Didier Granjeon

IFP Energies nouvelles · Geosciences Division

Numerous studies of the offshore Niger Delta have documented substrate-related collapse systems based on widely spaced 2D seismic data that generally lack detailed age calibration, but shale evolution through time remains poorly understood. This is investigated in this study through a detailed interpretation of an industry 3D seismic survey and cal...

The offshore Niger Delta provides a spectacular example of gravity collapse tectonics, but the timing of shale mobilisation remains poorly understood. Here we present new information from the western Niger Delta, based on a detailed interpretation of a 3D seismic volume, calibrated with biostratigraphic data from exploration wells. The study area i...

The numerous processes (superficial and deep) occurring on margins, their origins, consequences, interactions and quantifications are only very partially described and understood. The identification of the relative role of factors is sometimes completely contradictory between authors. Here, we showed the results of a long-term multidecadal and mult...

The interaction between sedimentary wedge dynamics and paleo-fracture zones is investigated offshore western Niger Delta lobe (WNDL) to reconstruct the evolution of the delta from the Cretaceous to present. This was achieved through detailed regional seismic interpretation, calibrated with well data. Our results suggest that high sedimentation rate...

Estuaries play a major role in the transfer of sediments from the continents to the shelves and deep ocean basins. Their position at the interface between land and sea promotes them as a key area for the understanding of ocean sediment supply, but yet long-term evolution remains poorly understood. The main reasons of the lack of knowledge about est...

The interaction between sedimentary wedge dynamics and paleo-fracture zones is investigated offshore Western Niger Delta lobe (WNDL) to reconstruct the evolution of the delta from the Cretaceous to present. This was achieved through detailed regional seismic interpretation, calibrated with well data. Our results suggest that high sedimentation rate...

This article presents an integrated approach based on stratigraphic forward modeling and reactive transport modeling to adequately represent the development of a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate sedimentary system and its diagenesis. This work was realized on a realistic case study, the Oligo-Miocene series of Carry-le-Rouet, South-East of France, cha...

Following the termination of the Messinian salinity crisis ∼5.3 million years ago, massive sedimentation in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea formed the huge Nile Delta. Alongside delta propagation, a continental shelf was accreted along the Levant margin. For several decades it was assumed that these two sedimentary structures were closely connected....

Although climate proxy (δ18O) across the world ocean basins reveals that orbital forcing significantly controlled the Pliocene and the Pleistocene sediment deposition, and has been demonstrated in seismic and outcrop studies on the continental shelves of many margins, few or no seismic stratigraphic studies have investigated orbital forcing on deep...

Detailed analysis of seismic geometries and stratal thicknesses within time-constrained horizons combined with 3-D geomorphological maps provide useful insights into the timing of deformation within the Neogene sediments in the western Niger Delta's slope. Two seismic geometries (SG 'A' and SG 'B') characterize the syn-shale kinematic and post-shal...

This study presents the stratigraphic architecture of the Pliocene-Pleistocene sedimentary record of the western Niger Delta over the last ∼5.5 Myr based on detailed interpretation of high-resolution 3D seismic data calibrated with 5 boreholes located on the slope. The sedimentary record is subdivided into 'Upper and Lower seismic Units' based on s...

Despite the plethora of publication on the Pliocene and Pleistocene sedimentary records of the Niger Delta, no study has investigated sequence cyclicity, which may be related to obliquity and eccentricity forcing. This aim is achieved in this study by integrating detailed seismic stratigraphy and 3D geomorphological analysis of a high-resolution 3D...

Subsidence and uplift patterns and thermal history of sedimentary basins are controlled by tectonics, mantle dynamics and surface processes, such as erosion, sediment transport and deposition and their links to climatic variations. We use combined thermo-mechanical and stratigraphic numerical modelling techniques to quantify the links between tecto...

The relative impacts of autogenic and allogenic controls on the architectural evolution of deep-sea fans are not well constrained, mainly because of the difficulty in evaluating the role of each control on any specific stratigraphic pattern. This study presents four-dimensional (4D) forward stratigraphic modelling of the Late Quaternary Congo Axial...

The eastern Tunisian shelf is located between the Gulf of Hammamet and the Gulf of Gabes and belongs to the Pelagian domain which underwent a continuous NE-directed extension and crustal thinning since Late Miocene. This geodynamic process induced the formation of NW striking normal faults and associated grabens both in the Tunisian Atlas and the P...

The Amazon Fan provides a natural laboratory to study the generation of overpressure, due to rapid late Cenozoic burial that has resulted in gravitational collapse above shale detachments. Here we examine collapse systems for the first time using the techniques of petroleum systems analysis. We propose an integrated methodology based on numerical m...

