O'Brien at Al. 2005 Yampi Shelf, Browse Basin, NW Shelf Australia

Marine and Petroleum Geology 22 (2005) 517549 www.elsevier.
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Yampi Shelf, Browse Basin, North-West Shelf, Australia: a test-bed for constraining hydrocarbon migration and seepage rates using combinations of 2D and 3D seismic data and multiple, independent remote sensing technologies
G.W. OBriena,*, G.M. Lawrenceb, A.K. Williamsc, K. Glennd, A.G. Barrettd, M. Lechd, D.S. Edwardsd, R. Cowleye, C.J. Borehamd, R.E. Summonsf
Australian School of Petroleum, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia b TREICo Limited, Knebworth, Hertfordshire, UK c Nigel Press Associates, Crockham Park, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 6SR, UK d Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia e Signalworks Pty Ltd, 93 Hume Street, Greensborough, Victoria 3088, Australia f Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA Received 9 March 2004; accepted 1 October 2004
a
Abstract The Yampi Shelf on Australias North-West Shelf is highly prospective, with two discrete hydrocarbon sources producing dry gas and oil. To reduce exploration uncertainty relating to gas ushing and poor top seal capacity, a study was undertaken to characterise hydrocarbon migration in the area. It used a combination of seismic amplitude and structural data integrated with shipboard water column geochemical sniffer (WaSi) data, satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar or SAR data and aircraft-acquired Airborne Laser Fluorosensor (ALF) data. Data were acquired synchronously and in staged programs, to allow both direct comparison and time-series analysis of results. Massive natural dry gas and oil seepage was detected, though the relative abilities of WaSi, SAR and ALF to detect and characterise this seepage were markedly different. The spatial distribution, concentration, and relative composition of the detected seepage were controlled principally by the regional seals thickness and capacity, rather than by the inherent composition and ux of the migrating hydrocarbons. WaSi preferentially identied gas seepage, often in basin-ward locations, because the high relative permeability of gas favoured its early leakage, even through thick seals. SAR preferentially identied oil seepage, which was episodic and largely restricted to the basin-margin at the regional zero-edge-of-seal, reecting the low relative permeability of oil, even through thin seals (it leaked late). ALF principally detected low-level oil seepage from charged traps, and was hence most useful for trap ranking. The ability of these remote sensing tools, as well as that of seismic data itself, to detect hydrocarbons appears critically dependant upon interplays between the relative sensitivity of the assorted tools to detect various hydrocarbon phases and the capacity of the top seal itself. The study has demonstrated that the interactions between geology and hydrocarbon charge are predictable, and that understanding these interactions is crucial for the reliable interpretation of remote sensing data. q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: North-West shelf; Hydrocarbon seepage; Top seal integrity; Remote sensing
1. Introduction The Australian School of Petroleum and Geoscience Australia, in collaboration with industry and research
* Corresponding author. Tel.: C61 8 8303 3502; fax: C61 8 8303 4345. E-mail address: gobrien@asp.adelaide.edu.au (G.W. OBrien).
0264-8172/$ - see front matter q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2004.10.027
partners, have been carrying out an evaluation of the relative sensitivities of different remote sensing technologies at detecting hydrocarbon seepage. In particular, the relative responses of these technologies to variations in both the type (e.g. oil versus gas) and rate (e.g. high versus low) of seepage has been investigated (OBrien et al., 1996a, 1998a, 1998b, 2002a). The overall goal of this research has been to develop a suite of generic evaluation tools so that exploration
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G.W. OBrien et al. / Marine and Petroleum Geology 22 (2005) 517549
millions of barrels. The trap was interpreted to be lled to structural spill-point. The ALF and SAR data used in this paper were all acquired and interpreted in 1998. The ALF data were reprocessed in 2000 in order to remove possible false positives and to allow more quantitative interpretation of the ALF data. Key parts of the present study were undertaken while the Yampi Shelf was still a largely undrilled, exploration frontier, and hence a comparison between the pre-drill predictions (based upon the seismic-sniffer-SAR-ALF remote sensing study), and the post-drill results around the Cornea eld, as discussed by Ingram et al. (2000), is possible.
2. Regional geology of study area

Fig. 1. Location of study area; Yampi Shelf; offshore northwestern Australia. MG, Malita Graben; SP, Sahul Platform; AP, Ashmore Platform; VSB, Vulcan Sub-basin; LH, Londonderry High; LS, Leveque Shelf; BSB, Bedout Sub-basin; FT, Fitzroy Trough.
uncertainty associated with hydrocarbon migration and preservation, particularly in relation to top and fault seal integrity, can be reduced. In this paper, the results of an investigation of hydrocarbon migration and seepage on the Yampi Shelf, north-eastern Browse Basin, Australia (Fig. 1), are reported. Data from four independent remote sensing technologies, namely Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), water column geochemical sniffer (WaSi), Mark III Airborne Laser Fluorosensor (ALF,) and surface water analysis (using multi-spectral uorimetry) were acquired and interpreted, and the relative responses compared. The results have been integrated with interpretations derived from 2D and 3D seismic data, as well as analytical results from exploration wells. Emphasis has been placed upon understanding the key inter-relationships between basement topography, top seal capacity, and hydrocarbon seepage. The main area investigated was in the vicinity of the Cornea-1 and Londonderry-1 wells (Fig. 1), although some information is presented regarding the Gwydion-1 well and surrounding area, located approximately 100 km to the southwest. The 2D seismic and the water column sniffer data were acquired and interpreted in 1995 and 1996, respectively, following the drilling by BHP Petroleum of the Gwydion-1 oil and gas discovery in 1995 (Spry and Ward, 1997). An assessment of the exploration implications of these seismic and sniffer results was made by OBrien et al. (1996a), several months prior to the discovery by Shell in 1997 of the Cornea oil and gas accumulation (Ingram et al., 2000). The Cornea appraisal wells established the presence of a minimum 25 m gas column and a minimum 18 m oil column in the Albian reservoir sequence (Ingram et al., 2000), with in-place reserves reported to be hundreds of
The Yampi Shelf is located in the north-eastern Browse Basin, North-West Shelf, Australia (Figs. 1 and 2) and comprises the inboard part of a Palaeozoic to Mesozoic exural ramp margin which dips to the northwest, away from the anking cratonic (Proterozoic) Kimberley Block. The basement has a rugose topography, with some basement blocks being elevated by as much as 500 m above the surrounding basement. The basement topography itself appears to be due to a combination of the basement grain, differential erosion, and possibly small displacement faulting. Following continental break-up in the Callovian, the interplay between early post-rift low- and high-stand Cretaceous sand deposition around the basement highs, and the progressive onlap of post-rift, Cretaceous sealing shales, created a series of stratigraphic, combined structuralstratigraphic and compactional-drape traps. Exploration activity on the poorly explored Yampi Shelf was boosted dramatically by the discovery of the Gwydion oil eld on the southern Yampi Shelf by BHP Petroleum in 1995 (Spry and Ward, 1997). This discovery, whilst sub-commercial, demonstrated long-range migration (5080 km) of liquid hydrocarbons onto the ramp margin, and entrapment around a small, Proterozoic basement high. Similarly, the discovery in 1997 of the Cornea eld (Stein et al., 1998; Ingram et al., 2000) on the northern Yampi Shelf (Fig. 1) by Shell Development Australia and its partners, Chevron and Cultus Petroleum, further boosted interest in the area. The oil in both the Gwydion and Cornea elds appears to have been generated within Early Cretaceous (Valanginian to Barremian) source rocks (Spry and Ward, 1997; Blevin et al., 1998; Ingram et al., 2000). Dry gas (!2% wet) is also reservoired in these discoveries, suggesting that the source rocks for the oil and the gas are probably quite different. The reservoirs units at Cornea are of Albian age, with Albian to Cenomanian shales providing the top seals. The regional Cretaceous sealing units over the northeastern Yampi Shelf show characteristic distributions, which are important to understanding both the prospectivity
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Fig. 2. Bathymetry of the Timor Sea, showing the transition between the Timor and Browse Compartments. Location of key wells highlighted. Location of Cornea, Londonderry and Gwydion wells indicated.
of the area and the probable distribution of seepage. At the rst order, the regional seal progressively thins and becomes sandier marginward. More locally, the sealing units thin signicantly and rapidly onto topographically prominent, basement blocks. Inboard from the Cornea-1 and Londonderry-1 wells, several high-relief basement horsts are partially to completely bald of seal, whereas at the basin edge, the regional zero edge of seal appears to be controlled by a prominent and extensive basement shelf onto which the seal on-laps, but does not cover. Structurally, the Yampi Shelf occurs at the transition zone between two major margin-scale compartments which are evident in the present day bathymetry (Fig. 2): the Timor and the Browse compartments (OBrien et al., 1996b, 1999). The boundary zone between these two compartments is a fundamental, north-west trending Proterozoic lineament or fracture system, which has acted as a long-lived fault relay zone. Major rift fault systems die out into, and gain displacement away from, this fracture system and, as a consequence of signicant fault overlap across the lineament, this zone has thus been a prominent structural high through time. Fault displacements on the Yampi Shelf decrease to the northeast into this transition zone and this, combined with the fact that the Bonaparte-Browse Transition Zone is the boundary between wide and narrow margin compartments, makes the south-eastern segment of the transition zone a regional focus for present day hydrocarbon migration from the more central Browse Basin (Fig. 2).
3. Technical approaches The area investigated during the present study extends from the vicinity of the Gwydion-1 exploration well in the southern Yampi Shelf to the northeast of the Londonderry-1 well (Figs. 13). The technical approaches employed to evaluate the hydrocarbon migration and seepage characteristics of the Yampi Shelf are described below. 3.1. Regional seal thickness A general overview of the regional seal thickness in the northern Browse Basin was produced by image processing the derived thickness of the key sealing interval intersected in all available exploration wells (wlate Aptian-Albian; Ingram et al., 2000). The interval used was the 95115 Ma sequence. 3.2. 2D seismic The Australian Geological Survey Organisations (AGSO, now Geoscience Australia) Yampi Shelf Tie survey (YST Survey 165) regional seismic grid, acquired in late 1995 on a grid size of between 510 km (Fig. 3) was interpreted as part of the study. The grid comprised 2000 km of data, acquired along 18 dip and 2 strike lines (OBrien et al., 1996a). The interpretative emphasis was placed on developing an understanding of key factors in relation to hydrocarbon migration and seepage, such as the regional
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Fig. 3. Location map showing interpreted YST 165 seismic lines. Lines highlighted have sniffer data acquired directly over them and are used in the present study. Positions of mapped HRDZs and gas chimneys, and shallow and deep seismic amplitude anomalies are indicated.
