82nd EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition, 2021
Summary A potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) fill-and-spill mega-fairway is here identifi... more Summary A potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) fill-and-spill mega-fairway is here identified in UKCS Quadrants 43-44, by combining regional wellbore data with 3D seismic interpretation and migration modelling. In the study area, the Triassic Bunter Sandstone reservoir shows consistent thicknesses (90-216 m) and prospective core-based porosities and permeabilities (11-28%, 9-669 mD). A connected reservoir is suggested regionally from consistent, near-hydrostatic aquifer pressure gradients (~0.51 psi/ft) and leakage is mitigated through a thick, laterally-effective top seal. Structural closures in the area are generally less than the CO2 column heights necessary to breach the seal. At least eleven mapped closures are shown to link together into the proposed regional fill-and-spill “Silverpit CCS Fairway”. If filled to spill, these traps could cumulatively host up to 7.9 Gt of CO2, three times that of the proposed Endurance CCS Field. Through management of the injection and fill-spill strategy, this fairway could be future-proofed in relation to CO2 spill hazards, whilst possibly requiring less ‘injector hubs’ to fill the traps. Migration spill-point modelling along the fairway may also inform the placement of permanent, cost-effective multi-physics seabed system for leakage and migration monitoring. Exploiting fill-and-spill fairways for CCS is a new concept with vast potential applicability globally.
demonstrate, through the use of 3D seismic, the presence of untested Permian-Triassic facies, con... more demonstrate, through the use of 3D seismic, the presence of untested Permian-Triassic facies, controlled by early halokinesis of the Zechstein evaporites.
present a seismic tomography method applied to the processing of 28,000 km 2 of seismic data in d... more present a seismic tomography method applied to the processing of 28,000 km 2 of seismic data in depth, which included multiple 3D seismic campaigns from 2011 to 2019.
Abstract The Pliocene-Quaternary evolution of the western margin of the Calabrian Arc has been in... more Abstract The Pliocene-Quaternary evolution of the western margin of the Calabrian Arc has been investigated by analysing the configuration and distribution of local sedimentary basins and their relationship with shallow and deep tectonic structures. Research focussed on the evolution of the more recent offshore sedimentary basins located to the east of Sicily, along the Alfeo Fault System, using multichannel seismic lines, high-resolution bathymetry and newly acquired single-channel seismic profiles. The chosen study area encompasses a crustal sector where external thrusts of the Calabrian Arc branch into the Malta Escarpment, and this zone has been interpreted as a Subduction Transform Edge Propagator (STEP) Fault. The Western Ionian Sea is bounded by regional faults that controlled the deposition of the Pliocene-Quaternary sequences and define the present-day bathymetry. In this work we identified four main seismic sequences and three main unconformities in the basins, to better understand the geometry and the depositional setting of the basins. In addition, lateral correlation and 3D reconstruction of the sedimentary basins allows us to establish the direct relationship between the Alfeo Fault System activity and the geometry, the thickness, the evolution and filling phases of the sedimentary basins in this area. Results presented show how the Alfeo Fault drove the development of separate basin depocenters in the early stages of tectonic activity, resulting in a single elongated basin in the latest phases. The inferred fault kinematics, the analysis of displacements along strike and sediment thickening suggest a link with the slab geometry, as occurs in other subduction systems that develop subduction related faults. The results and the method applied in this study can also be applied for the interpretation of similar systems with similar geological settings in other areas of the world.
describe an integrated geological and geophysical approach applied to time and depth seismic imag... more describe an integrated geological and geophysical approach applied to time and depth seismic imaging.
