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fault trap
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Cross-sectional diagram showing three principal types of petroleum traps: an anticline trap with oil and gas beneath a cap rock, a fault trap where gas accumulates along a fault line, and a stratigraphic trap where gas is trapped in permeable limestone beneath impermeable rock layers. Labels identify geological features and fluid locations.
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fault trap

geology
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Cross-sectional diagram showing three principal types of petroleum traps: an anticline trap with oil and gas beneath a cap rock, a fault trap where gas accumulates along a fault line, and a stratigraphic trap where gas is trapped in permeable limestone beneath impermeable rock layers. Labels identify geological features and fluid locations.
petroleum traps Principal types of petroleum traps.

A fault trap is a geological formation that prevents the movement of petroleum, causing it to accumulate. This occurs when the fracturing and slippage of rock along a fault line brings an impermeable stratum into contact with a permeable reservoir rock, creating a barrier to petroleum migration. This impermeable layer, often shale or evaporites, acts as a cap rock, sealing the petroleum in an underground reservoir, typically composed of sedimentary rocks like sandstone or limestone. Natural gas, being the lightest, occupies the top of the trap, followed by oil, and then water. Faults can also allow petroleum to escape if they breach the cap rock seal.12

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  2. petroleum - Structural traps

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