Evidence of a widespread paleo-pockmarked field in the Orange Basin: An indication of an early Eocene massive fluid escape event offshore South Africa

Marine Geology

Volumn 332-334, Issue , 2012, Pages 222-234

  Hartwig, Alexander ^a   Anka, Zahie ^a   di Primio, Rolando ^a  

^a GFZ GERMAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR GEOSCIENCES   (Germany)

Author keywords

Hydrocarbon leakage; Mud volcano; Orange Basin; PETM; Pockmarks; Southwest Africa

Indexed keywords

HYDROCARBON LEAKAGE; MUD VOLCANOES; ORANGE BASIN; PETM; POCKMARKS; SOUTHWEST AFRICA;

CARBON; FLOCCULATION; HYDROCARBONS; ISOTOPES; SEDIMENTOLOGY; SEDIMENTS; THREE DIMENSIONAL COMPUTER GRAPHICS; TWO DIMENSIONAL;

SEISMOLOGY;

FINE GRAINED SEDIMENT; HYDROCARBON SEEP; MUD VOLCANO; PALEOCENE-EOCENE BOUNDARY; POCKMARK; SEDIMENTARY BASIN; SEISMIC DATA; SEISMIC REFLECTION; COMPACTION; DATA SET; EOCENE; FAULT ZONE; FLUID FLOW; HYDROCARBON MIGRATION; HYDROTHERMAL ACTIVITY; LEAKAGE; MAASTRICHTIAN; MARINE SEDIMENT; OFFSHORE APPLICATION; SEDIMENTATION; SEEPAGE; SOURCE ROCK; SPATIOTEMPORAL ANALYSIS;

ATLANTIC OCEAN; ORANGE BASIN;

EID: 84870731429     PISSN: 00253227     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.margeo.2012.07.012     Document Type: Article

References (81)

