Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change
Open Access

Abstract

The continental margin basins of Brazil and West Africa share very similar tectono-stratigraphic megasequences that are recognizable in petroliferous basins, as a result of the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rifting of the South Atlantic basins. A number of oil families present along the South Atlantic conjugated margins are composed of genetically related oils of mixed provenance. Motion of tectonic plates and their configurations which depend so much on the nature of the boundaries and their orientations strongly influence fault tectonics (within both continents and oceans). The tectonic evolution of the plates leads to the formation of fracture zones parallel to the direction of plate motion. The Equatorial Fracture Zone sourced from the Gulf of Guinea, and propagating deep into the African and South American continental blocks. They are here regarded as ?flow lines? tracing the movement of separating plates and acting as effective long distance hydrocarbon migration pathway across the South Atlantic margins.

Biography

Berhanu T. Workie is a PhD fellow in the department of Geoinformatics and Geographic information Systems (GIS), University of Tuebingen. He earned his M.Sc. degree in Applied Environmental Geosciences from faculty of Geosciences in the same university in 2009. His employment background has been in various research and practical applications in the areas of Geosciences, Environmental Science, GIS and Remote Sensing.