Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Focused fluid flow systems in continental margins – Implications and recent advances

Christian Berndt

oceansurv, Cowes, Isle of Wight

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Overview

• Introduction

– Focused fluid flow systems

– Relevance of focused fluid flow systems

– Seismic imaging

• Gas hydrates

• Volcanic intrusions

• Geohazards

• High-resolution 3D seismic acquistion system

• Conclusions, outlook and possibilities for collaboration

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Fluid flow in passive margins

Berndt, 2005

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Why fluid flow research?

• Fluid flow is the most important link from the subsurface to the seabed and many seabed processes cannot be understood without this link

• Fluid flow/seepage and sedimentation are the two most important carbon fluxes from/to the geosphere

• Fluid flow has important implications for hydrocarbon exploration and production, but it is only understood for very simple cases

Fluid flow is highly relevant to society on a short term as opposed to many other geological processes

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Specific fields of research

• Fluid flow controls the release of carbon into the ocean and into the atmosphere

• Fluid flow provides nutrients for chemosynthetic ecosystems

• Fluids and gas migration poses the most dangerous hazard to offshore exploration and scientific ocean drilling

• Fluid flow controls the distribution of natural energy resources (oil, gas, condensates, gas hydrates)

Weaver et al., 2004

Fluid flow in passive margins is an important aspect of the Earth System

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

What does seafloor methane hydrate look like?

• Methane hydrate (clathrate)

• Methane (CH4) gas molecule trapped in lattice of water (H20) molecules

• Dissociates (solid → gas)

• High P, low TPictures: IfM-Geomar

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Where do we find methane hydrates?

United States Geological SurveyUnited States Geological Survey

Berndt et al. 2003

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Geophysical response to gas hydrates

Western Svalbard Hydratech OBS tomography results, Rossi et al. (2007)

High Q = low QHigh Q = low Q-1-1

• Gas hydrate quantification through

– Seismic velocity response

– Seismic attenuation

– EM

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Evidence for gas hydrates

Vanneste et al., 2006

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Explosive eruption of greenhouse gas

Formation of pipes and explosion craters

Intrusive volcanism in sedimentary basins

• Break-up related volcanism

• Sill intrusions into the sedimentary basins

• Contact metamorphism releasing huge amount of carbon into the atmosphere

• Early Eocene climate optimum

Svensen et al. 2005

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

• 735 mapped

• 2-3000 likely present

• 1-2 km below the sea floor

Mud volcanism in Azerbaijan as a modern analogue to gas explosions? (Photo: BBC, 2001)

Distribution of vent complexes on the Norwegian Margin

Svensen et al., 2004

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Volcanic intrusions in the Faeroe Shetland Basin

Vents in the Faeroe Shetland Trough

Berndt and Hili, 2006

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Free gas and slope stability linkage

Masson and Berndt , 2006

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Blow outs from free gas accumulations: A major geohazard

• Gas blow-outs are the single biggest geohazard for the offshore industry

• Every year blow-outs happen causing casualties

• 3D imaging of shallow gas accumulations is necessary for avoiding blow-outs

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

P-Cable projects

• P-Cable is patented technology by VBPR

• Joint development project involving VBPR, NOCS, UTromsoe, and IfM-Geomar

• A seismic cable towed perpendicular to the vessel’s steaming direction

• Many single-channel seismic streamers attached to a wire held in place by two doors

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Mercator Mud Volcano Gulf of Cadiz

BSR

Berndt et al., 2007

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

3D visualisation

Berndt et al., 2007

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Overview

• Introduction

– Focused fluid flow systems

– Relevance of focused fluid flow systems

– Seismic imaging

• Gas hydrates

• Volcanic intrusions

• Geohazards

• High-resolution 3D seismic acquistion system

• Conclusions, outlook and possibilities for collaboration

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Summary

• Focused fluid flow systems are extremely relevant to society as they control our environment in the short term

• Understanding the involved physical processes is instrumental for assessing their role in

– climate change

– chemosynthetic ecosystems

– distribution of energy sources

– geohazards (tsunamis, slides, etc.)

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Possible Collaborations

• Influence of halokinesis on fluid migration patterns / cementation and drilling problems around salt diapirs

• Effects of fluid migration/gas hydrates on sea bed stability

• Mud volcanoes as a window to deeper hydrocarbon systems

• Thermal structure from BSR depth

• Effect of sill intrusions on sedimentary basins

• Carbon sequestration

• Site surveys

Scientific targets and hydrocarbon industry relevance

Contact details

Dr. Christian Berndt

oceansurv32 Denmark RoadCowesIsle of WightPO31 7SZUnited Kingdomcbe@noc.soton.ac.uk

Consulting projects will be carried out by oceansurv.

Scientific projects will be carried out either through National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, or IfM-Geomar, Kiel depending on project.