illustrates a cross section located where only one fault is encountered. The dashed line is the location in which a second imbricate could have formed. Cross section BB shows the development of a second imbricate as displacement is transferred to the next segment of the thrust fault. The existence of the imbricate is reected at the surface by the second-order negative (hinterland-facing) dip domain ( II). Cross section CC is located at a point where the effect of the upper imbricate is diminishing. Where the depth to the decollement is small, a positive (basinward) dip domain as well as a second-order negative dip domain will develop. As the depth to decollement increases, the positive dip domain may be concealed as a result of upward domain convergence.

Although no hard data demonstrate the presence of ramp imbrication, the areas of anomalously high dip that occur north of the Dilli River on the east ank of the Jaipur anticline (areas indicated by the numeral 2 in Figure 8) suggest the possibility. We propose that the zones of high dip represent domains of second-order ( II) (and locally third-order [ III]) dip. These areas of higher dip result from the projection of one imbricate beneath an adjacent imbricate (Figure 15). Such hidden imbricate faults may be prospects, if a transverse structure such as a lateral ramp or tear fault provides lateral closure. Note that unrecognized shallow imbricates could also create areas of nonprospective higher dip (as seen in Figures 10, 12).

POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS FOR BELT-OFSCHUPPEN IMBRICATE STRUCTURAL STYLE The prominence of the imbricate structural style in the Assam-Arakan thrust belt is likely to be related to the heterogeneity and low strength of the stratigraphic section that makes up the frontal zones of the belt. The stratigraphic succession in this region consists predominantly of nonmarine Tertiary strata that are relatively weak and are characterized by numerous lateral facies changes. Abundant coal horizons in the Barail Formation likely serve as multiple detachment surfaces. In contrast, the more continuous lateral Kent et al. 2041

geometry of many thrust belts that involve Paleozoic or Mesozoic strata is strongly inuenced by strong, thick, regional carbonate units or well-indurated sandstone beds.

IMPLICATIONS FOR HYDROCARBON EXPLORATION With the exception of Digboi eld, anticlinal prospects along the Naga thrust west of that eld are limited because the relatively narrow fault-propagation fold has been eroded away, leaving only east-dipping beds along the southeastern part of the Naga thrust. However, the structural analysis described in this article provides additional information about the extent of the upper Assam petroleum systems and their associated producing trends. In the Jaipur anticline area, the intersection of the Tipam and upper Barail reservoirs by the Naga thrust marks the eastward limit of the Assam shelf trend, and the intersection of the Barail Formation with the Margherita thrust denes the eastward extent of proven effective source rocks. The known existence of active petroleum systems in the region is encouraging and suggests the possibility that subtle or hidden traps occur elsewhere in the structurally complex area. Naga Foothills Trend The dip-domain analysis suggests that a hidden fault imbricate exists at the southern plunge of the Jaipur anticline (Figure 8). If seismic or drilling data conrm this structure, it could have reserves equal to or greater than those of Digboi eld. The probability is high that both reservoir and top seal exist, and there is little doubt regarding the presence of an active hydrocarbon source. Determination of the imbricate geometry and the existence of a southern lateral seal would be the main points needed to reduce risk. The Kusijan area is the only part of the Jaipur anticline where west-dipping beds are preserved, and three wells have been drilled straddling the crest of the anticline. Complications present in Digboi eld suggest that the Kusijan wells might have missed or bypassed an accumulation. Two lines of evidence suggest this possibility. Seismic line D-58 and surface maps indicate that reservoir rocks of the upper Barail section are present at the core of the Jaipur anticline. Strata in this interval include parts of the upper Barail Jaipur oil sands, which seep oil in outcrops at the 2042

southern end of the anticline. Although the Kusijan No. 1 well is east of the surface trace of the anticlinal axis, the well did not test this area of possible structural/fault closure. Dead oil in outcrop at the surface trace of the Naga thrust, between the Kusijan No. 2 and Jorajan No. 10 wells, indicates that any trap downdip was near a migration pathway and has the potential to be charged (Figure 16). Review of Digboi eld as an analog indicates the following. Although the producing area of Digboi eld is more than 17.6 km (11 mi) long, it is only about

Figure 16. Kusijan-Jorajan area lineament map, as interpreted from drainage and alluvium outcrop patterns. The lineaments may result from differential compaction in the footwall of the thrust and may indicate the location of subthrust normal faults. This possibility is demonstrated by the correlation of the lineament trend with a normal fault, mapped on seismic data, that separates Kusijan wells No. 2 and No. 4. If additional correlation could be demonstrated, the procedure could provide a method for extrapolating the extent of Jorajan eld beneath the Naga thrust. This map also shows the location of oil-stained sandstone in outcrop, along the surface trace of the Naga thrust. Oil staining at this location is an indication that if a hanging wall structure exists southeast of Kusijan No. 1 well location, that structure has a high probability of being along a migration pathway and of being charged.

