Stress inversion studies using 3D seismic interpretation data and earthquakes focal mechanism

The stress field and its spatial and temporal changes are important in various branches of geosciences such as geotechnics, engineering geology and hydrocarbon reservoir geomechanical stuidies. It is also important in describing the geodynamics of the area. In this study, a new method of determining the slip direction from 3D seismic interpretation data in one of the hydrocarbon fields in southern Iran on different horizons with different geological age is used for paleostress studies by nonlinear stress tensor inversion. Also the present state of stress field is calculated from the focal mechanism of earthquakes data by the same method. The present state of stress and its comparison with the global stress map indicates that there is a good agreement between the obtained stresses directions and the regional stress orientations. This study showed a clockwise gradual rotation in the direction of maximum horizontal stress over time, so that the maximum horizontal orientation of the NW-SE orientation of SHmax in Cretaceous has become NE-SW in the present day.