Abstract:
A set of Permian salt rock layers is widely distributed in the western central graben of the North Sea Basin. Previous studies on salt movement in this area tended to focus on regional and mechanistic geology without in-depth study on the stages of salt tectonic activity in this area and its impact on oil-gas accumulation. Therefore, 3D seismic data, slice data, and balanced profile recovery techniques were used to study deeply the tectonic evolution, salt layer movement and its impact on sedimentary sand bodies and oil-gas migration in Block G of the western Central Graben in the North Sea Basin. Results show that: ① the Block G underwent two episodes of fault depression and three phases of structural inversion during the Triassic–Eocene. ② The salt movement lasted from the Triassic-Eocene, running through the fault depression and inversion periods, during which salt floor splitting, transition type salt rolling, and piercing type salt plants, as well as different types of traps of anticlinal traps, stratigraphic pinch-out traps, and fault block traps were formed. ③ In addition, the salt movement affected the formation of oil-gas accumulation by controlling the paleogeomorphology and oil-gas migration.The slope formed by salt movement during fault depression provided topographical conditions for the deposition of turbidite sand in the Late Jurassic, while the salt movement during structural inversion period provided structural dynamics for the recessive activities of faults and the formation of stratigraphic micro-fractures, and a geological foundation for the migration and accumulation of oil and gas.