seal thicknesses and the distribution of seismic amplitude anomalies. Amplitude anomalies were mapped according to whether they were deep (i.e. present at depths greater than 500 ms (ms) two-way-time (TWT)) or shallow (less than 500 ms TWT). All anomalies were in similar shallow water (/100 m), so any potential effects that increasing water depth might have on the mapping was insignicant. Features similar to the Hydrocarbon-Related Diagenetic Zones (HRDZs) of OBrien and Woods (1995) were also mapped; HRDZs are zones of high seismic velocity caused by enhanced carbonate cementation related to hydrocarbon seepage and oxidation. Since the mapped HRDZs were typically associated with gas chimneys, and vice versa, these features have essentially been grouped together for the purposes of discussion, unless it is clear that the feature is a simple gas chimney with no associated cementation. 3.3. 2D seismic Shell Development Australias 1997 Cornea 3D marine seismic survey was interpreted as part of the present study. This survey was acquired in the vicinity of the Cornea eld (Fig. 3) on a NESW azimuth and covered an area of 2100 km2; line spacing was 12.5 m. These 3D data were used to map in detail gas chimneys and HRDZs, though basement, the top of reservoir, and the top of seal, inter alia,
were also mapped. Features such as seaoor pockmarks and build-ups were noted where present. 3.4. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar data (Fig. 4) is a low cost, regional tool that can provide an almost instantaneous radar snapshot of an area 100165 km2. It can be used to map natural and anthropogenic oil slicks, and to a lesser extent condensate slicks, via the dampening effect that the liquid hydrocarbons have on wind-induced rippling (i.e. capillary ripples) on the surface of the sea. This dampening results in reduced radar return from the affected area, so that oil slicks appear as relatively dark features on the SAR scenes. The pixel size for SAR is about 25 m, which means that individual slicks smaller than about 120 m long cannot be mapped reliably. Heavier (high API) oils are the easiest to detect because they have longer residence times at the sea surface, whereas condensates and light oils evaporate much more rapidly. Gas can only be mapped rarely using SAR data, typically when it is associated with condensate. The SAR data used in this study were interpreted by NPA Satellite Mapping/TREICo of the UK as part of a wider study of the Bonaparte and Browse basins carried out by AGSO/Geoscience Australia (OBrien et al., 2001). That study used 55 RadarSat Wide 1 Beam Mode SAR scenes,
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Fig. 4. Schematic showing tools used for detecting and characterising hydrocarbon seeps. Schematics for acquisition of ship-based water column geochemical sniffer (WaSi) data, aircraft-based Airborne Laser Fluorosensor (ALF) and satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data shown.
which provided a minimum of double coverage over an area of ocean exceeding 365,000 km2. The SAR coverage extended from the coastline to abyssal water depths, and covered a range of geological provinces and sub-basins. Three additional scenes were acquired over the Yampi Shelf throughout 1998, providing ve-fold coverage of the area investigated in the present study and allowing a time-series analysis of oil seepage in the region. The seepage slicks mapped in this study have been subdivided into two classes, according to the nomenclature used by NPA Satellite Mapping/TREICo: Second Rank slicks, which are relatively intense; and Third Rank slicks, which are typically smaller, less intense seepage slicks. Details of this classication scheme can be found in OBrien et al. (2001). The oil in seepage slicks is typically considered to rise rapidly to the surface and is often transported as thin skins on the surface of gas bubbles (Mackintosh and Williams, 1990). These bubbles have been shown to rise at speeds exceeding those of ocean currents and hence seepage slicks are typically developed initially on the seas surface no further away from the seaoor seepage vent than a distance roughly equivalent to the water depth (Mackintosh and Williams, 1990). Given that most of the water depths through the study area are less than 100 m, it is reasonable to expect that emission points for any slicks will be situated within a lateral radius of approximately 100 m from the source vent. 3.5. Water column geochemical sniffer The geochemical sniffer data were acquired by the RV Rig Seismic using AGSOs purpose-built system.
This comprised a towed, 2.5 m long sh from which bottom-water was pumped through a hollow nylon tube, wrapped with a stainless steel braid, into the geochemical laboratory on the ship. The towed sh was typically deployed within 1015 m of the seaoor to minimise dispersion from the potential sources of seepage (Fig. 4). Light hydrocarbons were extracted from seawater in an evacuated chamber and analysed by gas chromatographs connected in parallel. Total hydrocarbon concentrations were measured every 30 s (s), which, at a ship speed of 5 knots, represents a distance of about 30 m on the seaoor. The light hydrocarbons (C1C4) were measured every 2 min (w240 m intervals on the seaoor), whereas the C5C8 hydrocarbons were measured every 8 min (w1000 m interval). Hydrocarbon anomalies were identied at sea by comparing the measured light hydrocarbon concentrations to the local background concentrations. A variety of geochemical cross-plots can be used to determine whether any detected anomalies are due to hydrocarbon seepage, the hydrographic structure in the water column, or in situ biogenic production. If the anomaly is related to seepage, additional cross-plots can be employed to determine the source of the seepage (thermogenic gas versus gas-condensate versus oil-prone, or biogenic gas). In the present study, carbon isotopic measurements were undertaken (following completion of the survey) on methane extracted from several of the more intense seeps. This characterisation of the isotopic and molecular composition of the seeps allowed direct comparison with the composition of gases measured within the reservoirs intersected during exploration drilling in the area.
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The water column geochemical sniffer data were acquired in JulyAugust 1996 to test concepts developed during the interpretation of the 2D seismic data. These sniffer data (total 730 km) were acquired in two areas, a w340 km grid around the Gwydion-1 exploration well, and w390 km of data around the general area of the Cornea trend, which had not yet been drilled at the time of sniffer acquisition. These data were almost exclusively acquired directly along the existing, north-west trending, Yampi Shelf Tie (YST) seismic dip lines, in order to allow direct comparison between the underlying geology and the distribution, composition and intensity of the hydrocarbon seeps. YST lines overshot by WaSi data were: YST 165-03 (through the Gwydion-1 well); 165-07 (over the Cornea trend), 165-08 (through the Londonderry-1 well); and lines 165-09 to -12. These lines are highlighted on Fig. 3. 3.6. Surface water uorimetric analyses During 1998, a total of 24 surface and near-surface (within 2 m of the seas surface) seawater samples were acquired during a water column geochemical survey over the Yampi Shelf (Survey 207) by AGSO (Wilson, 1999). These samples were taken to provide some sea-truthing of the seepage concepts which had arisen from the interpretation of the existing SAR, sniffer, and seismic data-sets described above. The seawater samples were collected (during Survey 207) whenever a UV uorescence anomaly was detected by an onboard Sare uorimeter, as documented in Wilson (1999); Radlinski et al. (1998). A pre-cleaned, 1 l glass bottle was rinsed with seawater immediately prior to sampling; upon lling, sodium azide was added to the sample to kill any microbes, and the bottled sealed. Each of the 24 bottled samples was refrigerated for the duration of the cruise. The 24 seawater samples were analysed by ultra-violet (UV) emission spectrometry (Edwards and Johns, 1999), according to ASTM method D3650-90. The emission spectrum was scanned at a xed excitation wavelength of 266 nm (nm), rather than 254 nm as specied in the ASTM method. The rationale for this was to enable comparison of the seawater spectra with the spectral data obtained from the 266 nm Mark III ALF data from the same area (see below for discussion). The uorimetry (UVF) data were collected using a Perkin Elmer LS 50B luminescence spectrometer. The seawater sample was placed into a 4 mL quartz cuvette for UVF analysis. Appropriate cleaning procedures were used to prevent cross-contamination of samples and the spectrum of pure water (obtained using Millipore ltres) was collected in between each sample analysis. Prior to analysis, a stock solution of articial seawater (3.5% salinity) was prepared by dissolving 1.75 g aquarium sea salts in 50 mL Millipore water, and its UVF spectrum was acquired as a background check (Edwards and Johns, 1999).
The Perkin Elmer LS 50B luminescence spectrometer was operated in the single emission scan mode with the excitation monochromator set at 266 nm. The seawater sample was irradiated briey with UV light and the emission spectra were scanned from 270 to 720 nm at 0.5 nm intervals at a rate of 60 nm/min. The signal-to-noise ratio for uorescence in the Yampi Shelf region was 689:1. The slit width was set at 2.5 nm for the excitation monochromator and 5 nm for the emission monochromator. The Raman scattering from the seawater was monitored as an independent intensity marker. 3.7. Mark III airborne laser uorosensor The Airborne Laser Fluorosensor (ALF) was developed by British Petroleums (BP) Research Centre during the 1980s as a means of identifying hydrocarbon seepage in frontier basins around the world. The ALF technology was subsequently sold to World Geoscience Corporation Ltd (WGC) in 1990, as part of BPs technology out-sourcing program. ALF technology used in the present study (Mark III) comprised an aircraft-mounted laser, with an emitting wavelength of 266 nm, which was pulsed rapidly and red vertically at the sea surface (Fig. 4). Each pulse illuminated an area of approximately 20 cm2, with an average spacing between samples (on the sea surface) of 1.52 m (Cowley, 2000a). Any aromatic hydrocarbons present at the sea surface become excited by the laser and uoresce; this uorescence was then measured on-board the aircraft using a solid state diode array and presented as a digital spectral output. ALF is an extremely sensitive tool and detects the presence of thin (!1 micron) hydrocarbon lms on the sea surface. It can detect oil and condensate slicks equally well, in contrast to SAR, though it cannot detect gas. Hydrocarbon anomalies detected by ALF are called uors. The Yampi Shelf ALF survey was own in several stages in November 1998. The aircraft acquired 69 north-west trending lines from an altitude of 80 m. The spacing between lines was 700 m and line lengths ranged from 15 to 75 km, with a total of 3148 line km of data acquired. 2,149,037 ALF spectra were collected during the survey (Cowley, 2000a). The ALF anomalies in this paper are presented as a map of the relative intensity of the anomalies (to background). This data format, which was produced during reprocessing of the original ALF survey using the ALF Explorere software system (Cowley, 2000a), is constructed from all of the ALF spectra acquired by determining the peak-area ratios (of anomaly to background). This output can be scaled so as to include only anomalies of high condence (high amplitude); this approach effectively eliminates most or all of the potential false-positive anomalies. Very few studies discussing the results of ALF surveys around the Australian margin are available in the public literature. Exceptions are the work of Martin and Cawley
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(1991); Bishop and OBrien (1998), (1998a) and (2002a), who described the results of several ALF surveys on the North West Shelf.
4. Results and discussion 4.1. Seismic interpretation Two key factors need to be considered when using seismic data to understand the related issues of hydrocarbon migration and seepage (e.g. Cowley and OBrien, 2000) on the Yampi Shelf. These are: the regional seal thickness; and the distribution, both laterally and vertically, of seepage indicators, such as seismic amplitude anomalies, gas chimneys/HRDZs. Neogene fault and trap reactivation, which has resulted in prolic palaeo- and present day seepage within the Mesozoic section of the Bonaparte Basin to the north of the study area, is minimal to absent across the Yampi Shelf, and hence is not considered to be an important process in localising seepage. 4.1.1. Regional seal thickness Given the inboard location of the Yampi Shelf, and the lack of Neogene fault reactivation, seal integrity issues are more likely to be related principally to top seal capacity as the seal thins and becomes sandier marginward.
The principal seals on the Yampi Shelf are Early Cretaceous, principally late Aptian to Albian; outside the study area, sealing units as young as Turonian can be locally important. The seals are difcult to map seismically and contain sandy intervals that could potentially act as thief zones or cause the seal to fail totally. An overview of the distribution of the regional seal in the area, based upon well intersections, is shown on Fig. 5. Overall, within the Browse Basin, the seal thins both to the north and north-east and becomes much sandier within the inboard parts of the Yampi Shelf. The north-west trending Bonaparte-Browse Transition Zone is also an area of characteristically thin seals. In the Browse Basin, more basinward wells such as Asterias-1 and Echuca Shoals-1 have very thick sealing facies, whereas the sealing facies over the Cornea eld can be quite sandy (Ingram et al., 2000). Similarly, within the nearby Londonderry-1 well (Figs. 1 and 2), the sealing unit is thin and inter-bedded with sands; further east, the effective seal pinches out altogether. Clearly, the thin and sandy nature of the seals within the northern part of the Yampi Shelf suggests that top seal capacity may represent a key exploration risk in this region. The Gwydion eld, located to the southwest (Spry and Ward, 1997), has a thicker sealing facies than that present over the Cornea eld, and would appear, therefore, to be less likely to leak. 4.1.2. Distribution of seismic amplitude anomalies, gas chimneys/HRDZs The YST seismic grid was interpreted and the locations of prominent seismic amplitude anomalies, gas chimneys
Fig. 5. The thickness of Early Cretaceous sealing units (derived from well data: for interval w95115 Ma). Areas of thin seals (!50 m) are light coloured, areas of thick seal (O200 m) are dark coloured.
