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Geological Society, London, Special Publications

Salt: geology and tectonics of selected Brazilian basins

in their global context
Webster U. Mohriak, Peter Szatmari and Sylvia Anjos

Geological Society, London, Special Publications 2012, v.363;

p131-158.
doi: 10.1144/SP363.7

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Salt: geology and tectonics of selected Brazilian basins in

their global context
WEBSTER U. MOHRIAK1*, PETER SZATMARI2 & SYLVIA ANJOS1
1
E&P, Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2
Cenpes, Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*Corresponding author (e-mail: webmohr@gmail.com)

Abstract: This work addresses the geological and geophysical interpretation of salt structures in
selected Brazilian sedimentary basins, from intracratonic Palaeozoic evaporites in the Amazon and
Solimões basins to divergent margin evaporite basins formed during the Mesozoic break-up of
Gondwana. There is an intriguing correlation between evaporite basins and hydrocarbon accumu-
lations in all the selected basins discussed. The Solimões and Amazonas basins developed eva-
porite depositing environments as the Middle Carboniferous sea was closing during a plate
convergence phase. The salt basin along the eastern Brazilian and western African margins devel-
oped along the Mesozoic rifts of the South Atlantic. Regional seismic interpretation and potential
field (gravity and magnetic) data over the eastern Brazilian and west African margins suggest a
very thick autochthonous salt layer deposited over rifted continental crust and particularly above
the thick sag basin sediments over the hyperextended crust that marks the transition from continen-
tal to oceanic crust. Most of the hydrocarbon discoveries in the eastern Brazilian and western
African margins are in post-salt turbidite and carbonate reservoirs, but recent discoveries in the
deepwater salt basins along the southeastern Brazilian margin indicate that pre-salt plays will rep-
resent an important contribution to hydrocarbon production in the near future.

This work presents a global view of salt basins and
their control on the major hydrocarbon discoveries
in the past decades, which are related to evaporites
either as a major seal or as an active agent providing
tectonic controls for trap formation, hydrocarbon
migration and even to reservoir distribution (Warren
2006, 2010). Several large hydrocarbon fields in the
Persian Gulf, in the Zechstein salt basin, in the Gulf
of Mexico and in the South Atlantic salt basin, par-
ticularly along the Brazilian eastern continental
margin, point to a direct relationship between pet-
roleum prospectivity and salt tectonics. This link
may be due to a greater amount of structural and
stratigraphic traps, or to the extensiveness and effec-
tiveness of salt as seal for pre-salt accumulations.
The largest hydrocarbon accumulations discov-
ered in the past decade (1999–2008), with reserves
larger than 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, are all
located either in the Middle East/Asia or along the
Brazilian continental margin (Fig. 1 and Table 1).
The Kashagan field in Kazakhstan is by far the
largest oil accumulation discovered in the past
decade and its reserves may exceed 38 billion
barrels (bbl) of oil in place (Urbaniak et al. 2007),
but some conservative estimates suggest a more
modest number around 13 billion bbl for oil reserves
(Thom 2010). The field is a large anticlinal structure
at the pre-salt level with reservoirs represented by
Palaeozoic platform carbonate rocks (Late Devonian
to Middle Carboniferous shallow-water limestones)
sealed by Permian shale and evaporites.
By comparison, the largest oil field in the
world – the Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia (Fig. 1) –
was discovered in 1948 and has reserves of around
70 –80 bbl of oil in place (Afifi 2005). The field
started operation in 1951, and reached a peak of
oil production in 1981 when 5.7 million barrels of
oil were produced (Al-Anazi 2007). The Ghawar
field corresponds to a large north–south compres-
sional anticlinal structure measuring c. 280 km in
length by 20 km in width. There are multiple produ-
cing intervals, distributed in several stratigraphic
levels in Palaeozoic and Mesozoic carbonate and
siliciclastic rock successions. The main gas reservoir
is the Late Permian Khuff Fm., which is associated
with limestones sealed by evaporites (anhydrite).
The main oil reservoir (the Arab-D carbonate rocks)
is a Late Jurassic limestone included in the Riyadh
Group, which is regionally sealed by the Tithonian
Hith evaporites. The Khuff Fm. and the Riyadh
Group are composed of carbonate and evaporite suc-
cessions, forming several cycles where the carbonate
rocks correspond to transgressive lower-salinity
waters in the opening Tethys Ocean. The carbonates
are capped by regressive anhydrite layers that were
deposited in a sabkha environment during regression
of the sea. The increased seawater salinity resulted
in deposition of subaqueous evaporites with thin

From: Alsop, G. I., Archer, S. G., Hartley, A. J., Grant, N. T. & Hodgkinson, R. (eds) 2012. Salt Tectonics, Sediments
and Prospectivity. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 363, 131–158. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/SP363.7
# The Geological Society of London 2012. Publishing disclaimer: www.geolsoc.org.uk/pub_ethics
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Manchester Library on October 31, 2014

132 W. U. MOHRIAK ET AL.

Fig. 1. Largest hydrocarbon discoveries (with reserves .3 bbl) in the world in the last 10 years (1999– 2008). In the
x-axis (year of discovery), green corresponds to oil fields and red to gas fields. The Kashagan oil field in the northern
Caspian is by far the largest discovery with reserves of c. 20 bbl (or as much as 38 bbl according to some estimates). The
AGC field onshore Azerbaijan corresponds to the joint production of three fields: Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli. The
offshore Brazil hydrocarbon discoveries Tupi and Iara (pre-salt reservoirs) are among the largest oil finds discovered in
the past decade and the only finds in the western world. The largest oil field in the world, the Ghawar in Saudi Arabia
(white ellipse in the map, west of the Niban gas field) was discovered in 1948 and has reserves of c. 80 billion boe.

Table 1. Largest fields discovered in the 1998 – 2008 decade

Country Name of the field Year of discovery Reserves Fluid

(billion boe)

Azerbaijan Shah Deniz 1999 8.1 Oil

Saudi Arabia Niban 1999 4.7 Gas
Kazakhstan Kashagan 2000 20.3 Oil
Iran Tabnak 2000 6.2 Gas
Russia (North Caucasus) Severnyi 2000 4.8 Oil
Iran Yadavaran 2000 3.3 Oil
India Dhirubhai 2002 3.0 Oil
Russia (East Siberia) Levoberezhnoye 2004 4.6 Gas
Iran Kish 2006 5.3 Gas
China Longgang 2006 3.1 Gas
Brazil Tupi/Iara 2006/2008 5.0 – 8.0 Oil

Data from Thom 2010, WoodMackenzie website and Petrobras.

