A PROJECT REPORT ON

GAS HYDRATES AND SEISMIC DATA PROCESSING (KG BASIN)

Under the guidance of
DR. KALACHAND SAIN
Submitted by
SOURAV PRIYAM ADHYA
UNIVERSITY ROLL NO : 14121511026
SRFP NO : EPSS567
2nd Year B. Sc. (H), GEOLOGY
PRESIDENCY UNIVERSITY, KOLKATA

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude to Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS-INSA-NASI) for selecting me in
Summer Research Fellowship Programme - 2016 and giving me this opportunity to conduct my internship
at CSIR- National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad.

I would like to thank my guide Dr. Kalachand Sain, FNASc, Senior Principal Scientist & Head, Gas
Hydrates Group, CSIR-NGRI for supervising me and providing necessary supports and inspiration all
throughout the project.

I would like to thank Director, CSIR-NGRI for allowing me to pursue my internship at NGRI.

I would also like to express my thankfulness to Mr. Vivekanad Pandey who has been an integral part in
helping me to complete the my internship.

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Arijit Ray, Associate Professor, Presidency
University, Kolkata for recommending my fellowship to Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of the Processing Lab who have
constantly been clearing my doubts and helping in many ways during the course of my internship.

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Sumer Project entitled “Gas Hydrates and Seismic Data Processing (KG Basin)” is
a record of bonafide work carried out by Mr. Sourav Priyam Adhya, a second year student of B.Sc. (H) in
Geology at Presidency University, Kolkata. He showed keen interest and enthusiasm during the entire
period of work under my guidance and supervision from 3rd June to 1st August, 2016 at Gas Hydrates
Group of CSIR-National Geophysical Research institute, Hyderabad.

Dr. Kalachand Sain, FNASc.

Senior Principal Scientist & Head
Gas Hydrates Group,
CSIR-NGRI,
Hyderabad
Professor, CSIR- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research

Date: 1st August, 2016

Place: Hyderabad

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 DECLARATION

I, Sourav Priyam Adhya, a student of B.Sc. (H) in Geology, Presidency University, Kolkata do hereby
declare that this project report entitled GAS HYDRATES AND SEISMIC DATA PROCESSING (KG BASIN)
is a genuine record of the project work done by me during my stay at CSIR-National Geophysical Research
Institute, Hyderabad under the guidance of Dr. Kalachand Sain, FNASc, CSIR-NGRI, Hyderabad and work
carried out is not presented for the award of any degree or diploma in any university.

SOURAV PRIYAM ADHYA

SRFP ID : EPSS567
B. Sc. (H) in Geology,
Presidency University, Kolkata

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 INDEX
PART 1 ( SEISMIC DATA PROCESSING )

1. ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………….…………..7
2. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………..….…….…………..8
3. DATA PROCESSING………………………………………………………….………..………8
4. A BRIEF HISTORY ON SEISMIC DATA PROCESSING………………………………………..9
5. PROCESSING STEPS
i) Data Loading……………………………………………………………………..….10
ii) Demultiplexing……………………………………………………………………….10
iii) Reformatting…………………………………………………………………………10
iv) Geometry Merging…………………………………………………………………..10
v) Filtering……………………………………………………………………………….11
vi) Trace Editing…………………………………………………………………………11
vii) Muting………………………………………………………………………………...11
viii) Amplitude Recovery………………………………………………………………...11
ix) Static Corrections……………………………………………………………………12
x) Elevation and Weathering Corrections……………………………………………12
xi) Deconvolution………………………………………………………………………..14
xii) CMP Sorting………………………………………………………………………….15
xiii) Velocity Analysis...............................................................................................16
xiv) NMO Correction……………………………………………………………………...19
xv) Stacking……………………………………………………………………………….21
xvi) Migration………………………………………………………………………………21
xvii) Gain……………………………………………………………………………………22
6. SEISMIC DATA PROCESSING OF KG BASIN………………………………………….23
7. PROCESSING STEPS………………………………………………………………….24-36