Application of a Ramp/Flat-Fault Model to the Naga Thrust (India)

400 m (0.25 mi) wide. The upper pay zones are discontinuous, and barren or water-bearing zones separate producing areas in these reservoirs. Determination of productive zones by use of geophysical well logs is difcult, because some reservoir zones contain fresh to low-salinity interstitial water that makes them difcult to distinguish from oil-bearing zones. Water salinity increases eastward with depth, with the highest concentration of dissolved salt in the shallow pay zones reaching only 7500 ppm (Corps, 1949). These data suggest that structural modeling to accurately locate the crest of the structure at reservoir depth, and careful reexamination of existing well logs and uid data to distinguish between hydrocarbon and freshwater zones, might generate a second shallow (lowcost), relatively low-risk prospect on the Jaipur structure. Assam Shelf Trend The Assam shelf trend is proven by more than 50 yr of production. The part of the basin beneath the Naga thrust represents an unexplored part of the trend. The eastern prospective limit for each producing interval of the Assam shelf trend is the intersection of the base of that unit with either the Naga or the Margherita thrust, an area of several hundred square kilometers (Figure 17). The structure of beds above the bedding-plane part of the Naga thrust fault is slightly modied by translation, but the beds remain relatively undeformed by the fault. The limited seismic and well data, in conjunction with the structural modeling, were used to make a form-line structure map of the upper Barail Group (Figure 17). This map indicates that the structural nose on which Nahorkatiya, Jorajan, and other foreland elds are located extends under and southeast of the surface trace of the Naga thrust. At prospect scale, the Jorajan No. 10 well, which was drilled east of the surface trace of the Naga thrust into the subthrust extension of Jorajan eld, illustrates the potential for the extension of the Assam shelf trend beneath the frontal part of the thrust belt (Figure 16). Jorajan eld is a complex of at least ve separate normal fault blocks that had initial reserves of more than 350 MMBOE. If the assertion is correct that the trapping normal faults of the Assam shelf trend predated and inuenced the thrust belt development, then it may be possible to deduce structure beneath a thrust sheet by combining subsurface interpretations with surface ge-

Figure 17. Form-line structure map of structure near the top of the upper Barail Group. This map is based on the limited seismic and well control, as interpreted by concepts derived from the structural models. Line A is the map trace of point A in Figure 9 and represents the intersection of the Naga thrust with the top of the Barail. Line B is the map trace of point B in Figure 9 and represents the intersection of the I/0 dip-domain boundary with the top of the Barail. Both seismic lines D-3 and D-23 show regional dip of reectors to the northeast. The Naga thrust occurs as a bedding-plane fault in seismic line D-23.

ology. Patil (1993) has shown that there is a relationship between subthrust normal faults and suprathrust normal faults within the Belt of Schuppen. He reasoned that this relationship resulted from the relaxation of strain at the end of the compressional episode, and continued differential compaction within the subthrust horst-and-graben system. A similar relationship between surface lineaments and subthrust faulting can be seen in the area of the Kusijan wells. This correlation between surface lineaments and subsurface faults may provide a method for extrapolating the Assam shelf structural trends beneath the Naga thrust. Some alluvial outcrops in the Jorajan area have strikingly linear contacts (Figure 16). The strike of lineaments associated with the contacts is similar to two of the orientations of faults in the Assam shelf trend. The northernmost lineament shown passes between the Kusijan No. 2 and No. 4 wells, in which the elevation of the top of the subthrust Tipam Formation differs by about 80 m. This relationship suggests that the seismically mapped normal fault in the foreland passes between the two wells, along the trend dened by the lineament. Kent et al. 2043

CONCLUSIONS AND EXPLORATION ECONOMICS The principal part of this study was based on a data package available from the government of India for a cost of a few thousand dollars. An integrated data set was created by combining subsurface data from the data package; surface data from geologic mapping done in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s; satellite images; and published articles. From this diverse data set it was possible to derive the elements of quantitative structural models that are testable. The structural models, in turn, when combined with other quantitative data, such as uid properties, or more qualitative data, such as hydrocarbon shows, can be expanded into conceptual exploration models. The strength of conceptual models derived by this method is twofold. First, one can follow the method for linking data and assumptions, which allows one to test critical points in the data or logic string. One can then develop an exploration plan that follows a course of project management in which critical points are identied and the associated risk mitigated (Archibald, 1992). Second, because key risk elements can be dened early in the project and at a relatively low cost, exploration dollars can be better focused to mitigate these risks. In this case, additional seismic data might be acquired only over areas suggested by the integration of existing data to be prospective, thereby reducing seismic acquisition costs. An additional benet is that this conceptual approach links well with projectmanagement techniques that track costs and accomplishments as the exploration plan proceeds. Many areas exist, particularly in thrust belts, where surface geologic data and key subsurface data can be assembled relatively inexpensively, and where this integrated structural interpretation approach can be applied.

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Application of a Ramp/Flat-Fault Model to the Naga Thrust (India)

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