Paolo Esestime, Richard Wrigley and Neil Hodgson present a new interpretation of the Western Medi... more Paolo Esestime, Richard Wrigley and Neil Hodgson present a new interpretation of the Western Mediterranean Basin. The new insights connect the evolution of the onshore and the offshore areas, challenging the established basin model and the historic play concepts. Understanding the regional tectonic model of a basin is essential to provide the framework for the structural, sedimentary and thermal evolution, which are the basis for defining the petroleum system. The revisiting of accepted basin models is a good practice when new data becomes available from seismic campaign and drilling activity, allowing the interpretation to be finessed and more consistent with wells and geological data from the outcrops. The Western Mediterranean is a deep-water basin bounded by several orogens active since the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene, when the closure of the Tethys Ocean started (Stampfli et al., 2002; Golonka, 2014). The Paleogene-Neogene subduction and the collisional phases are responsible for the structural setting of the circum-Mediterranean orogens and the distribution of their allochthonous units, which are present in the mountain ranges (Figure 1).
challenge established exploration techniques in South Gabon by revealing new targets and prospect... more challenge established exploration techniques in South Gabon by revealing new targets and prospects in modern 3D seismic data.
present a migration workflow which links the velocity modelling for PSTM with PSDM, and allows ge... more present a migration workflow which links the velocity modelling for PSTM with PSDM, and allows geological constraints to be applied at the PSTM stage.
We present an integrated geological and geophysical study conducted during the acquisition and pr... more We present an integrated geological and geophysical study conducted during the acquisition and processing of extensive 3D Multi-Client seismic campaigns offshore Gabon. These campaigns resulted in two distinct surveys, the first of 11.500 km2 in the southern shelf, and a second of 5500 km2 to the north, offshore Libreville (Figure 1). The acquisition parameters and survey design were planned with seismic illumination studies, long offset streamers were utilised and the data was processed with a modern broadband sequence (Esestime et al., 2017). The surveys presented various imaging challenges, from shallow water multiples to shallow high velocities, carbonate and salt. The Gabonese Authorities for Hydrocarbon (DGH) provided a comprehensive well dataset, including geological markers, logs and checkshot data. These penetrated both pre-salt and post-salt sections, and provided valuable data during all stages of the velocity model building, especially for the southern part of the area. ...
Oriol Ferrer (1), Oskar Vidal-Royo (2), Oscar Gratacós (1), Eduard Roca (1), Josep Anton Muñoz (1... more Oriol Ferrer (1), Oskar Vidal-Royo (2), Oscar Gratacós (1), Eduard Roca (1), Josep Anton Muñoz (1), Paolo Esestime (3), Karyna Rodriguez (3), Mary Yazmin Piragauta (1), and Nil Feliu (1) (1) Geomodels Research Institute, Departament de Ciències de la Terra i de l′Oceà, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (joferrer@ub.edu), (2) Terractiva Consulting SL, Barcelona, Spain , (3) Spectrum Geo Ltd., Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom.
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2021
Well penetrations on the UK East Shetland Platform (ESP) prove 1–8 km-thick Devonian post-orogeni... more Well penetrations on the UK East Shetland Platform (ESP) prove 1–8 km-thick Devonian post-orogenic extensional collapse-related successions. Conversely, extremely thick (1–6 km) Permo-Triassic basin-fills without Devono-Carboniferous units were in the past interpreted west of the Utsira High, on the Norwegian Horda Platform and Stord Basin, albeit Pre-Triassic well penetrations are here very rare. In this work, the nature and age of Paleozoic–Triassic strata and structures in these underexplored platform regions are tentatively constrained by performing cross-border regional seismic interpretations east and west of the Viking Graben. We highlight cross-border analogies in structural style and seismic facies, with a similar evolution dominated by polyphase inversion tectonics and structural grain preservation. In the Norwegian study areas, much of the half-graben sedimentary fills may be interpreted as Devonian–?Carboniferous in age as in the ESP, rather than overly thick Permo-Trias...