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GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS OF BRAZILIAN SALT BASINS 133

carbonate interbeds that can be traced for hundreds of
kilometres. The anhydrite in the Upper Arab-D forms
the regional seal for the 400 m oil column in the
Ghawar structure, and is an important trap factor in
the petroleum systems of the accumulation. The
source rock for the Ghawar oil is probably associated
with Late Jurassic marls and shales and reaches a
maximum thickness of c. 100 m, indicating that this
thin sedimentary succession is one of the most effi-
cient source rocks ever deposited in the world
(Al-Anazi 2007).
The Tupi and Iara fields in the South Atlantic
(Fig. 1) are the largest discoveries in offshore
Brazil in the past decade, with reserves exceeding
5 and 3 bbl respectively (Berman 2008; Carminatti
et al. 2008; Gomes et al. 2008). The reservoirs are
associated with Aptian carbonate rocks (microbio-
lites) sealed by the Late Aptian evaporites, above
a thick sag basin that overlies a synrift structure
(Formigli 2007).
The most prolific sedimentary basins in South
America, North America, Europe and Africa (Fig.
2) involve several stratigraphic sequences with eva-
porite rocks. Evaporite sequences are associated
with several desiccation episodes through geologi-
cal time. The Parecis Basin in central Brazil

Fig. 2. GeoSat topobathymetry for North and South America, Europe and Africa, with free-air gravity anomaly for the
Atlantic Ocean. Round ellipses show the location of major petroliferous sedimentary basins where salt tectonics is
involved: North German Basin and North Sea in Europe, Gulf of Mexico in North America, Amazonas in northern
Brazil, Santos–Campos–Espı́rito Santo basins in southeastern Brazil and Angola– Gabon in western Africa.
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134 W. U. MOHRIAK ET AL.

(Fig. 3) is characterized by carbonate rocks with
anhydrite intercalations possibly dated as Neoproter-
ozoic to Palaeozoic (Teixeira 2005). The Amazonas
and Solimões basins in northern Brazil are character-
ized by thick evaporite layers in the Carboniferous
(Costa & Wanderley Filho 2008). Late Permian eva-
porites formed in the extensive Zechstein salt pro-
vince in Europe (mainly Germany and Poland) and
in the North Sea (Taylor 1998). Jurassic evaporite
layers form the very large and thick Louann salt pro-
vince in the Gulf of Mexico (Salvador 1991). Early
Cretaceous (Late Aptian) evaporites form the main
salt province in the South Atlantic, along the Brazi-
lian and west African margins (Brognon & Verrier
1966; Guardado et al. 1989; Mohriak et al. 2004;
Mohriak 2005).
These salt basins are tectonically related to clos-
ing or opening of oceans through geological time
(Mohriak & Szatmari 2008; Szatmari & Mohriak
2009). It is also noteworthy to observe that there is
a close relationship between the presence of evapor-
ites in the stratigraphic sequence and the presence of
hydrocarbon fields in most of the sedimentary
basins worldwide, so that the presence of salt in a

Fig. 3. Satellite image of the South American continent with the location of the Brazilian sedimentary basins onshore
and offshore. The Amazonas and Parecis basins are located in the northern and central portions of the country,
respectively, but only the Amazonas has oil production from Palaeozoic reservoirs. The Espı́rito Santo and the Santos
basins, which lie along the southeastern Brazilian margin, are the selected salt basins with seismic profiles discussed in
this work.
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GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS OF BRAZILIAN SALT BASINS 135

sedimentary basin is often considered a very favour-
able element for its prospectivity. The presence or
absence of salt is not a direct indicator of hydro-
carbon prospectivity, however; there are many
basins without salt that are prolific (e.g. Niger
Delta) and basins with large and thick salt layers
with disappointing results in the exploratory activity
up to the present, such as the Gulf of Lion in the
western Mediterranean.
Petroleum exploration lessons from
some salt basins
We identify three main phases in the development of
salt tectonics concepts based on the exploratory
activity in some of the most important basins in
the world. The North German Basin and the North
Sea, with major advances in the interpretation
during the 1960 and 1970s, paved the way for a
systematic interpretation of salt structures using
seismic and other geophysical tools to investigate
the subsurface. The South Atlantic, particularly
the Brazilian and west African salt basins, heralded
the interpretation of salt tectonics in divergent set-
tings and played a major role in the extensional
models which led to the large hydrocarbon
discoveries in the 1970s and 1980s. Finally, with
important concepts for allochthonous salt tectonics
in the 1990s and 2000s, the Gulf of Mexico
offered the world an example of reverting a steady
exploration decline with a renewed phase of hydro-
carbon discoveries based on imaginative and bold
persistence in overcoming technological challenges.
The most important school for salt tectonics in
the world is arguably the North German Basin and
its prolongation towards the North Sea, where the
Permian Zechstein salt basin is also recognized as
an extensive layer in the subsurface between the
United Kingdom and Denmark (Taylor 1998).
Seminal works such as that by Trusheim (1960)
brought important concepts for understanding halo-
kinesis and also bred illuminating ideas for pet-
roleum exploration in other sedimentary basins.
As pointed out by Vendeville (2002), the North
Sea halokinetic model does not require extension
or compression to develop the structures; some more
recent models based on the South Atlantic obser-
vations indicate that these factors may however be
extremely important to control the evolution of salt
structures and diapirs (Burollet 1975; Duval et al.
1992; Nalpas & Brun 1993; Brun & Fort 2004).
Small oil fields occur onshore Germany, and
most of them are related to the Zechstein salt

Fig. 4. Petroleum reserves creaming curve with the historical evolution of reserve increase, exploratory boreholes and
the name of the most important oil fields discovered in Brazil (Petrobras 2007). Three main phases of petroleum
exploration are observed: onshore, shallow water and deep water. These are related to Palaeozoic sag basins, onshore rift
basins and continental margin salt basins. The salt basins were initially explored for post-salt reservoirs and,
subsequently, offshore exploration aimed both at post-salt and pre-salt reservoirs in deep waters. The next phase of
exploration will possibly target allochthonous subsalt reservoirs as a new play.
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136 W. U. MOHRIAK ET AL.

layer. The largest hydrocarbon field in Europe
(outside the former USSR) is the Groningen field
which was discovered in 1959 (Stauble & Milius
1970; Jager & Geluk 2007). It corresponds to a
horst structure with eolian sandstones deposited in
a desert environment that heralded the deposition
of salt layers in Late Permian times. These pre-salt
siliciclastic layers are important reservoir rocks for
gas accumulation in many other fields; additionally,
carbonate reefs are also recognized as minor reser-
voirs below the Zechstein salt layer in a number of
other fields in Europe (Sorensen 1996).
Petroleum exploration in the Brazilian basins
(Fig. 3) started in the 1950s by drilling the onshore
rifts devoid of evaporites (e.g. Recôncavo Basin),
but the limited success in these basins redirected
Petrobras to prospect for oil in other sedimentary
basins onshore (such as the intracratonic Amazo-
nas–Solimões basin) and in the rifted divergent
margin basins that are partly located onshore (such
as in Espı́rito Santo and Sergipe basins). The
onshore Carmópolis field in the Sergipe Basin was
discovered in 1963; it constituted the largest hydro-
carbon accumulation of the country and was the first
giant field ever found in Brazil (Fig. 4). Its reservoirs
correspond to pre-salt siliciclastic rocks and evapor-
ite rocks, present in part of the structure, play an
important role in the petroleum system forming
one of the main seals (Mello et al. 1994).
Given this success in a marginal basin near the
coast, the search for oil advanced towards the
continental platform. The first borehole ever
drilled offshore Brazil (in 1968) had two alternative
interpretations: an igneous intrusion or a salt diapir
(Fig. 5). The borehole 1-ESS-1 was a dry hole but
paved the way for the new possibilities envisaged
in the offshore region: a large salt basin lying adja-
cent to the onshore basins and extending along the

