Chimneys for Seal and Charge Risk Assessment

Instructors: David L. Connolly, dGB-USA
Course Length: 1 day
Course CEUs: .8

Course Description
This course provides a method for detecting vertical hydrocarbon migration (chimneys) in 3D seismic data. These gas chimneys can result from a number of mechanisms ranging from diffusion (gas clouds), fault-related fracturing, and sediment flow (mud volcanoes). Seismic examples of each type of chimney will be shown. While large gas clouds and mud volcanoes are easy to detect in seismic data, gas chimney processing is necessary to highlight more subtle fault related migration. The course will provide criteria for distinguishing valid hydrocarbon migration pathways from other artifacts which cause vertical discontinuities in seismic data such as sediment de-watering or fault shadows. The course will then demonstrate how this chimney data can be interpreted to distinguish leaking (dynamic) faults from sealing (static) faults, detect direct expulsion from source rock, and predict hydrocarbon phase. Based on studies of over 60 fields and breached traps, it will be demonstrated how chimney detection can be used to assess seal and hydrocarbon charge risk prior to drilling. Case studies from Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic Basins, North Sea, Caspian, and Far East Basins will be shown.

Gas Chimneys technology has been proposed as an effective tool to high grade prospects and reduce exploration by dGB (based on Statoil technology) through many AAPG, SEG and other publications. This short course was developed by dGB (www.dgb-group.com) to familiarize geologists and geophysicists with the methodology and its practical applications.

Offered as a Public or In-house course.

Who should attend
Exploration geologists and geophysicists, and managers; basin modelers and geochemists

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