Hydrocarbon Migration

and Its Near-Surface

Expression
Outgrowth of the AAPG Hedberg Research Conference
Vancouver, British Columbia, April 24-28,1994

Edited by

Dietmar Schumacher

Michael A. Abrams

AAPG Memoir 66

Published by
The American Association of Petroleum Geologists
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
Printed in the U.S.A.
Contents
Foreword iii
Utilization of Hydrocarbon Seep Information
—Hollis D. Hedberg
About the Editors viii
Preface ix

Characteristics of Hydrocarbon Seepage

Chapter 1 1
Distribution of Subsurface Hydrocarbon Seepage in Near-Surface Marine Sediments
—Michael A. Abrams

Chapter 2 15
Detecting Fluid Migration in Shallow Sediments: Continental Slope Environment,
Gulf of Mexico
—Michael J. Kaluza and Earl H. Doyle

Chapter 3 27
Remote Sensing Inventory of Active Oil Seeps and Chemosynthetic Communities
in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
—Ian R. MacDonald,}. F. Reilly, Jr., S. E. Best, R. Venkataramaiah, R. Sassen,
N. L. Guinasso, Jr., and }. Amos

Chapter 4 39
Geologic Controls on the Distribution of Chemosynthetic Communities in the Gulf of Mexico
—James F. Reilly, Jr., Ian R. MacDonald, E. K. Biegert, and James M. Brooks

Chapter 5 63
Geochemistry of Hydrocarbon Seepages in Azerbaijan
—I. S. Guliev and A. A. Feizullayev

Hydrocarbon-Induced Alteration
Chapter 6 71
Hydrocarbon-Induced Alteration of Soils and Sediments
—Dietmar Schumacher

Chapter 7 91
Test of Hydrocarbon-Induced Magnetic Patterns in Soils: The Sanitary Landfill as Laboratory
—Brooks B. Ellwood and Burke Burkart

Chapter 8 99
Magnetic Contrasts as a Result of Hydrocarbon Seepage and Migration
—Hans G. Machel

Chapter 9 Ill
Relationship of Near-Surface Magnetic Anomalies to Oil- and Gas-Producing Areas
—Robert S. Foote

Chapter 10 127
Induced Polarization Effects Associated with Hydrocarbon Accumulations: Minimization
and Evaluation of Cultural Influences
—Norman R. Carlson and Kenneth L. Zonge

v
vi Contents

Hydrocarbon Migration Mechanisms and Seepage Models

Chapter 11 139
Hydrocarbon Migration—A View from the Top
—Martin D. Matthews

Chapter 12 157
Comparison of Light Hydrocarbon Microseepage Mechanisms
—Ronald W. Klusman and Mahyoub A. Saaed

Chapter 13 169
Comparison of Seepage and Seal Leakage Rates
—Chris J. Clayton and Paul R. Dando

Chapter 14 173
Molecular Diffusion of Light Hydrocarbons in Sedimentary Rocks and Its Role
in Migration and Dissipation of Natural Gas
—B. M. Krooss and D. Leythaeuser

Chapter 15 185
Ascending Fluid Plumes Above Devonian Pinnacle Reefs: Numerical Modeling and Field
Example from West-Central Alberta, Canada
—B. J. Rostron and J. Toth

Chapter 16 203
Hydrocarbon Flux Variations in Natural and Anthropogenic Seeps
—Victor T. Jones III and Stephen G. Burtell

Interpretive Methods and Analytical Techniques

Chapter 17 223
Understanding Geology as the Key to Using Seepage in Exploration: The Spectrum
of Seepage Styles
—Jane Thrasher, Andrew J. Fleet, Stephen J. Hay, Martin Hovland, and Stephan Duppenbecker

Chapter 18 243
Importance of Sampling Design and Density in Target Recognition
—Martin D. Matthews

Chapter 19 255
Flow of Formation Waters: Likely Cause for Poor Definition of Soil Gas Anomalies
over Oil Fields in East-Central Alberta, Canada
—Stephan Holysh and Jozsef Toth

Chapter 20 279
Thoughts of a Hydrogeologist on Vertical Migration and Near-Surface Geochemical
Exploration for Petroleum
—Jozsef Toth

Chapter 21 285
Research-Derived Insights into Surface Geochemical Hydrocarbon Exploration
—Leigh C. Price

Chapter 22 309
Interpretation of Methane Carbon Isotopes Extracted from Surfidal Marine Sediments
for Detection of Subsurface Hydrocarbons
—Michael A. Abrams
 Contents

Chapter 23 319
A Method for Processing Adsorbed Methane Stable Isotope Data from the Near-Surface
Based on Fractionation
—Dirk Kettel

Chapter 24 337
Postulated Generation of Bacterial Methane from Seepage Petroleum in Sea Floor Sediments
of the Gulf of Mexico
—K. F. M. Thompson

Chapter 25 341
Potential 13C/12C Variations in Bacterial Methane in Assessing Origin
of Environmental Methane
—A. M. Zyakun

Chapter 26 353
Long-Term and Seasonal Trends in Responses of Hydrocarbon-Utilizing Microbes
to Light Hydrocarbons in Shallow Soils
—James Tucker and Daniel Hitzman

Chapter 27 359
Contamination of Shallow Cores: A Common Problem
—Tony Banvise, Steve Hay, and Jane Thrasher

Chapter 28 363
Predicting Oil Properties from Core Huorescence
—Tony Banvise and Steve Hay

Exploration Case Histories

Chapter 29 373
Surface Geochemistry as an Exploration Tool in the South Caribbean
—Jane Thrasher, David Strait, and Ricardo Alvarez Lugo .

Chapter 30 385
Near-Surface Coring in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, Northern Alaska
—N. Piggott and M. A. Abrams

Chapter 31 401
Hydrocarbon Prospecting in the Amazon Rain Forest: Application of Surface Geochemical,
Microbiological, and Remote Sensing Methods
—M. R. Mello, F. T. Goncalves, N. A. Babinski, and F. P. Miranda

Chapter 32 413
Petroleum Geology and Geochemistry of Miocene Source Rocks and Heavy Petroleum
Samples from Huasna Basin, California
—Alan S. Kornacki

Chapter 33 431
Significance of Geochemical Anomalies in Hydrocarbon Exploration:
One Company's Experience
—Robert W. Potter II, Paul A. Harrington, Alan H. Silliman, and James H. Viellenave

Index 441