Offshore Hydrocarbon Seepage – State of the Science: What We Know, What We Don’t Know, and Where the Research is Going
Presenter
Jayme McBee
Geomechanical Services Director, TDI-Brooks International
Abstract
Offshore hydrocarbon seepage is a well-known phenomenon, and the identification of their occurrence has been successfully employed use as an exploration technique for decades. Over the course of this time, various academic and industry-funded exploration research conducted has led to a better understanding of distinctive types of hydrocarbon seepage, the variety of tectonic/structural regimes in which seepage occurs, and the utility of gas and extract analyses for source typing. Many questions remain unanswered, however. Recent research seeks to provide insight into a variety of topics, including the: global distribution of seepage, complex behavior of hydrocarbons in shallow sediments, and characterization of seepage attributed to hydrate dissociation
