Tar ball frequency data and analytical results from a long-term beach monitoring program

Following the spill of fuel oils from the New Carissa in February 1999, approximately 300 km of beaches on the Pacific coast of North America were surveyed. A long-term observation program focused on the documentation of stranded tar balls in the vicinity of the spill site. Systematic beach surveys which were conducted over the period March 1999 to April 2001 and semi-logarithmic scale, time-series plots proved the most useful format for identifying trends. Beach monitoring continued through to August 2001. by which time 212 tar balls had been analyzed by GC/MS for their chemical characteristics. The samples of tar balls collected between February 1999 and August 2001 were qualitatively compared with New Carissa source oils (NCSO) and 101 (48%) were not consistent with NSCO. The presence of tar balls that are not related to an incident can confound attempts to define cleanup or endpoint criteria and to assess possible injury to natural resources.     

坪北油田延长组长6油组储层层内非均质性研究

在坪北油田应用岩心观察、岩心分析化验资料、测井解释成果、测试及开发动态等方面的资料分析长6储层的非均质性,重点解剖层内非均质性特点,总结了正韵律,反韵律,复合韵律和交互韵律4种类型的层内非均质性。夹层分布较广泛,加剧了层间非均质性。     

黔中降起的油气勘探壁垒——兼论海相碳酸盐岩烃源岩

黔中隆起在地质构造上属于扬子地块的滇黔隆褶带．南华纪晚期初现雏形，震旦纪—奥陶纪为水下隆起，燕山运动使其整体抬高，喜马拉雅运动时急剧隆升，构造地貌长期相对隆起。地表油苗油样分析结果显示，在红外吸收谱图中缩合芳烃结构及含氧基团吸收明显，有机质热成熟度高，且遭受了氧化蚀变：震旦系以上地层大量暴露，地表水溶蚀下渗深度在黔西南地区可达3000-4000m；作为长期存在的古隆起，经历了多次抬升，直至挽近仍处于严重剥蚀阶段。地腹可能存在酸性岩浆热源使有机质过度热演化、保存条件不佳以及缺少勘探目的层，是黔中隆起油气勘探的三大壁垒。兼谈了碳酸盐岩烃源岩问题．认为形成大油气田的烃源岩主要是泥质岩系，“碳酸盐岩烃源岩”只是从属性的．分布在泥质烃源岩系的边缘或局部范围。     

基于Hyperion影像的涩北气田油气信息提取

 对柴达木地区涩北气田地质地理环境下的蚀变矿物进行分析，结合卫星高光谱遥感数据Hyperion的图谱，对已知气田区与背景区光谱特征进行相关分析，确定了932.64~1 346.25 nm与2 002.06~2 385.5 nm为油气信息识别的有利波长范围； 利用光谱角制图（SAM）技术提取了涩北气田油气的空间分布信息和台吉乃尔含气构造等远景区，为高光谱遥感油气勘探提供了有效技术方法与途径。     

安哥拉下刚果盆地吉拉索尔深水油田

吉拉索尔油田位于西非安哥拉17号深水区块,水深1200～1400m,距安哥拉海岸150km。1996年发现,2001年产油,是安哥拉投入开发的第一个深水油田。油田面积约140km2,地质储量约为15.5×108bbl,可采储量约7.25×108bbl,为轻质油。油田所在的下刚果盆地主要经历了裂谷期、过渡期和热沉降期三个阶段的构造演化,相应沉积了裂谷期陆相地层、过渡期蒸发岩层和热沉降期海相地层。主要烃源岩为下白垩统Bucomazi组湖相页岩,有机质丰度高,类型好,成熟度适中,为很好的烃源岩。盆地深水区主要储层为上渐新统—中新统河道充填浊积砂岩复合体,砂岩固结差,物性良好。吉拉索尔油田主要由几个河道浊积砂岩复合体叠置组成,其中夹几个薄层席状砂岩,复合体之间被海相泥页岩分隔。上覆第三系泥岩为其主要盖层。     

塔克拉玛干沙漠石油公路沿线风沙活动的气候环境

塔克拉玛干沙漠石油公路沿线风沙活动是由塔木盆地内热能释放与冷空气入侵相互作用的结果。冷期,盆地内冷高压逆温作用较强,地面热能不足,使得风力和风沙活动强度弱;暖期,盆地内热源剧增,每当热能源饱和遇到冷空气入侵诱导,导致了强风及强风沙活动天气。可见,区内风沙活动及风成景观的塑造过程,主要是在暖干期进行的。     