PART 2 ( GAS HYDRATES )

1. GAS HYDRATES…………………………………………………………………………………37
2. STRUCTURE OF GAS HYDRATES……………………………………………………………...38
3. WHERE ARE GAS HYDRATES FOUND…………………………………………......................39
4. CONDITIONS FOR FORMATION OF GAS HYDRATES………………………………………….39
5. CLASSIFICATION OF GAS HYDRATES………………………………………………………….39
6. GAS HYDRATES INDICATORS…………………………………………………………………..41
7. METHODS OF PRODUCTION OF GAS HYDRATES……………………………………………..43

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 8. GAS HYDRATES CHALLENGES………………………………………………………………....44
9. WHY ALL THE GLOBAL ATTENTION…………………………………………………………….46
10. GLOBAL LOCATION OF GAS HYDRATES……………………………………………………….46
11. INDIA’S CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS GAS HYDRATE EXPLORATION………………………….47
CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………….48

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………….………48

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 ABSTRACT

The computational analysis of a recorded seismic data to infer a sub surface structure and estimate the
distribution of physical properties is known as the seismic data processing. With the help of various
processing steps we can attenuate the unwanted part or noises to obtain subsurface image from data
recorded at the surface. There are 3 major steps included in the seismic data analysis:

1) Data Acquisition deals with energizing the earth using a seismic source and recording the seismic
waves at surface by instruments, called geophones used for land data acquisition or hydrophones used for
marine data acquisition. The seismic waves propagate from the source and carry subsurface information at
the surface data after being reflected, transmitted, refracted from different subsurface interfaces.

2) Data Processing which mainly deals with :

i. Data Loading
ii. Geometry Merging
iii. Band Pass Filtering
iv. Muting
v. Deconvolution
vi. Velocity Analysis
vii. NMO
viii. Stacking
ix. Migration

3) The final step is the Interpretation of the processed data to infer various sub surface properties and
features such as faults, anticlines, basins etc. My work focuses mainly on seismic data processing in the
KG basin where gas hydrates, a future major unconventional energy resources, have been identified by
seismic experiments and recovered by drilling and coring. The project report will consist of application of all
processing modules step-by-step to enhance the signal/noise ratio and produce subsurface image from
surface seismic data. The portion of the raw data beyond requirement are muted, and some of the bad
traces are edited. The process of deconvolution is applied to remove the reverberations and multiples from
the data and this increases the temporal resolution. Application of the Band Pass Filter removes both the
low- and high-frequency noises. Following this, I execute the velocity analysis and NMO correction that
makes hyperbolic reflections to align straights. After stacking or adding them, the strength of the signal gets
enhanced and stacking velocities are obtained as a by-product. This, in turn, provides a subsurface
interval velocity structure, and the stacked section appears similar to the geologic cross section in the
depth/time domain. If the geology of the area is complex and velocities vary strongly, the apparent
positions of reflectors can be brought to the true positions at the subsurface by a process, called migration.
I apply the migration to the stack section to produce a meaningful geological/tectonic sketch of the
subsurface and provide some implications.

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 INTRODUCTION

The discipline of subsurface seismic imaging, or mapping the subsurface using seismic waves, takes a
remote sensing approach to probe the Earth’s interior. It measures ground motion along the surface and in
wellbores, then puts the recorded data through a series of data processing steps to produce seismic
images of the Earth’s interior in terms of variations in seismic velocity and density.

There three steps in seismic Data Analysis which are as follows:

1. Data Acquisition: This is the initial step where an artificial seismic source (such as a dynamite for
land data or air gun for marine data) is used to create seismic waves that energize the earth. The
seismic waves penetrate through the subsurface Earth and gets reflected or refracted wherever
there is a change in impedance (product of seismic velocity and density) between two successive
layers, and recorded at the surface by Geophones (for land data) or hydrophones (for marine data).
2. Data Processing: In this step the raw data recorded in the field is loaded into a computer so that
various processing steps like filtering, muting, deconvolution, NMO correction etc can be applied to
the data so that unwanted noise is reduced and processed data can be easily interpreted.
3. Data Interpretation: This step involves interpretation of the geological features (like faults,
anticlines, basins etc) at some depth from the processed seismic record using methods such as
inversion.