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and HRDZs mapped across the area. The results are summarised in Fig. 3. Deep amplitude anomalies (O600 ms TWT) are present on many of the lines. Particularly prominent anomalies are present within the Aptian and older sequences over the Gwydion accumulation (Fig. 6a) on YST line 165-03 (Fig. 3), which subsequent amplitude-versus-offset modelling (Spry and Ward, 1997) has shown to be due to gas-saturated sands. Flat spots and gas-related, push-down effects are also present over Gwydion. Numerous seismic amplitude anomalies are distributed within the preCallovian and Cretaceous sequences between the Gwydion structure and YST Line 165-11, northeast of the Londonderry-1 well (Fig. 3). Prominent amplitude effects and gas chimneys/HRDZs are present on lines YST 165-07 and -08, along the Cornea trend. Further to the northeast, however (YST Lines 165-12-20), these deeper amplitude effects are rare to absent (Fig. 3), perhaps indicating that gas-saturated sands are largely absent from this area.
Shallow (!600 ms TWT) seismic amplitude anomalies are absent in the southern part of the study area (YST Lines 165-03 to -05), but are very common to the north, between lines YST 165-06 to -11. In some cases, the amplitude anomalies are present both within the section and also at the seaoor (Fig. 6b). These seaoor anomalies may indicate the presence of active gas seepage and attendant hydrocarbon oxidation-authigenic carbonate precipitation at the sedimentwater interface. Throughout this area, the distribution and abundance of the anomalies are correlated positively with those of the deeper anomaliesthey are present where the deeper anomalies are present-though the reverse is not necessarily true. The shallower anomalies are completely absent northeast of line YST 165-11 (Fig. 3). High velocity zones, similar to the HRDZs described by OBrien and Woods (1995) in the Vulcan Sub-basin, are present on four of the 2D lines. These HRDZs are grouped around the Cornea-Londonderry trends, and are typically associated with clusterings of shallow amplitude anomalies
Fig. 6. Amplitude anomalies on the Yampi Shelf. (a) Deep amplitude anomalies between w650850 ms associated with the Gwydion oil and gas accumulation (YST Line 165-03). (b) Shallow seismic amplitude anomalies on the Yampi Shelf (YST Line 165-06).
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Fig. 7. Gas chimneys developed over landward-dipping basement blocks near the Londonderry-1 well and the Cornea trend, Yampi Shelf.
and occur above gas chimneys (Fig. 3). One HRDZ was located directly over the Cornea trend on line YST 165-08, up-dip from the Londonderry-1 well. Again, no HRDZs are present within the northeast part of the area (lines YST 165-12 to -20). Spectacular gas chimneys are seen on line YST 165-08 (Fig. 7). These chimneys are associated with both the Londonderry and Cornea trends (OBrien et al., 1998b) and, in general, are closely associated with the HRDZs. The gas chimneys appear to be developed where the regional seal thins onto the highest parts of landward-dipping tilt or basement blocks. At these locations, seal capacity may be reduced by the combination of a thinner and progressively more sand-prone seal, which favours capillary failure and break-through of the gas. These chimneys also appear to control the distribution of small, but prominent, seismic amplitude anomalies within the shallow section. Laboratory mercury-air capillary pressure data acquired at the base of the Albian sealing shale in the Cornea South-1 well (Ingram et al., 2000) indicated that the seal there could support a maximum 55 m column of gas, or a 157 m oilonly column (228 API oil saturated with gas). The closure in the Cornea eld (which is lled to spill) is greater than the calculated maximum supportable gas column height (Ingram et al., 2000) and thus it is likely that the seal over the eld is failing continuously. The gas chimneys/HRDZs were also mapped on the Shell Cornea 3D data-set and their distribution is shown on Fig. 8; basement structure is also shown. The hydrocarbon chimneys/HRDZs range in size from 0.13 to 7 km2, with the average size being approximately 1.3 km2. The mapped gas chimneys are located in two distinct areas. The rst grouping (Group 1) quite accurately denes the Cornea eld itself and extends along strike for about 21 km. Over the eld, two of the gas chimneys are large and form chimneys which extend for well over 4 km. Several other chimneys are present; these are more typically in the range 12 km long or wide (Fig. 8). Some of the chimneys, notably the largest chimney, which is located at the southwestern end of the eld (Fig. 8), lies right on
Fig. 8. Distribution of mapped gas chimneys/HRDZs over the Cornea eld (outlined) on the Yampi Shelf, Browse Basin, posted over basement, which shallows signicantly from west to east. Group 1 represents gas chimneys associated with Cornea eld; Group 2 with leakage at edge of effective top seal (for gas). Shell 3D seismic data used in mapping, with total area covered of survey shown. No mapping was possible in north-east part of survey area due to data corruption.
the seaward limit of the eld, whereas a couple lie just outside mapped closure further to the northwest. The chimneys/HRDZs are typically located where the seal thins onto a shallowing basement (Fig. 9), suggesting that the seal may be becoming thinner and sandier near the apex of the basement blocks. The inuence of localised fracturing around the apices of basement blocks may also contribute. Signicantly, the majority of the chimneys mapped over the Cornea eld do not reach the seaoor. Brightening seismic amplitudes were often associated with the gas chimneys, probably because of the gas-charging of shallow adjacent sands. It is uncertain as to why the locations of the chimneys are biased to the northwestern ank of the eld, with virtually none occurring on the southeastern ank. The fact that some of the chimneys lie immediately outside closure might suggest that the accumulation was previously slightly larger and has since leaked; probably via seepage up
Fig. 9. Gas chimneys over the Cornea trend seen on 3D seismic data. The chimney, which does not reach the seaoor, has signicant velocity pull-up associated with it (Shell 3D line XLN-3751).
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Fig. 10. Gas chimneys with associated seaoor build-up and possible pockmark, on Shell 3D seismic line INL-1697.
the chimneys. Ingram et al. (2000) have reported, however, that the Cornea eld is now lled to spill, which seems at odds with the distribution of the chimneys outside closure. The second group (Group 2) of chimneys/HRDZs, which appears to consist of two northeast trending sub-groups, is located approximately 1520 km east of the Cornea trend. Both of the sub-groups extend for about 14 km along strike. These Group 2 chimneys are somewhat more numerous than those over the eld itself (Fig. 8), perhaps suggesting more pervasive seepage through a poorer top seal, and tend to occur where the regional seal pinches out onto, or onlaps, basement. These chimneys typically range between 500 and 2500 m in length and, in contrast to the grouping over the eld, often reach the seaoor. There was only occasional evidence of pockmarks on the Cornea 3D seismic data; seaoor (carbonate) build-ups were also rare, but were somewhat more common than pockmarks. Fig. 10 shows an example of where an interpreted pockmark is present on the same line as a build-up, which has formed directly over a chimney; another pockmark appears to be present on seismic line YST 165-07 (Fig. 14b). The absence of pockmarks may be due to the fact that the water depths over the Cornea survey area are relatively shallow (!100 m) and the sediments in the region are coarse grained and high energy, which inhibits pockmark formation (Hovland and Judd, 1988; Judd, 2001). The buildups may be similar to those described in the North Sea by Hovland et al. (1994). 4.1.3. Summary of seismic observations Overall, the regional 2D seismic data reveal that the deeper amplitude anomalies are much more common in the central and southern part of the study area, between the Gwydion and Londonderry-Cornea areas (YST 165-03 to -11), than in the northern part (YST 165-12 to -20). Secondly, shallow amplitude anomalies are much more common in the central part of the survey area, between the Rob Roy-1, Londonderry-1 and Cornea-1 wells, than in the south near Gwydion-1. Gas chimneys and HRDZs are only present through areas where shallow amplitude anomalies are also seen. These differences appear to be related, at a rst-order, to the thickness of the regional Cretaceous
sealing unit. Where the seal is relatively thick, as is the case around Gwydion-1, or in more basinal areas, no shallow seismic anomalies are present. Further north, the clustering of shallow amplitude effects, gas chimneys, and HRDZs (Fig. 3) present around the Londonderry and Cornea wells is located where the regional seal thins rapidly onto the basin margin (OBrien et al., 1996a, 2000). The area bulls-eyed by mapping the shallow and deep anomalies on the 2D data relates specically to the general location of the Cornea oil and gas eld, which lends signicant weight to the assertion that these seismic anomalies are related to hydrocarbon migration and/or seepage. It also demonstrates that regional chimney mapping provides a robust framework with which to highgrade areas for exploration. Detailed chimney mapping using the 3D seismic data over and around the Cornea eld has shown that the distribution of gas chimneys/HRDZs accurately denes the dimensions of the eld (Group 1 chimneys)and hence the eld is actively leaking gasas well as dening another area, inboard from the eld, where the regional seal onlaps basement (the Group 2 chimneys). An argument can be made that areas where chimneys are absent over the Cornea eld are areas with superior seal capacity. These observations strengthen the assertion that seismic chimney mapping can allow the development of concepts that can be tested by a range of geochemical remote sensing tools. The data suggest that any remote sensing geochemical programs would most likely be successful around the Londonderry-Cornea area, for here it appears that relatively thin seals are facilitating hydrocarbon seepage. 4.2. SAR results The principal results of the SAR interpretation over the Yampi Shelf are shown in Fig. 11a and b. These gures show the interpreted seepage slicks posted on the regional bathymetry (Fig. 11a) and regional seal thickness (Fig. 11b). The principal concentration of slicks interpreted from SAR data (Fig. 11a) on the Yampi Shelf is actually located around the edge of the basin. A large, almost continuous, clustering of slicks is located between 25 and 70 km inboard from the Cornea eld; in total, this group extends for approximately 8090 km on a broad, north-east to southwest azimuth. The slicks in this cluster are typically linear to cuspate in shape and 5005000 m long. This clustering of slicks is positioned over and along a signicant bathymetric break, which is located in water depths of between about 60 and 75 m. The location of this break appears to approximate the position of the edge of effective regional seal (OBrien et al., 1998b, 2000), as is evident from Fig. 11b and also seismic data (e.g., Fig. 14c). The distribution of slicks within this broad clustering is interesting: slicks located almost due east of the Cornea eld are densely clustered and are principally Rank 2, whereas those located southeast of Cornea are much more sparse and are Rank 3.
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Fig. 11. (a) Seepage slicks in the northern Browse Basin-Yampi Shelf region mapped from SAR. Footprints of RadarSat Wide Beam Mode scenes are indicated. Rank 2 slicks are relatively intense and are of higher condence and Rank 3 slicks are typically smaller, less intense, and of lower condence. (b) Seepage slicks in the Bonaparte Basin mapped from SAR, plotted on thickness of Early Cretaceous sealing units (derived from well data; w11595 Ma). Areas of thin seals (!50 m) are red, areas of thick seal (O200 m) are blue.
