Analysing sand-dominated channel systems for potential gas-hydrate-reservoirs using an AVO seismic inversion technique on the Southern Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand

Marine and Petroleum Geology

Volumn 38, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 19-34

  Fohrmann, M ^a   Pecher, I A ^a,b  

^a GNS SCIENCE   (New Zealand)

^b UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND   (New Zealand)

Author keywords

Amplitude versus offset (AVO); Bottom simulating reflection (BSR); Channel systems; Gas hydrate; New Zealand; Sands

Indexed keywords

AMPLITUDE-VERSUS-OFFSET (AVO); BOTTOM-SIMULATING-REFLECTION (BSR); BURIED CHANNELS; CHANNEL SANDS; CHANNEL SYSTEMS; COMBINED ANALYSIS; EAST COAST; ECONOMIC VIABILITY; FUTURE ENERGIES; GAS HYDRATE RESERVOIR; GAS PRODUCTIONS; HIGH QUALITY; HIGH RESOLUTION; HYDRATE ACCUMULATIONS; HYDRATE CONCENTRATION; HYDRATE SATURATION; NEW ZEALAND; PETROLEUM RESOURCES; ROCK PHYSICS MODEL; SEISMIC DATAS; SEISMIC INVERSION TECHNIQUES; VELOCITY ANALYSIS;

GASES; HYDRATION; PETROLEUM DEPOSITS; PETROLEUM RESERVOIR EVALUATION; SAND; SEISMOLOGY;

GAS HYDRATES;

AVO METHOD; CONCENTRATION (COMPOSITION); DATA INVERSION; GAS HYDRATE; GEOACCUMULATION; HYDROCARBON RESERVOIR; HYDROCARBON RESOURCE; SAND; SEISMIC DATA; SEISMIC REFLECTION; SEISMIC VELOCITY; SEISMOLOGY;

EAST COAST BASIN; HIKURANGI MARGIN; NEW ZEALAND; PACIFIC OCEAN;

EID: 84867214670     PISSN: 02648172     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2012.08.001     Document Type: Article

References (107)

