Fossil Energy
PROGRAMS
Industrial Associates
State Lands Program
 
AREAS OF STUDY
Basin Analysis
Carbonates
Clastics
Fractures
Gas Hydrates
Geophysics
Outcrop
Permian Basin
Reservoir Characterization
Resource Assessment
Salt Tectonics
Structural Geology and Tectonics
 
OTHER PROGRAMS
Geoscience/Environmental
Latin America Research
 
Gas hydrate research at the Bureau focuses on the characterization of deepwater Gulf of Mexico gas-hydrate systems. The primary data used in this research are 4-component ocean-bottom-cable (4-C OBC) seismic data acquired with 4-C seismic sensors positioned on the seafloor in the water depths of 500 to 1000 meters. Bureau researchers use P- and S-wave images and seismic attributes provided by these data to characterize depositional sequences and lithofacies extending from the seafloor to sedimentary depths of a few hundred meters. These 4-C OBC data are also used to estimate the mechanical strength of strata that overlay and confine gas-hydrate accumulations.
Current Studies
Multicomponent and Multifrequency Seismic for Assessment of Fluid-Gas Expulsion Geology and Gas Hydrate Deposits: Gulf of Mexico [Description]
Completed Studies
Characterizing Marine Gas-Hydrate Reservoirs and Determining Mechanical Properties of Marine Gas-Hydrate Strata with Four-Component Ocean-Bottom-Sensor Seismic Data [Description]