Another broadly northeast trending cluster of Rank 2 slicks occurs 1520 km east of the main cluster described above, and is also located directly inboard from the Cornea oil eld. Unlike the rst group, this cluster does not appear to be associated directly with any resolvable seaoor bathymetric features or sub-seaoor geology. Other smaller clusters of Rank 2, and to a lesser extent Rank 3, slicks occur east to eastsoutheast of the main cluster; some of these
slicks are associated with bathymetric features whereas others are not. No seepage slicks were detected over or immediately around the Cornea oil and gas eld using SAR, in spite of the fact that Cornea contains a very signicant amount of hydrocarbons (Ingram et al., 2000), and both the seismic chimney mapping and the measured low top seal capacity suggest that leakage through the top seal over the eld is
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presently occurring. Moreover, the oil in Cornea would actually be expected to induce a clear SAR response because it has a low (18228) API gravity (Ingram et al., 2000) and would persist for extended periods at the seas surface. One explanation for the lack of mapped slicks over the eld could be that the seepage of liquid hydrocarbons from the Cornea eld is occurring at rates, and in volumes, too low to produce slicks which can be detected using SAR, that is, any slicks present over the eld are smaller than about 120 m long. The preferred interpretation of the SAR data over and inboard from Cornea is that the apparent extensive seepage along the inboard edge of the basin is due principally to oil which is spilling from the Cornea eld (driven by active gas ushing) and is then migrating and leaking at the edge of the effective regional top seal. Of the ve scenes acquired and interpreted, seepage slicks are present in signicant numbers along the edge of the basin on only two scenes. This suggests that the seepage along the edge of seal is episodic, with seepage being active for only about 40% of the time. Fig. 12 combines two SAR scenes acquired several months apart in 1998. Whilst many of the seeps repeat, there are many more slicks on one scene (slicks coloured yellow) than on the other (slicks coloured red). The slicks located inboard from the Cornea oil and gas eld are particularly clear on the SAR data, which could be due to the fact that the oil in the Cornea eld, and probably from the region in general, is heavy and hence the resulting slicks are relatively thick and persistent. The other seepage slicks mapped in the area are scattered both inboard of, and outboard from, the edge of the basin. Slicks are present around several of the carbonate shoals, for example the Heywood Shoals, indicating the some of these
may possibly have originally formed over hydrocarbon seeps (OBrien et al., 2002b). A number of slicks are also present over the fault system along which the Heywood-1 well was drilled (Fig. 11a). This clustering may be related to minor fault reactivation and seal failure along this major fault system. Another clustering of slicks is located along the Bonaparte-Browse Transition Zone, though the signicance of these slicks has been discussed elsewhere by OBrien et al. (2003). The distribution of the thick Early Cretaceous depocentre near the Brewster-1 well, outboard from the Cornea eld, is highlighted in Fig. 11b. Much of the oil and gas reservoired within the Cornea eld, and found within the wider area, was probably generated from mature source rocks in this depocentre and migrated up to the anking regions. A very limited side-scan sonar investigation (using RV Franklin in 1999) of an area covering only part of the zone of most intense SAR seepage slicks (i.e. at the zero edge of the regional top seal inboard from Cornea) revealed the presence of clusters of topographically negative, circular features on the seaoor, at approximately latitude 13.80418S, longitude 124.95388E (Fig. 13). They were clustered into groups that were approximately 50150 m across, with individual features being about 520 m across. These features were previously described by OBrien et al. (2002b), who incorrectly identied them as topographically positive features, possibly chemo-synthetic mounds or build-ups which could have been living on the seeping liquid hydrocarbons (Sassen et al., 1993). Whilst they have not yet been sampled successfully, the mostly likely explanation is that these features are actually pockmarks, perhaps similar to those seen on the 3D seismic data.
Fig. 12. Composite of seepage slicks derived from two SAR scenes (yellow versus red) acquired on different dates in 1998. There is much more seepage on one scene (slicks coloured yellow) than on the other (slicks coloured red). Location of Cornea oil and gas eld indicated.
Fig. 13. Side-scan sonar record of seaoor through region of oil seepage at end of line 165-09 (see Fig. 14d). Features present appear to be pockmarks at location 13.80418S, longitude 124.95288E.
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This part of the margin is essentially a shaved shelf (James et al., 1994), which is swept by strong tidal and other currents, as well as being affected by intermittent tropical cyclones. As a consequence, the seaoor sediments in this immediate area are typically relatively coarse grained (OBrien, unpublished data), rather than being of the ner grained type that favours pockmark preservation (Judd, 2001). The high energy conditions on the shelf suggest that any pockmarks which formed in this area would be rapidly lled in and/or destroyedand hence their presence on the seaoor should be quite transitory. Consequently, if the features seen on Fig. 13 are indeed pockmarks, then it would indicate that the uid/gas escape processes which formed them must be quite active and that they are being continuously renewed. The slicks mapped in the Yampi Shelf region have been interpreted, based upon established criteria, to be most likely due to the expression of natural hydrocarbon seepage at the sea surface. Two features do, however, stand out about the distribution of the mapped slicks in the area. The rst is that one set of slicks, the interpreted edge-of-seal slicks east of Cornea, is preferentially associated with a bathymetric feature, while a second set is localised around the peripheries of some of the carbonate reefs and shoals.
It might be possible, for example, that the rst set of slicks could have formed as a result of processes such as laminar ow over seaoor topography, perhaps driven by tidal forces. Similarly, coral spawning might be a process that could produce slicks, though not hydrocarbon slicks, around and more particularly over, carbonate reefs and shoals. Such processes were considered during the present study, but have been essentially discounted. In the case of the rst set of slicks, there are several reasons why a natural seepage origin is favoured. Firstly, the location of the slicks appears to be geologically controlled by the combination of a major down-dip source of hydrocarbons (the Cornea eld and the source depocentre) and the pinching out of the regional top seal. Secondly and importantly, there are other clusters of slicks east and southeast of Cornea that appears to be completely unrelated to seaoor bathymetry. Thirdly, the bathymetric headland east of Cornea is only one of several over which SAR data were acquired during the wider study of the Yampi Shelf and surrounds. Nevertheless, the region inboard from Cornea was the only area in which apparently massive seepage was observed, which is consistent with the slicks having a petroleum geological, rather than oceanographic, origin. Fourthly, the slicks are of a size and shape which is
Fig. 14. Water column geochemical sniffer proles (methane) overlain on regional seismic lines from the Yampi Shelf: (a) Line YST 165-03. (b) Line YST 165-07. (c) Line YST 165-08. (d) Line YST 165-09. (e) Line YST 165-10. (f) Line YST 165-11. (g) Line YST 165-12.
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Fig. 14 (continued )
consistent with them having formed as a result of natural seepage. Finally, thermogenic hydrocarbons were detected at the sea surface through the area of these slicks (discussion follows), as were apparent seaoor pockmarks on side-scan sonar. Nevertheless, a non-seepage origin for these slicks cannot be discounted, though it is not favoured: more work to conrm the origin of the slicks seen on the SAR data would be useful. A natural seepage origin is also favoured for the second set of slicks, which is developed preferentially around the reefs and banks. Examination of records for coral spawnings in the region (Dr Andrew Heyward, Australian Institute of Marine Science, personal communication, 2004) has demonstrated that virtually none of the slicks could have formed as a result of coral spawning processes. Most of the relevant SAR scenes were acquired in April 2004 (one in October 2004), whereas the principal spawning event takes place in February to early to midMarch, with a much lesser event in November. In addition, spawning is a regional phenomenon, which occurs at
the same time (for a few days) all along the North-West Shelf and into Indonesia. The fact that slicks are present on SAR scenes with varying dates, and that their distribution is actually patchy over reefs and banks within even the same SAR scene, would seem to indicate that spawning cannot be a signicant contributor to the slicks on these scenes. Finally, coral spawning might be expected to produce an abundance of slicks over, as well as around the edges of, the banks, but this is not observed. Other supporting factors for a seepage origin include the fact that many of the banks/reefs that have slicks around them have been drilled and they typically had strong shows/residual columns at reservoir level, as well as abundant gas chimneys on seismic data; some even had abundant thermogenic hydrocarbons in the seaoor sediments located directly under the slicks (OBrien et al., 2003). If these slicks are not seepage-related, then it would seem much more likely that they are due to laminar ow or other topography-related ow processes around the reef and banks, rather than coral spawning.
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4.3. Water column geochemical sniffer (WaSi) program A targeted water column geochemical sniffer program was carried out over and around the trends tested by the Londonderry and Cornea wells, along pre-existing seismic lines, to test the migration/seepage model derived from the seismic interpretation. A single line was also run over the Gwydion-1 well location. The locations of these lines are indicated on Fig. 3. The premise being tested was that hydrocarbons would be present in anomalous concentrations in the water column in areas with thin seals and abundant shallow amplitude anomalies. The results of the program are summarised below. In addition to the sniffer data, the approximate locations of any (SAR) seepage slicks (see previous discussion) and/or clusters of ALF uors (see Section 4.3.1) are posted on the seismic lines (Fig. 14ag). 4.3.1. Gwydion area No signicant water column anomalies were detected in the 340 km of acquisition over and around the Gwydion eld. Background methane values of approximately 4 ppm methane and 0.0160.018 ppm ethane were measured
throughout the region, suggesting that minimal amounts of thermogenic hydrocarbons are migrating to the seaoor at the present day. An overlay of the sniffer prole on seismic line YST 165-03 is shown on Fig. 14a. The prominent (O600 ms) amplitude anomaly associated with the Gwydion-1 well is clearly seen, although no hydrocarbon anomalies were present over this accumulation within the water column. Signicantly, no chimneys extend to, or near, the seaoor along the line covered by the sniffer data. 4.3.2. Londonderry-Cornea area The 390 km of sniffer acquisition through this region revealed the presence of areally extensive gas seepage. This seepage extended from around the Cornea trend on YST 165-08 (inboard from the Londonderry-1 well) for approximately 25 km to the eastsoutheast of Londonderry-1 and Cornea-1 (Fig. 15). The most intense seepage is located inboard of most of the mapped amplitude anomalies, gas chimneys, and HRDZs (Fig. 15). An area of particularly intense seepage extends over an area 56 km across, with methane values peaking at 300 ppm (75100 times background). Ethane peaked at over 2 ppm in the same area.