1. Aldrich J., Zilinski R., Edman J., Leu W., Corbett K. Documentation of a new petroleum system in the South Atlantic. AAPG Annual Convention, Salt Lake City, Utah 2003.
2. Andresen K.J., Huuse M. Bulls-eye pockmarks and polygonal faulting in the Lower Congo Basin: Relative timing and implications for fluid expulsion during shallow burial. Marine Geology. 2011, 279:111-127.
3. Andresen K.J., Huuse M., Clausen O.R. Morphology and distribution of Oligocene and Miocene pockmarks in the Danish North Sea - implications for bottom current activity and fluid migration. Basin Research 2008, 20(3):445-466.
4. Andresen K.J., Huuse M., Schodt N.H., Clausen L.F., Seidler L. Hydrocarbon plumbing systems of salt minibasins offshore Angola revealed by three-dimensional seismic analysis. AAPG Bulletin 2011, 95:1039-1065.
5. Bauer K., et al. Deep structure of the Namibia continental margin as derived from integrated geophysical studies. Journal of Geophysical Research 2000, 105(B11):25829-25853.
6. Ben-Avraham Z., Smith G., Reshef M., Jungslager E.H.A. Gas hydrate and mud volcanoes on the southwest African continental margin off South Africa. Geological Society of America 2002, 30(10):927-930.
7. Berndt C., Bünz S., Clayton T., Mienert J., Saunders M. Seismic character of bottom simulating reflectors: examples from the mid-Norwegian margin. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2004, 21(6):723-733.
8. Bøe R., Rise L., Ottesen D. Elongate depressions on the southern slope of the Norwegian Trench (Skagerrak): morphology and evolution. Marine Geology 1998, 146(1-4):191-203.
9. Bolli H.M., Ryan W.B.F., Foresman J.B., Hottman W.E., Kagami H., Longoria J.F., McKnight B.K., Melguen M., Natland J., Decima-Proto F., Siesser W.G. 2. Cape basin continental rise - sites 360 and 361. Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project 1978, 29-182. National Science Foundation, Washington. J. Natland (Ed.).
10. Boyd D., Anka Z., di Primio R., Kuhlmann G., de Wit M.J. Passive margin evolution and controls on natural gas leakage in the Orange Basin, South Africa. South African Journal of Geology 2011, 114:415-432.
11. Bray R., Lawrence S., Swart R. Source rock, maturity data indicate potential off Namibia. Oil and Gas Journal 1998, 96:84-89.
12. Broad D.S., Jungslager E.H.A., McLachlan I.R., Roux J. Offshore Mesozoic basins. The Geology of South Africa 2006, 553-571. Geological Society of South Africa, Johannesburg, Council for Geoscience, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Pretoria. M.R. Johnson, C.R. Anhaeusser, R.J. Thomas (Eds.).
13. Brown L.F., et al. Sequence stratigraphy in offshore South African divergent basins. AAPG Studies in Geology 1995, 41.
14. Cartwright J., Huuse M., Aplin A. Seal bypass systems. AAPG Bulletin 2007, 91(8):1141-1166.
15. Cathles L.M., Su Z., Chen D. The physics of gas chimney and pockmark formation, with implications for assessment of seafloor hazards and gas sequestration. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2010, 27(1):82-91.
16. Cole D., Stewart S.A., Cartwright J.A. Giant irregular pockmark craters in the Paleogene of the Outer Moray Firth Basin, UK North Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2000, 17(5):563-577.
17. Davies R., Cartwright J., Rana J. Giant hummocks in deep-water marine sediments: evidence for large-scale differential compaction and density inversion during early burial. Geology 1999, 27(10):907-910.
18. Davy B., Pecher I., Wood R., Carter L., Gohl K. Gas escape features off New Zealand: evidence of massive release of methane from hydrates. Geophysical Research Letters 2010, 37(21):L21309.
19. de Vera J., Granado P., McClay K. Structural evolution of the Orange Basin gravity-driven system, offshore Namibia. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2010, 27:223-237.
20. Dickens G.R., O'Neil J.R., Rea D.K., Owen R.M. Dissociation of oceanic methane hydrate as a cause of the carbon isotope excursion at the end of the Paleocene. Paleoceanography 1995, 10(6):965-971.
21. Dickens G.R., Castillo M.M., Walker J.C.G. A blast of gas in the latest Paleocene: simulating first-order effects of massive dissociation of oceanic methane hydrate. Geology 1997, 25(3):259-262.
22. Dingle R.V., Hendey Q.B. Late Mesozoic and tertiary sediment supply to the eastern Cape Basin (SE Atlantic) and palaeo-drainage systems in southwestern Africa. Marine Geology 1984, 56:13-26.
23. Dingle R.V., Siesser W.G., Newton A.R. Mesozoic and Tertiary Geology of Southern Africa 1983, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam.
24. Dobson K.J., McDonald R., Brown R., Gallagher K., Stuart M. Constraining the Cenozoic evolution of South Africa using (U-Th)/He thermochronology: the influence of dynamic topography at a passive margin. EGU General Assembly 2011, Vienna, Austria 2010.
25. Emery K.O., Uchupi E., Philips J.D., Bowin C.O., Simpson E.S.W. Continental margin off western Africa; Cape St. Francis (South Africa) to Walvis Ridge (South-West Africa). AAPG Bulletin 1975, 59:3-59.
26. Gallagher K., Brown R. Denudation and uplift at passive margins: the record on the Atlantic Margin of southern Africa. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A 1999, 357:835-859.
