Sun, Q, Jackson, CAL, Magee, C orcid.org/0000-0001-9836-2365 et al. (1 more author) (2020) Deeply buried ancient volcanoes control hydrocarbon migration in the South China Sea. Basin Research, 32 (1). pp. 146-162. ISSN 0950-091X
Abstract
Seismic reflection data image now‐buried and inactive volcanoes, both onshore and along the submarine portions of continental margins. However, the impact that these volcanoes have on later, post‐eruption fluid flow events (e.g., hydrocarbon migration and accumulation) is poorly understood. Determining how buried volcanoes and their underlying plumbing systems influence subsurface fluid or gas flow, or form traps for hydrocarbon accumulations, is critical to de‐risk hydrocarbon exploration and production. Here, we focus on evaluating how buried volcanoes affect the bulk permeability of hydrocarbon seals, and channel and focus hydrocarbons. We use high‐resolution 3D seismic reflection and borehole data from the northern South China Sea to show how ca. <10 km wide, ca. <590 m high Miocene volcanoes, buried several kilometres (ca. 1.9 km) below the seabed and fed by a sub‐volcanic plumbing system that exploited rift‐related faults: (i) acted as long‐lived migration pathways, and perhaps reservoirs, for hydrocarbons generated from even more deeply buried (ca. 8–10 km) source rocks; and (ii) instigated differential compaction and doming of the overburden during subsequent burial, producing extensional faults that breached regional seal rocks. Considering that volcanism and related deformation are both common on many magma‐rich passive margins, the interplay between the magmatic products and hydrocarbon migration documented here may be more common than currently thought. Our results demonstrate that now‐buried and inactive volcanoes can locally degrade hydrocarbon reservoir seals and control the migration of hydrocarbon‐rich fluids and gas. These fluids and gases can migrate into and be stored in shallower reservoirs, where they may then represent geohazards to drilling and impact slope stability.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 The Authors. Basin Research © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers and International Association of Sedimentologists. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Sun, Q, Jackson, CAL, Magee, C, Xie, X. Deeply buried ancient volcanoes control hydrocarbon migration in the South China Sea. Basin Res. 2020; 32: 146– 162. https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12372, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12372. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | fault; hydrocarbon; migration; seal; South China Sea; volcano |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Inst of Geophysics and Tectonics (IGT) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 15 May 2019 12:12 |
Last Modified: | 16 May 2020 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/bre.12372 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:146098 |