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Overall, the area with greater than 5 times background gas extends for approximately 750800 square kilometres; the region with greater than 20 times background covers over 200 square kilometres. The composition of the seep gas is dry, averaging about 0.8% wet gas % wetness Z fC2 K C4 g=fC1 K C4 g ! 100 over the full range of methane concentrations measured (Fig. 16a). The carbon isotopic composition of the sniffer gases was analysed at two locations in the area with the highest gas concentrations. These analyses yielded d13C ratios of K42.36 and K42.53. Given the molecular composition of the seep gases (i.e. the high ethane/ethylene ratios; Kvenvolden and Redden (1980)) and the d13C ratios of the methane (average K42.45), the seep gases appear to be almost entirely of thermogenic, rather than biogenic, origin. The fact that the hydrocarbon wetness did not increase with progressively increasing methane concentrations indicates that the seep gases is sourced by a gasprone, or perhaps overmature source, rather than an oilprone source. A plot of the concentration of ethane and propane versus methane for the seep gases (Fig. 16b) shows that there is a simple linear relationship between the methane concentration and the concentration of ethane and propane, which suggests that there is probably just one source for the gas within the seeps on Australias Yampi Shelf. The composition of the seep gas (0.8% wet, d13CZ K42.45) is remarkably similar to that of gas recovered from the reservoir section within the Cornea-1 well (2.2% wet,
d13CZK40.60; Shell, personal communication, 1999). As such, it is likely that the reservoir gas in the Cornea Field and the seep gas have been generated from the same source rock. This source rock is probably of older and perhaps more thermally mature than the Valanginian source rocks that generated the oil reservoired in Cornea-1 (Blevin et al., 1998). It is also likely that both source rocks are continuing to generate hydrocarbons at the present day (Spry and Ward, 1997; Blevin et al., 1998). The sniffer data from the Londonderry-Cornea area are overlain over the YST seismic lines in Fig. 14bg. These overlays allow a direct comparison between the underlying geology and the position and intensity of the seeps within the water column. On line YST 165-07, the regional seal (approximately the Late Aptian to Turonian interval) thins sharply onto the basin margin near Cornea-1 (Fig. 14b). In spite of this thin seal and the fact that Cornea-1 intersected a large amount of hydrocarbons (Ingram et al., 2000), no signicant methane anomalies were detected in the bottom water above or near the eld. Overall, background levels of methane were between 4 and almost 5 ppm along line YST 165-07, compared to typical background concentrations of 3.54 ppm. Signicant disturbances of the seaoor topography are present directly over the Cornea eld (Fig. 14b) and also to its southeast. These disturbances have the appearance of large pockmarks, though the absence of water column hydrocarbon anomalies associated with them indicates that they were
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not venting signicant amounts of gas at the time of the sniffer survey. This highlights that both the gas seepage and the oil seepage in this region can be quite episodic, spatially and temporally. This episodic nature could be due to a vast array of often poorly understood processes, which include earth tides, changes in the hydrostatic head over the seepage vents (associated with tidal cycles), buoyancy-driven top seal failure (due to increasing hydrocarbon column heights at depth), and the stress-state of the crust. A distinct series of areally restricted bottom water seeps with well-dened shapes were detected along line YST 16508, which traverses the Londonderry and Cornea trends (Fig. 14c). These anomalies are present where the regional seal thins onto the margin, with the most prominent located directly above seismically prominent gas chimneys. The sniffer data reveal that these chimneys are associated with
water column anomalies which are only 25 times background, up to a maximum of approximately 17 ppm methane. Consequently, whilst these chimneys appear as strong events on seismic data (Fig. 7), the total amount of hydrocarbons passing through them to the seaoor may be small, at least at the present day. It appears, therefore, that the seismic response is not a good predictor of the total ux of hydrocarbons through a given chimney leakage system. There is no evidence within the sniffer data for the seepage of wet gases, even directly over the Cornea oil accumulation. Dry (!1% wet) gas is by far the dominant seep gas, perhaps because of its high relative mobility (through the top seal), particularly when compared to the heavy, biodegraded oil (APIZ18228) that is present within the Cornea eld (Ingram et al., 2000). The chimneys seen on 2D seismic line YST 165-08, and which have active gas seepage associated with them, actually correspond to some
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of the Group 1 chimneys observed on the 3D seismic data (Fig. 8). By far the greatest amount of methane and wet gas seepage, both geographically and in terms of concentration, is present along seismic line YST 165-09 (Fig. 14d). There, methane concentrations within the bottom waters increase progressively from background levels of 34 ppm to a maximum of 300 ppm methane near shot-point 2000. The increase in the methane concentrations between shot-points 3000 and 2500 mirrors the thinning of the regional seal. A rapid and massive increase in seepage was detected associated with where the top seal pinches out against a prominent basement high at approximately shot-point 2200. Marginward of this bald basement high, the gas concentrations of the bottom waters show an exponential decrease and fall rapidly towards background concentrations. This region of rapidly decreasing methane in the bottom waters
corresponds broadly to the interpreted pinch-out edge of the regional seal. On seismic line YST 165-09, the area of focussed, massive gas seepage above the basement high is expressed principally as a zone of moderately poor reection coherency and attendant lack of continuitya seismic whiteout. Well-dened gas chimneys or amplitude effects are only occasionally discernable on the 2D seismic data (usually outboard from the most intense seepage), in spite of the clear indications from the sniffer data that the area is one of very strong hydrocarbon seepage through the sequences above the bald high. The most reliable diagnostic signature of the very intense seepage on the 2D seismic data appears to be a very prominent seaoor amplitude anomaly (Figs. 14(d) and 17). This anomaly coincides precisely with the location of the most intense seepage and probably relates to enhanced biological activity and carbonate
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cementation associated with oxidation of seep gases at or near the seaoor, in a manner similar to that described by Hovland et al. (1987) and Judd (2001). If the high seaoor amplitudes seen along line YST 165-09 are due to the presence of seep-related carbonate hard-grounds, then the processes responsible for their formation may also be analogous to those documented for HRDZ formation in the sub-surface. Organic geochemical analyses were carried out on several surcial seaoor sediment samples that were collected in 1999, using grab sampling, over the most intense part of the gas seep on seismic line YST 165-09 (latitude 13.726008S, longitude 124.759558E, 85 m water depth, 0.5% total organic carbon). The surcial, carbonaterich (91% CaCO3) sediments associated with the most prolic gas seeps on the Yampi Shelf contained molecular evidence for the presence of both aerobic and anaerobic
methane-oxidising microbial communities (Summons, unpublished results). The aerobic processes were revealed by the presence of diagnostic hopanoids, while anaerobic, methane-oxidising consortia were revealed through their gylcerol ether signature lipids, including archaeol and glycerol monoethers similar to those found by Hinrichs et al. (2001) in offshore California basins. Over the last 300,000 years, this part of the shelf, which is at water depths of 80100 m, would have been subaerially exposed as a result of eustatic sea-level variations for about 3050% of the time. Consequently, these gas seeps have alternated regularly between submarine and sub-aerial environments, with signicant implications for the type of diagenetic and bio-geochemical processes that may have taken place within them. Line YST 165-10 is an example of the signicant control that basement topography exerts on the distribution of
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Fig. 15. Contour map of methane in bottom waters in the Londonderry-Cornea area. Massive gas seepage present through, and inboard from, the region containing numerous shallow amplitude anomalies and HRDZs.
hydrocarbon seepage across the Yampi Shelf (Fig. 14e). Four localised seeps, which vary from about 18 to 27 ppm methane (57 times background) occur directly over topographically prominent basement highs. The regional seal either thins signicantly, or is absent altogether, over these highs. As such, these highs appear to act as hydrocarbon catchments around which seepage is focussed. Hydrocarbon concentrations within the bottom waters drop rapidly between seismic lines YST 165-10 and -11 (Fig. 14f). Methane is consistently 1.52 times background along the line and a very weak hydrocarbon anomaly appears to be localised over a prominent basement high that pierces through the regional seal. Line YST 165-12 shows only minor gas seepage in the bottom water data (Fig. 14g) and appears to mark the northern limit of active seepage in this area. Signicantly, shallow seismic amplitude anomalies are also virtually absent north of this line (Figs. 3 and 15). The second clustering of gas chimneys which was mapped on the 3D seismic data (Group 2 in Fig. 8) appears to correlate very closely with the area of strong gas seepage identied on the sniffer data inboard from Cornea, on seismic lines YST 165-09 and -10. Clearly, chimney mapping using the 3D seismic data can provide a very reliable indication of where seaoor seepage is likely to be
active. Interestingly, this clustering of chimneys consists of two sub-groups. The rst of these sub-groups is located approximately 2.5 km northwest of the highest methane concentrations measured in the water column, whereas the second sub-group is located about 7.5 km northwest of the highest concentrations. Why the chimneys and water column anomalies appear to be offset is unclear, though it could be that the (probably) small-to-moderate bottom water kicks associated with these chimneys are simply swamped by the very large seepage inputs coming from the area of the bald basement highthat is, the signal from these chimneys is overwhelmed. 4.3.3. Summary of sniffer observations Water column geochemical sniffer data have identied characteristic styles of hydrocarbon seepage into the bottom waters of the Yampi Shelf. Where the regional seal is thick, such as around the Gwydion-1 well on the southern Yampi Shelf, or in the more basinal areas, seep-related hydrocarbons within the bottom waters tend to be either absent or occur at very low levels. In contrast, in the Londonderry-Cornea area, the gas seepage signal ranges from weak to very strong (5 300 ppm). Again, the principal control on the amount of
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Fig. 16. Geochemical cross-plots from seeps near the Londonderry and Cornea wells on the Yampi Shelf: (a) Methane concentration versus hydrocarbon wetness. (b) Methane concentration versus ethane and propane concentrations.
Fig. 17. Methane concentrations in bottom waters versus seismic amplitude (32 ms window) at seaoor along 2D seismic line YST 165-09. Seeprelated cementation at seaoor produces hard grounds and attendant high amplitudes.
seepage of hydrocarbons within the bottom waters appears to be the thickness and quality of the regional top seal. Gas chimneys tend to be located at or near the apices of topographically prominent tilt blocks, probably because seal capillary failure at that point is facilitated by thinner and perhaps sandier sealing facies, although a contribution from enhanced, exurally-induced fracturing at the apices cannot be discounted. In spite of their obvious seismic character, the gas chimneys appear to contribute only a small amount of hydrocarbons to the bottom waters-they may represent a relatively minor, point source of hydrocarbon input to the bottom waters. The greatest amounts of seepage appear to occur around topographically prominent basement highs, where the seal thins markedly or is absent. These highs appear to act as hydrocarbon catchments that focus seepage around them. As such, they represent ideal locations over which to capture a snapshot of the hydrocarbon charge within a particular area. It appears that apparently low rates of hydrocarbon seepage, such as those seen to be associated with the chimneys, can produce very prominent seismic effects in the shallow section. In contrast, the areas of most intense seepage are not so easily dened seismically using regional 2D data with conventional display parameters,
although they produce prominent amplitude anomalies at the seaoor. Such zones of seismic whiteout and clustered chimneys are, however, readily mapped out using 3D seismic data. The seeps detected in the bottom waters were invariably composed of dry, thermogenic gas, with wet gas contents of less than 1% being typical. Based upon regional geological considerations, this gas was probably sourced from a gasprone, possibly overmature, source rock, and probably represents an older, more mature source than that which sourced the oil in the Gwydion and Cornea elds. No evidence was seen in the bottom water data of the heavy, biodegraded oil that is reservoired in Cornea (Ingram et al., 2000). This may in part relate to the fact that gas has a much higher relative mobility (permeability) than heavy oil and hence can leak through the marginal sealing facies much more easily. Gas ushing clearly represents a key exploration uncertainty on Australias Yampi Shelf. However, fault displacements decrease to the north-east of the Londonderry-1 and Cornea wells into the basement fracture system/relay zone which separates the Timor and Browse compartments. This means that a natural remigration fairway for any displaced oil exists through this area, which is located approximately 100 km north-east of Cornea-1 (Fig. 3). If traps are present within this zone,
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and they have adequate top seal capacity for oil, then they may represent attractive exploration targets. This zone appears to be currently receiving little gas charge, based upon a general absence of amplitude anomalies and gas chimneys within it (Fig. 3), which may suggest that the gas has already bled out of the system. Signicantly, comparison with the SAR data shows that there is a virtual absence of oil slicks within the region of strong gas seepage identied by the sniffer. The prominent group of slicks identied along the edge of seal are located 1015 km inboard from the most intense gas seepage. This observation supports the premise that the oil and gas in this region have different sources and/or different migration histories. It is interesting that the possible pockmarks identied on the side-scan sonar data (Fig. 13) were spatially associated with the zone of clustered (SAR) slicks, approximately 10 15 km inboard from the area of most intense gas seepage. It might be expected that pockmarks would actually be much more common though the area of strong gas seepage, though this does not appear (at least from the seismic data) to be the case. Sampling of the seaoor is unusually difcult through the area with the strongest gas seepage (OBrien, unpublished data); gravity coring is impossible and grab samples are only intermittently successful. It seems likely that this part of the shelf is essentially an areally extensive (perhaps O200 sq km) hard-ground, the formation of which is related to diagenetic cementation processes associated with the seepage. The overall indurated nature of the seaoor through the zone of greatest gas seepage is the probable explanation for the lack of common pockmarks through that area. Almost all of the hydrocarbon (especially the gas) seeps on the Yampi Shelf occur in shallow (!120 m) water depths. Consequently, most of the seeps would have been sub-aerially exposed during the last glacial maximum (LGM), approximately 18,000 years ago and would have been exposed regularly throughout the Quaternary. An important outcome of this is that the hydrocarbon input to the atmosphere from these large seeps on the Yampi Shelf during the LGM would certainly have been much greater than that at present. This is the result of two processes. Firstly, the seeps would have been venting hydrocarbons directly into the atmosphere, rather than into the water column at the seaoor. A large percentage of the hydrocarbons, which seep from the seaoor into the water column are dissolved, trapped beneath the thermocline, or consumed by bacteria during their residence time within the water. As such, a signicantly lower percentage of hydrocarbons reaches the atmosphere than is vented at the seaoor. In contrast, when seepage is sub-aerial, almost all of the seeping hydrocarbons reach the atmosphere. Secondly, another factor favouring greater hydrocarbon inputs to the atmosphere during the LGM would have been the reduction (by approximately 130190 psi) of the hydrostatic head over the seeps, which resulted from
Fig. 18. Locations of sea surface samples analysed by uorimetry shown in by circles, with two anomalous samples are highlighted by pentagons.
