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During a regional seismic interpretation study of leakage anomalies in the northern North Sea, mounds and zones with a highly chaotic seismic reflection pattern in the Tertiary Hordaland Group were repeatedly observed located above gas chimneys in the Cretaceous succession. The chaotic seismic reflection pattern was interpreted as mobilized sediments. These mud diapirs are large and massive, the largest being 100 km long and 40 km wide. Vertical injections of gas, oil and formation water are interpreted to have triggered the diapirs.On the eastern side of the Viking Graben, another much smaller type of mud diapir was observed. These near-circular mud diapirs are typically 1–3 km in diameter in the horizontal plane. Limited fluid injection from intra-Hordaland Group sands, through sand injection zones, into the upper Hordaland Group is interpreted to have triggered the near-circular diapirs.This observed ‘external’ type of mobilization was generated at shallow burial (<1000 m) and should be discriminated from the more common ‘internal’ type of mud diapirism that is generated in deep basins (>3000 m). The suggested model has implications for the understanding of the palaeofluid system, sand distribution, stratigraphic prediction within the chaotic zone, seismic imaging, and seismic interpretation of the hydrocarbon ‘plumbing’ system.

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Hydrocarbon source rocks contain signifi cant volumes of organic matter, are capable of expelling petroleum when heated, and have produced most of the world's known oil volumes. Recently, source rocks have also become recognized as unconventional economic reservoirs. Here we present a new way of identifying, characterizing, and mapping spatial distributions and variations of thick source rocks (>20 m) that is based on seismic data only. This has a signifi cant impact on the prospect risk assessment of petroleum plays. Rock property studies of organic-rich claystones show that the acoustic impedance (AI), which is the product of compressional velocity and density, decreases nonlinearly with increasing total organic carbon (TOC) percent. Claystones mixed with low-density organic matter (TOC > 3%-4%) have signifi cant lower AI and higher intrinsic anisotropy than otherwise similar nonorganic claystones. This gives the top and base source rock refl ections characteristic negative and positive high amplitudes, respectively, which dim with increasing refl ection angle. In addition, the TOC profi le, which is a smoothed TOC percent curve, infl uences the top and base amplitude responses. An upward-increasing TOC profi le has the highest amplitude at the top, while the opposite asymmetry is observed for downward-increasing TOC profi les. By using seismic data, we therefore can map lateral distribution, thickness, variation in TOC profi les, and, with local well calibration, convert AI data to TOC percent. This approach to mapping source rocks may change the way petroleum systems are evaluated.

We propose a simple acoustic model explaining the main features of gas chimneys. The main elements of the model consist of gas diffusing from a connected fracture network and into the surrounding shale creating an inhomogeneous gas saturation. The gas saturation results in an inhomogeneous fluctuating compressional velocity field that distorts seismic waves. We model the fracture network by a random-walk process constrained by maximum fracture length and angle of the fracture with respect to the vertical. The gas saturation is computed from a simple analytical solution of the diffusion equation, and pressure-wave velocities are locally obtained assuming that mixing of shale and gas occurs on a scale much smaller than seismic wavelengths. Synthetic seismic sections are then computed using the resulting inhomogeneous velocity model and shown to give rise to similar deterioration in data quality as that found in data from real gas chimneys. Also, synthetic common-midpoint (CMP) gathers show the same distorted and attenuated traveltime curves as those obtained from a real data set. The model shows clearly that the features of gas chimneys change with geological time (a model parameter in our approach), the deterioration of seismic waves being smallest just after the creation of the gas chimney. It seems likely that at least some of the features of gas chimneys can be explained by a simple elastic model in combination with gas diffusion from a fracture network.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission.Cover: Inger Sandved Anfinsen. Printed in Norway: AiT e-dit AS, Oslo, 2008. Produced in co-operation with Unipub AS. The thesis is produced by Unipub AS merely in connection with the thesis defence. Kindly direct all inquiries regarding the thesis to the copyright holder or the unit which grants the doctorate. Unipub AS is owned by The University Foundation for Student Life (SiO) III CONCLUSIONS / IMPLICATIONSThis dissertation was motivated by the realization that four concepts, which are too simplistic, are widely assumed in the petroleum industry:First, mechanical compaction and associated disequilibrium compaction are frequently assumed to be the main mechanism for overpressure formation, although data are rarely given to support this assumption. This thesis concludes that neither the North Sea nor the Haltenbanken shales compacted mechanically at moderate to deep burial. Therefore, high overpressures in these rocks were not caused by disequilibrium compaction, but more likely by diagenetic processes that were largely unaffected by fluid pressures. Traditional seismic and log-based pore pressure detection methods in these areas should be expected to result in under-prediction of fluid overpressures because the porosities are not higher in overpressured shales than in normally pressured shales.Second, observations of zods (zones of deteriorated seismic signals; at times termed gas chimneys) are often interpreted as evidence of hydrocarbon leakage. This thesis concludes that the occurrence of zods may identify hydrocarbon leakages and where pressure compartments leak. However, prior to interpreting these zones as hydrocarbon leakage, the interpreter must be aware of the various geological processes and non-geological origins that could cause such velocity variations: (a) hydrocarbon leakage, (b) leakage of water with dissolved gas (that could create an inhomogeneous gas saturation), (c) fault or fracture zones themselves, (d) fluid leakage above fault(s) or fault junction, or (e) data quality issues. As a result, applications of zods in hydrocarbon prospect evaluation should be performed more carefully than what is often seen in the industry today.Third, the consequences of high overpressures are often assumed to be hydrocarbon leakage through the caprock -either because of hydro-fracturing or because high water pressure force oil or gas through membrane seals. This thesis concludes that high overpressures are compatible with hydrocarbon preservation. Vertical water leakage from the apex of a trap may take place while oil and gas are retained by capillary forces within the structure. This result is consistent with the fact that several of the largest oil fields on IV the Norwegian Continental Shelf (Statfjord, Gullfaks, Snorre, Visund, and Kvitebjørn) are highly overpressured and leaky, and yet contain vast amounts of oil and gas.Finally, vertical leakage is often assumed to occu...

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