Fig. 5. 1-ESS-1: The first exploratory borehole in the Brazilian continental margin, drilled in 1968 in the
continental platform of the Espı́rito Santo Basin in water depth less than 50 m. Alternative interpretations for the
plug-like structure included salt diapirism and igneous intrusions.
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GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS OF BRAZILIAN SALT BASINS 137

continental margin, from the platform towards the
deepwater region.
In the mid 1970s the first oil fields were discov-
ered in the Campos Basin, and the salt layers that
were penetrated by the exploratory boreholes were
clearly related to the extensional mechanisms that
formed the turtleback structures. The listric haloki-
netic faults also favoured migration from source
rocks to post-salt reservoirs associated with rollover
structures (Guardado et al. 1989; Mohriak et al.
1990; Brun & Manduit 2008). The areas of exten-
sional and compressional salt tectonics were
mapped in both the Campos and the Santos basins
in the late 1980s and early 1990s (Demercian
et al. 1993; Cobbold et al. 1995).
The giant oil fields discovered in the mid 1980s
and early 1990s followed the conceptual model
developed for the Campos Basin post-salt turbidites,
and the Brazilian oil reserves increased rapidly to
more than 10 bbl of oil by early 2000 (Mendonça
et al. 2004). Around this time, regional basin analy-
sis projects aimed at mapping the rift and salt basins
in ultra-deep waters indicated that major structures
were present in the Santos Basin, such as the re-
gional high known as the SE Santos Basin outermost
high (Mohriak 2001, 2003; Gomes et al. 2002;
Modica & Brush 2004; Mohriak & Paula 2005).
These regional highs were covered in the Late
Aptian by a thick sedimentary layer interpreted
on seismic as extensionally and compressionally
deformed stratified evaporites (Cobbold et al.
1995; Karner & Gambôa 2007; Gambôa et al.
2008).
Considerable success was obtained in the Gulf of
Mexico by drilling exploratory boreholes in the con-
tinental platform and deep water from the 1960 to
1980s. Most of the boreholes stopped when penetra-
ting the shallower allochthonous salt layer (Louann
salt of Middle Jurassic age overlying Tertiary
rocks). There was a pessimistic current of interpret-
ation which assumed that finding siliciclastic or
carbonate reservoirs below the salt layer was a chal-
lenge not to be overcome in the 20th century, given
the difficulties in seismic imaging and drilling
hazards. However, visionary researchers and ex-
plorationists recognized that subsalt plays might
be investigated by drilling specific targets (Mon-
tgomery & Moore 1997). A number of prospects
were drilled to test this concept by the early 1990s
and, in 1993, the first commercial discovery (Maho-
gany field, Fig. 6) was presented to the geological
community (Harrison et al. 1995). Conceptually,
the play was envisaged using analogies from other
basins and, since the late 1960s and early 1970s,
several authors discussed the possibility of allo-
chthonous salt in the Gulf of Mexico (e.g. Amery