the unloading of approximately 80125 m of seawater above them. This reduction in hydrostatic head, of itself, could have been sufcient to increase the ux of hydrocarbons emanating from these seeps. It could be that the sub-aerial exposure during glacial low-stands of hydrocarbon seeps such as those on the Yampi Shelf, with the attendant increase in hydrocarbon-related (especially methane) greenhouse gas input to the atmosphere, might have contributed marginally to the eventual
Table 1 Locations of surface seawater samples analysed by multi-spectral uorometry on the Yampi Shelf, north-western Australia. Anomalous samples are highlighted in bold AGSO no. 19999314 19999315 19999316 19999317 19999318 19999319 19999321 19999322 19999324 19999325 19999326 19999327 19999328 19999329 19999330 19999331 19999332 19999333 19999334 19999335 19999336 19999337 19999338 19999339 Survey sample no. 207WS020 207WS021 207WS009 207WS024 207WS010 207WS025 207WS026 207WS022 207WS023 207WS017 207WS015 207WS016 207WS014 207WS013 207WS018 207WS019 207WS012 207WS008 207WS011 207WS007 Latitude (S) K13.9529 K13.9529 K13.4592 K13.6997 K13.6619 K13.8336 K13.7916 K13.7970 K13.7970 K13.7970 K13.6951 K13.4532 K13.6600 K13.5595 K13.7592 K13.9576 K13.9576 K13.9147 K13.4592 K13.6619 K13.9267 Longitude 124.9644 124.9644 124.0000 124.6807 124.7950 124.5404 124.5816 124.7986 124.7986 124.7986 124.7294 124.4698 124.6914 124.6263 124.8424 124.9780 124.9780 125.0180 124.6356 124.7950 124.9984 Sample details Sea water Sea waterCazide Sea waterCazide Sea waterCazide Sea water Sea waterCazide Sea water Sea water Sea water Sea water Sea waterCazide Sea water Sea waterCazide Sea waterCazide Sea waterCazide Sea waterCazide Sea waterCazide Sea waterCazide Sea water Sea water Sea water Sea water Sea water Sea water
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Sample 19999329 (Fig. 18) had a very strong emission spectrum that was characteristic of crude oil, with a maximum emission wavelength at 335 nm and a maximum intensity of 181 uorescence units, on a scale of 01000. Sample 19999324 uoresced weakly with maxima at 356 and 461 nm. The emission spectra for these samples, for an excitation wavelength of 266 nm, are shown in Fig. 19. The presence of these two anomalous, surface samples conrms the presence of seepage indicated by both the SAR data and the bottom water sniffer data. It should be noted, however, that these samples were collected when the sea was rough, which minimised the chances of actually sampling a hydrocarbon slick. It would be expected, under normal sea states, that a higher percentage of these samples would be anomalous in terms of their hydrocarbon contents.
Fig. 19. Spectral responses (for an excitation wavelength of 266 nm) of water column samples shown in Fig. 18 and Table 1. Two anomalous samples were detected and are highlighted. Non-anomalous water samples plot below the spectral signature of sample 19999329 and are depicted by thin lines.
4.4. Airborne laser uorosensor program The location of the lines acquired during the 1998 Yampi Shelf ALF survey is shown in Fig. 20. During the survey, a total of 2,149,037 spectra were collected at an average spacing of 1.382.13 m. Of these spectra, a total of 132 uorescence spectra were interpreted as comprising condent uors, yielding an average uor density of 61 uors per million spectra. The uorescence area/Raman area ratio ranged from 1.43 to 0.14 over the 132 picked uors. The spectra of interpreted medium and strong uors are shown on Fig. 21a and b, respectively. The emission wavelengths of
ipping of the climate system back to a warmer, interglacial status. 4.3.4. Sea surface uorimetric analyses The 24 surface and near-surface seawater samples were analysed by ultra-violet (UV) emission spectrometry (Edwards and Johns, 1999) across the Yampi Shelf (Fig. 18, Table 1). Of these samples, two samples uoresced.
Fig. 20. Location of ALF survey and identied ALF uors on the Yampi Shelf. Size of uors is directly proportional to strength (peak over Raman). Location of key wells indicated by black dots. Background is bathymetry.
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Fig. 21. Representative ALF uors from the Yampi Shelf survey. (a) Moderate intensity uor. (b) High intensity uor.
the uors are fairly consistent across the survey and are typically between approximately 330 and 340 nm. The locations of the uors interpreted from the Yampi Shelf survey are presented on Fig. 20. The ALF anomalies have been scaled according to the Fluor to Raman ratio, with larger dots representing stronger anomalies. According to an analysis by Cowley (2000a,b), a value of about 0.3 or greater in this region typically constitutes a strong or high condence anomaly. The high condence ALF anomalies are focussed along the oil-prone Cornea trend, especially along its northwestern ank (Fig. 20). A lesser number of uors were also
scattered along the bathymetric break which equates to the approximate edge-of-seal in this area. This was the same area that showed a concentration of seepage slicks on the SAR data. Very few ALF anomalies were present near the Cortex-1 exploration well, where the sniffer detected a large amount of methane seepage; this may be because ALF can only detect liquid (oil and condensate) hydrocarbons. Possible explanations for why the ALF did not respond strongly to any edge-of-seal seepage, and also appears to decrease somewhat across the eld itself, are as follows. Firstly, the degree of biodegradation (Ingram et al., 2000) and probably the extent of water washingincreases
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transported by, greater but still minor amounts of gasare leaking vertically within the gas chimneys over the Cornea trend. This gas, with associated liquids, moves up through the top seal via the chimneys until it reaches the seaoor, where it rises rapidly to the sea surface as bubbles. It may be that ALF, with its very high (w12 m) sample rate, can detect the resulting small pancake slicks and lenticular slicks (which are perhaps 550 m long) that form on the surface of the sea as the bubbles, and clusters of bubbles, burst. In contrast, SAR has a much larger sample rate or sample size (w2530 m pixel size) and hence can only detect slicks signicantly greater than about 100125 m in length. These preliminary results suggest that high (12 m) resolution tools, such as ALF, or optical and hyperspectral imagery, have great potential for evaluating prospectivity at both regional and prospect scales. In particular, it may be that such tools could be particularly useful for ranking traps at a prospect scale, especially in areas with minor seal failure.
Fig. 22. CCD line optical camera data acquired from aircraft during hyperspectral survey over Cornea eld. Small oil slicks (w530 m long) are present. Flight height approximately 80 m; pixel size approximately 2 m.
4.5. Rock-Eval analysis of hydrocarbons in the top seal The presence of gas chimneys, sniffer anomalies, and a clustering of ALF uors over the Cornea trend, as well as seal capillary measurements, all suggest that the top seal is failing over the eld. To test this further, a series of Rock-Eval 6 analyses were made of the top seal above the reservoir in a number of representative wells across the eld (Table 2). The purpose of these measurements was to determine the amount of free (migrated) liquid hydrocarbons present in the top seal, which provides an indirect measurement of top seal capacitywith poorer seals typically having higher contents of migrated hydrocarbons. The total amount of free hydrocarbons present in the seal (S1c) was calculated as follows. The whole rock S1 and S2 measurements (S1W and S2W) were determined (Table 2). S1W is principally low molecular weight hydrocarbons (!C25). An extraction of all of the free hydrocarbons was then made from the rock reanalysed by Rock-Eval 6. The S2 measured in this procedure (S2E) was assumed to be the immobile kerogen inherent in the rock. The difference between S2W and S2E is the amount of free, higher molecular weight, migrated hydrocarbons within the pore spacesand this was contributing to a large component of the whole rock S2W analysis. Consequently, the amount of free hydrocarbons present in the top seal can be measured by adding the whole rock S1W and S2W, and then subtracting S2E. This yields S1c. The results of this study are summarised in Fig. 23 and Table 2. The highest concentrations of migrated hydrocarbons detected in the top seals (S1c) were found in the Hammer-1 and Cornea South wells (up to 17.84 mg gK1). In contrast, the lowest concentrations were detected in the top seal in the Tear-1 and Cornea-1B wells (0.06 mg gK1).
