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Forms,
Mechanisms, and Rate of Hydrocarbon Migration
in Rapidly Subsiding Basins
By
Ibrahim S. Guliev
Geology Institute, Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences
Among the structures of the earth’s crust, the rapidly subsiding basins (RSB) occupy a special place. Their peculiar features are as follows: domination of young terrigenous deposits in the section; contrast dynamic regime; high sedimentation rate; high reservoir and pore pressures; disconsolidated zones; and high specific density of hydrocarbons (HC).
Active
migration
of HC and existence of natural gas and oil seepages are typical RSB
and they are fixed:
-
In the atmosphere by anomalies of methane at different altitudes and contrast gradients of HC;
-
In the surface of the land, traces of
migration
are fixed by geochemical anomalies of HC and different elements of the soil and plants;
-
In the hydrosphere,
migration
can be studied by
constant
and dotted measurement;
-
In the bottom sediments and in the sedimentary cover,
migration
of HC is fixed by acoustic anomalies and typical morphologic forms of biota communities.
Assessment
of HC migration
rate is up to the experiment requirements – from the maximum
rate during eruptions of mud volcanoes 10-2 m/s to 10-10
m/s in microseepage.
The
theoretical base for understanding the processes of migration
is a provision
about phase and mechanical instability in sedimentary series associated with the
generation of