Gas hydrate quantification in Walker Ridge block 313, Gulf of Mexico, from full-waveform inversion of ocean-bottom seismic data
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Abstract
The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Joint Industry Project Leg 2 logging-while-drilling data in Walker Ridge lease block 313 (WR313) in the GOM detected gas hydrate in coarse- and fine-grained sediments at sites WR313-G and WR313-H. The coarse-grained units are thin (<10 m) and highly saturated, whereas the fine-grained unit is thick (approximately 200 m) with low saturation and fracture-filling gas hydrate. Unlike its coarse-grained counterpart, the seismic character of the fine-grained unit does not clearly indicate the presence of gas hydrate, which would likely have remained undiscovered in the absence of drilling. In this paper, through frequency-domain acoustic full-waveform inversion (FWI) of ocean-bottom seismometer data along a 2D multichannel seismic transect near sites WR313-G and WR313-H, we detect and quantify gas hydrate in the fine-grained unit. Key results are as follows: First, the base of the gas hydrate stability zone, which is not obvious in the reflection profile, can be discerned in the FWI results. Second, the gas hydrate in the fine-grained unit is mainly confined to the area between two sets of opposite-dipping normal faults implying that the fault architecture may be partially responsible for this gas hydrate accumulation and distribution.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Gas hydrate quantification in Walker Ridge block 313, Gulf of Mexico, from full-waveform inversion of ocean-bottom seismic data |
| Series title | Interpretation |
| DOI | 10.1190/INT-2018-0165.1 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Year Published | 2020 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Society of Exploration Geophysicists |
| Contributing office(s) | Central Energy Resources Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center |
| Description | 16 p. |
| First page | T27 |
| Last page | T42 |
| Country | United States |
| Other Geospatial | Gulf of Mexico |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |