Structural influences on facies trends of carbonate inner ramp systems, examples from the Kuwait-Saudi Arabian coast of the Arabian Gulf and Northern Yucatan, Mexico

Abstract

The value of integrating structural influences with sedimentology is identifying the significant changes that occur along strike and downdip. Understanding where and how these changes occur can have a profound influence on exploration risk assessment along inner ramp and inner shelf trends, particularly in the search for stratigraphic traps. Dip-oriented structural elements along depositional strike of inner ramps of the discussed areas include major fault zones, folds, smaller faults, and impact craters. These tectonic influences control often discontinuous facies distribution patterns of barrier islands, lagoons, sabkhas, and inner ramp carbonate factories. In contrast, strike-oriented structural influences often control the location of facies trends which promotes trend continuity. Wave-dominated Holocene and modern inner ramp deposits from southern Kuwait-northern Saudi Arabia and Northern Yucatan, Mexico, provide complementary models to the classic channelized ramp system of Abu Dhabi. Structural influences relative to coastal orientations control regional and local depositional styles, trend continuity/discontinuity, the location of carbonate factories and landward lagoon and tidal flat depositional characteristics. As reservoir-updip seal pairs for stratigraphic trap exploration, these analogues also demonstrate that changes along depositional strike should be expected, and in many cases could be predictable. These relationships emphaize the need to carefully integrate structure with facies and paleo-environmental reconstructions when mapping trends and assessing exploration risk in the search for stratigraphic and combination traps.