Fluid flow in the South Eugene Island area, offshore Louisiana: results of numerical simulations

Numerical simulations of heat and fluid transport in the South Eugene Island (SEI) area, offshore Louisiana, suggest fluids migrate from deep, abnormally pressured sediments, along fault zones, and into overlying oil and gas reservoirs. In the simulations, fluid flow along the fault produces a narrow thermal anomaly around the fault. A negative thermal anomaly forms adjacent to the thermal maximum when permeable sediments dip away from the fault zone. In the simulations, this negative thermal anomaly dissipates 100-200 years after it forms. The presence of a similar negative thermal anomaly in the SEI area suggests that fluid movement in the area is a recent event. The observation that the thermal maximum in the study area is not centered about the fault zone further suggests that the primary vertical conduit for fluid flow in the SEI area is not a major fault but minor splay faults in the hanging wall.