This paper is concerned with extending the stratigraphic model previously introduced by Eymard et al. (Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng. 60(2):527–548 2004) and subsequently studied by Gervais and her coauthors for the simulation of large-scale transport processes of sediments, subject to an erosion constraint. Two major novelties are considered: (i) the...

Basin analysis and subsidence history provide key insights into sedimentary basin forming mechanisms. Direct observations have long been the only source of information on their thermal and lithological architecture. State of the art modelling techniques today enable the prediction and computation of their formation and evolution constrained by geol...

Sequence stratigraphic models emphasize changes in accommodation driven by relative sea level as a principal control on continental-margin development. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that there are differences in the volume and distribution of sand delivered to deep-water during the high-amplitude sea-level changes of icehouse settings versus...

The Cenozoic Niger Delta is a classic shale tectonic province affected by gravity spreading, mud volcanoes and pockmarks due to overpressured marine shales detaching from decollement levels. Previous studies utilizing shallow seismic profiles have described the depositional architecture in the western upper slope of the Niger Delta. However, lack o...

Located in the East Aegean Sea of Greece, the island of Samos is well known for its rich late Miocene mammal fauna and has been extensively studied in this context. This stands in contrast to the amount of understanding as we have of today about the stratigraphic architecture, sedimentary composition and geological evolution of the late Miocene on...

Located on a divergent margin dominated by gravity tectonics above overpressured marine shales, the Niger Delta slope has been described as having a stepped profile characterized by ‘filled ponded basins’ that are prone to erosion and sediment bypass. Previous studies based on 3D seismic data have described the depositional architecture of the west...

The Amazon continental shelf hosted one of the world's largest mixed carbonate-siliciclastic platforms from the late Paleocene onwards - the Amapá carbonates. The platform architecture, however, remains poorly understood and causes and timing of the cessation of carbonate deposition are still controversial. Here we present a stratigraphic analysis...

Exploration of siliciclastic deep-water frontier areas, but also lacustrine and shallow-water carbonate systems such as the pre-salt Aptian coquinas, are back to the present. These exploratory plays have yielded large petroleum discoveries along the South Atlantic margins but are still in their infancy. Accurate sedimentary facies models are mandat...

Remote and deep-water frontier areas require accurate sedimentary facies models to reduce exploration and development risks. Thanks to the seismic and wireline data acquired over the last decades, and to the recent development of big data management technologies, it is now possible to propose high tech solutions to create an image of the subsurface...

Classic sequence stratigraphy suggests depositional sequences can form due to changes in accommodation and due to changes in sediment supply. Accommodation‐dominated sequences are problematic to define rigorously, but are commonly interpreted from outcrop and subsurface data. In contrast, supply‐dominated sequences are much less commonly identified...

The distinction between contourites and turbidites is generally based on large-scale features and conversely detailed depositional model is still lacking, especially because the interaction of both processes is the norm rather than the exception. Only few outcrop examples were documented, and a studied case where both facies, intermediate (10's m)...

The relationships between the margin sedimentary regime and the platform progradation are studied using forward stratigraphic numerical simulations on the Leeward (Western) prograding margin of the Great Bahama Bank (GBB) during the Quaternary (1.7–0 Ma). The corresponding sedimentary regime in the slope and the platform is well known from the ODP...

The distribution and quality of organic matter in source rocks are key elements for petroleum systems assessment. However, these properties are generally poorly known as they do not represent the main target of the drilling process, involving strong uncertainties in the estimation of the kitchen area. Fortunately, the stratigraphic numerical forwar...

Sediment flux signals from source to sink in foreland basins preserve a record of tectonics, sea level and climate through erosion and sedimentation. However, longitudinal sediment transport often occurs in foreland basins, thus removing part of the orogenic material flux from foreland basin records. Here we use mass balance calculation and stratig...

This paper is concerned with extending the stratigraphic model previously introduced by Eymard et al. [Int. J. Numer. Methods Engrg. 60, 527-548 (2004)] and subsequently studied by Gervais and her coauthors for the simulation of large scale transport processes of sediments, subject to an erosion constraint. Two major novelties are considered: (i) t...

Oral presentation in session "Seismic Interpretation I - Automation through AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning " of EAGE 2018

Poster presented at the SIAM-IS conference, 2018 https://www.siam-is18.dm.unibo.it/presentations/834 (last accessed 2018-10-17)

The most commonly cited control on delivery of sand to deep water is the rate of relative sea-level fall. The rapid rate of accommodation loss on the shelf causes sedimentation to shift basinward. Field and experimental numerical modeling studies have shown that deep-water sand delivery can occur during any stage of relative sea level position and...

Identification and seismic mapping of mass-transport deposits (MTDs) are vital targets for marine geological studies both for a better understanding of mass wasting processes and geohazards and for economic prospects in sedimentary basins. In recent decades, refinements in the interpretation of these geobodies have benefited from increasingly good...

Sediment flux signals in foreland basins preserve a record oftectonics, sea level and climate through erosion and sedimentation.However, longitudinal sediment transport often occurs in foreland basin,thus removing part of the orogenic material flux from foreland basins.Here we use mass balance calculation and stratigraphic simulations ofsediment fl...

Allogenic and autogenic processes interact to regulate sediment distribution in sedimentary basins. Depositional systems can respond in a complex manner to these processes, complicating interpretation of the controls on the stratigraphic record. Here we used published and constant eustatic curves in a stratigraphic forward model to examine the effe...

The recent development of unconventional resources has triggered a regain of interest for source-rocks. The presence of hydrocarbons in these unconventional systems is generally associated with organic-rich sediments. This study aims at better understanding the factors controlling the accumulation of marine organic matter at basin scale, using a pr...

One of the main objectives of petroleum exploration consists of predicting reservoir location. Data collected in the basin are used to better understand the sedimentary architecture, but are usually insufficient to accurately characterize this architecture. Three-dimensional stratigraphic forward modeling has brought new insights in the understandi...

The distribution and quality of organic matter in source rocks are key elements when assessing petroleum systems. It is also of primary importance to picture heterogeneities within source rocks for the particular interest of unconventional prospects. Stratigraphic models help to improve the prediction of sedimentary architectures and distribution....

This study focuses on describing and reconstructing the long-term stratigraphic evolution of the Glorieuses archipelago (SW Indian Ocean) since the onset of Paleocene. It aims at better understanding timing and processes of the shallow-water carbonate platform growth (including the export of sediments towards the surrounding deep basin) and demise,...

The tectono-sedimentary evolution of asymmetric extensional systems driven by the activity of major normal faults or detachments associated with footwall exhumation is often characterized by a sequence of slower, faster and ultimately again slower subsidence rates in the center of hanging-wall half-grabens during their syn- and post- kinematic evol...

Presented at the SIAM-GS conference, September 2017

Carbonate rocks are usually very good carbonate reservoirs and can host giant fields, such as the Ghawar, Karachaganak or Lula fields. They can form in various depositional environments, stratigraphic and structural settings, and can be affected by many different diagenetic processes. As a result, they present very heterogeneous petroacoustic chara...

In this work, we study an extension of the model introduced by Eymard et al. [Int. J. Numer. Methods Engrg.60, 527–248 (2004)] for the simulation of large scale transport processes of sediments, subject to an erosion constraint. The novelty we consider lies in the diffusion law relating the flux of sediments and the slope of the topography, that no...

The geometry and internal functioning of turbidite systems are relatively well-constrained today. However, the respective role of autogenic (topographic compensation, dynamics of turbidity currents.. .) and allogenic factors (tectonics, sea-level, climate) governing their architectural evolution is still under debate. The geometry of the Quaternary...

Eustasy constitutes a key control on continental shelf accommodation along with tectonism. The combined effect of these processes influences relative sea level, which is thought to regulate the location of facies, stratigraphic architecture, and distribution of sediment to basin margins. Here, we used a nonlinear, diffusion-based numerical stratigr...

Eustasy constitutes a key control on continental-shelf accommodation along with tectonism. The combined effect of these processes influences relative sea level, which is thought to regulate the location of facies, stratigraphic architecture, and distribution of sediment to basin margins. Here, we used a nonlinear, diffusion-based, numerical stratig...

The recent development of self-contained source-reservoir systems in North America has triggered a regain of interest for fine-grained and organic-rich deposits. Challenges faced by the industry and active research in geomechanics, petrophysics, organic geochemistry and source rock sedimentology among other disciplines, have demonstrated that uncon...

The eastern Algerian basin, part of the Western Mediterranean domain, is a back-arc basinas the result of the SE drift of the Lesser Kabylia block gave rise to continental extension and birth of a new oceanic domain. We aim here to define the structure and tectonostratigraphic evolution of this basin and the adjoining continental margin. Indeed, th...

In self-sourced reservoirs, the occurrence of hydrocarbons is correlated to in-situ organic content and thermal maturity, while the effective extraction of this resource depends, among other parameters, on the brittleness of the reservoir that is mainly controlled by mineralogy and rock fabric. The aim of this study is to improve the understanding...

Eustasy is thought to be a critical control on the distribution of sediment in basin margins and is used in conceptual stratigraphic models to predict the location of sand-rich deposits and explain basin development. We used a nonlinear, diffusion-based numerical forward stratigraphic model in a synthetic basin to test the impact of the widely cite...