Fig. 6. Mahogany field: the first commercial discovery with a subsalt play in the Gulf of Mexico. This borehole was
drilled adjacent to a previous exploratory borehole that did not penetrate the allochthonous salt layer. The subsalt
reservoirs are Miocene turbiditic sandstones.
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Manchester Library on October 31, 2014
138 W. U. MOHRIAK ET AL.
1969). In the 1980s several boreholes drilled in the
platform of the Gulf of Mexico bottomed at the
Louann salt, but most explorationists considered
that drilling through the salt was too risky to be con-
sidered a practical exploratory target.
Quoting a famous adage by Albert Szent-
Gyorgyi, ‘Discovery consists of seeing what every-
body has seen and thinking what nobody has
thought’, we might add that subtle indications of
the prospectivity of the allochthonous play were
based on analogues from other basins and on the ser-
endipitous subsalt penetrations in the Gulf. Indeed,
the first hints of possible reservoirs underlying the
Louann salt layer were observed when a few bore-
holes accidentally drilled through the allochtho-
nous salt layer, but these few penetrations showed
water-wet sands (Camp & McGuire 1997). What
was then needed was the mapping of these sand
fairways and accurate identification of favourable
traps. In petroleum geology new ideas are usually
based on consistent basin analysis projects, integrat-
ing several geological and geophysical tools. Using
this methodology, some areas unsuccessfully
drilled in the past were re-investigated with all avail-
able tools; this quest was rewarded with a premium
that heralded a novel play in the Gulf of Mexico in
the early 1990s (Harrison et al. 1995).
The discovery of high-quality oil-bearing sand-
stones at the Mahogany prospect (Fig. 6) gave
credence to the subsalt play that had eluded explora-
tionists for several years, pointing once more to the
fact that success in industry investments depend on
ideas and concepts correctly applied. The allochtho-
nous salt success can be attributed to the indefatig-
able endeavour of geoscientists and explorationists
applying known, new and emerging technologies
to a frontier play underlying a mature, waning
hydrocarbon province. The previous decline in the
Gulf of Mexico exploratory activity (from the
1980s to the 1990s) has been successfully reverted
with the allochthonous salt plays discovered in the
1990s and developed in the 2000s. At present
most of the discoveries in the Gulf are in fact related
to reservoirs underlying allochthonous salt tongues,
and major advancements in seismic acquisition and
processing have ushered in new possibilities in
imaging prospects in areas previously investigated
with vintage 3D seismic. Petroleum exploration in
the area near the Sigsbee Escarpment is now advan-
cing towards the continent– ocean boundary and
reaching the deepest targets possible with current
drilling technology (Mohriak et al. 2004; Fainstein
& Krueger 2005).
One major question comes to the mind of any
explorationist when facing a success story in other
regions: how to apply this model to other basins
and identify new petroleum plays? The search for
hydrocarbon fields in the South Atlantic is now at
the same crossroads as the Gulf of Mexico was in
the early 1990s when most of the play concepts
involving suprasalt reservoirs were known and the
quest for subsalt plays was a technological and com-
mercial challenge. The search for oil fields associ-
ated with autochthonous salt plays in the Brazilian
and west African margins has been very successful.
Major oil fields are related to post-salt reservoirs
(such as the Campos Basin in Brazil and the
Cabinda Basin in Angola) or to pre-salt reservoirs
(such as in Gabon and in the Santos Basin). How-
ever, there is no doubt that prospective allochtho-
nous salt structures are present in the South
Atlantic and North Atlantic divergent margins
(Mohriak 1995, 2005; Tari et al. 2002; Fiduk et al.
2004). In the past decade, several explorationists
have mused about the possibility of commercial
oil fields related to allochthonous salt layers in the
South Atlantic. This exploratory play is already a
reality for important hydrocarbon fields in several
other basins worldwide and is rapidly being devel-
oped in the west Africa continental margin, partic-
ularly in the Angolan blocks 31 and 32 (where
the exploration effort rapidly advanced from con-
cepts to production by extending the discovery
trend towards deeper water frontier areas underlain
by allochthonous salt nappes; Al Danforth pers.
comm. 2009).
The future drilling of the allochthonous salt play
in deepwater frontier areas of the South Atlantic and
North Atlantic divergent margins will eventually
reveal whether hydrocarbons might accumulate in
subsalt reservoirs and result in economic discov-
eries. On the other hand, the conceptual play is
already known as a paradigm developed extensively
from the Gulf of Mexico exploratory effort (Mon-
tgomery & Moore 1997; Mohriak et al. 2008b). In
this work we discuss the transition from autochtho-
nous to allochthonous salt exploratory plays based
on the same historical trend observed in the Gulf
of Mexico and in the South Atlantic. For several
Atlantic-type marginal basins considered as fron-
tiers for petroleum exploration, such as the deep-
water province along the Brazilian, Canadian,
Iberian and Moroccan margins, the prospectivity
of this play is a reality. Although these regions are
mostly undrilled due to technological and economic
risks, several areas reveal all the ingredients necess-
ary to make the play work successfully (Mohriak
et al. 2004; Brown et al. 2008).
Stratigraphic and structural development
of selected Brazilian salt basins
The most prolific sedimentary basins in Brazil are
characterized by the presence of evaporites in the
stratigraphic column (Palagi 2008; Fig. 7).
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GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS OF BRAZILIAN SALT BASINS
Evaporite rocks are recognized since the Neoproter-
ozoic (Parecis Basin), and major salt intervals are
observed in the Palaeozoic (Amazonas and Soli-
mões) and in the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) along
the eastern Brazilian margin (Fig. 3). This work dis-
cusses in more detail some stratigraphic and struc-
tural aspects of the prolific Amazonas, Santos,
Campos and Espı́rito Santo basins.
In the Parecis Basin (Neoproterozoic/Palaeo-
zoic) located in central Brazil (Fig. 3), carbonate
and sulphate rocks (anhydrite layers) are present in
the subsurface, as indicated in basin margin out-
crops and observed in borehole cores (Teixeira
2005; Palagi 2008; Fig. 7, C).
The only Brazilian Palaeozoic basins that are
producing hydrocarbons at present are the Solimões
and Amazonas (Fig. 3). The Amazonas Basin is
located in northern Brazil, between the Guianas
and the Brazilian shields (Fig. 8), and corresponds
to an intracratonic sag basin developed from
Neoproterozoic to Tertiary, with important epi-
sodes of uplift and magmatism in the Mesozoic.
The Purus Arch is the western limit, separating the
Palaeozoic depocentre from the Solimões Basin;
the Gurupá Arch is the eastern limit, separating the
Amazonas Basin from the Marajó rift basin. The
stratigraphic sequence includes Neoproterozoic
metasediments and Ordovician/Silurian, Devonian
and Permo-Carboniferous stratigraphic sequences,
characterized by thick evaporite layers in the
Upper Carboniferous (Cunha et al. 2007). Shallow
water carbonate and evaporite deposition terminated
with complete desiccation of the basin by Late
Permian. A major unconformity separates the
Permo-Carboniferous sequence from the Cretac-
eous –Tertiary sequence (Costa & Wanderley Filho
2008). A major magmatic episode at the Triassic/
Jurassic boundary, with radiometric ages c.
200 Ma, is probably related to the Central Atlantic
Magmatic Province that is widespread in the sedi-
mentary basins along the Central Atlantic (Marzoli
et al. 1999) and resulted in massive intrusion of the
Upper Carboniferous evaporite layers by thick
diabase sills.
The Amazonas and Solimões basins are charac-
terized by evaporite cycles ranging from carbonates
to sulphates and chlorides (Szatmari et al. 2008).
The Permo-Carboniferous stratigraphic sequence
in the Amazonas basin is characterized by hundreds
of metres of evaporites, including halite and more
soluble minerals (Figs 7b & 8), that are often the
seal for the siliciclastic pre-salt reservoirs (Gonzaga
et al. 2000). The Permo-Carboniferous sequence is
often affected by folds and compressional faults,
as well as by diabase sills intercalated with the
evaporite rocks (Fig. 9). The intrusive magmatic
episode clearly influenced both the mobility of the
Upper Carboniferous salt and the maturation of the
139
Devonian source rocks (Cunha et al. 2007; Costa
& Wanderley Filho 2008).
The largest hydrocarbon accumulations in Brazil
are all located offshore in the segment extending
from Espı́rito Santo to Santos Basin (Fig. 3),
where the Aptian salt layers may reach thicknesses
of more than 2000 m (Kumar & Gambôa 1979;
Asmus 1984; Demercian et al. 1993; Cobbold
et al. 2001; Meisling et al. 2001; Mohriak 2003;
Mohriak et al. 2008a).
The sedimentary basins along the eastern Brazi-
lian margin are characterized by a complex
sequence of carbonate, sulphate and chloride min-
erals (Dias 2005; Palagi 2008). They constitute eva-
porite cycles that are registered both onshore (as in
the Sergipe Basin), in the continental shelf (e.g.
proximal boreholes in the Santos Basin; Mohriak
et al. 2008c) and also in the ultra-deepwater
regions of the Santos Basin (Gambôa et al. 2008).
High-resolution analysis of evaporite rocks by
core-scale and petrographic observations
The Sergipe Basin onshore NE Brazil (Lima
2008) is characterized by a complete suite of car-
bonate, sulphate and chloride minerals (including
K-bearing soluble salts, as in the area of the
Taquari –Vassouras salt mine; Fig. 7a). In the
1970s this area was extensively drilled prospecting
for sylvinite, resulting in a unique library of petro-
graphic cores available to study the Aptian evaporite
deposits (Szatmari et al. 2008).
Let us now examine some aspects of the main
evaporite facies at Brazil’s South Atlantic mar-
gin, based on fully cored drilling in the Taquari –
Vassouras salt mine located in the onshore portion
of the Sergipe Basin. One of the cores (Fig. 10,
Szatmari et al. 2008) provides an unusually infor-
mative picture of both cyclic sedimentation and
salt tectonics. The photo displays a slab of stratified
evaporites about 10 cm across, forming layered
sequences which resemble the deepwater Santos
evaporite sequence but occur at a depth of c.
500 m on land in the Sergipe Basin. The main part
of the picture is composed of alternating white and
nearly black (dark grey) layers of halite and carbon-
ates deposited in probably annual cycles associated
with climatic changes inducing variations in the
brine salinity (Szatmari et al. 2008). The lithological
layering also corresponds to different rheological
behaviours (more ductile v. more competent
layers), which in Figure 10 is reflected in the
layer-parallel shortening and layer-parallel shearing
with vergence to the left.
The white layers, less than 1 mm thick, comprise
finely crystalline anhydrite (CaSO4) deposited
during the wetter seasons when the evaporating
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140 W. U. MOHRIAK ET AL.