1. Aki K., Richards P.G. Quantitative Seismology: Theory and Methods 1980, W.H. Freeman and Co., New York.
2. Amoco New Zealand Exploration Ltd., 1990, PPL 38318 East Coast Basin Discussion of Results from June 1989 Field Program North Island New Zealand. Wellington: Ministry of Economic Development. Unpublished Open-file Petroleum Report 1677, Wellington, Ministry of Economic Development, p. 368.
3. Amoco New Zealand Exploration Ltd., 1992, Special Core Analysis of Various Formations Including Basic Rock Properties, Capillary Pressure, Pore Size Distribution. Unpublished Open-file Petroleum Report 2141. Wellington, Ministry of Economic Development, p. 33.
4. Andreassen K., Hart P.E., Grantz A. Seismic studies of a bottom simulating reflection related to gas hydrate beneath the continental-margin of the Beaufort Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth 1995, 100(B7):12659-12673.
5. Backus G.E. Long-wavelength anisotropy produced by horizontal layering. Journal of Geophysical Research 1962, 67:4427-4440.
6. Barker D.H.N., Sutherland R., Henrys S., Bannister S. Geometry of the Hikurangi subduction thrust and upper plate, North Island, New Zealand. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 2009, 10:23.
7. Barnes P.M., de Lepinay B.M. Rates and mechanics of rapid frontal accretion along the very obliquely convergent southern Hikurangi margin, New Zealand. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth 1997, 102(B11):24931-24952.
8. Barnes P.M., de Lepinay B.M., Collot J.Y., Delteil J., Audru J.C. Strain partitioning in the transition area between oblique subduction and continental collision, Hikurangi margin, New Zealand. Tectonics 1998, 17(4):534-557.
9. Barnes P.M., Lamarche G., Bialas J., Henrys S., Pecher I., Netzeband G.L., Greinert J., Mountjoy J.J., Pedley K., Crutchley G. Tectonic and geological framework for gas hydrates and cold seeps on the Hikurangi subduction margin, New Zealand. Marine Geology 2010, 272:26-48.
10. Beggs, M., Wood, R., Henrys, S., and Stagpoole, V., 2008, A Roadmap for the Commercial Development of New Zealand's Gas Hydrate Resources. GNS Science Report 2008/06, p. 16.
11. FS Sonne Fahrtbericht/Cruise Report SO 191 New Vents 2007, vol. 9:186. IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel.
12. Boswell R., Collett T.S. Current perspectives on gas hydrate resources. Energy and Environmental Science 2011, 4:1206-1215.
13. Boswell R., Rose K., Collett T.S., Lee M., Winters W., Lewis K.A., Agena W. Geologic controls on gas hydrate occurrence in the Mount Elbert prospect, Alaska North Slope. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2011, 28(2):589-607.
14. Boswell R., Collett T.S., Frye M., Shedd W., McConnell D.R., Shelander D. Subsurface gas hydrates in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2012, 34(1):4-30.
15. Boswell R., Frye M., Shelander D., Shedd W., McConnell D.R., Cook A. Architecture of gas-hydrate-bearing sands from Walker Ridge 313, Green Canyon 955, and Alaminos Canyon 21: Northern deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2012, 34(1):134-149.
16. Boswell R. Is gas hydrate energy within reach?. Science 2009, 325(5943):957-958.
17. Buffett B., Archer D. Global inventory of methane clathrate: sensitivity to changes in the deep ocean. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2004, 227(3-4):185-199.
18. Castagna J.P., Swan H.W. Principles of AVO crossplotting. The Leading Edge 1997, 16(4):337-342.
19. Castagna J.P., Batzle M.L., Eastwood R.L. Relationships between compressional-wave and shear-wave velocities in elastic silicate rocks. Geophysics 1985, 80(4):571-581.
20. Castagna J.P., Swan H.W., Foster D.J. Framework for AVO gradient and intercept interpretation. Geophysics 1998, 63(3):948-956.
21. Chiswell S. The Wairarapa coastal current. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 2000, 34:303-315.
22. Chiswell S. Wairarapa Coastal Current influence on sea surface temperature in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 2002, 36:267-279.