Numerical stratigraphic forward models can help to estimate sediment distribution and characteristics at regional to basin scales. However, the available data - usually regional seismic and scarce well data- may not be sufficient to accurately constrain all the processes and parameters. The resulting uncertainty impacts the confidence in the simula...

In the eastern Algerian offshore basin, 3D basin modeling applied for facies prediction and petroleum potential assessment shows that most favorable zones for reservoir development and hydrocarbon occurrence are located at a maximum distance of 60 km from the coastline. The lack of well data in this area is partly compensated by a large data set of...

We present a new model of organic matter deposition and preservation fully coupled with DionisosFlowTM, a 3D numerical stratigraphic model (Granjeon and Joseph, 1999). Our method consists in simulating production, transport and early degradation of organic matter during the filling of sedimentary basins using a forward approach. Initial source-rock...

Sediment production and transport within a drainage basin influence the rate and total volume of sediment delivered to the coast. The rate of sediment delivery has implications for local ecology, land use, and natural resources. Sediment supply is controlled by multiple factors (e.g., drainage basin size, geology, relief and climate) that are nonli...

Recent scientific work has highlighted the presence of an up to 12 km thick Cenozoic siliclastic and carbonate infill in the Levant Basin. Since the Late Eocene, several regional geodynamic events affecting Afro-Arabia and Eurasia (collision and strike slip deformation) induced marginal uplifts. The initiation of local and long-lived regional drain...

The sedimentary architecture of basins and passive margins is determined by a complex interaction of parameters, including subsidence, eustasy, and sediment supply. A quantification of the post-rift (20 Ma-0 Ma) vertical movements of the Gulf of Lion (West Mediterranean) is proposed here based on the stratigraphic study of sedimentary paleomarkers...

Carbonate ramps are usually very good carbonate reservoirs and could be found all around the world, in South-East Asia and Middle-East. Stratigraphic architecture of these reservoirs is a key feature controlling hydrocarbon occurrence and behaviour. Detailed outcrop studies have been performed during the last decade to understand better the structu...

Deep Earth dynamics impact so strongly on surface geologic processes that we can use sediment palaeo-markers as a window into the deeper Earth. Derived from climatic and tectonic erosive actions on the continents, and related to eustasy, subsidence and isostasy, the sediment in a deep basin is the main recorder of these processes. Nevertheless, def...

The late Messinian mixed carbonate-siliciclastic platforms of the Sorbas Basin, known as the Terminal Carbonate Complex, record significant changes in carbonate production and geometry. Their facies and stratigraphic architecture result from complex interactions between base-level fluctuations, evaporite deformation/dissolution and detrital inputs....

The interactions between the sand-rich Orinoco turbidite system and the compressional structures of the Barbados prism have been active since Eocene time as illustrated by the study of outcrops onshore Barbados Island. Because of strong morphologic and tectonic control, the present-day Orinoco turbiditic pattern system does not exhibit a classic fa...

Interpretations of subsurface data and computer simulations of basin-fill history in the late Neogene Pannonian Basin of eastern Hungary established a regional stratigraphic model presented in this paper. Three fluvial systems overfilled the basin: a large system from the NE, another from the NW and a third smaller system transported sediments from...

Knowledge about the Quaternary evolution of mid-ocean atolls comes mainly from drilling and field observations carried out on a number of Pacific carbonate islands. However, little is known about the early to mid Pleistocene atoll development history, especially, at margin and foreslope settings. Using previous field and subsurface data from Mururo...

This paper describes a 3D stratigraphic forward model, Dionisos, intended to reconstruct the stratigraphic architecture of sedimentary basins at a regional scale. This model accounts for basin deformation, clastic and carbonate supplies and sediment transport, both in continental and marine environments. Sediment is defined as a mixture of several...

We investigate whether depositional sequences can form on 1000 y or millennial scale, and what stratal architecture can develop as the result of these short term variations. The modeling experiments lead to the formulation of a conceptual model for millennial-scale stratigraphy relevant to glacial periods.

Seismic interpretation constrained by a detailed assessment of the Levant paleogeography allowed subdividing the sedimentary infill of the northern Levant Basin (offshore Lebanon) in eight major seismic packages. Fifteen seismic facies have been identified with distinctive characteristics. The Levant Basin architecture is pre-determined by a Late P...

Determining the relative importance of factors interacting to control stratigraphic organization is a key issue in sedimentology. The Pliocene-Quaternary chronostratigraphy on the Gulf of Lions platform is still poorly constrained, giving rise to different interpretations of the evolution of its subsidence through time. This paper examines the Plio...

The invention is a method of developing a sedimentary basin wherein the distribution and the quality of the organic matter in the sedimentary basin are determined using stratigraphic modelling representing the evolution of the sedimentary basin. The method is based on the coupling of a stratigraphic model with an organic matter production, transpor...