Fig. 7. Schematic stratigraphic column of the Brazilian basins with evaporite sequences ranging in age from (a) Late
Aptian (Sergipe Basin) to (b) Carboniferous (Amazonas Basin) to (c) Neoproterozoic/Palaeozoic (Parecis Basin).

brine was less dense. The dark grey layers (0.5–
1.5 cm thick) are fine to medium crystalline halite,
made up of crystals 1–5 mm in size which contain
fluid inclusions and organic matter. These layers
were formed during the dry seasons when brine
density stayed at halite saturation. The sharp bound-
aries between the two indicate some dissolution of
the halite during anhydrite deposition.
The red crystals in the bottom part of Figure 10
comprise carnallite (KMgCl3.6H2O) growing in
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GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS OF BRAZILIAN SALT BASINS 141

Fig. 7. Continued.
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142 W. U. MOHRIAK ET AL.

Fig. 8. Geological map with main structures and halite isopach map (in metres) for the Amazonas Basin, which is
characterized by a Permo-Carboniferous trough limited by the Purus Arch in the west and the Gurupá Arch in the east.
Neoproterozoic and Early Palaeozoic rocks outcrop at the northern and southern borders of the basin (Guianas and
Brazilian shields).

ponds on (and probably a few millimetres below)
the surface during dry seasons when brine salinity
rose much higher. Locally the picture shows some
features that look like half-grabens between the
large carnallite crystals, filled with alternating thin
anhydrite–halite cycles (each one measuring only
c. 1 –2 mm). Between the anhydrite lamellae,
upwards tapering wedges of thin halite witness
deposition from a new less-concentrated mostly
halite-saturated brine over an uneven terrain.
Of particular interest is the salt-flow structures
shown by Figure 10. The main deformation is a
shear zone dipping at about 308 to the right in the
middle of the picture. In a rigid material, this
would be a typical thrust fault. In the salt, it marks
the axial planes of a pair of anticline and syncline
structures, both with axial planes strongly tilted.
Whereas the depositional structure of the salt-
anhydrite layering is nearly primary in most of the
picture, along the shear zone it is strongly disturbed.
The thickness of the halite layers often increases by
a factor of 2 –5 in some of the anticlines and syn-
clines, indicating a highly uneven salt flow.
Both within and outside the shear zones small-
scale folding occurs with a wavelength of mostly
3–5 mm, and is especially intense in the white an-
hydrite lamellae. The folds are particularly evident
in the shear zones where fold amplitudes are
higher, individual fold plane axes are strongly
tilted and folding is occasionally coupled with dis-
continuous, incipient thrusting. Updip from the
shear zones to the left, folding becomes subdued
to absent. The right-dipping shear zones, the intras-
tratal thrusts and the folds all result from horizontal
shortening and vertical thickening of the salt, taking
place mostly along preferential planes of weakness.
Historical trends in petroleum exploration
of the Brazilian margin salt basins
The ESS-1 was the first borehole drilled offshore
Brazil and it aimed to determine important geologi-
cal aspects for the continental margin including
thickness, age and nature of sediments in the off-
shore basins, depth to Precambrian basement and
the geological reason for an intriguing gravity low
in the platform. The exploratory objective of the
well was to test the possibility of oil accumulating
in Tertiary reservoirs pinching towards the flank of
a possible salt diapir. This structure also had an
alternative interpretation of an igneous intrusion as
suggested by analysis of potential field data
(Mohriak 2008). The well was drilled to a total
depth of 3133 m and proved the presence of halite
in the evaporite layers, but pre-salt rocks or base-
ment could not be penetrated because the structure
was in fact a huge salt diapir with a height of
several kilometres (Fig. 5).
Most halokinetic structures observed in the
southeastern Brazilian margin basins are associated
with Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary
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GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS OF BRAZILIAN SALT BASINS 143

Fig. 9. Seismic profile in the Amazonas Basin with stratigraphic sequences and interpretation of diabase sills and folds
within the Permo-Carboniferous interval.

sedimentary depocentres, which are locally con- diapirs, and extensional faults provided pathways
trolled by mobilization of the Aptian salt. In the for oil migration to post-salt reservoirs such as the
deepwater region the salt walls occur aligned Marlim oil field (Guardado et al. 1989; Mohriak
along a north–south direction; locally the trend is et al. 1990; Waisman 2008). The pre-salt basin east-
strongly influenced by NW–SE structural linea- wards of the outer high has had several differ-
ments however, particularly in the Espı́rito Santo ent interpretations: some explorationists envisaged
Basin (Meisling et al. 2001). a thick synrift trough underlying the massive
The Santos Basin is the largest salt basin in the
South Atlantic. The first discoveries are related to
post-salt reservoirs, such as the Merluza field
(Fig. 11), located in the continental platform and
drilled in 1984 (Tisi 1992, fig. 4). The Merluza
field was the first discovery in the Santos Basin,
and it corresponds to an anticlinal structure over-
lying a salt pillow. Upper Cretaceous reservoirs (tur-
bidite sands) drape this structure whose structural
apex and reservoir pinchout is controlled by halo-
kinesis (Fig. 11).
In the 1990 and 2000s the evaporites in deep
water were a challenge to visualization of the
pre-salt structures, and some models for the ultra-
deepwater region assumed that the salt walls
imaged in vintage 2D seismic profiles were associ-
ated with massive salt deposited basinwards of the
deepest synrift troughs (Fig. 12). These synrift
troughs were filled with rich source rocks, and oil
migration resulted from salt windows due to exten-
sional tectonics and salt flow (Guardado et al. 1989; Fig. 10. Fine-grained halite deposite in lagoonal
Rangel & Martins 1998). In the intermediate portion environment. The perturbation in bedding resulted from
of the salt basin the geophysical maps indicated the early salt flow. Large carnallite crystaloblasts reflect
presence of a large structural high (known as the dessication periods (core from borehole PKC-9,
outer high) which was covered by salt pillows and depth ¼ 640 m, onshore Sergipe Basin).
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144 W. U. MOHRIAK ET AL.

Fig. 11. Post-salt exploratory plays: Merluza Field. This was the first oil discovery in the Santos Basin and the prospect,
which corresponds to turbiditic sands draped over a salt pillow, was drilled in 1984 by Pecten.

Fig. 12. Geological schematic section of the Campos Basin, showing the main salt tectonics domains (rafts and turtles
in extensional domain, pillows and diapirs in the transitional domain and massive salt in the distal compressional
domain). The petroleum reserves follow the historical trend of exploration, initially with shallow water drilling for
post-salt reservoirs followed by deepwater drilling targeting pre-salt reservoirs (coquinas and, more recently,
microbiolites). Possible new plays in the ultra-deepwater region involve post-salt source rocks and allochthonous salt.
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GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS OF BRAZILIAN SALT BASINS 145

salt province in the ultra-deepwater region (e.g.
Rangel & Martins 1998; Fig. 12) whereas other
models assume magmatic addition in a volcanic
crust (Mohriak et al. 2008a) or even exhumed
mantle (Gomes et al. 2008) underlying the sag basin
and compressional salt walls.
The salt tectonics styles for the SE Brazil diver-
gent margin basins are clearly associated with
extensional structures in the platform (with rafts
and turtles), extensional to compressional struc-
tures in the shelf break (with pillows, diapirs, local
inversion of post-salt depocentres and other com-
pressional structures) and strongly compressional
structures in the massive salt region including the
formation of thrusts, folds and salt nappes (Demer-
cian et al. 1993; Cobbold et al. 1995; Mohriak et al.
1995; Davison 2005; Mohriak & Szatmari 2008).
The successful drilling in the Santos, Campos
and Espı́rito Santo basins may be divided into
three main exploratory phases (Fig. 12): (a) post-salt
carbonate and turbidite reservoirs (such as the
Garoupa, Merluza and Marlim fields); (b) pre-salt
source rocks, pre-salt reservoirs (such as the
pre-salt coquinas); and (c) deepwater exploration:
new plays in the distal margin (post-salt source
rocks, turtle structures in the outer high, pre-salt
and subsalt reservoirs).
Remarkable advances in seismic imaging in the
late 1990s and early 2000s resulted in visualization
of the sag basin and synrift sediments with greater
clarity in the deepwater region, even in areas
where strongly folded sedimentary layers were
present (Demercian et al. 1993; Cobbold et al.
1995; Mohriak et al. 1995). A peculiar feature of
the Santos Basin in the ultra-deep province was
the presence of the folded stratified layers with a
very strong reflector at the top, interpreted by
Cobbold et al. (1995) as layered evaporites. In the
early 2000s an alternative interpretation emerged
assuming that this stratified layer might correspond
to intercalations of carbonate and siliciclastic rocks
intruded by salt diapirs.
The comparison of 2D vintage seismic lines
(Fig. 13, seismic panel with strike line and an inter-
secting dip line) indicated severe folding within the
Aptian evaporites and that the presence of more
homogeneous, transparent seismic facies might
either be related to salt flow or to the geophysically
difficult imaging of reflectors within the evaporite
layers (Fig. 13). Exploratory concepts and improve-
ments in seismic quality provided an initial hint that
the folded sequence was evaporitic and subsalt plays
could be a new exploratory target (Demercian et al.
1993; Cobbold et al. 1995; Fainstein et al. 2001;

Fig. 13. Panel with strike-oriented and dip-oriented 2D seismic profiles in the Santos Basin showing the correlation of
the layered stratigraphic sequences with transparent evaporites, both of them capped by a strong seismic reflector.
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146 W. U. MOHRIAK ET AL.

Fig. 14. Regional seismic profile in the Santos Basin with special processing showing the pre-salt sequence overlain
by stratified evaporites. The model for the largest oil field in the Santos Basin involves pre-salt source rock and
microbiolite reservoirs sealed by massive evaporite layers in the distal outer high, which acted as a focalization high.

Fainstein & Gorky 2002; Mohriak 2003; Modica & penetrated the top of the layered sequence at
Brush 2004; Davison 2005). In 2002, the drilling of 23709 m and, after drilling c. 800 m of salt below
the Fluorite prospect (borehole 1-RJS-598D) the ‘enigmatic’ reflector, it clearly indicated that

Fig. 15. Seismic section showing the pre-salt carbonate reservoir: microbiolites below the massive stratified evaporites.
This is the largest oil field in the western world discovered in the last decade.
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GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS OF BRAZILIAN SALT BASINS 147

Fig. 16. Schematic geoseismic section in the Espı́rito Santo Basin with tested exploratory plays until the mid 2000s: A:
turtle structure/pre-salt; B: salt diapir flank; C: minibasin.

the strong reflector might correspond to the top With the advance of seismic acquisition, proces-
of stratified evaporites in more distal areas (C. S. sing to deeper crustal levels and also using visually
Vasconcelos pers. comm. 2009). appealing seismic display techniques, the pre-salt

Fig. 17. Geological map with the onshore topography and a 3D view of onshore–offshore salt diapirs in the Campos–
Espı́rito Santo basins. The Abrolhos volcanic complex is located in the northern portion of the Espı́rito Santo salt
basin. The pink colours in deep waters indicate the maximum thickness in the north– south trending salt walls, which
locally exceeds 5000 m.
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148 W. U. MOHRIAK ET AL.

Fig. 18. Simplified salt isopach map with previous interpretation of autochthonous salt walls in the northern Espı́rito
Santo Basin, with approximate location of seismic profiles (A, B, C) discussed in text.

structures have been better imaged and mapped
since the early 2000s (Fainstein & Gorky 2002).
This led to the interpretation of major regional
highs in the ultra-deepwater province of the Santos
Basin (Gomes et al. 2002; Mohriak & Paula 2005)
that might control hydrocarbon migration from the
synrift lows to the uplifted basinwards flank that
forms a focalization high (Fig. 14). Geophysical
modelling of the seismic attributes as well as phys-
ical models and other basin analogues were also