23. Coffin R., Hamdan L., Pohlman J., Wood W., Pecher I., Henrys S., Greinert J., Faure K., Gorman A., Orpin A. Geochemical Characterization of Concentrated Gas Hydrate Deposits on the Hikurangi Margin 2007, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, New Zealand.
24. Collett T., Johnson A., Knapp C., Boswell R. Gas hydrates: a review. AAPG Memoir 89 2009, 146-219. T. Collett, A. Johnson, C. Knapp, R. Boswell (Eds.).
25. Collett T.S. Energy resource potential of natural gas hydrates. AAPG Bulletin 2002, 86(11):1971-1992.
26. Crutchley G.J., Pecher I.A., Gorman A.R., Henrys S.A., Greinert J. Seismic imaging of gas conduits beneath seafloor seep sites in a shallow marine gas hydrate province, Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand. Marine Geology 2010, 272(1-4):114-126.
27. De Mets C., Gordon R.G., Argus D.F., Stein S. Effect of recent revisions to the geomagnetic reversal time-scale on estimates of current plate motions. Geophysical Research Letters 1994, 21(20):2191-2194.
28. Dickens G.R., Quinby-Hunt M.S. Methane hydrate stability in seawater. Geophysical Research Letters 1994, 21:2115-2118.
29. Dix C.H. Seismic velocities from surface measurements. Geophysics 1955, 20:68-86.
30. Domenico S.N. Elastic properties of unconsolidated porous sand reservoirs. Geophysics 1977, 42:1339-1368.
31. 2O System: I. Pure systems from 0-Degrees-C to 1000-Degrees-C and 0 to 8000 Bar. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta 1992, 56(7):2605-2617.
32. Dutta N.C., Dai J. Exploration for gas hydrates in a marine environment using seismic inversion and rock physics principles. The Leading Edge 2009, 28(7):792-802.
33. Dvorkin J., Nur A. Time-average equation revisited. Geophysics 1998, 63(2):460-464.
34. Dvorkin J., Mavko G., Nur A. The effect of cementation on the elastic properties of granular material. Mechanics of Materials 1991, 12(3-4):207-217.
35. Dvorkin J., Moos D., Packwood J.L., Nur A. Identifying patchy saturation from well logs. Geophysics 1999, 64:1756-1759.
36. Ecker C., Dvorkin J., Nur A. Sediments with gas hydrates: internal structure from seismic AVO. Geophysics 1998, 63(5):1659-1669.
37. Ecker C., Dvorkin J., Nur A.M. Estimating the amount of gas hydrate and free gas from marine seismic data. Geophysics 2000, 65(2):565-573.
38. Faure K., Greinert J., Pecher I.A., Graham I.J., Massoth G.J., De Ronde C.E.J., Wright I.C., Baker E.T., Olson E.J. Methane seepage and its relation to slumping and gas hydrate at the Hikurangi margin, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 2006, 49(4):503-516.
39. Field B.D., Uruski C.I. Cretaceous-cenozoic Geology and Petroleum Systems of the East Coast Region, New Zealand 1997, Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
40. Field B.D. Cyclicity in turbidites of the Miocene Whakataki Formation, Castlepoint, North Island, and implications for hydrocarbon reservoir modelling. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 2005, 48(1):135-146.
41. Fohrmann M., Gorman A.R., Pecher I.A. Seismic characterisation of the Fiordland gas-hydrate province, New Zealand. AAPG Memoir 89 2009, 467-480. T. Collett, A. Johnson, C. Knapp, R. Boswell (Eds.).
42. Fugro Bruin 2D Seismic Survey. East Coast Basin 2005, Ministry of Economic Development, Wellington, Petroleum Report-3414, p. 207.
43. Fujii T., Nakamizu M., Tsuji Y., Namikawa T., Okui T., Kawasaki M., Ochiai K., Nishimura M., Takano O. Methane-hydrate occurrence and saturation confirmed from core samples, eastern Nankai Trough, Japan. AAPG Memoir 89 2009, 385-400. T. Collett, A. Johnson, C. Knapp, R. Boswell (Eds.).
44. Gardner G.H.F., Gardner L.W., Gregory A.R. Formation velocity and density - the diagnostic basics for stratigraphic traps. Geophysics 1974, 39:770-780.
45. Goodway B., Chen T., Downton J. Improved AVO fluid detection and lithology discrimination using Lamé petrophysical parameters. Proceedings 67th Ann. Internat. Mtg: SEG1997 1997, 183-186.