progressively to the south-east across the Cornea eld. This would result in the increased depletion of the aromatic hydrocarbons within the oil columnsand it is these aromatics which are responsible for the uorescence measured by ALF in the hydrocarbons that have lled, and then been spilled, from traps across the eld. Secondly, the seepage in the region is episodic and it may be that there was no seepage when the ALF survey was own. The explanation for why ALF so dramatically identied the charged traps in this area, whereas SAR did not, may come from Fig. 22. The image shown of the sea surface was taken using a downward-looking CCD optical camera during an aircraft-based hyperspectral survey that was acquired (for Geoscience Australia) by Fugro Airborne Surveys over the Cornea area in 2001 (Hausknecht, 2001). This image has been interpreted to show a series of small oil slicks, which were typically between 5 and 50 m long, which were detected along the north-western ank of the Cornea eld, within a couple of kilometres of Hammer-1. These slicks are located close to some of the chimneys mapped using the 3D seismic data and were located through the same area as the clusters of ALF anomalies discussed above. The combination of the ALF data and the optical imagery suggests that oil slicks are present over the Cornea oil and gas eld, in spite of the fact that no seepage slicks were detected over the eld using SAR. One possibility is that only very small amounts of oil (see Rock-Eval discussion below)along with, and probably
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Table 2 Rock Eval 6 analyses of top seal facies in wells from the Cornea eld Well Depth Top (m) TEAR 1 TEAR 1 TEAR 1 TEAR 1 TEAR 1 MACULA 1 MACULA 1 MACULA 1 MACULA 1 MACULA 1 HAMMER 1 HAMMER 1 HAMMER 1 HAMMER 1 CORNEA 1B CORNEA 1B CORNEA 1B CORNEA 1B CORNEA SOUTH 2ST CORNEA SOUTH 2ST CORNEA SOUTH 2ST CORNEA SOUTH 2ST 726 738 753 759 771 740 748 757 766 772 751 760 772 778 735 760 775 780 765 775 792 795 Base (m) 20020002 20020003 20020004 20020005 20020006 20020007 20020008 20020009 20020010 20020011 20020012 20020013 20020014 20020015 20020016 20020017 20020018 20020019 20020020 20020021 20020022 20020023 GA No. Whole rock TMAXW (8C) 410 403 402 405 407 317 417 418 420 316 433 332 323 416 409 408 417 407 434 435 432 425 S1W (mg/g) 0.06 0.14 0.08 0.08 0.07 0.57 0.1 0.1 0.14 1.27 0.28 1.98 1.44 1.32 0.06 0.07 0.05 0.03 9.88 8.21 9.66 4.31 S2W (mg/g) 0.35 0.6 0.45 0.47 0.31 1.43 0.88 0.59 0.69 1.39 0.7 3.47 2.41 2.74 0.28 0.49 0.42 0.15 7.79 7.79 9.67 7.55 Solvent extracted rock TMAXE (8C) 419 407 405 416 412 321 418 420 419 417 436 340 341 420 420 419 423 411 422 416 422 430 S1E (mg/g) 0.04 0.1 0.08 0.07 0.07 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.14 0.53 0.2 1.15 0.84 0.73 0.02 0.05 0.04 0.01 0.15 0.14 0.14 0.14 S2E (mg/g) 0.39 0.54 0.39 0.66 0.32 1.84 0.8 0.58 0.58 1.16 0.58 2.69 2.3 1.93 0.2 0.42 0.4 0.09 0.93 0.84 1.49 1.48 TOCE (wt%) 1.99 1.91 1.49 1.86 2.61 3.89 2.54 2.6 3.39 3.35 2.23 2.49 2.31 2.52 1.13 1.72 1.79 0.85 1.76 1.59 1.8 1.97 HIE (mg/ gTOC) 20 28 26 36 12 47 32 22 17 35 26 108 99 77 18 25 22 10 53 53 83 75 Calculated S1C (mg/g) 0.06 0.2 0.14 0.08 0.07 0.57 0.18 0.11 0.25 1.5 0.4 2.76 1.55 2.13 0.14 0.14 0.07 0.09 16.74 15.16 17.84 10.38 S2C (mg/g) 0.35 0.54 0.39 0.47 0.31 1.43 0.8 0.58 0.58 1.16 0.58 2.69 2.3 1.93 0.2 0.42 0.4 0.09 0.93 0.84 1.49 1.48 PIC
0.15 0.27 0.26 0.15 0.18 0.29 0.18 0.16 0.30 0.56 0.41 0.51 0.40 0.52 0.41 0.25 0.15 0.50 0.95 0.95 0.92 0.88
Both the Cornea South and the Hammer wells are located near major mapped gas chimneys (Fig. 8), which suggests that the top seal capacity in these wells is relatively low and that liquids are present within the chimneys. In contrast, both
the Cornea-1B and Tear-1 wells are located a signicant distance (w30005000 m) from any mapped gas chimneys, perhaps indicating that the top seal capacity in these two wells is relatively higher. This interpretation assumes that
Fig. 23. Concentration of free hydrocarbons in top seal above reservoir unit in the Cornea eld, Yampi Shelf, Browse Basin (S1c in Table 2).
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the total hydrocarbon column and phase in these respective wells is similar, which it appears to be (Ingram et al., 2000). The observations show that liquid hydrocarbons are present within the gas chimneys over the Cornea eld. Given that the sniffer data showed that the gas chimneys are currently transporting gas to the seaoor, albeit often at low rates, a mechanism presents itself for the transportation of liquid hydrocarbons to the seaoor and ultimately the sea surface. The liquids are transported to the seaoor in association with the gas in the chimneys. The observations that liquid hydrocarbons are present in the top seal overlying the reservoir in the Cornea eld strongly suggest that an oil charge was emplaced in the Cornea eld prior to the gas charge.
5. Integration of observations The observations presented regarding hydrocarbon seepage on the Yampi Shelf are signicant, for exploration both within this area and elsewhere. The application of the respective technologies has also revealed the key processes in relation to hydrocarbon migration and seepage in the region. 5.1. Relative response of different technologies Hydrocarbon seepage on the Yampi Shelf has been identied and independently conrmed via satellite-based SAR, water column geochemical sniffer, surface water uorimetry, Airborne Laser Fluorosensor (ALF), highresolution optical, and 2D/3D seismic data. Evidence for failure of the seal is also supported by the presence of free hydrocarbons within the top seal. Each technology and approach has, however, quite different relative responses and sensitivities to different types and rates of hydrocarbon seepage. The results of these assorted programmes are shown together on Fig. 24a and b respectively. 2D seismic data, for example, appear to be well suited to the rapid and ready identication of laterally restricted features such as gas chimneys and discrete seismic amplitude anomalies. These features, may, however, only be responsible for relatively small contributions to the total seep-related hydrocarbon inventory. In contrast, zones of more distributed seepage, such as the massive and extensive gas seepage which produces whiteout zones, can actually initially appear less obvious than localised chimneys on 2D data. In general, areas of strong gas seepage were characterised by a general lack of coherency and continuity of seismic events in the shallow section, and the presence of prominent amplitude anomalies at the seaoor. 3D seismic data were useful at mapping both localised chimneys and especially the more diffusely dened areas that were associated with high seepage rates.
SAR appears to have detected areally extensive oil seepage along the south-eastern edge of the basin, near the edge of the regional Cretaceous top seal (Figs. 11a,b and 24a,b). The strong SAR response is most readily explained if these slicks are due to a relatively heavy oil (API of 18228) such as that found reservoired in the Cornea eld (Ingram et al., 2000). The most intense clustering of these seepage slicks is located well to the east (marginward) of the Cornea eld, where Rank 2 seepage slicks dominate. Further south, the slicks are less dense and tend to be Rank 3. These observations perhaps suggest that most of the oil leaking at the edge of the seal has been derived from the spilling (tertiary migration) of oil displaced from the Cornea trend by a later gas charge, with a lesser contribution coming via secondary migration directly from the basin source system. The oil seeps at the edge of the seal are located approximately 1015 km inboard of the zone of maximum dry gas seepage detected by the sniffer (near Cortex-1) and approximately 2050 km inboard from the Cornea eld. The prominent seepage slicks at the edge of the basin were only seen on two of the ve SAR scenes acquired, suggesting that this edge-ofseal seepage is quite localised and/or episodic and hence could easily be missed. Seepage slicks are relatively sparse in more basinward areas, such as along the Cornea trend, even though well-developed chimneys are present there. This shows that, in this case, SAR did not detect the accumulation directly but was responding principally to tertiary migrated oil from the Cornea accumulation. Seepage slicks are virtually absent over the major zones of gas seepage detected by the sniffer (Fig. 24a and b). Slicks are, however, scattered along the reactivated fault near which Heywood-1 was drilled. This is the major basin margin fault system in the area and also controls the location of several of the major carbonate banks (Fig. 11a and b). Sniffer data accurately mapped dry, thermogenic gas seeps. These are focussed in areas where the regional seal thins, thereby leading to capillary failurewith respect to gasof the top seal. The greatest amounts of seepage are associated with topographically prominent basement highs over which the regional seal thins signicantly or is absent (near Cortex-1; Fig. 24a and b). Narrow gas chimneys, although obvious on seismic data, often actually contribute only minimally to the seepage-related hydrocarbon inventory in the area. They are typically located at the apices of tilt blocks, again where the seal is thinnest and probably also sandiest. Whilst minor gas seepage occurred over the Londonderry and Cornea trends, the majority of seepage was found well inboard of these hydrocarbon accumulations, in areas where the seal onlaps or is truncated against basement highs. Here, gas concentrations within the bottom waters reached 100 times background. It is likely that methane within the bottom waters exceeds 20 times background over an area of at least 200300 square kilometres in this region. This gas has an almost identical composition to that present within the reservoir in the Cornea eld, although whether the gas in the seeps is
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Fig. 24. Cornea region, Yampi Shelf, showing results of chimney mapping and locations of seepage slicks (Rank 2 dark purple, Rank 3 light purple), water column sniffer lines (lines colour-coded and correspond to methane concentration in bottom waters), and Airborne Laser Fluorosensor uors. (a) On bathymetry. (b) On mapped basement (red is shallower, blue is deeper).
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actually derived from gas spilling from the eld, or from gas migrating around the trap, is unknown. A combination of both processes seems likely. The seepage is facilitating the formation of a hard seaoor (producing a high seismic amplitude), probably via authigenic carbonate cementation and a consortia of aerobic and anaerobic methane oxidising bacteria have been documented in this study within the gas-seep eld. The Airborne Laser Fluorosensor (ALF) survey data clearly identied the oil-charged Cornea trend. ALF was, however, less efcient at detecting the oil seepage, mapped using SAR, at the edge of seal, although this could have been due to the episodic nature of this seepage. ALF essentially did not respond at all to the area of intense gas seepage between the Cornea trend and the edge of seal, near the Cortex-1 well location. ALFs ability to identify charged traps probably relates to its very high sampling rate compared to the other tools, which clearly indicates that most of the key (i.e. explorationrelevant at a prospect scale) slicks in this area are localised and small. It appears that minor amounts of liquids are present within the gas chimneys and that gas leaking to the sea surface provides the transport mechanism. The same appears to be true of the high-resolution optical imagery, which also delineated small oil slicks over the Cornea trend. Clearly, the mapping of the gas chimneys on the seismic data, the observations made using Rock-Eval 6 data on the top seals, and the distribution of the slicks detected by ALF and the optical imagery all suggest that the CorneaLondonderry trends are actively leaking hydrocarbons. These leaking hydrocarbons do have a genuine liquids component, even though the volumes of liquids that are leaking, and hence the attendant size of the oil slicks that are produced, appear to be too small (/120 m long) to be detected by commercial SAR data. It appears that these oil slicks over the Cornea eld are small and typically range from less than 5 m to about 50 m in length. These small slicks are, however, absolutely critical in identifying the location of the most prospective structures within a province such as the Yampi Shelf. It is likely that these small slicks have formed via the leakage of small amounts of oil, probably either dissolved in gas bubbles, or as rims on the outside of gas bubbles, which break though the seal, and then burst when they reach the surface of the sea, to form small slicks, probably somewhat analogous to the pancakes observed in the Gulf of Mexico. In relation to dening or ranking potential oil prospects, critical inter-relationships exist among: the location of gas chimneys (mapped using 2D and 3D seismic data); the unequivocal evidence for liquidas opposed to dry gas hydrocarbon seepage (from both the ALF and optical data); and the localisation of small oil slicks over a charged structural horst, the Cornea trend. The examination of these relationships allows the potential discrimination between hydrocarbon leakage from an oil-charged and potentially commercial trap, such as the Cornea eld (which has
chimneys, focussed ALF anomalies, as well as small slicks), as opposed to the leakage of voluminous dry gas at the (non-prospective) edge of effective seal (where chimneys are present but no ALF anomalies or slicks are present). Similarly, SAR data were useful in reducing exploration uncertainty about the presence or absence of a working, liquids petroleum system on the Yampi Shelf; the prominent, edge-of-seal slicks detected by SAR showed that a working system was present. However, these slicks were located well inboard from the charged and prospective Cornea trend. Consequently, the SAR data helped to get us into the right streetthat is to the right play fairway in the right part of the basinbut lacked the spatial resolution to get us into the right housethat to the trap itself. From an exploration viewpoint, it would appear that a hierarchical approach is the most appropriate. Firstly, seaoor features such as pockmarks and any biological build-ups should be identied, and shallow direct hydrocarbon indicators (DHIs), gas chimneys, and HRDZs should be mapped using available 2D and 3D seismic data. These data should be combined with regional charge history modelling (2D and 3D) and structural mapping, and analysis of the distribution of the regional sealing facies. These data should be combined with regional SAR data to identify any areas with liquids seepage, such as the inboard edge of the Yampi Shelf. Combining the mapping of gas chimneys with the SAR-plus the addition of limited additional data, such as the Rock-Eval used in the present study, or for example, uid inclusion charge history analysiscan further rene the exploration strategy. The critical next step is to identify which structures are most likely to contain oil, rather than gas. The key factor in successfully achieving this is, at least in an environment such as the Yampi Shelf, to acquire remote sensing data that can reliably detect the small, i.e. the 550 m long, oil slicks which are forming as a result of limited liquid hydrocarbon seepage through relatively good (with respect to oil) top seals, directly from accumulations. Some of the newer aircraft and satellite platforms appear to offer the potential to be able to map the small, subtle slicks which the available commercial satellite SAR is currently unable to resolve.