address the characteristics and the distribution of the emerging carbonate play proven by the rec... more address the characteristics and the distribution of the emerging carbonate play proven by the recent Zohr-1 gas discovery in Egypt. EAGE Workshop on Evaluation and Drilling of Carbonate Reservoirs Challenges, Uncertainties and Solutions
82nd EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition, 2021
Summary A potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) fill-and-spill mega-fairway is here identifi... more Summary A potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) fill-and-spill mega-fairway is here identified in UKCS Quadrants 43-44, by combining regional wellbore data with 3D seismic interpretation and migration modelling. In the study area, the Triassic Bunter Sandstone reservoir shows consistent thicknesses (90-216 m) and prospective core-based porosities and permeabilities (11-28%, 9-669 mD). A connected reservoir is suggested regionally from consistent, near-hydrostatic aquifer pressure gradients (~0.51 psi/ft) and leakage is mitigated through a thick, laterally-effective top seal. Structural closures in the area are generally less than the CO2 column heights necessary to breach the seal. At least eleven mapped closures are shown to link together into the proposed regional fill-and-spill “Silverpit CCS Fairway”. If filled to spill, these traps could cumulatively host up to 7.9 Gt of CO2, three times that of the proposed Endurance CCS Field. Through management of the injection and fill-spill strategy, this fairway could be future-proofed in relation to CO2 spill hazards, whilst possibly requiring less ‘injector hubs’ to fill the traps. Migration spill-point modelling along the fairway may also inform the placement of permanent, cost-effective multi-physics seabed system for leakage and migration monitoring. Exploiting fill-and-spill fairways for CCS is a new concept with vast potential applicability globally.
demonstrate, through the use of 3D seismic, the presence of untested Permian-Triassic facies, con... more demonstrate, through the use of 3D seismic, the presence of untested Permian-Triassic facies, controlled by early halokinesis of the Zechstein evaporites.
present a seismic tomography method applied to the processing of 28,000 km 2 of seismic data in d... more present a seismic tomography method applied to the processing of 28,000 km 2 of seismic data in depth, which included multiple 3D seismic campaigns from 2011 to 2019.
Abstract The Pliocene-Quaternary evolution of the western margin of the Calabrian Arc has been in... more Abstract The Pliocene-Quaternary evolution of the western margin of the Calabrian Arc has been investigated by analysing the configuration and distribution of local sedimentary basins and their relationship with shallow and deep tectonic structures. Research focussed on the evolution of the more recent offshore sedimentary basins located to the east of Sicily, along the Alfeo Fault System, using multichannel seismic lines, high-resolution bathymetry and newly acquired single-channel seismic profiles. The chosen study area encompasses a crustal sector where external thrusts of the Calabrian Arc branch into the Malta Escarpment, and this zone has been interpreted as a Subduction Transform Edge Propagator (STEP) Fault. The Western Ionian Sea is bounded by regional faults that controlled the deposition of the Pliocene-Quaternary sequences and define the present-day bathymetry. In this work we identified four main seismic sequences and three main unconformities in the basins, to better understand the geometry and the depositional setting of the basins. In addition, lateral correlation and 3D reconstruction of the sedimentary basins allows us to establish the direct relationship between the Alfeo Fault System activity and the geometry, the thickness, the evolution and filling phases of the sedimentary basins in this area. Results presented show how the Alfeo Fault drove the development of separate basin depocenters in the early stages of tectonic activity, resulting in a single elongated basin in the latest phases. The inferred fault kinematics, the analysis of displacements along strike and sediment thickening suggest a link with the slab geometry, as occurs in other subduction systems that develop subduction related faults. The results and the method applied in this study can also be applied for the interpretation of similar systems with similar geological settings in other areas of the world.
describe an integrated geological and geophysical approach applied to time and depth seismic imag... more describe an integrated geological and geophysical approach applied to time and depth seismic imaging.
