Free gas accumulations in basal shear zones of mass-transport deposits (Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea): An important geohazard on continental slope basins

Qiliang, Sun, Alves, Tiago ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2765-3760, Xie, Xinong, He, Jiaxiong, Li, Wei and Ni, Xianglong 2017. Free gas accumulations in basal shear zones of mass-transport deposits (Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea): An important geohazard on continental slope basins. Marine and Petroleum Geology 81 , pp. 17-32. 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2016.12.029

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Abstract

Free gas is an important trigger of instability on continental slopes, and resulting mass-wasting strata can potentially form competent seals to hydrocarbon accumulations. This work uses two high-quality 3D seismic volumes to investigate fluid accumulations at the base of mass-transport deposits in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea. In parallel, IODP/ODP borehole data are used to document the petrophysical character of mass-transport deposits formed in similar continental-slope environments to the South China Sea. The interpreted data show gas accumulations as comprising enhanced seismic reflections that are discordant, or vertically stacked, below mass-transport deposits with chaotic seismic facies. Gas was accumulated in basal shear zones of mass-transport deposits in response to differences in capillary pressure and porosity. Free gas in Zone A covers an area of at least 18 km2. In Zone B, the free gas is sub-circular in plan view and covers an area of 30.58 km2 for a volume of sediment approaching 1.5 km3. This work is important as it shows that vertical migration of gas is not significant in mass-transport deposits from the Pearl River Mouth Basin, but up-dip migration along their basal shear zones is suggested in multiple locations. As a result, free gas can pinch-out laterally to extend 1–2 km beyond these same basal shear zones. As a corollary, we show that free gas accumulations below mass-transport deposits comprise an important geohazard and should be taken into account when drilling continental-slope successions in both the South China Sea and continental margins recording important mass wasting. Strata charged with free gas form weak layers, hinting at a novel trigger of retrogressive slope failures on continental slopes worldwide.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Earth and Environmental Sciences
Subjects:	Q Science > QE Geology
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0264-8172
Funders:	China Scholarship Council
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	31 March 2017
Date of Acceptance:	30 December 2016
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2023 04:09
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/96470

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