46. Gray D.E. American Institute of Physics Handbook 1972, McGraw-Hill, New York.
47. Hajnal Z., Sereda I.T. Maximum uncertainty of interval velocity estimates. Geophysics 1981, 46(11):1543-1547.
48. Hale D. A nonalised integral method for dip moveout. Geophysics 1991, 56:795-805.
49. Helgerud M.B., Dvorkin J., Nur A., Sakai A., Collett T. Elastic-wave velocity in marine sediments with gas hydrates: effective medium modelling. Geophysical Research Letters 1999, 26:2021-2024.
50. Henrys S.A., Ellis S., Uruski C. Conductive heat flow variations from bottom-simulating reflectors on the Hikurangi margin, New Zealand. Geophysical Research Letters 2003, 30(2).
51. Henrys S.A., Woodward D., Pecher I.A. Variation of bottom-simulating reflector (BSR) strength in a high-flux methane province, Hikurangi margin, New Zealand. Natural Gas Hydrates: Energy Resource Potential and Associated Geologic Hazards 2008, AAPG Special Publication. T. Collett, A. Johnson, C. Knapp, R. Boswell (Eds.).
52. Hyndman R.D., Davis E.E. A mechanism for the formation of methane hydrate and seafloor bottom- simulating reflectors by vertical fluid expulsion. Journal of Geophysical Research 1992, 97(B5):7025-7041.
53. Hyndman R.D., Spence G.D. A seismic study of methane hydrate marine bottom simulating reflectors. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth 1992, 97(B5):6683-6698.
54. Inamori T., Hato M. Detection of methane hydrate-bearing zones from seismic data. Resource Geology 2004, 54(1):99-104.
55. Inks T.L., Lee M.W., Agena W.F., Taylor D.J., Collett T.S., Zyrianova M.V., Hunter R.B. Seismic prospecting for gas-hydrate and associated free-gas prospects in the Milne Point area of northern Alaska. AAPG Memoir 89 2009, 555-583. T. Collett, A. Johnson, C. Knapp, R. Boswell (Eds.).
56. Katz H.R. Evidence of gas hydrates beneath the continental-Slope, East Coast, North Island, New-Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 1982, 25(2):193-199.
57. Klauda J.B., Sandler S.I. Global distribution of methane hydrate in ocean sediment. Energy & Fuels 2005, 19(2):459-470.
58. Koh C.A., Sum A.K., Sloan E.D. State of the art: natural gas hydrates as a natural resource. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 2012, 7.
59. Korenaga J., Holbrook W.S., Singh S.C., Minshull T.A. Natural gas hydrates on the southeast US margin: constraints from full waveform and travel time inversions of wide-angle seismic data. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth 1997, 102(B7):15345-15365.
60. Kvenvolden K.A., Lorenson T.D. Global occurrences of gas hydrate. Proceedings of the Eleventh (2001) International offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, Stavanger, Norway 2001, vol. 1:462-467.
61. Kvenvolden K.A. Methane hydrate - a major reservoir of carbon in the shallow geosphere?. Chemical Geology 1988, 71(1-3):41-51.
62. Lee M.W., Hutchinson D.R., Collett T.S., Dillon W.P. Seismic velocities for hydrate-bearing sediments using weighted equation. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth 1996, 101(B9):20347-20358.
63. Lee M.W., Collett T.S., Inks T.L. Seismic-attribute analysis for gas-hydrate and free-gas prospects on the North Slope of Alaska. AAPG Memoir 89 2009, 541-554. T. Collett, A. Johnson, C. Knapp, R. Boswell (Eds.).
64. Lewis K.B., Marshall B.A. Seep faunas and other indicators of methane-rich dewatering on New Zealand convergent margins. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 1996, 39(2):181-200.
65. Lewis K.B., Pantin H.M. Channel-axis, overbank and drift sediment waves in the southern Hikurangi Trough, New Zealand. Marine Geology 2002, 192(1-3):123-151.
66. Litchfield N., Berryman K. Relations between postglacial fluvial incision rates and uplift rates in the North Island, New Zealand. Journal of Geophysical Research-Earth Surface 2006, 111(F2).