Paolo Esestime, Richard Wrigley and Neil Hodgson present a new interpretation of the Western Medi... more Paolo Esestime, Richard Wrigley and Neil Hodgson present a new interpretation of the Western Mediterranean Basin. The new insights connect the evolution of the onshore and the offshore areas, challenging the established basin model and the historic play concepts. Understanding the regional tectonic model of a basin is essential to provide the framework for the structural, sedimentary and thermal evolution, which are the basis for defining the petroleum system. The revisiting of accepted basin models is a good practice when new data becomes available from seismic campaign and drilling activity, allowing the interpretation to be finessed and more consistent with wells and geological data from the outcrops. The Western Mediterranean is a deep-water basin bounded by several orogens active since the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene, when the closure of the Tethys Ocean started (Stampfli et al., 2002; Golonka, 2014). The Paleogene-Neogene subduction and the collisional phases are responsible for the structural setting of the circum-Mediterranean orogens and the distribution of their allochthonous units, which are present in the mountain ranges (Figure 1).
challenge established exploration techniques in South Gabon by revealing new targets and prospect... more challenge established exploration techniques in South Gabon by revealing new targets and prospects in modern 3D seismic data.
present a migration workflow which links the velocity modelling for PSTM with PSDM, and allows ge... more present a migration workflow which links the velocity modelling for PSTM with PSDM, and allows geological constraints to be applied at the PSTM stage.
We present an integrated geological and geophysical study conducted during the acquisition and pr... more We present an integrated geological and geophysical study conducted during the acquisition and processing of extensive 3D Multi-Client seismic campaigns offshore Gabon. These campaigns resulted in two distinct surveys, the first of 11.500 km2 in the southern shelf, and a second of 5500 km2 to the north, offshore Libreville (Figure 1). The acquisition parameters and survey design were planned with seismic illumination studies, long offset streamers were utilised and the data was processed with a modern broadband sequence (Esestime et al., 2017). The surveys presented various imaging challenges, from shallow water multiples to shallow high velocities, carbonate and salt. The Gabonese Authorities for Hydrocarbon (DGH) provided a comprehensive well dataset, including geological markers, logs and checkshot data. These penetrated both pre-salt and post-salt sections, and provided valuable data during all stages of the velocity model building, especially for the southern part of the area. ...
Oriol Ferrer (1), Oskar Vidal-Royo (2), Oscar Gratacós (1), Eduard Roca (1), Josep Anton Muñoz (1... more Oriol Ferrer (1), Oskar Vidal-Royo (2), Oscar Gratacós (1), Eduard Roca (1), Josep Anton Muñoz (1), Paolo Esestime (3), Karyna Rodriguez (3), Mary Yazmin Piragauta (1), and Nil Feliu (1) (1) Geomodels Research Institute, Departament de Ciències de la Terra i de l′Oceà, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (joferrer@ub.edu), (2) Terractiva Consulting SL, Barcelona, Spain , (3) Spectrum Geo Ltd., Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom.
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2021
Well penetrations on the UK East Shetland Platform (ESP) prove 1–8 km-thick Devonian post-orogeni... more Well penetrations on the UK East Shetland Platform (ESP) prove 1–8 km-thick Devonian post-orogenic extensional collapse-related successions. Conversely, extremely thick (1–6 km) Permo-Triassic basin-fills without Devono-Carboniferous units were in the past interpreted west of the Utsira High, on the Norwegian Horda Platform and Stord Basin, albeit Pre-Triassic well penetrations are here very rare. In this work, the nature and age of Paleozoic–Triassic strata and structures in these underexplored platform regions are tentatively constrained by performing cross-border regional seismic interpretations east and west of the Viking Graben. We highlight cross-border analogies in structural style and seismic facies, with a similar evolution dominated by polyphase inversion tectonics and structural grain preservation. In the Norwegian study areas, much of the half-graben sedimentary fills may be interpreted as Devonian–?Carboniferous in age as in the ESP, rather than overly thick Permo-Trias...
address the characteristics and the distribution of the emerging carbonate play proven by the rec... more address the characteristics and the distribution of the emerging carbonate play proven by the recent Zohr-1 gas discovery in Egypt. EAGE Workshop on Evaluation and Drilling of Carbonate Reservoirs Challenges, Uncertainties and Solutions
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