Fig. 19. Seismic profile (B) showing previous interpretation of autochthonous salt diapirs and salt walls in the
deepwater region of the Espı́rito Santo Basin.
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GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS OF BRAZILIAN SALT BASINS
used in the interpretation of the layered evaporites
and its impact on petroleum exploration (Karner &
Gambôa 2007; Gambôa et al. 2008; Mohriak &
Szatmari 2008).
The borehole 1-RJS-628 (Tupi prospect), drilled
in 2007 through 2000 m of salt, confirmed the orig-
inal interpretation of stratified evaporites, pene-
trated pre-salt carbonate rocks and confirmed the
presence of an active petroleum system below the
thick salt layer in the SE Santos outermost high
(Fig. 15). This resulted in the largest field offshore
Brazil discovered so far (Formigli 2007; Berman
2008; Carminatti et al. 2008), and opened up the
field for a series of several recent discoveries that
followed similar conceptual exploratory leads.
Conceptual salt tectonics models
applied to petroleum exploration
In the mid-2000s, the re-interpretation and analysis
of seismic lines in the Brazilian southeastern margin
suggested the possible occurrence of allochthonous
salt structures, covering younger stratigraphic seq-
uences that may be sand-prone, similar to the Gulf
of Mexico classical exploratory play (Mohriak
1995; Fiduk et al. 2004; Mohriak et al. 2004). The
exploratory interpretation, which led to a return to
this deepwater area after several blocks were relin-
quished by Petrobras and other companies after
negative drilling results, was a consequence of
direct application of geological concepts from salt
tectonics and exploratory analogies with other salt
basins where this kind of play had already been
Fig. 20. A more complex salt tectonics interpretation involving autochthonous and allochthonous salt bodies in the
Cretaceous and Tertiary sequences.
149
identified as a viable prospect and successfully
tested by exploratory boreholes such as, for
example, the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico
(Mohriak 2008).
Up to the mid 2000s, the main exploratory plays
in the Espı́rito Santo Basin involved only autochtho-
nous salt (Fig. 16) and were known to correspond
to pre-salt siliciclastic rocks in the onshore portion
of the basin, turtle structures for the Albian car-
bonates, turbidites pinchout near salt diapir flanks
and turbidites within minibasins adjacent to salt
diapirs and salt walls in deep waters (França &
Mohriak 2008).
Regional maps of the evaporite sequence thick-
ness and previous interpretations of the seismic pro-
files in the deep water of the Espı́rito Santo Basin
indicated massive salt walls towards the conti-
nent –ocean boundary, with salt isopach exceeding
5 km in the distal salt wall province (Fig. 17). The
distal salt limit has been interpreted as either auto-
chthonous salt walls on continental crust (e.g.
Fig. 12) or to allochthonous salt tongues advancing
towards oceanic crust (e.g. Demercian et al. 1993;
Mohriak 2003, 2004).
The interpretation of thick salt masses near the
continent– ocean boundary was mainly based on
vintage 2D seismic profiles whose resolution for
top and base of the evaporite horizon is hampered
by the volcanic rocks that intrude the stratigraphic
sequences in the region south of the Abrolhos Vol-
canic Complex (Fig. 17). In this area, regional
maps indicated subcircular salt pillows and diapirs
in the proximal region, salt walls trending north–
south in the more distal province and huge salt
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W. U. MOHRIAK ET AL.
Fig. 21. Regional transect A in the Espı́rito Santo Basin showing tectonic domains from autochthonous to allochthonous salt. A salt nappe with a landward vergence is interpreted in
the distal segment of the profile. An Upper Tertiary canyon is active up to the present day.
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GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS OF BRAZILIAN SALT BASINS 151

walls forming massive salt bodies near the conti-
nent–ocean boundary (Fig. 18). Similar interpret-
ations were also proposed by several authors for
the Campos Basin as indicated in the regional salt
isopach map by Roberts et al. (2004). A much
thicker salt layer is interpreted both at deposition
and for the present day in the outer province,
which is highly affected by compressional tectonics.
The inner province is therefore characterized by thin
salt and extensive salt welds due to basinwards salt
flow, and the timing of salt welding is considered an
important fact for oil migration from pre-salt source
rocks to post-salt reservoirs.
Regional 2D seismic profiles indicated salt
diapirs and minibasins in the outer trend of the
Espı́rito Santo Basin, locally associated with Ter-
tiary canyons (Fig. 19). Thick sequences of Upper
Cretaceous reservoirs might be located within
these minibasins and possible post-salt source rocks,
when mature, might result in oil or gas generation.
The salt wall province, particularly south of the
Abrolhos Volcanic Complex (Fig. 17), was initially
discarded as an area of interest due to the extremely
thick salt layer and difficult imaging of traps and
seal (not to mention the high risks for reservoir
and source rocks in the post-salt stratigraphic
sequences). However, with increasing acquisition
of 3D seismic data in nearby areas due to the discov-
ery of the deepwater fields in shallower water (e.g.
Golfinho field area, Mendonça et al. 2004; Fiduk
et al. 2004), the interpretation of allochthonous
salt tongues and associated conceptual exploratory
plays became a reality. A more complex salt tec-
tonics interpretation of the deepwater region in the
Espı́rito Santo Basin (Fig. 20) suggests the presence
of allochthonous salt and underlying reservoirs
that mimic classical petroleum plays in other sedi-
mentary basins (Mohriak 2008). One intriguing
aspect of the salt tectonics styles in this segment
of the continental margin is the presence of
allochthonous salt tongues that locally exhibit a
landwards vergence (Fig. 21).
Identification and mapping of the allochthonous
salt structures in the Espı́rito Santo Basin was
vital for the decision to return to the area after
several blocks were relinquished in the past by
several oil companies. The analysis of the explora-
tory potential of this frontier region was based on
conceptual plays and analogies with similar pro-
spects successfully drilled in the Gulf of Mexico.
In addition, the structural and stratigraphic analysis
was conducted in the regional context. This indi-
cated that the allochthonous salt was associated
with Tertiary canyons located between autochtho-
nous salt diapirs and thrust faults with a landward
vergence (Fig. 22), which was indicative of a
favourable fairway for channels.
The interpretation of the 3D seismic data (e.g.
Fig. 23) indicated that, near the canyon that is
observed at the distal portion of the profile (affecting

