MARIMBA (Margins of the Atlantic Region, Integrated Multi-disciplinary Basin Analysis) is a natural outgrowth of our demonstrated, ongoing commitment to providing high-value data and interpretations of the major sedimentary basins of the South Atlantic. Study components are interpreted from geologic, gravity, magnetic and other data, combined with an analysis of oil systems from crude oil and potential source rock samples, piston cores, heat flow measurements and remote sensing.

GSI and DIGs (Dickson International Geosciences) have developed MARIMBA as a unique combination exploration and acreage evaluation tool. With an initial focus on the Great Campos (Santos-Campos-Espírito Santo) Basins of Brazil, MARIMBA clients will benefit from seeing basin architecture and understanding petroleum systems. Our prior work has defined basement structural trends that controlled reservoir distribution and hydrocarbon migration; our 2005 AAPG presentation predicted the basin-wide pre-salt sourcing system that charged the Tupi discovery!

MARIMBA clients can leverage their own skills and data to quickly (and better):

• Define boundaries of individual petroleum systems
• Identify directions of and barriers to hydrocarbon migration by oil family
• Distinguish between syn-rift I and syn-rift II provenances and locate generative lacustrine and marine sub-basins.
• Differentiate between oil and gas-prone systems and prospects
• Calibrate basin models for petroleum systems evaluation

DATA SOURCES

The work is built on multiple underlying components including potential field, basement depth and sediment thickness mapping (Grizzly Geosciences and DIGs) plus extensive geochemical data from Brazil and West Africa compiled from GSI, TDI Brooks, Core Labs and Geomark Research:

• Surface seep data from more than 3000 piston cores
• Heat flow measurements from more than 500 sites
• Detailed oil family chemical and statistical analyses pertaining to more than 2000 samples
• Source Rock data from more than 200 wells
• Remote sensing slick detection data

Combined, these diverse data types (Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, GIS = G4) illustrate the petroleum systems and promote prospect screening and basin modeling. Our studies:

• Infer controls on sediment distribution (Dickson et al., 2003a & b, available on request)
• Allow correlation of mini-basins, syn-rift architecture, salt features with inferences for depth and detachment of salt
• Resolve structural boundaries of basin, sub-basin and crustal type
• Correlate volcanics in the Santos and Espírito Santo basins
• Prove migration pathways illustrated with local and regional seismic tied to piston cores