My work focuses mainly on seismic data processing in the KG basin where gas hydrates, a future major
unconventional energy resources, have been identified by seismic experiments and recovered by drilling
and coring. The project report will consist of application of all processing modules step-by-step to enhance
the signal/noise ratio and produce subsurface image from surface seismic data. The portion of the raw data
beyond requirement will be muted, and some of the bad traces will be edited. Then we apply deconvolution
to remove the reverberations and multiples from the data and this will lead to increase the temporal
resolution. Application of the Band Pass Filter will remove both the low- and high-frequency noises.
Following this, I shall execute the velocity analysis and NMO correction that will make hyperbolic reflections
to align straights. After stacking them, the strengths of the signals will be enhanced and stacking velocities
will be obtained as a by-product. This, in turn, will give a subsurface interval velocity structure, and the
stacked section will appear similar to the geologic cross section in depth/time domain. If the geology of the
area is complex and velocities vary strongly, Migration need to be applied that will bring apparent position
of reflectors to the true positions at the subsurface. Thus, it will help geophysicists to produce a typical
geological section of that area and understand its properties.

1.1 DATA PROCESSING

Data Processing involves more or less the following steps:

! Data Loading
! Demultiplexing
! Reformatting
! Geometry Merging
! Filtering

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 ! Trace editing
! Muting
! Amplitude Recovery
! Static Corrections
! Elevation and Weathering Corrections
! Deconvolution
! CMP Sorting
! Velocity Analysis
! NMO Correction
! Stacking
! Migration
! Gain

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEISMIC DATA RECORDING

In 1910, seismic activities were recorded on smoked paper on rotating drums on the Wiechert seismograph
purchased with funding from W.R. Hearst. Several Records still exist from this era. In the early 1970s, data
were recorded in the analog form . At first, data were recorded optically (light on photomicrograph paper).
In the 1950s analog magnetic tape was used. In the former case, seismic data were represented by
continuously “wiggly trace” on photomicrograph paper. In the latter case, data were represented by
continuously varying magnetic intensity.
For the past 40 years or so, seismic data have been recorded digitally. Digital recording means that the
incoming signal is measured at regular time intervals and these measurements, in millivolts (mv) are
recorded on magnetic tapes as binary numbers. Thus, the input continuous signal is output as a set of
numbers or time series. If the frequency content of the signal is consistent with the sampling increment, the
original signal can be correctly reconstructed.

Fig1.1: Sampling and reconstruction of an analog signal

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1.2 PROCESSING STEPS:

1.2.1 DATA LOADING: (refer to page no. 25)

It is the initial step of seismic data processing. First the data is collected from the field and then is loaded
onto a computer that has specific seismic processing software for farther processing.

1.3.2 DEMULTIPLEXING:
The data obtained from the field is recorded in a multiplexed mode using a special format. The most
important formats are SEG-Y and SEG-D. Mathematically, demultiplexing is a concept of transposing a big
matrix so that the columns of the resulting matrix can be read as a seismic traces recorded at different
offset with a common shot point. It is basically conversion of a scan sequential mode to trace sequential
mode.

FIG 1.2: Seismic data are recorded in rows of samples. Demultiplexing involves sorting the data into
columns of samples- all the time samples in one channel followed by those in the next channels.

1.2.3 REFORMATTING:

At this stage, the data are converted to a convenient format that is used throughout processing. This
format is determined by the type of processing system and the individual company. A common format used
in the seismic industry for data exchange is SEG-Y, established by the Society-of Exploration
Geophysicists.