67. Lumley D.E., Nichols D., Ecker C., Rekdal T., Berlioux A. Amplitude-preserved processing and analysis of the Mobil AVO data set. Comparison of Seismic Inversion Methods on a Single Real Data Set 1998, 75-96. Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Tulsa, OK. R.G. Keys, D.J. Foster (Eds.).
68. Lumley, D., 1995, Seismic Time-lapse Monitoring of Subsurface Fluid Flow: PhD dissertation, Stanford University.
69. Makogon Y.F., Holditch S.A., Makogon T.Y. Natural gas-hydrates - a potential energy source for the 21st Century. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 2007, 56(1-3):14-31.
70. Mavko G., Mukerji T., Dvorkin J. The Rock Physics Handbook 1998, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K, 329 pp.
71. Milkov A.V. Global estimates of hydrate-bound gas in marine sediments: how much is really out there?. Earth-Science Reviews 2004, 66(3-4):183-197.
72. Mindlin R.D. Compliance of elastic bodies in contact. Journal of Applied Mechanics 1949, 16:259-268.
73. Moridis G.J., Collett T.S., Boswell R., Kurihara M., Reagan M.T., Koh C., Sloan E.D. Toward production from gas hydrates: current status, assessment of resources, and simulation-based evaluation of technology and potential. SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering 2009, 12(5):745-771.
74. Noguchi S., Shimoda N., Takano O., Oikawa N., Inamori T., Saeki T., Fujii T. 3-D internal architecture of methane hydrate-bearing turbidite channels in the eastern Nankai Trough, Japan. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2011, 28(10):1817-1828.
75. Ostrander W.J. Plane-wave reflection coefficients for gas sands at nonnormal angles of incidence. Geophysics 1984, 49(10):1637-1648.
76. Paull C.K., Matsumoto R., Wallace P.J., et al. Proc. ODP, Init. Repts 1996, Ocean Drilling Program, College Station, TX, 623 pp.
77. Pecher I.A., Henrys S.A. Potential Gas Reserves in Gas Hydrate Sweet Spots on the Hikurangi Margin 2003, Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences science report 2003/23, New Zealand, p. 36.
78. Pecher I.A., Minshull T.A., Singh S.C., vonHuene R. Velocity structure of a bottom simulating reflector offshore Peru: results from full waveform inversion. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 1996, 139(3-4):459-469.
79. Pecher I.A., Holbrook W.S., Sen M.K., Lizarralde D., Wood W.T., Hutchinson D.R., Dillon W.P., Hoskins H., Stephen R.A. Seismic anisotropy in gas-hydrate and gas-bearing sediments on the Blake Ridge, from a walkaway vertical seismic profile. Geophysical Research Letters 2003, 30:1733-1736.
80. Pecher I.A., Henrys S.A., Zhu H. Seismic images of gas conduits beneath vents and gas hydrates on Ritchie Ridge, Hikurangi margin, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 2004, 47(2):275-279.
81. Pecher I.A., Fohrmann M., Gorman A.R., Barnes P. New developments in gas hydrate exploration - implications for the Hikurangi Margin. Proceedings New Zealand Petroleum Conference 2010, 10. Crown Minerals, Ministry of Economic Development, Wellington.
82. Pecher I.A., Henrys S.A., Fohrmann M., Gorman A.R., Stagpoole V., Toulmin S.J. Gas Hydrates Exploration on the Hikurangi Margin 2010, GNS Science report 2010/10, New Zealand, p. 37.
83. Pecher I.A., Henrys S.A., Wood W.T., Kukowski N., Crutchley G.J., Fohrmann M., Kilner J., Senger K., Gorman A.R., Coffin R.B., Greinert J., Faure K. Focussed fluid flow on the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand-Evidence from possible local upwarping of the base of gas hydrate stability. Marine Geology 2010, 272(1-4):99-113.
84. Priest J.A., Best A.I., Clayton C.R.I. Influence of gas hydrate morphology on the seismic velocities of sands. Journal of Geophysical Research 2009, 114:B11205.
85. Ramos A.C.B., Oliveira A.S., Tygel M. The Impact of True Amplitude DMO on Amplitude Versus Offset. 69th Ann. Internat. Mtg., Soc. Expl. Geophys. 1999, Expanded Abstracts, pp. 832-835.
86. Riedel M., Spence G.D., Chapman N.R., Hyndman R.D. Seismic investigations of a vent field associated with gas hydrates, offshore Vancouver Island. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth 2002, 107(B9).
