Developments in sedimentary basin analysis for hydrocarbon assessment: from anticlinal theory to quantitative basin analysis

Developing an integrated system for the analysis of sedimentary basins is a difficult task to complete without data-processing assistance but can be accomplished by using sophisticated and high-speed computers. Techniques have been developed that incorporate computer technology adapted from Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Artificial Intelligence; these techniques include expert systems and knowledge-acquisition methods that permit a three-dimensional approach to analysis of sedimentary basins. Work is in progress on a prototype expert system that will capture the logic used to define the geologic concepts for a basin analysis and the reasoning required to better understand and reconstruct the geologic evolution of a sedimentary basin. This system is designed to analyze the traditional concepts of source, reservoir, and trapping mechanism, which aid in the diagnosis of favorable conditions for the occurrence of petroleum or other energy resources. This project's basic strategy calls for (1) designing an experimental expert system that produces a basin analysis, emphasizing those geologic concepts that are critical to the evolution of a sedimentary basin, and (2) applying GIS technology to the analysis of multivariate data, facilitating the use and display of both two and three-dimensional multivariate spatial data sets for characterizing a sedimentary basin.