1.2.4. GEOMETRY MERGING:

The processing software merges the field geometry with the seismic data. The raw data does not contain
any information regarding the source and receiver coordinates. Based on survey information for land data
or navigation information for marine data, shot and receiver location for all traces are stored on trace
headers. Every trace of a seismic record has a header where necessary information like the Field File
Identification Number (FFID), trace number, sampling interval, record length, etc. are stored. Also header
information is updated such as shot point number, receiver picket number, CDP number, offset, etc. Once

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the data is merged i.e. shot point number, receiver station number, CDP number, offset, etc. are updated
on the headers, the data is suitable for further processing.

1.2.5 FILTERING: (refer to page no. 25)

The seismic trace obtained from the field contains a lot of unwanted frequencies such as low frequency
noise such as ground roll, and some high frequency ambient noise. Most marine data are contaminated by
swell noise and cable noise. These types of noise carry very low-frequency energy but can be high in
amplitudes. They form linear pattern and vertical streaks on the seismic trace. There are different types of
filters that can be applied like Band Pass, High Pass, Low pass, Butterworth, Notch etc, Band Pass filter
being the most common. Conventionally, the range of frequency for seismic trace ranges from 8 to 80- Hz.
Band-pass filtering means it allows the signal between two frequencies and is performed at various stages
in data processing. It can be performed before deconvolution to suppress remaining ground roll energy and
high frequency ambient noise that otherwise would contaminate the signal autocorrelation. Narrow band-
pass filtering may be necessary before cross correlating traces in a CMP gather with a pilot trace for use in
estimating residual shifts.

1.2.6 TRACE EDITING:

In every survey there are bad shots and bad traces and they, must be removed or repaired from the file.
Bad shots can be shots that triggered the instrument but not the shot itself, or the shots are not recorded at
all. Bad traces can be dead traces (being completely zero), or traces that show polarity reversal due to bad
soldering in the field, noisy traces due to 50 Hz power lines. At sea, there is no way to repeat a shot at a
certain position, as the ship will have to keep moving. On land, shots may be repeated at the same position
such that bad shots can just be removed from the survey. Trace editing is often a tedious and time-
consuming job, but if this is not done properly, the resultant stack can sometimes be awful. Therefore,
noisy traces, traces with transient glitches or mono frequency are deleted and polarity reversals are
corrected.

1.2.7 MUTING: (refer to page no. 26)

Muting is the process of excluding parts of the traces (zeroing out its amplitude) that contains noise or more
noise than the signal. In case of very shallow marine data, guided waves are muted since they travel
horizontally within the water layer and do not contain reflection from the substratum. Muting of noise can
significantly improve the CMP stack.
Muting is of three types:
i) First break muting
ii) NMO- stretch muting
iii) Inner trace muting

1.2.8 AMPLITUDE RECOVERY:

The next step in processing is amplitude recovery. As the wave travels from the shot point (as a point
source) through the different layers it suffers a decay of amplitude due to geometrical spreading or
spherical divergence.
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Hence the amplitude of the seismic wave decreases with time as the radius of spherical wave increases i.e.
the amplitude of seismic wave is inversely proportional to the distance ( A∝1/R) R=V*T, where V= velocity
of the seismic wave in the media and T=two way travel time. Therefore it is necessary to compensate for
amplitude loss during propagation and thus every sample of the seismic trace is multiplied by V*T. This is
called inverse of the decay curve. TAR (True Amplitude Recovery) compensates the loss of amplitude due
to wave front spreading and inelastic attenuation. An exponential gain function may be used for
compensating attenuation losses.
The second method is trace balancing. It involves normalization of the different traces. All absolute values
of traces are summed and compared with a reference value. The difference between the summation and
reference values determines the scaling factor that is multiplied with the whole data.

1.2.9 STATIC CORRECTION:

Static corrections and dynamic corrections need to be applied to the trace so that its interpretation gives a
true representation of the geological structure. Static correction involves a fixed time correction applied to
the entire trace in contrast to dynamic correction that varies as a function of time as in application of NMO
corrections.