Seismic amplifications from offshore to shore

The objective of this study is to determine numerical estimations of seismic amplifications of waves traveling from offshore to shore considering the effect of sea floor configurations. According to the Boundary Element Method, boundary elements were used to irradiate waves and density force can be determined for each element. From this hypothesis, Huygens’ Principle is implemented since diffracted waves are constructed at the boundary from which they are radiated and this is equivalent to Somigliana's theorem. Application of boundary conditions leads to determine a system of integral equations of Fredholm type of second kind, which is solved by the Gaussian method. Various numerical models were analyzed, a first one was used to validate the proposed formulation and some other models were used to show various ideal sea floor configurations to estimate seismic amplifications. Once the formulation was validated, basic slope configurations were studied for estimating spectra of seismic amplifications for various sea floor materials. In general terms, compressional waves (P-waves) can produce seismic amplifications of the incident wave in the order of 2–5. On the other hand, distortional waves (S-waves) can produce amplifications up to 5.5 times the incident wave. A relevant finding is that the highest seismic amplifications due to an offshore earthquake are always located near the shore-line and not offshore despite the seafloor configuration.     

Oil migration driven by exhumation of the Canol Formation oil shale: A new conceptual model for the Norman Wells oil field,northwestern Canada

Thermal history, petroleum system, structural, and tectonic constraints are reviewed and integrated in order to derive a new conceptual model for the Norman Wells oil field, and a new play type for tectonically active foreland regions. The thermal history recorded by Devonian rocks suggests that source rocks experienced peak thermal conditions in the Triassic–Jurassic, during which time oil was likely generated. After initial oil generation and expulsion, the Canol Formation oil shale retained a certain fraction of hydrocarbons. The shallow reservoir (650–350 m) is a Devonian carbonate bank overlain by the Canol Formation and resides within a hanging wall block of the Norman Range thrust fault. Both reservoir and source rocks are naturally fractured and have produced high API non-biodegraded oil. Thrust faults in the region formed after the Paleocene, and a structural cross-section of the field shows that the source and reservoir rocks at Norman Wells have been exhumed by over 1 km since then.The key proposition of the exhumation model is that as Canol Formation rocks underwent thrust-driven exhumation, they crossed a ductile–brittle transition zone and dip-oriented fractures formed sympathetic to the thrust fault. The combination of pore overpressure and new dip-directed subvertical fractures liberated oil from the Canol Formation and allowed for up-dip oil migration. Reservoir rocks were similarly fractured and improved permeability enhanced charging and pooling of oil. GPS and seismicity data indicate that strain transfer across the northern Cordillera is a response to accretion of the Yakutat terrane along the northern Pacific margin of North America, which is also the probable driving force for foreland shortening and rock exhumation at Norman Wells.     

Towards an operational use of space imagery for oil pollution monitoring in the Mediterranean basin: a demonstration in the Adriatic Sea

Studies of operational pollution carried out by European commission - Joint Research Centre in the Mediterranean Sea for the years 1999-2004 are briefly introduced. The specific analysis of the Adriatic Sea for the same period demonstrates that this area has been characterized by a relevant number of illegal discharges from ships. After setting the historical background of the project AESOP (aerial and satellite surveillance of operational pollution in the Adriatic Sea), the content, partners and aim of the project are presented. Finally, the results of the first phase of the AESOP project are presented. The results seem very encouraging. For the first time in the Adriatic, real time detection of oil spills in satellite images and an immediate verification by the Coast Guard has been undertaken. An exploratory activity has also been carried out in collaboration with the University of Ljubljana to use automatic information system (AIS) to identify the ships detected in the satellite images.     

Beach tar accumulation, transport mechanisms, and sources of variability at Coal Oil Point, California

A new field method for tar quantification was used at Coal Oil Point (COP), California to study the mechanisms transporting oil/tar from the nearby COP natural marine hydrocarbon seep field. This method segregates tar pieces into six size classes and assigns them an average mass based on laboratory or direct field measurements. Tar accumulation on the 19,927m(2) survey area was well resolved spatially by recording tar mass along twelve transects segmented into 4-m(2) blocks and then integrating over the survey area. A seasonal trend was apparent in total tar in which summer accumulations were an order of magnitude higher than winter accumulations. Based on multiple regression analyses between environmental data and tar accumulation, 34% of tar variability is explained by a combination of onshore advection via wind and low swell height inhibiting slick dispersion.