Abstract

Western India and adjoining offshore regions are known to be quite favourable for the generation and maturation of hydrocarbons. Our present study indicates that these regions are associated with anomalous crustal and thermal structure with an extremely high dose of heat flow from the mantle which may be related to the bolide impact- triggered Deccan volcanism at the K-T boundary. Shallow melting conditions ( about 45 km depth below the northern and eastern part of Mumbai offshore region) apparently led to (1) thermal uplifting and consequent exhumation of the mafic (granulitic / amphibolitic) crust to shallow subsurface levels ,and (2) amplification of thermal maturation process in oil and gas rich Tertiary sediments in this region.