Abstract
The geometry and architecture of the gas chimneys in the Baltim area have been imaged by 3D seismic techniques, time section, and a variety of attribute extractions, providing us with a high resolution definition of these features. The main indicator for gas chimneys in the seismic is an almost cylindrical-shaped chaotic behavior of seismic signal, due to scattering of seismic energy by diffused gas through the cap rocks above the leaked reservoirs. The origin of gas chimneys has to be related to hydraulic fracturing by gas leaking through faults from deep accumulation where overpressure conditions have been generated by fast burial during the Plio-Pleistocene mega sequence deposition. The petroleum system in Post-Messinian (Plio-Pleistocene) succession generated biogenic gas only, whereas the Pre-Messinian system proved to generate thermogenic gas and oil. The role of gas chimney and associated structures as hydrocarbon migration pathways from the pre-Messinian kitchen section to the Post-Messinian reservoirs is testified by many DHI’s within the Pliocene–Pleistocene reservoirs that are in contact with the boundaries of the gas chimneys.
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The authors are indebted to the Egyptian petroleum authority for its permission on the publication of our laboratory measurements.
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Helal, A.EN., Lala, A.M.S., Salah Salah Ahmed, A. et al. The impact of gas chimneys on the reservoir characteristics, offshore Nile Delta, Egypt. Arab J Geosci 8, 7929–7939 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-1816-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-1816-5