The principal research effort for Year 1 of the project is T-R cycle characterization and modeling. The research focus for the first nine (9) months of Year 1 is on outcrop study, well log analysis, seismic interpretation and data integration and for the remainder of the year the emphasis is on T-R cycle model development.

The principal research effort for Year 3 of the project is to classify the known petroleum reservoirs in the Mississippi Interior Salt Basin by using a sequence stratigraphic framework based on T-R sequence terminology, to formulate exploration strategies for identifying specific facies with reservoir potential and for identifying possible stratigraphic traps using a sequence stratigraphic model in combination with the discovered reservoir classification, and to use these exploration strategies to assess the potential for underdeveloped and undiscovered petroleum resources in the Mississippi Interior Salt Basin.