Structural Geology and Petroleum Geology

Mazzoli, Iannace, Parente, Vitale, Ferranti, Tavani


The research group applies a multi-disciplinary approach involving the integration of structural data with various datasets related with the fields of stratigraphy, petrology, geochronology, thermochronometry, geomorphology, geodesy and geophysics. The expertise of the research group allows for an effective integration of well-established methods of structural analysis and workflows with stratigraphic, sedimentological, facies and diagenetic – including dolomitization – studies. Full in-house petrophysics laboratories also provide the opportunity to carry out He-porosimetry, mercury injection, etc., while well-established links with external laboratories may be used to integrate organic petrology (optical and fluorescence microscopy) and geochemistry with TOC, Rock Eval pyrolysis and GC-MS of extracted organic matter. The structural unit includes expertise in the fields of: (i) integration of surface geology with seismic lines; (ii) tectonic evolution of both inner and outer sectors of orogenic systems; (iii) development and inversion of passive margins; (iv) exhumation and uplift processes; (v) seismotectonics and active tectonics; (vi) reverse and strike-slip reactivation of inherited structures; (vii) interactions between tectonics and sedimentation; (viii) nucleation and development of fault-related folds; (ix) fault/shear zone nucleation and growth processes, analysis of fault size, displacement and kinematics, and characterization of fault damage zones; (x) analysis of the distribution and characteristics of fracture sets at various scales in fractured reservoirs and their analogues; and (xi) development of software for structural data analysis.