1.2.10 ELEVATION AND WEATHERING CORRECTION :

When we record our seismic data in the field, the ideal case would be that there would be no topography at
all and that the shallow subsurface would not influence our resultant section at all. In the situation of
acquisition of marine data it is a near ideal case , but in the case of the land data acquisition the
topography is varied hence the correction needs to be applied. Suppose, if one geophone is placed on the
top of a hill and others are placed at different level then the sound would need extra time to reach the
geophones according to their topography and distance from shot point. So, in order to get the timing right
we would have to apply some time shift to the whole trace. Applying a time shift is called a static
correction. It is called static because it is one time correction for the complete trace, thus all samples will be
shifted with the same constant amount. More specifically, when we correct for static shifts due to
topography, we call it the elevation correction, the elevation referring to some datum level. Besides the
elevation statics, there is another type of statics: the weathering statics. This is caused by some low-
velocity chunk of material right below the geophone. This kind of static shift is classified as a static shift due
to the weathered layer, which is a general term for static shifts due to the top layers of the earth which are
often weathered and irregular. Although in theory, the static shift for both types depends also on angle of
incidence of the reflected waves, in practice a single time shift works often satisfactorily. On land, these two
types of static shifts, elevation and weathering are often determined in a separate refraction survey. This is
done because the data from the seismic reflection survey is not suitable for a good analysis of the shallow
subsurface. The static corrections which are determined via field data, obtained from the refractions in the
reflection data or from a separate refraction survey, are called field statics. The static corrections for
surface topography are the elevation corrections, while corrections for the weathered layer are called
weathering corrections. Variations in the elevation of the surface affect travel times and it is necessary to
correct for such variations as well as for changes in the near-surface Low-Velocity-Layer (LVL). Usually a
reference datum is selected and corrections are calculated so that, in effect, the shot points and geophones
are located on the datum surface, and it is assumed that conditions are uniform and that there is no LVL
material below the datum level. The reference datum is usually horizontal, but where elevation variations
are large, a tilted datum or a floating datum. Many methods exist for correcting near surface effects. These
schemes are usually based on (1) uphole times, (2) refractions from the base of the LVL, or (3) the
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smoothing of reflections.
Here we shall assume that Vw and VH are the velocities in the LVL and in the layer just below it. These are
known, as they can be found from an uphole survey or the refraction first breaks. Assuming that the shot is
placed below the base of the LVL; if this is not true, modifications have to be made in the equation.
Figure below illustrates a method of obtaining the corrections for t0, the shot point arrival time. Ed is the
elevation of the datum, Es is the elevation of the surface at the shot point, Ds the depth of the shot below
the surface and tuh is the uphole time .The deviation of reflection paths from the vertical is usually small
enough that we can regard the paths as vertical. Therefore the time required for the wave to travel from the
source down to the datum is Δts,

Where Δts = (Es – Ds - Ed)/VH

Similarly the time for the wave to travel up from the datum to a geophone on
the surface at B is Δtg where

Δtg = Δts + tuh

The corrections Δt0 for the traveltime for a geophone at the source point is
then

Δt0 = Δts + Δtg

= 2Δts + tuh
= {2(Es-Ds-Ed)}/VH + tuh

Subtraction of Δt0 from the arrival time t0 is equivalent to placing the shot and the shot point geophone
group on the datum plane, thereby eliminating the effect of the low velocity layer if the shot is beneath the
LVL. At times the shot may be so far below the datum plane that Δts will be negative.

Fig1.3: Schematic diagram to illustrate static and elevation correction

Once the weathering corrections have been applied, elevation corrections have to be applied for sources
and detectors. These elevations are determined via surveyors who have determined the coordinates, so
also the elevation, with their instruments.
The value of the total statics (Δt0) depends on the following factors:
1. The perpendicular distance from the source to the datum plane.
2. Surface topography; that is, the perpendicular distance from the geophone to the datum plane.
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3. Velocity variations in the surface layer along the seismic line.
4. Irregularities in thickness of the near-surface layer.
In computing Δt0 it is usually assumed that the reflection ray path in the vicinity of the surface is vertical.

