The Wilson Cycle and its Significance to Petroleum Engineers

Due to the movement of the Earths plates, a cyclic process of opening

and closing of ocean basins occurs. This is known as the Wilson Cycle, and
was defined by J. Tuzo Wilson.The most prominent evidence of this cycle is
the fact that continental crust (which is at a higher relative elevation)
surpasses the deep seafloor crust in age, which means that such a cycle
must have occurred to move the crust around.
The process begins with rifting of continents by mantle diapirism,
continental drift, seafloor spreading & formation of ocean basins, then
progressive closure of ocean basins by subduction of ocean lithosphere,
and finally continental collision and final closure of ocean basin.
The importance of the Wilson cycle for petroleum engineers is that basin
Evolution is one of the main determinants of petroleum prospectivity.
Through it, we can point out the tectonic regimes that may contain oil and
gas, which are: crustal thinning and associated subsidence. We may also
know the regimes were the conditions for development of petroleum
systems are low, such as areas of active spreading of crusts.
In conclusion, the Wilson cycle is one of the most significant topics in plate
tectonics, and is of special importance to petroleum engineers because it
helps them gain a better understanding of how the oil and gas came to
settle where it was found and how it developed across the years.

Figure (1): The Wilson Cycle, Source: http://www.futura-sciences.com/

References
Bastia, R., & Radhakrishna, M. (2012). Basin evolution and petroleum
prospectivity of the continental margins of India. Amsterdam,
Netherlands: Elsevier.
Bjrlykke, K., & Avseth, P. (2010). Petroleum geoscience: From
sedimentary environments to rock physics. Heidelberg: Springer.
Menu. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2016, from
http://tectonicstudiesgroup.org/ahm16-the-wilson-cycle/
Wilson Cycle: The Opening and Closing of an Ocean Basin. (n.d.).
Retrieved September 29, 2016, from
http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/Fichter/Wilson/Wilson.html