Geophysical characterisation of active thermogenic oil seeps in the salt province of the lower Congo basin part I: Detailed study of one oil-seeping site - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia Access content directly
Journal Articles Marine and Petroleum Geology Year : 2019

Geophysical characterisation of active thermogenic oil seeps in the salt province of the lower Congo basin part I: Detailed study of one oil-seeping site

Abstract

We report the geophysical characterisation of natural oil seep sites through a combination of sea surface evidence of oil leakage from spatial imagery with a large collection of seafloor and subsurface geophysical data. This paper provides a detailed characterisation of one selected active seep site and identifies possible specific feature of oil seep sites. The oil seep is a complex-shaped feature on the seafloor consisting of a cluster of heterometric pockmarks inside a main depression area and peripheral metre-scale seafloor mounds. A strong deformation related to salt tectonics controls the location of the seafloor source by fracturing the overburden. The associated thermal anomaly induces a vertical modification position of the base of the gas hydrate stability zone (BGHSZ) that is used as a fluid migration route towards the crest of the diapir. The combination of local depressions and seafloor amplitude anomalies linked with vertical high-amplitude pipes rooted on the BGHSZ suggests a focused fluid flow towards the seafloor. In peripheral areas, the seafloor mounds are linked by shallow faults to buried high amplitude patches on sub-bottom profiler sections. The combination of restricted-size seafloor mounds with a progressive deepening of the high amplitude from the seafloor suggests a substantial decrease of the hydrocarbon flow towards peripheral areas. The proximity of actively oil-supplying seafloor depressions and seafloor mounds shows that the hydrocarbon flow rapidly decreases laterally. The thermogenic seep site is affected by two consistent and sub-parallel reflections with negative polarity. The first is interpreted as the methane-related BGHSZ, the second could correspond to the base of a thermogenic BGHSZ produced by a mixture of heavier gas. The seafloor roughness and double BSR appear to be specific features of oil seep sites. The geophysical features revealed at a localised study area will be extrapolated towards a larger province for relevance validation.
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Dates and versions

hal-03400810 , version 1 (20-12-2021)

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Attribution - NonCommercial

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Romain Jatiault, Lies Loncke, Damien Dhont, Patrice Imbert, Dominique Dubucq. Geophysical characterisation of active thermogenic oil seeps in the salt province of the lower Congo basin part I: Detailed study of one oil-seeping site. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2019, 103, pp.753-772. ⟨10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2018.11.026⟩. ⟨hal-03400810⟩
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