Basement structural controls on the Jurassic sedimentary sequences in the Tampico-Misantla Basin, northeastern Mexico from a 3-D seismic reflection study

The Tampico-Misantla basin is a mature oil rich province in northeastern Mexico with large unconventional oil plays currently being explored. Results of a 3-D seismic reflection study of the basement and Jurassic sequences are used to analyze the basement influence on the sedimentary sequence and basin structure, by mapping the seismostratigraphic horizons for the (Tithonian) Pimienta, (Kimmeridigian) Taman/San Andrés, (Oxfordian) Santiago, (Callovian) Tepexic/Huehuetepec and (Bathonian) Cahuasas formations. The basement is characterized by stepped NW-SE tilted blocks of horst and grabens. The horst sections to the northeast are found at depths of 3,200m and get deeper up to 6,500m to the southwest. Blocks bounded by planar curved high angle normal faults with NW-SE and NE-SW orientation form a Triassic-Jurassic system, with two major pulses during the Bajocian and Oxfordian. Vertical slips of main faults are variable and may reach 2,000m. Basement blocks play major roles in defining the depositional processes, with thickness and distribution of overlying sedimentary units. Based on our analysis the Middle Jurassic Cahuasas Formation units were deposited predominantly in continental environments and exhibit large thickness variations. The Callovian Tepexic and Huehuetepec formations were deposited in transitional and shallow marine environments, with relatively uniform thickness and distribution. The Oxfordian to Tithonian Santiago, Taman/San Andres and Pimienta formations were deposited in marine environments, showing multiple fault deformation with tendency of progressively pinching out against the topographic highs. The thickness variation in the Santiago Formation suggests episodes of increasing subsidence and fault reactivation. The seismic volume models constraint the basement structures and Jurassic sequence stratigraphy in the Tampico-Misantla basin.