Open AccessThe Palaeogeographic Latitude of Oil‐fields
Author(s) -
Irving E.,
Gaskell T. F.
Publication year - 1962
Publication title -
geophysical journal of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.302
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1365-246X
pISSN - 0016-8009
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-246x.1962.tb02252.x
Subject(s) - latitude , geology , oil exploration , range (aeronautics) , geophysics , paleontology , low latitude , sequence (biology) , geodesy , earth science , materials science , composite material , biology , genetics
Summary From a study of the magnetism of a rock sequence the palaeogeographic latitude at the time the beds were laid down may be estimated. Little work of this type has been reported from actual oil‐fields but useful results can be obtained by extrapolating from magnetic data already recorded from nearby regions. The palaeolatitudes of many pre‐Tertiary oil‐fields obtained by these methods are shown to be usually less than 20° although their present latitudes range from 25° to 59°. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that oil originated preferentially in low rather than high latitudes. They also suggest that the measurement of the magnetic inclination in rock sequences which are being explored for oil is a useful tool for deciding the likelihood of the occurrence of oil.