Hydrocarbon exploration in the Baltimore Canyon during the 1980’s targeted Upper Jurassic and younger elastics and carbonates in stratigraphic traps consisting of possibly erosionally enhanced mounds and pinnacles. Five wells encountered hydrocarbons with cumulative flow rates testing 90 mm cfg/d. Apparent discontinuity in reservoir extent resulted in project abandonment. Highly mature, organic source rocks in this area were not identified. A recent organic reinterpretation of gas condensates from the Hudson Canyon suggests a deeper Lower Jurassic source, analogous to that of the U.S. Gulf Coast’s Smackover Formation, Late Jurassic in age.The Houston Oil Minerals 676 Well encountered salt at a depth of 3,800 meters on the eastern flank of the Schlee Dome. Reprocessed seismic data (AVO Analysis) indicate reflectors typical of widespread salt layers deposited during the Early Jurassic (60 m thick and 25 km wide) suggesting arid and restricted (anoxic) depositional climatic conditions in the Early Jurassic. Impermeable evaporites and shales, between the Lower and Upper Jurassic, may provide excellent seals explaining the lack of significant migration of hydrocarbons into porous rocks of the Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous. The Gulf Coast Smackover may be an excellent analog for this area. The Red Sea-Dead Sea-Sea of Galilee rift zone may be an important modern analog for the Baltimore Canyon Trough. Carbonates in this area have porosities that range between 30% and 60% permeabilities that range between 0.01 and 10,000 millidarcys.The thermal maturation profile (based on the Shell 273-1 well) for the Baltimore Canyon Trough indicates that Jurassic age sediments entered the early oil phase at a depth of approximately 2500 m and the main gas generation window at a depth of 5000 m. Gas generation in Early to Middle Jurassic sediments started in the Late Jurassic and continued through the Tertiary. Sediments younger than the Early Cretaceous are not thermally mature. A new exploration strategy should focus on deeper sections of the Lower and Middle Jurassic, at depths much greater than previously drilled. Drilling should be significant distances from igneous emplacements, which may have breached upper reservoir seals. Reservoirs should be in carbonates and shelf elastics. An isopach map of the Baltimore Canyon Trough indicates that a significant area of Jurassic Age sediments, greater than 6 km thick, is buried to depths of mature hydrocarbon generation.

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巴尔的摩峡谷未经测试的天然气潜力

1980 年代巴尔的摩峡谷油气勘探的目标是上侏罗纪和较年轻的弹性体和碳酸盐岩地层圈闭，可能由侵蚀增强的土丘和尖峰组成。五口井遇到了累积流量测试为 90 mm cfg/d 的碳氢化合物。水库范围的明显不连续性导致项目放弃。未发现该地区高度成熟的有机烃源岩。最近对哈德逊峡谷凝析气的有机重新解释表明下侏罗纪源更深，类似于美国墨西哥湾沿岸的 Smackover 地层，年龄晚侏罗纪。休斯顿石油矿产 676 井在 3,800 米深处遇到盐分Schlee Dome 的东侧。重新处理的地震数据（AVO 分析）表明早侏罗世（60 m 厚，25 km 宽）沉积的广泛盐层的典型反射层表明早侏罗世的干旱和限制（缺氧）沉积气候条件。下侏罗统和上侏罗统之间的不透水蒸发岩和页岩可能提供了极好的密封，解释了烃类没有显着迁移到上侏罗统和白垩纪的多孔岩石中。墨西哥湾沿岸 Smackover 可能是该地区的绝佳模拟。红海-死海-加利利海裂谷带可能是巴尔的摩峡谷海槽的一个重要现代类比。该地区碳酸盐的孔隙率介于 30% 和 60% 之间，渗透率介于 0.01 和 10,000 毫达西之间。巴尔的摩峡谷海槽的热成熟剖面（基于壳牌 273-1 井）表明，侏罗纪时代沉积物在约 2500 m 深度进入早期油相，在 5000 m 深度进入主要生气窗口。早侏罗世至中侏罗世沉积物中的气体生成始于晚侏罗世并持续到第三纪。比早白垩世年轻的沉积物不是热成熟的。新的勘探策略应侧重于下侏罗统和中侏罗统的更深部分，其深度远大于以前的钻探深度。钻探应远离火成岩侵位，火成岩侵位可能已破坏上部储层密封。储层应位于碳酸盐岩和陆架弹性体中。巴尔的摩峡谷海槽的等厚图表明侏罗纪时代沉积物的重要区域，