1.2.11 DECONVOLUTION: (refer to page no. 27)

Deconvolution is a process of compressing the basic wavelet in the recorded seismogram, attenuates
reverberations and short period multiples, thus increases temporal resolution and gives an image of
subsurface reflectivity. The process normally is applied before stacking. The different layers of Earth are
composed of layers with different lithology characterized by different seismic velocities and densities.
Therefore the seismic wave propagates with different velocities through each layer. The product of velocity
of the seismic wave at a particular layer and the density of the layer is called Seismic Impedence. The
impedance contrast between adjacent rock layers causes the reflections that are recorded along a surface
profile. The recorded seismogram can be modeled as a convolution of the earth's impulse response with
the seismic wavelet. This wavelet has many components, including source signature, recording filter,
surface reflections, and receiver-array response. The impulse response comprises primary reflections
(reflectivity series) and all possible multiples.
Ideally, deconvolution should compress the wavelet components and eliminate multiples, leaving only the
earth’s reflectivity in the seismic trace. Wavelet compression can be done using an inverse filter as a
deconvolution operator. An inverse filter, when convolved with the seismic wavelet, converts it to a spike.
When applied to a seismogram, the inverse filter should yield the earth’s response..

There are some assumptions that are used to build the forward model for the seismic traces are as follows:

1. The earth is made up of horizontal layers of constant velocity. The source generates a compressional
plane wave that impinges on layer boundaries at normal incidence. Under such circumstances, no shear
waves are generated.

2. The source waveform does not change as it travels in the subsurface i.e. it is stationary. The simple
convolution model does not incorporate non-stationary and this leads to this assumption.

3. The noise component is random and minimum almost zero.

4. The source waveform is known. (For deterministic deconvolution)

5. Reflectivity is a random process. This implies that the seismogram has the characteristic of the seismic
wavelet in that autocorrelations and amplitude spectra are similar. This assumption is the key in
implementing the predictive deconvolution.

6. The seismic wavelet is minimum phase. Therefore, it has a minimum-phase inverse. This assumption is
required by spiking deconvolution.

Deconvolution is of two types:

i) Spiking Deconvolution - This involves compressing a seismic wavelet into a zero lag spike(1,0,0).
ii) Predictive Deconvolution – This involves estimating and removing the predictable parts of a seismic
trace (usually multiples). Predictive deconvolution can also be used to increase resolution by
altering wavelet shape and amplitude spectrum.
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 One of the most important applications of predictive deconvolution is that it helps remodel a signal
that contains primaries and multiples into a signal free from them.

1.2.12 CMP Sorting:

CMP Sorting is an abbreviation for Common Midpoint Sorting. When data is recorded in the field the shots
are recorded sequentially. So by a record we mean all the recordings from the sensors for a single shot
experiment. Normally, the measurement for one source at one receiver location is called a trace, which is a
time series of reflections. It is obvious that for each shot we will order these recordings by increasing offset
(distance of the source from the receiver).

s
Fig1.4: Shot Gather Measurement

In this figure on the left hand side the reflection ray paths from source to the receivers of the seismic waves
are shown. Due to different velocities of different layers, the ray paths are bended according to Snell's law.
For this record one shot consists of the explosion from one charge of the dynamite. The data is stored in
the recording instrument and then put onto a magnetic tape, record by record.
A nice feature about shot gather is to see whether a receiver position has a higher elevation than its
neighbors and thus give an extra time shift in its record. This effect is called 'statics'. Therefore common-
shot gathers are good for detecting geophone statics. In the same way we can see on common receiver
gathers whether a shot was set deeper than the neighboring shot positions, and therefore common receiver
gathers are good for detecting shot statics.