87. Rutherford S.R., Williams R.H. Amplitude-versus-offset variations in gas sands. Geophysics 1989, 54(6):680-688.
88. Saeki, T., Fujii, T., Inamori, T., Kobayashi, T., Hayashi, M., Nagakubo, S., Takano, O., 2008a. Delineation of Methane Hydrate Concentrated Zone Using 3D Seismic Data in the Eastern Nankai Trough, Proc. 6th International Conference on Gas Hydrates, Vancouver, 9 pp.
89. Saeki T., Fujii T., Inamori T., Kobayashi T., Hayashi M., Nagakubo S., Takano O. Extraction of Methane Hydrate Concentrated Zone for Resource Assessment in the Eastern Nankai Trough, Japan, Offshore Technology Conference: 5-8 May 2008 2008, Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, USA.
90. Schwalenberg K., Haeckel M., Poort J., Jegen M. Evaluation of gas hydrate deposits in an active seep area using marine controlled source electromagnetics: results from Opouawe Bank, Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand. Marine Geology 2010, 272(1-4):79-88.
91. Shedd W., Boswell R., Frye M., Godfriaux P., Kramer K. Occurrence and nature of "bottom simulating reflectors" in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2012, 34(1):31-40.
92. Shelander D., Dai J., Bunge G. Predicting saturation of gas hydrates using pre-stack seismic data, Gulf of Mexico. Marine Geophysical Research 2010, 31(1-2):39-57.
93. Shelander D., Dai J., Bunge G., Singh S., Eissa M., Fisher K. Estimating saturation of gas hydrates using conventional 3D seismic data, Gulf of Mexico Joint Industry Project Leg II. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2012, 34(1):96-110.
94. Singh S.C., Minshull T.A., Spence G.D. Velocity structure of a gas hydrate reflector. Science 1993, 260(5105):204-207.
95. Sloan E.D. Clathrate Hydrates of Natural Gases 1990, Marcel Dekker, New York, 641 pp.
96. Srinivasan R.N., Pecher I.A., Stern T.A. Weak and segmented bottom simulating reflections on the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand - Implications for gas hydrate reservoir rocks. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 2012, 88-89:29-40.
97. Townend J. Estimates of conductive heat flow through bottom-simulating reflectors on the Hikurangi and southwest Fiordland continental margins, New Zealand. Marine Geology 1997, 141(1-4):209-220.
98. Tréhu A.M., Bohrmann G., Rack F.R., et al. Proc. ODP, Init. Repts 2003, Ocean Drilling Program, College Station, TX.
99. Walcott R.I. Present tectonics and late Cenozoic Evolution of New-Zealand. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 1978, 52(1):137-164.
100. Wallace L.M., Beavan J., McCaffrey R., Darby D. Subduction zone coupling and tectonic block rotations in the North Island, New Zealand. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth 2004, 109(B12).
101. Weimer P., Slatt R.M. Petroleum Systems of Deepwater Settings, Distinguished Instructer Series, No. 7 2004, Society of Exploration Geophysicists.
102. White J.E. Computed seismic speeds and attenuation in rocks with partial gas saturation. Geophysics 1975, 40:224-232.
103. Winters W.J., Waite W.F., Mason D.H., Gilbert L.Y., Pecher I.A. Methane gas hydrate effect on sediment acoustic and strength properties. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 2007, 56(1-3):127-135.
104. Wood W.T., Stoffa P.L., Shipley T.H. Quantitative detection of methane hydrate through high-resolution seismic velocity analysis. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth 1994, 99(B5):9681-9695.
105. Wood A.B. A Text Book of Sound 1941, Macmillan, New York, 578 pp.
106. Wyllie M.R.J., Gregory A.R., Gardner G.H.F. An experimental investigation of factors affecting elastic wave velocities in porous media. Geophysics 1958, 23(3):459-493.
107. Yun T.S., Santamarina J.C., Ruppel C. Mechanical properties of sand, silt, and clay containing tetrahydrofuran hydrate. Journal of Geophysical Research 2007, 112:B04106.