Abstract

Deep water channels associated with submarine fans have been recognized and explored in several basins around the world as they host commercial volumes of hydrocarbons. The present work describes the geometry of Erumbur submarine channel in Ariyalur- Pondicherry sub-basin of Cauvery Basin, southeast India to assess its hydrocarbon prospectivity. The erosional activity at K/T (Cretaceous-Tertiary) boundary has shaped canyons in this sub-basin, viz., Radhapuram and Erumbur, which were revealed in high resolution 3D seismic data. Several attributes were studied for better understanding of the architecture of Paleocene Kamalapuram canyon fill sediments. The RMS amplitude attribute between K/T and Paleocene reveals that the Erumbur channel in the east was a sinusoidal meandering channel; while in the western Radhapuram Canyon, the channel activity was dormant. The Erumbur Channel is a mature meander complex and displays an abandoned point bar adjacent to it. These features are corroborated by spectral decomposition and sweetness attributes. The present study has brought out two high-amplitude isolated geobodies viz., an abandoned point bar and a mid-channel geobody having strati-structural entrapment conditions. Few drilled wells in this channel confirm the presence of sands with hydrocarbon shows. In view of well- established Kamalapuram Canyon-fill Play in Nagapattinam Sub-basin towards south; the Erumbur Channel sands of Kamalapuram Formation in Ariyalur-Pondicherry Sub-basin can be prospective for Tertiary Exploration in this part of Cauvery Basin.