Fig. 22. Time slice map (at 3500 ms) showing autochthonous salt diapirs and an allochthonous salt tongue in the
Espı́rito Santo Basin. Upper Cretaceous minibasins occur in the area between the salt diapirs. The allochthonous salt
tongue is associated with a circular Tertiary minibasin and a canyon trending NW–SE, developed between the thrust
front and the autochthonous salt diapirs. The canyon sediments are overthrusted by the allochthonous salt tongue
(SW-vergence). A regional regional 3D seismic profile (L10342, profile C in the isopach map) extends along the
longitudinal direction (NW–SE) of the time slice map.
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W. U. MOHRIAK ET AL.
Fig. 23. Regional 3D seismic profile (C) in the Espı́rito Santo Basin showing autochthonous salt diapirs (west of the canyon, with salt bodies below the Albian carbonates)
and allochthonous salt tongues affected by thrusts with a landward-vergence. The NW segment of the profile shows a saucer-shaped igneous intrusion in the Upper
Cretaceous sequence.
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GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS OF BRAZILIAN SALT BASINS
Fig. 24. Seismic profile in the Angolan margin with autochthonous and allochthonous salt bodies in the Cretaceous and
Tertiary sequences.
the present-day bathymetry), allochthonous salt
tongues overlie Upper Cretaceous and Lower Ter-
tiary sedimentary sequences. The allochthonous
salt tongue overthrusts (with a SW vergence) a
Lower Tertiary canyon, probably infilled with
coarse-grained siliciclastic rocks. The more recent
canyons have seismic signatures indicative of high
influx of coarse siliciclastic rocks, and possibly
some volcanic debris derived from the Abrolhos
Volcanic Complex (Fiduk et al. 2004). The com-
pressional tectonics is characterized by several
sets of thrust faults with a landwards vergence
which affect the stratigraphy from the Upper Cretac-
eous to the mid-Tertiary, and some profiles indicate
a younging of the tectonic activity basinwards
(Fig. 23). Several saucer-shaped igneous structures
are also imaged in the seismic data suggesting intru-
sions in shallow levels of the stratigraphy, similar to
equivalent features in the North Atlantic (Mohriak
et al. 2008b).
Exploratory plays associated with allochthonous
salt have also been interpreted in the west African
continental margin (Fig. 24) and several hydro-
carbon fields have already been discovered in the
past few years (e.g. in Block 31 and Block 18 off-
shore Angola; Fainstein et al. 2009). However, dril-
ling hundreds to thousands of metres of salt is a risky
business because salt flows more rapidly than the
other sediments and special drilling techniques are
required to penetrate subsalt reservoirs. In addition,
there are several other factors related to petroleum
systems in these plays involving the presence of
reservoirs, the presence of source rocks within the
oil or gas window and the trap and seal effectivity
that are hindered by salt mobilization under a
thin overburden.
Regional 2D deep seismic lines that extend
towards the oceanic limit of the salt provinces in
the South Atlantic (Fig. 25) indicate salt nappes
153
overriding possibly volcanic highs and thrust over
Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments (Demercian
et al. 1993; Mohriak 2003; Fainstein & Krueger
2005; Hudec & Jackson 2006).
The deep seismic profile in the Brazilian margin
(Fig. 25) is a crustal profile showing the oceanic
crust basement with subhorizontal sediments over-
lying oceanic crust, which is seismically charac-
terized by different layers: pillow lavas, vertical
sheeted dikes, gabbroic lower crust and a strong
reflector marking the transition to the upper
mantle (Moho discontinuity; Mohriak 2003). The
salt layer in the conjugate margin (Angolan
profile) is characterized by internal reflectors in
the allochthonous salt tongue, which probably cor-
respond to thrust faults affecting the evaporites.
These override an outer high in the Angola Escarp-
ment that probably corresponds to a volcanic struc-
ture, although there are some recent interpretations
assuming that the allochthounous salt nappe might
be thrust over exhumed mantle. The models of
exhumed mantle (or serpentinite bodies located
between the synrift blocks and the oceanic crust)
subcropping below the salt and sag-basin sediments
follow break-up mechanisms that have been
suggested for the magma-poor Iberian margin and
effectively confirmed by the Ocean Drilling
Program (ODP) (Manatschal 2004; Karner et al.
2007; Zalán et al. 2009). However, the discussion
of these models, which obviously bear great impact
on salt deposition, salt tectonics and petroleum
exploration, is beyond the scope of the present work.
Conclusions
The main conclusions that can be derived from a
global overview of exploratory phases related to
salt tectonics concepts are as follows.
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W. U. MOHRIAK ET AL.
Fig. 25. Regional transect across conjugate margins (left, Espı́rito Santo Basin in Eastern Brazil; right, Kwanza Basin in Angola) showing allochthonous salt nappes advancing
towards the oceanic crust.
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GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS OF BRAZILIAN SALT BASINS
Autochthonous salt exploratory plays were
investigated in the initial phase of exploration in
the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic.
In the 1990s the allochthonous salt play became a
mainstream for new discoveries in the Gulf of
Mexico and now constitutes a classical exploratory
play and prospect paradigm for other basins, par-
ticularly the South and North Atlantic margins.
In the Brazilian sedimentary basins, the search
for petroleum began in onshore rifts without
salt, advanced to Palaeozoic intracratonic basins
onshore and was redirected to the continental
margin where success was achieved with giant oil
fields discovered in the suprasalt reservoirs and,
more recently, in pre-salt reservoirs.
Pre-Mesozoic evaporites are an important factor
for oil occurrence in the prolific Amazonas and Soli-
mões basins. The Permo-Carboniferous evaporite
sequence was affected by a major magmatic episode
by 200 Ma, resulting in massive intrusion of the eva-
porite layers by thick diabase sills. This magmatism
influenced both the mobility of the salt and the
maturation of the source rocks.
The salt layer in the South Atlantic marginal
basins formed in an arid environment after the depo-
sition of continental lacustrine to fluvial synrift
sediments that graded into transitional siliciclastic
to carbonate rocks deposited in Upper Aptian
sag basins. Salt tectonic domains vary from highly
extensional on the platform to highly compres-
sional at the crustal limit, where recumbent folds,
thrust faults and allochthonous salt tongues are
recognized.
Allochthonous salt tongues advancing towards
the oceanic crust are well developed and extend
for tens to hundreds of kilometres in the Gulf of
Mexico. These features are also present in the Atlan-
tic divergent margins although not so impressive in
terms of scale, geological attractivity and impor-
tance for petroleum exploration.
In the past decade, supergiant hydrocarbon fields
have been discovered in the ultra-deepwater pro-
vince of the southeastern Brazilian margin. The
deepwater pre-salt carbonate reservoirs are sealed
by massive stratified evaporites and may serve as an
analogue for several other basins worldwide with
massive salt sealing pre-salt rocks (e.g. the African
margin, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, etc.), which
might constitute a future exploratory frontier.
Allochthonous subsalt plays are recognized in
the North and South Atlantic basins (Canada/
Iberia –Morocco and Brazil/Angola) and there are
several positive tests in Angola (a qualified yes in
terms of play prospectivity).
The ultra-deepwater province near the conti-
nent–ocean boundary is a special portion of the
divergent margins with salt basins. Massive auto-
chthonous and allochthonous salt structures require
155
a careful geological risk analysis because of several
drilling hazards, imaging problems, reservoir issues,
source rock maturation, migration, seal effectivity,
preservation and, last but not least, economics.
We thank I. Alsop for the kind invitation to present this
paper at the ‘Salt, Sediments and Prospectivity Confer-
ence’ as a key-note lecture and Petrobras management,
particularly G.O. Estrella, M. Carminatti, J. Kinzel and
A. Biasussi for permission to present the data and inter-
pretations at the technical meeting and publish this work.
We also thank several colleagues at Petrobras-E&P and
CENPES for enlightening discussions. M.C.M. Guerra
(Petrobras – E&P) provided us with a helpful reading of
the first draft which optimized the internal revision.We
are grateful to the referees, X. Fort and S. Archer, who pro-
vided several constructive comments and relevant sugges-
tions that improved the manuscript.
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