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 Fig1.5: Mid-point definition in between source and receivers

When do we use CMP gathers?

1. For doing velocity analyses
2. For applying NMO and stacking
3. For doing AVO studies
4. For multiple attenuation
5. Most common domain in processing

Fig1.6: CMP CONFIGURATION

1.2.13 VELOCITY ANALYSIS: (refer to page no. 30)

This is one of the most important step in seismic data processing. The primary purpose of velocity

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analysis is to define the proper NMO velocities from primary reflections in a background of noise and
multiples energy.
Need for velocity analysis:
Because of different source receiver offsets of the traces in a CMP or CDP (common depth point) gather,
the arrival times of the reflections from a CDP will be different on each trace, thus giving a hyperbolic
curvature to the reflection events. Before stacking the traces, Normal Move Out (NMO) correction has to be
applied for all traces, to shift the reflection on all traces to a common arrival time. The NMO correction that
accomplishes this alignment defines the correct the stacking velocity (Vstack), which can be mathematically
assumed to be the RMS or root mean square velocity . Thus, for obtaining the the RMS or stacking
velocities, a series of NMO velocities are needed. If the reflections are easily recognizable on seismic
traces then we can determine the RMS velocity from the slope of t2-x2 plot. However, due to noise, there is
difficulty in recognizing some of the reflections and also due to large number of traces it is not possible to
plot these graphs. Instead, a completely automated computer search is done to determine the appropriate
RMS velocity.
If the velocity analysis is done perfectly, the next steps like Stacking (Improvement of S/N ratio),
Appropriate conversion from travel time to depth, Geometric Correction (Migration) can give out the best
results.
Working of the Velocity Analysis :
The seismic reflection by default is a hyperbolic trace. The velocity analysis function helps to flatten the
reflection hyperbola which returns the best result when stacking is applied. This velocity is not always the
real RMS velocity. Thus, we have a difference between stacking velocity and RMS velocity.

•Vstack: The stacking velocity Vstack is defined as that RMS velocity which produces the maximum stacked
amplitude of the reflection event. Since the stacking velocity flattens the reflection events at all traces, the
reflection equation is defined as

t2=t20+x2/V2stack

•Vrms: The actual RMS-velocity of a layer.

For a horizontal layer and small offsets, both velocities are similar. Therefore Values of Vstack for different
reflectors can be used in a similar way to derive interval velocities using the Dix formula.

Vint = square root(V2ntn-V2n-1tn-1/tn-tn-1) [Dix formula]

Where, vn, and vn-1 are the rms velocities at the layer boundaries n and n - 1, respectively; and tn, and tn-1
are the horizon times at these layer boundaries.
When the reflectors are dipping then VStack is not equal to the actual velocity, but equal to the velocity that
results in a similar reflection hyperbola.
There are different ways to determine the velocity:
• (t2-x2)-Analysis.
• Constant velocity panels (CVP).
• Constant velocity stacks (CVS).
• Analysis of velocity spectra.
For all methods, selected CMP gathers are used.

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1) (t2-x2)-Analysis
The (t2-x2)-Analysis is based on the fact, that the Moveout-expression for the square of t and x result in a
linear event. When different values for x and t are plotted, the slope can be used to determine V2, the
square root returns the proper velocity.

s
Fig1.7: Example of t2-x2 analysis

2) CVP - “Constant velocity panels”:

The NMO-correction is applied for a CMP using different constant velocities. The results of the different
velocities are compared and the velocity that results in a flattening of the hyperbolas is the velocity for a
certain reflector.

3) CVS - “Constant velocity stacks”:

Similar to the CVP-method the data is NMO-corrected. This is carried out for several CMP gathers and the
NMO-corrected data is stacked and displayed as a panel for each different stacking velocity. Stacking
velocities are picked directly from the constant velocity stack panel by choosing the velocity that yields the
best stack response at a selected event. CVP and CVS both have the disadvantage that the velocity is
approximated as good as the distance between two test velocities. Both methods can be used for quality
control and for analysis of noisy data.

