Publications

SeaSeep surveys are designed to rapidly and efficiently identify offshore frontier basins that have hydrocarbon charge and working petroleum systems. The SeaSeep approach combines traditional exploration techniques with the less traditional tools of high-resolution multibeam sonar and targeted sea-bottom cores. Multibeam (a mapping tool developed by the US defense industry that was declassified in the 1970s and is widely used in the hydrographic survey industry) is an ideal tool for detecting sites of potential seafloor hydrocarbon seepage because the presence of seeprelated biologic communities and authigenic carbonate or gas hydrate alters the acoustic properties, and sometimes the shape, of the seafloor. Over 1000 sq km per day of high resolution multibeam data were acquired in water depths of 400-3000 m as part of the TGS Indonesia Frontier Basins (IndoDeep) multi-client project. Because seafloor seeps can be small, high resolution data combined with accurate core positioning are required. Accurate core placement is accomplished by USBL tracking of the piston cores in real time, allowing the core barrel to be placed on the seafloor within meters of the intended target. Cores are then sub-sampled for detailed geochemical analysis to determine the amount and type of hydrocarbons that may be present. TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company (TGS) has mapped over 400,000 sq km and acquired 1182 cores for geochemical analysis in Indonesia. These data were combined with 2D seismic, gravity, magnetic and heatflow data to identify a basins structural elements, potential hydrocarbon kitchens and leads. By integrating these with the core geochemistry, Black Gold Energy was able to focus on the parts of the survey areas that warranted further exploration effort.