Initiation of diapirs is one of the least understood aspects of salt tectonics. Sedimentary differential loading and erosion are both effective, but not universal, causes of diapir initiation. A survey of 18 major salt-diapir provinces shows that salt upwelling is closely linked in time and space to regional extension. Extended salt basins typically develop salt structures, whereas nonextended basins do not.

Geologic and engineering studies were conducted within fluvial/deltaic strata of a mature South Texas field to determine the impact of reservoir compartmentalization on secondary gas recovery. Stratton is one of several mature South Texas fields containing fluvial and deltaic gas reservoirs. This study documents the effect of depositionally controlled reservoir heterogeneity in a field with fluvially dominated reservoir architecture.

Silurian and Devonian carbonate and chert rocks in the Permian Basin constitute a prolific hydrocarbon-bearing succession in West Texas and New Mexico. Production from nearly 650 reservoirs developed in these rocks totals almost 2 billion barrels of oil, and current estimates indicate that a similar amount of mobile oil remains in existing reservoirs. Recovery of this substantial resource hinges on a thorough understanding of the role depositional and diagenetic processes play in the development of reservoir heterogeneity.