SRC, in collaboration with Bridgeporth Limited, has completed a Seismic Atlas offshore Morocco on behalf of Geoex, who acquired a regional high-resolution 2D seismic and G&M data in the 2018 Morocco Atlantic Margin Well Tie MC2D Survey.

The newly acquired data provide a new view of the regional structural and stratigraphic relationships and deep crustal structure across the passive margin of Atlantic Morocco. In this way they provide a new framework for petroleum systems analysis in guiding future exploration. The seismic data also tie key exploration wells and DSDP sites allowing the extrapolation of stratigraphy and source rocks across the margin.

The seismic data image the continent-ocean boundary and in places show the reflection moho and internal structural fabric of oceanic crust and provide new insights into the Late Cretaceous-Tertiary crustal deformational history of the margin extending between continental and oceanic crust.

Over the last 20 years exploration wells have unsuccessfully drilled Upper Cretaceous/Tertiary, Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic reservoir targets offshore Moroccan Atlantic. The lack of significant exploration success begs questions about the effectiveness of the petroleum system(s) associated with Mid Cretaceous source rocks. The regional Geoex dataset will allow a re-assessment of the exploration potential of this margin through new regional geological understanding.

The Morocco seismic atlas will provide a regional geological synthesis and stratigraphy drawing on SRC recent proprietary studies in the region and incorporating information arising from the ongoing Eastern Atlantic Oceanic Crusts project (EAOCP), incorporating the new evidence for source rocks in the ‘deep’ section of the distal domain comes from DSDP information. SRC will work with Bridgeporth to model the gravity and magnetics data acquired as part of the Geoex survey. Detailed 2D modelling for selected profiles will follow on from the qualitative interpretation to establish balanced seismic/potential field cross sections. The modelling results will be used to investigate crustal architecture and model the crustal transitions evident in the seismic data.

The seismic atlas will be available to license from Geoex as part of the integrated well, seismic and G&M data package that it is making available to industry.

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