3D High-Resolution Seismic Imaging of Fluid Flow Anomalies on the Norwegian Continental Shelf

Abstract:

Fluid flow anomalies are common on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Such features are imaged by multiple P-Cable high resolution seismic 2D lines and 3D cubes in the Norwegian Barents Sea. P-Cable is a high resolution 3D seismic system consisting of multiple streamers attached to a cross cable that is towed perpendicular to the vessels steaming direction. The short offset, high frequency source and closely spaced streamers facilitates for excellent vertical and horizontal resolution that provides key information for understanding the sub-surface. Recent data have been broadband processed, and the method has proven to enhance the imaging of the sub-surface significantly. Barents Sea P-Cable surveys have targeted shallow fluid anomalies in the uppermost ca. 500 meters of the sub-surface. New data have been acquired in 2012, 2014 and 2015. The most recent data focus on the southeast part of the Norwegian Barents Sea where P-Cable data give a new insight into the subsurface not provided by conventional seismic data in the region. Geologically, the Barents Sea region is characterized by Paleozoic and Mesozoic siliciclastic successions overlaid in most areas by a thin cover of Cenozoic glacial sediments. Hydrocarbon-rich Jurassic and Triassic sequences are locally situated in the shallow sub-surface as a result of extensive late Cenozoic uplift and erosion. The unloading has been reported to reactivate and create new faults in addition to initiate further migration of fluids in the sub-surface (Chand et al., 2012). The presence of shallow hydrocarbon systems creates an optimal setting for imaging fluid flow anomalies with high resolution 3D seismic data. The Barents Sea P-Cable data image a range of fluid related features such as cross-cutting reflections and bright spots, chimney structures, acoustic masking, pockmarks and mud volcanoes.