The Permian Delaware Basin is a complex system in which the maturation of organic matter is affected by events not evident in the post-Permian available data. In this study, the authors aim to identify the effect of various geologic controls on hydrocarbon maturation in the Delaware Basin by restoring regional cross sections and performing simulations of organic-matter maturity. Integration of these data with seismic interpretation of the stratigraphic intervals present in the basin is used to refine the structural restorations and calibration of resulting 2D thermal models.
Methods
As a direct source of information for the initial evaluation of the post-Permian layers, surface geological maps, residual thickness maps, and structural information collected from the literature were examined. Next, four regional cross sections were selected and restudied with this objective.
