The Wikipedia page on sequence stratigraphy states:
Sandstone bodies associated with incised valleys are good hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Can anyone elaborate on this statement and the reason behind it?
The Wikipedia page on sequence stratigraphy states:
Sandstone bodies associated with incised valleys are good hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Can anyone elaborate on this statement and the reason behind it?
Sandstone bodies in incised valleys can be good hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Incised valleys form on the coastal plain and/or continental shelf during a fall in relative sea-level by a combination of fluvial and marine processes (e.g. fluvial erosion, headward erosion). Here's some coastal plain incision by the Orari River in New Zealand — look at those sand bars!
With the caveat that incised valleys can be filled with mud (non-reservoir) too, there are a few reasons why lots of hydrocarbon fields have been discovered in incised valleys:
The last little gem is that, even if there's no luck exploring on the shelf, incised valleys might mean that coarse sediment has been delivered to the basin floor, opening up a promising play there too.