27. Gay A., Lopez M., Cochonat P., Levaché D., Sermondadaz G., Séranne M. Evidences of early to late fluid migration from an upper Miocene turbiditic channel revealed by 3D seismic coupled to geochemical sampling within seafloor pockmarks, Lower Congo Basin. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2006, 23(3):387-399.
28. Gay A., Lopez M., Cochonat P., Séranne M., Levaché D., Sermondadaz G. Isolated seafloor pockmarks linked to BSRs, fluid chimneys, polygonal faults, and stacked Oligocene-Miocene turbiditic palaeochannels in the Lower Congo Basin. Marine Geology 2006, 226(1-2):25-40.
29. Gay A., Lopez M., Ondreas H., Charlou J.L., Sermondadaz G., Cochonat P. Seafloor facies related to upward methane flux within a Giant Pockmark of the Lower Congo Basin. Marine Geology 2006, 226:81-95.
30. Gay A., Lopez M., Berndt C., Séranne M. Geological controls on focused fluid flow associated with seafloor seeps in the Lower Congo Basin. Marine Geology 2007, 244:68-92.
31. Gerrard I., Smith G.C. Post-Paleozoic succession and structure of the southwestern African continental margin. AAPG Memoir 1982, 34:49-74. J.S. Watkins, C.L. Drake (Eds.).
32. Haacke R.R., Westbrook G.K., Hyndman R.D. Gas hydrate, fluid flow and free gas: formation of the bottom-simulating reflector. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2007, 261(3-4):407-420.
33. Haq B.U., Hardenbol L.J., Vail P.R. Chronology of fluctuating sea levels since the Triassic. Science 1987, 235(4793):1156-1167.
34. Hardenbol J., et al. Mesozoic and Cenozoic sequence chronostratigraphic chart. Mesozoic and Cenozoic Sequence Stratigraphy of European Basins 1998, Society of Sedimentary Geology. P.C.D. Graciansky, J. Hardenbol, T. Jacquin, P.R. Vail (Eds.).
35. Heggland R. Gas seepage as an indicator of deeper prospective reservoirs. A study based on exploration 3D seismic data. Marine and Petroleum Geology 1998, 15(1):1-9.
36. Hirsch K.K., Scheck-Wenderoth M., van Wees J.-D., Kuhlmann G., Paton D.A. Tectonic subsidence history and thermal evolution of the Orange Basin. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2010, 27:565-584.
37. Hovland M., Svensen H., Forsberg C.F., Johansen H., Fichler C., Fosså J.H., Jonsson R., Rueslåtten H. Complex pockmarks with carbonate-ridges off mid-Norway: products of sediment degassing. Marine Geology 2005, 218(1-4):191-206.
38. Hustoft S., Dugan B., Mienert J. Effects of rapid sedimentation on developing the Nyegga pockmark field: constraints from hydrological modeling and 3-D seismic data, offshore mid-Norway. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 2009, 10(6):Q06012.
39. Judd A.G., Hovland M. Seabed Fluid Flow 2007, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
40. Jungslager E.H.A. Petroleum habitats of the Atlantic margin of South Africa. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 1999, 153(1):153-168.
41. King L.H., MacLean B. Pockmarks on the Scotian shelf. Geological Society of America Bulletin 1970, 81:3141-3148.
42. Kounov A., Viola G., De Wit M., Andreoli M. Denudation along the Atlantic passive margin: new insights from apatite fission-track analysis on the western coast of South Africa. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 2009, 324:287-306.
43. Kroeger K.F., di Primio R., Horsfield B. Atmospheric methane from organic carbon mobilization in sedimentary basins - the sleeping giant?. Earth-Science Reviews 2011, 107:423-442.
44. Kuhlmann G., Adams S., Campher C., van der Spuy D., di Primio R., Horsfield B. Passive margin evolution and its controls on natural gas leakage in the southern Orange Basin, blocks 3/4, offshore South Africa. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2010, 27:973-992.
45. Kuhlmann G., Adams S., Anka Z., Campher C., di Primio R., Horsfield B. 3D petroleum system modeling within a passive margin setting, Orange Basin, block 3/4, offshore South Africa - implications for gas generation migration and leakage. South African Journal of Geology 2011, 114:387-414.
46. Light M.P.R., Maslanyj M.P., Banks N.L. New geophysical evidence for extensional tectonics on the divergent margin offshore Namibia. Geological Society Special Publication. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 1992, 68:257-270.
47. Ligtenberg H., Connolly D. Chimney detection and interpretation, revealing sealing quality of faults, geohazards, charge of and leakage from reservoirs. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 2003, 78-79:385-387.
48. Long H., Flemings P.B., Germaine J.T., Saffer D.M. Consolidation and overpressure near the seafloor in the Ursa Basin, Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2011, 305(1-2):1035-1049.
49. Løseth H., Gading M., Wensaas L. Hydrocarbon leakage interpreted on seismic data. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2009, 26(7):1304-1319.
50. Løseth H., Wensaas L., Arntsen B., Hanken N.-M., Basire C., Graue K. 1000m long gas blow-out pipes. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2011, 28(5):1047-1060.
51. Macdonald D., et al. Mesozoic break-up of SW Gondwana: implications for regional hydrocarbon potential of the southern South Atlantic. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2003, 20:287-308.
52. McMillan I.K. Foraminiferally defined biostratigraphic episodes and sedimentation pattern of the Cretaceous drift succession (Early Barremian to Late Maastrichtian) in seven basins on the South African and southern Namibian continental margin. South African Journal of Science 2003, 99:537-576.
