From Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin (www.beg.utexas.edu).
For more information, please contact the author.

Bureau Seminar, February 22, 2013

High resolution 3D marine seismic acquisition on the inner Texas shelf:
P-Cable capabilities and applications

Link to streaming video: available 02.22.2013 at 8:55am

Dr. "Tip" Meckel
Research Associate
Bureau of Economic Geology
The University of Texas at Austin

In July 2012 the first high resolution 3D seismic survey in the Gulf of Mexico was acquired using the new P-Cable system. The 12-streamer, 96 channel, and 2 GI-source (~150 Hz) array was designed to provide 4-fold 6.25 m binned data attempting meter-scale resolution to stratigraphic depths up to ~2000 m. During 12 days approximately 60 km2 were shot in an area offshore southern Galveston Island, adjacent to and including portions of the San Luis Pass shallow salt dome. This equipment and survey was funded through DOE-NETL's carbon sequestration research program and the Texas General Land Office (GLO) as part of a multi-year effort to characterize potential CO2 storage sites in the near-offshore. Survey goals were to understand geologic seal extents and potential fluid migration pathways by imaging subsurface stratigraphy and structure in the overburden above a deeper Miocene-age CO2 storage prospect. The storage prospect occurs in a non-productive setting with associated nearby historical gas production, suggesting that understanding of prior fluid systems may be crucial for anticipating long-term storage integrity. The results of this initial survey offer exciting insights into a relatively under-targeted geologic interval that links shallow and deep fluid systems, as well as operational experience critical for improving data acquisition for future surveys.