3D HIGH RESOLUTION SURVEY OF NATURAL SEEPS IN THE CAMPECHE SOUND

摘要

In order to define the zones at risk by the shallow gas and natural seeps of hydrocarbons in the Campeche Sound, a 3D geophysical study of 4 areas has been carried out in the region of the Cantarell oil field. The results of this high resolution survey were correlated with previous explorations and it was possible to define the migration route and evolution of the shallow gas accumulations. The volume increase of the accumulations detected can not be explained by the lack of precision of the instruments and is more likely connected to the exploitation of the reservoir. The faults that transport the hydrocarbons from the reservoir to shallow strata define an area that contains several important platforms likely to be affected by the gas migration process. This geophysical survey was also used to define the location of three geotechnical borings for studying the degradation on the properties of the soils due to the presence of hydrocarbons that support the platforms.