5.2. A model for hydrocarbon migration and seepage The observations described in this paper have allowed the construction of a simple model for present day hydrocarbon migration and seepage across the Yampi Shelf (Figs. 25 and 26). In this model, mature, Early Cretaceous, oil-prone source rocks and older (perhaps over-mature) gas-prone source rocks have been, and still are, generating hydrocarbons 50 80 km outboard of the Yampi Shelf (see Fig. 26). This oil
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Fig. 25. Schematic model of hydrocarbon migration, leakage and seepage across the Yampi Shelf, with attendant responses of assorted remote sensing responses. Size of arrows is proportional to amount of migrating or leaking hydrocarbons. Accumulations are developed over or around basement highs; vertical exaggeration is extreme.
and gas is expelled and migrates out (secondary migration) of the basin and onto the shelf, typically at low rates (location A in Fig. 25). Through this region, the seal thickness and capacity is generally good, and hence little seepage takes place. Hydrocarbonsprobably oil initiallyaccumulated in some of the structures (such as Cornea) on the edge of the basin (location B in Fig. 25). However, this oil subsequently began to be partially displaced by gas, resulting in the displacement of signicant volumes of reservoired oil, and eventually gas, marginward. It is likely that this tertiary migration takes place at relatively high rates and at high volumes compared to the secondary migration from the basinal source rocks. Where the regional seal thins signicantly onto topographically prominent tilt blocks and basement highs, the seal capacity is reduced sufciently to allow migrating gas (which has high relative mobility compared to oil) to break through the seal, forming gas chimneys (location C in Fig. 25). These chimneys effectively represent point (and
Fig. 26. Oblique, 3D bathymetric image of the boundary between the Bonaparte and Browse basins, showing schematic hydrocarbon migration pathways and zones of hydrocarbon seepage.
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episodic) sources of seepage and, since the ux of hydrocarbons through these chimneys is relatively small (perhaps due to an effective high resistance to ow), only weak seeps are produced at the seaoor. A minimal amount of oil seeps to the surface in these locations, since the seal capacity is essentially sufcient to contain the heavy, biodegraded oil found in the area. In this region, no SAR response is observed, although a weak sniffer response can be recorded. In contrast, high sample rate tools such as ALF (and related tools) respond strongly to the small oil slicks that are present over and near the eld. Further inboard, the most topographically prominent basement highs are often largely bald of sealing facies (location D in Fig. 25). These bald highs act as hydrocarbon catchments for both secondary and tertiary migration and localise massive gas seepage over a signicant area, thereby producing extensive and strong water column anomalies (Fig. 26). Again, minimal leakage of liquid hydrocarbons takes place in these locations and hence neither the SAR nor the ALF has a signicant response. At the basins inboard edge (location E in Figs. 25 and 26), a combination of migrating heavy oil (secondary migration) and signicant volumes of oil displaced by gas from the more basinward traps such as Cornea (tertiary migration), seep at, or close to, the effective regional zero edge of seal (for oil). It is probable that the heavy oil that characterises this region, such as that recovered from Cornea-1 (Ingram et al., 2000) can migrate much further inboard, through the zone of declining top seal quality, than can the more mobile gas. On the Yampi Shelf, progressive top seal capillary failure towards the basin margin, as a result of an increasingly thin and sandy sealing facies, appears to have produced a largescale, spatial compartmentalisation (capillary sieving) of the seeping hydrocarbons over distances exceeding 100 km (Figs. 25 and 26). This phenomenon has important implications for the exploration of this and similar provinces worldwide. For example, if only limited data were availablejust geochemical sniffer or seismic data for examplesuch seepage fractionation could easily lead to the erroneous conclusion that large parts of the Yampi Shelf are exclusively gas-prone, when in fact a signicant liquid petroleum system is present. The fact that the seeps detected by the sniffer are dry gas would strengthen this erroneous conclusion. This tendency to measure a more gaseous/dry seep composition is related to the relative ease with which gas can migrate to the surface, compared to oil. Since gas is much more mobile, seeps are invariably biased towards a drier gaseous composition, particularly in the case of a two component system such as exists on the Yampi Shelf. In fact, some of the dry gas seep elds on the Yampi Shelf are over 20 km across, which could represent a signicant part, or all, of an exploration permit in some areas.
Conversely, if an explorers permit straddles the basin edge, then the interpretation of SAR data in isolation could also lead to the conclusion that the region is exclusively oil-prone, when in fact the gas ushing of pre-existing oil columns, particularly within low amplitude traps with thin column heights, is a key exploration risk.
6. Summary Dry gas and oil seepage was detected over the Yampi Shelf, though the respective abilities of SAR, WaSi and ALF to detect and characterise this seepage were markedly different. The results of this study demonstrate the value that an integrated, multi-disciplinary, multi-technology approach has in obtaining a cost effective and accurate assessment of the hydrocarbon migration and seepage in regions such as the Yampi Shelf. Clearly, the primary determinant of the location, volume and, composition of hydrocarbon seeps on the Yampi Shelfand probably many other areasis the combination of the geology and the relative seal capacity, rather than simply the nature and volume of the hydrocarbon charge in the sub-surface. The study has demonstrated that the interactions between geology and hydrocarbon charge are predictable and that understanding these interactions is crucial for the reliable interpretation of remote sensing data. In particular, facies-controlled seal capillary failure (i.e. capillary sieving) can potentially produce permitscale spatial compartmentalisation of the composition and volume of seeping hydrocarbons. Nevertheless, these observations suggest that prime areas in which to capture a snap-shot of the present-day migration across a margin are where the regional seal thins over inboard basement highs, or particularly, where the seal itself pinches-out regionally.
Acknowledgements We thank RadarSat International, and especially Shawn Burns, for their great support of this pilot project. The authors wish to thank the operational crew of the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (now Geoscience Australia) vessel RV Rig Seismic, who acquired the geochemical sniffer data used in this study. The seaoor sediment samples analysed were acquired during a survey of the National Facility vessel RV Franklin and we thank its crew for their great efforts. We especially thank Greg Blackburn and Jenny Baird for their work on the YST Study, some of which has been used in this paper. Maria de Farago Botella, formerly
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G.W. OBrien et al. / Marine and Petroleum Geology 22 (2005) 517549 James, N.P., Boreen, T.D., Bone, Y., Feary, D.A., 1994. Holocene carbonate sedimentation on the west Eucla Shelf, Great Australian Bight: a shaved shelf. Sedimentary Geology 90, 161177. Judd, A.G., 2001. Pockmarks in the UK sector of the North Sea. Technical Report TR-002. Technical report produced for Strategic Environmental AssessmentSEA2. Kvenvolden, K.A., Redden, G.D., 1980. Hydrocarbon gas in sediment from the shelf, slope and basin of the Bering Sea. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta 44, 11451150. Mackintosh, J.M., Williams, A.K., 1990. ALF survey of the Great Australian Bight. Basic Data Report. Unpublished BP Report. Martin, B.A., Cawley, S.J., 1991. Onshore and offshore petroleum seepage: contrasting a conventional study in Papua New Guinea and airborne laser uorescing over the Arafura Sea. APEA Journal 31, 333353. OBrien, G.W., Woods, E.P., 1995. Hydrocarbon-related diagenetic zones (HRDZs) in the Vulcan Sub-basin, Timor Sea: recognition and exploration implications. APEA Journal 35, 220252. OBrien, G.W., Blackburn, G., Baird, J., 1996a. Yampi Shelf Tie (YST) Basin Study and Interpretation Report: Yampi Shelf, Browse Basin, Northwestern Australia. AGSO Record 1996; 60. OBrien, G.W., Higgins, R., Symonds, P., Quaife, P., Colwell, J., Blevin, J., 1996b. Basement control on the development of extensional systems in Australias Timor Sea: An example of hybrid hard linked/soft linked faulting? APPEA Journal 36, 161201. OBrien, G.W., Quaife, P., Cowley, R., Morse, M., Wilson, D., Fellows, M., Lisk, M., 1998a. Evaluating trap integrity in the Vulcan Sub-basin, Timor Sea, Australia, using integrated remote sensing geochemical technologies. In: Purcell, P.G., Purcell, R.R. (Eds.), Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA) Western Australian Basins Symposium, vol. 2, pp. 237254. OBrien, G.W., Quaife, P., Burns, S., Morse, M., Lee, J., 1998b. An evaluation of hydrocarbon seepage in Australias Timor Sea (Yampi Shelf) using integrated remote sensing technologies, Proceedings of the SEAPEX Exploration Conference, 23 December 1998, Singapore 1998 pp. 205218. OBrien, G.W., Morse, M., Wilson, D., Quaife, P., Colwell, J., Higgins, R., Foster, C.B., 1999. Margin-scale, basement-involved compartmentalisation of Australias North-West Shelf: a primary control on basin-scale rift, depositional and reactivation histories. APPEA Journal 39, 4063. OBrien, G.W., Lawrence, G., Williams, A., Webster, M., Wilson, D., Burns, 2000. Using integrated remote sensing technologies to evaluate and characterise hydrocarbon migration and charge characteristics on the Yampi Shelf, north-western Australia: a methodological study. APPEA Journal 40 (1), 230255. OBrien, G.W., Lawrence, G., Williams, A., Webster, M., Cowley, R., Wilson, D., Burns, S., 2001. Hydrocarbon migration and seepage in the Timor Sea and Northern Browse basin North-West Shelf, Australia: An Integrated SAR, Geological and Geochemical Study. AGSO Report and GIS. AGSO Record 2001;27. OBrien, G.W., Cowley, R., Quaife, P., Morse, M., 2002a. Characterising hydrocarbon migration and fault-seal integrity in Australias Timor Sea via multiple, integrated remote sensing technologies. In: Schumacher, D., LeSchack, L.A. (Eds.), Applications of geochemistry, magnetics, and remote sensing AAPG Studies in Geology No. 48 and SEG Geophysical References Series No. 11, pp. 393 413. OBrien, G.W., Glenn, K., Lawrence, G., Williams, A., Webster, M., Burns, S., Cowley, R., 2002b. Inuence of hydrocarbon migration and seepage on benthic communities in the Timor Sea, Australia. APPEA Journal 42 (1), 225240. OBrien, G.W., Cowley, R., Lawrence, G.H., Williams, A.K., Edwards, D.S., Burns, S., 2003. Margin to prospect scale controls on uid ow within the Mesozoic and Tertiary sequences, offshore
OBS Operations Manager for Nigel Press and Associates, performed all of the weather compliance research for this paper. A.G. Barrett, M. Lech, D.S. Edwards, C.J. Boreham and K. Glenn publish with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia. This manuscript was reviewed by Dr Jean Whelan (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute) and an unknown reviewer and their comments were extremely helpful during the revision of the manuscript. Geoff OBrien wishes to thank Geoscience Australia, where he was employed when some of this work was undertaken. He also wishes to thank the Australian Petroleum Cooperative Research Centre (APCRC) and especially the APCRC Seals Consortium, and the Australian School of Petroleum (University of Adelaide), whose support allowed this study to be completed.
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