Gas escape features on the Romanian Black Sea shelf – examples from 2D seismic interpretation

Abstract

Gas escape features are a common presence on any young sedimentary basins where large amounts of organic-rich sediments are deposited within a short time. The fast burial process conducts to maturation and carbonization of the sedimentary organic matter by bacterial and, later, by temperature transformations. The Black Sea is one such basin, where numerous shallow gas accumulation and gas escape features were observed and analyzed, ranging from gas hydrates, gas chimneys, flares, and mud volcanos. The study of such geological phenomena is important for identifying present seabed geohazards, and nonetheless for hydrocarbon exploration. Our study integrates newly acquired 2D high-resolution seismic lines, further used to correlate the gas escape features and their relationship with deep-seated faults, such as Peceneaga-Camena, and petroleum system of the Romanian Black Sea Shelf area. Our results show that in the studied area the gas escape features are confined into the Pliocene-Quaternary sequence, hence not related to Peceneaga-Camena Fault or to a deeper thermogenic petroleum system, and most probably, the gas is sourced from the shallower biogenic system.