53. Moore A., Blenkinsop T., Cotterill F. Controls on post-Gondwana alkaline volcanism in Southern Africa. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2008, 268(1-2):151-164.
54. Moss J.L., Cartwright J. 3D seismic expression of km-scale fluid escape pipes from offshore Namibia. Basin Research 2010, 22(4):481-501.
55. Muntingh A. Geology, prospects in Orange Basin offshore western South Africa. Oil and Gas Journal 1993, 106-109.
56. Muntingh A., Brown L.F. Sequence stratigraphy of petroleum plays, post-rift Cretaceous rocks (Lower Aptian to Upper Maastrichtian), Orange Basin, Western Offshore, South Africa. AAPG Memoir 1993, 58:71-98. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
57. Osborne M.J., Swarbrick R.E. Mechanisms for generating overpressure in sedimentary basins; a reevaluation. AAPG Bulletin 1997, 81(6):1023-1041.
58. Owen G. Load structures: gravity-driven sediment mobilization in the shallow subsurface. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 2003, 216:21-34.
59. Partridge T.C., Maud R.R. Macro-scale geomorphic evolution of southern Africa. The Cenozoic of Southern Africa 2000, Oxford University Press, New York. T.C. Partridge, R.R. Maud (Eds.).
60. Paton D.A., di Primio R., Kuhlmann G., van der Spuy D., Horsfield B. Insights into the petroleum system evolution of the southern Orange Basin, South, Africa. South African Journal of Geology 2007, 110(2-3):261-274.
61. Paton D.A., van der Spuy D., di Primio R., Horsfield B. Tectonically induced adjustment of passive-margin accommodation space; influence on the hydrocarbon potential of the Orange Basin, South Africa. AAPG Bulletin 2008, 92(5):589-609.
62. Petroleum Agency SA South African Exploration Opportunities 2003, South African Agency for Promotion of Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation, Parow, Cape Town.
63. Pilcher R., Argent J. Mega-pockmarks and linear pockmark trains on the West African continental margin. Marine Geology 2007, 244(1-4):15-32.
64. Séranne M., Anka Z. South Atlantic continental margins of Africa: A comparison of the tectonic vs climate interplay on the evolution of equatorial west Africa and SW Africa margins. Journal of African Earth Sciences 2005, 43:283-300.
65. Siesser W.G., Dingle R.V. Tertiary sea-level movements around southern Africa. Journal of Geology 1981, 89(1):83-96.
66. Sun Q., et al. The morphologies and genesis of mega-pockmarks near the Xisha Uplift, South China Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2011, 28(6):1146-1156.
67. Swart R. Hydrate occurrences in the Namibe Basin, offshore Namibia. Sediment-Hosted Gas Hydrates: New Insights on Natural and Synthetic Systems. Geological Society Special Publication 2009, 73-80. Geological Society, London. D. Long, M.A. Lovell, J.G. Rees, C.A. Rochelle (Eds.).
68. Tinker J., de Wit M., Brown R. Linking source and sink: evaluating the balance between onshore erosion and offshore sediment accumulation since Gondwana break-up, South Africa. Tectonophysics 2008, 455:94-103.
69. Tinker J., de Wit M., Brown R. Mesozoic exhumation of the southern Cape, South Africa, quantified using apatite fission track thermochronology. Tectonophysics 2008, 455:77-93.
70. Uenzelmann-Neben G., Schluter P., Weigelt E. Cenozoic oceanic circulation within the South African gateway: indications from seismic stratigraphy. South African Journal of Geology 2007, 110(2-3):275-294.
71. van Bemmel, P., Pepper, R., 2000. Seismic Signal Processing Method and Apparatus for Generating a Cube of Variance Values, United States Patent 6151555.
72. van der Spuy D. Aptian source rocks in some South African Cretaceous basins. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 2003, 207(1):185-202.
73. van der Spuy D. Prospectivity of the Northern Orange Basin, Offshore South Africa. 18th World Petroleum Congress. 2005 World Petroleum Congress, Johannesburg, South Africa 2005.
74. Velde B. Compaction trends of clay-rich deep sea sediments. Marine Geology 1996, 133(3-4):193-201.
75. Verwoerd W.J., de Beer C.H. Cretaceous and Tertiary igneous events. The Geology of South Africa 2006, 573-583. The Geological Society of South Africa, Johannesburg, Council for Geoscience, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Pretoria. M.R. Johnson, C.R. Anhaeusser, R.J. Thomas (Eds.).
76. Viola G., Andreoli M., Ben-Avraham Z., Stengel I., Reshef M. Offshore mud volcanoes and onland faulting in southwestern Africa: neotectonic implications and constraints on the regional stress field. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2005, 231(1-2):147-160.
77. Vogt P.R. Hummock fields in the Norway Basin and Eastern Iceland Plateau: Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities?. Geology 1997, 25(6):531-534.
78. Weigelt E., Uenzelmann-Neben G. Sediment deposits in the Cape Basin: indications for shifting ocean currents?. AAPG Bulletin 2004, 88(6):765-780.
79. Westbrook G.K., et al. Escape of methane gas from the seabed along the West Spitsbergen continental margin. Geophysical Research Letters 2009, 36(15):L15608.
80. Wigley R.A., Compton J.S. Late Cenozoic evolution of the outer continental shelf at the head of the Cape Canyon, South Africa. Marine Geology 2006, 226(1-2):1-23.
81. Zachos J.C., Dickens G.R., Zeebe R.E. An early Cenozoic perspective on greenhouse warming and carbon-cycle dynamics. Nature 2008, 451(7176):279-283.