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GAS HYDRATE ANOMALIES IN SEISMIC VELOCITIES, AMPLITUDES AND ATTENUATION: WHAT DO THEY IMPLY?

University of British Columbia. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; International Conference on Gas Hydrates (6th : 2008 : Vancouver, B.C.)

Gas hydrates are found worldwide and many studies have been carried out to develop an efficient method to identify and quantify them using various geophysical as well as other anomalies. In this study, various seismic anomalies related to gas hydrates and the underlying gas are analysed, and correlated them to rock physics properties. Observations of velocities in sediments containing gas hydrates show that the rigidity, and hence the velocity of sediments increases with increase of hydrate saturation. The increase of velocity due to the presence of gas hydrate can be explained in terms of gradual cementation of the sediment matrix. In the case of seismic attenuation, gas hydrate bearing sediments are quite different from common sedimentary rock behaviour of low seismic attenuation with high rigidity. In contrary gas hydrate bearing sediments is observed to have increased seismic attenuation of higher frequencies with increase of hydrate saturation. This strange phenomenon can be explained in terms of differential fluid flow within sediment and hydrate matrix. Also it is observed that the presence of large amount of gas hydrate can result in an increase of seismic amplitudes, a signature similar to the presence of small amount of gas. Hence misinterpretation of these enhanced amplitudes could result in the under estimation of gas present not only as shallow drilling hazard but also on the resource potential of the region. The increase of seismic reflection amplitude results from the formation of gas hydrates in selective intervals causing strong positive and negative impedance contrasts across the formations with and without gas hydrates.

Gas hydrate; BSR; Attenuation; Velocity

Text

eng

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0041081

Non UBC

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/