Remote Sensing And Surface Hydrocarbon Leakage

M. D. Matthews; V. T. Jones; D. M. Richers

doi:10.1117/12.943069

1 August 1984 Remote Sensing And Surface Hydrocarbon Leakage

M. D. Matthews, V. T. Jones, D. M. Richers

Proceedings Volume 0481, Recent Advances in Civil Space Remote Sensing; (1984) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.943069
Event: 1984 Technical Symposium East, 1984, Arlington, United States

Abstract

The Geosat oil and gas test site program stimulated interest in the interaction between surface hydrocarbon concentrations and interpretation of remote sensing data. The test case results suggested that lineaments correspond to avenues of preferential hydrocarbon seepage and that this seepage affects vegetation health and populations at Patrick Draw field in Wyoming and potentially at Lost River field, West Virginia. These two areas were selected for additional surface hydrocarbon surveys in order to test these hypotheses. The Patrick Draw study shows that a zone of stressed vegetation, visible on thematic mapper data, definitely coincides with an area of marked leakage of hydrocarbons and that the composition of these gases would predict an intermediate type oil and gas reservoir such as exists in the area. The study further indicates that the leakage is in large part controlled by the presence of fractures/faults recognized as lineaments on the remote sensing images. The Lost River study specifically investigated the possible existence of hydrocarbon leakage causing anomalous populations of maple trees in a climax oak forest. These maples were first recognized by study of thematic mapper simulator data. The soil gas hydrocarbon concentrations are above average in several of the maple anomalies over the field. This supports the inference that the maples are present because they are more tolerant of soil conditions where hydrocarbon seepage is active. The crest of the field has low soil gas magnitudes, but high values occur to the updip eastern edge of the field along a fault/fracture that was detected in the seismic data. The conclusion that preferential pathways of hydrocarbon leakage are recognized in spectral and textural analysis of remote sensing data is supported by other studies and integrated into a suggested exploration/hydrocarbon migration model.

Citation Download Citation

M. D. Matthews, V. T. Jones, and D. M. Richers "Remote Sensing And Surface Hydrocarbon Leakage", Proc. SPIE 0481, Recent Advances in Civil Space Remote Sensing, (1 August 1984); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.943069

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