Three-dimensional analyses of syndepositional faults and synkinematic sediments, Niger Delta, Nigeria

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Several important issues concerning the understanding of synsedimentary deltaic faulting and fault-controlled deltaic sedimentation are yet not fully understood, including 1) the explanation of the initiation, maintenance, and abandonment of deltaic faults, 2) the controlling mechanisms for the often diverse spatial and temporal development of synsedimentary faults (growth faults) in large deltas that is characterized either by fault propagation through time into hanging-wall terrain or by the backstepping of deltaic faults into footwall areas, and 3) the delineation of the parameters controlling the reactivation of deltaic faults. This study tackles the above issues by applying a detailed tectonic and seismicstratigraphic analysis to a large-scale, state-of-the-art industry dataset of the shallow-water offshore Niger Delta (3D seismic block, 129 wells) that will form the base for an incremental, quantitative restoration of the movement history associated with growth structures imaging at the same time the development of the subsurface stratigraphy in great detail. The results of this combined tectonic and sedimentological Niger-Delta research approach are expected to 1) comprise generally applicable, quantitative end-member models for the “life-cycle” of growth faults in large deltas, 2) describe and quantify the associated growth stratigraphy, and 3) increase the fundamental understanding of the influence (or dependence?) of synsedimentary faulting on delta sedimentation.