Texas Offshore Miocene Project, Task 8

Leakage Pathways

Task 8 involves the identification of potential leakage pathways from CO₂ reservoirs. This is accomplished by acquisition of shallow, high-resolution, 3D seismic datasets using the P-Cable acquisition system. The datasets resolve and help identify 1) shallow faults that approach or intersect the surface and 2) shallow stratigraphy. Both can provide potential pathways for fluids (e.g., naturally-sourced or injected) to seep to the surface.

The P-Cable system shipped from the Bureau of Economic Geology core repository to the R/V Iron Cat in Amelia, LA on July 5, 2012. It was loaded on the R/V "Iron Cat" in the port of Amelia, LA. Note the bright orange-colored paravanes and black and yellow floats strapped to the side of the ship at dock below.

As this was the first deployment of the P-Cable system by the GCCC, one of the most important operational components was the deployment of the paravane doors. These structures extend the cross cable and streamers into required array configuration during operation of the system as shown in the schematic below (Petersen et al., 2010).

The paravane doors deployed successfully during test deployments, shown below, and functioned properly during the rest of the acquisition cruise.

Cruise operations progressed 24 hours per day and 7 days per week from early on July 17 until July 31, 2012. Seismic acquisition occurred from July 20 through early evening July 30. The figure on the left below is an example of raw data gathered over the SLP salt dome, and the figure on the right shows an example of initial processed data. Note the large sub-vertical feature in the center and center-right of the figures; this is a seismic depiction of the SLP salt dome. The vertical scale is in time (seconds). Data processing continues in order to try to resolve and improve data quality.

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