4) Velocity-Spectrum:
The velocity spectrum is obtained when the stacking results for a range of velocities are plotted in a panel
for each velocity side by side on a plane of velocity versus two-way travel-time. This can be plotted as
traces or as iso-amplitudes. NMO corrections are computed for narrow time windows down the entire trace,
and for a range of velocities, to produce a velocity spectrum. The suitability of each velocity value is
assessed by calculating a form of multi trace correlation, the semblance, between the corrected traces of
the CMP gather. This assesses the power of the stacked reflected wavelet. The semblance values are
contoured, such that contour peaks occur at times corresponding to reflected wavelets, and at velocities

!18
which produce an optimum stacked wavelet. A velocity function defining the increase of velocity with depth
for that CMP is derived by picking the location of the peaks on the velocity spectrum plot. Velocity functions
are derived at regular intervals along a CMP profile to provide stacking velocity values for use in the
dynamic correction of each individual trace. This method is commonly used by interactive software to
determine the velocities.

There are several factors that influence velocity analysis. The accuracy of the velocity analysis is
influenced by different factors:
• Depth of the Reflectors
• Moveout of the Reflection
• Spread length
• Bandwidth of the data
• S/N-Ratio
• Static Corrections
• Dip of the Reflector
• Number of traces
• Muting,
• Time gate length,
• Velocity sampling,
• Choice of coherency measure,
The major objective of velocity analysis is to ascertain the amount of normal moveout that should be
removed to maximize the stacking of events that are considered to be primaries. An auxiliary objective of
velocity analysis is to identify lithology.

1.2.14 NMO (NORMAL MOVEOUT) CORRECTIONS: (refer to page no. 32)

Consider a reflection event on a CMP gather. The difference between the two-way time at a given offset
and the two-way zero-offset time is called normal moveout (NMO). Reflection travel times must be
corrected for NMO prior to summing the traces in the CMP gather along the offset axis. The normal
moveout depends on velocity above the reflector, offset, two-way zero-offset time associated with the
reflection event, dip of the reflector, the source-receiver azimuth with respect to the true-dip direction, and
the degree of complexity of the near-surface and the medium above the reflector.

Fig1.8: The NMO geometry for a single horizontal layer

!19
 Fig1.9: Reflection hyperbolas horizontal alignment Stacking

Principle of NMO-Correction. The Reflections are aligned using the correct velocity, such that the events
become flat. Then all the separate traces are stacked (summed).
The traveltime curve of the reflections for different offset between source and receiver is calculated
using:

t2 = t02 + x2/vstack2
From this formula the NMO-correction can be derived and is given by:

Dt = t 0 - t(x) with t(x) = square root (t02 + x2/vstack2)

The Moveout Δt is the difference in traveltime for a receiver at a distance x from the source and the
traveltime t0 for zero-offset distance.
The NMO-Correction depends on the offset and the velocity. In contrast to the static correction, the
correction along the trace can differ. The NMO-correction is also called a dynamic correction. To obtain a
flattening of the reflections, the velocity must have the correct value. When the velocity is too low, the
reflection is overcorrected; the reflection curves upwards. When the velocity is too high, the reflection is
undercorrected; the reflection curve curves downwards.

Fig1.10: NMO-Correction of a Reflection. (a) Reflection is not corrected; (b) with proper Velocity; (c)Velocity
is too low (d) Velocity is too high Remark: Low velocities have a stronger curvature then high velocities.

!20
1.2.15 STACKING: (refer to page no. 33)

Stacking plays an important role in improving signal-to-noise ratio and imaging quality of seismic data.
However, for low-fold-coverage seismic profiles, the result of conventional stacking is not always
satisfactory. Conventionally stacking is performed by averaging an NMO-corrected data set or migrated
data set. However, this method is optimal only when noise components in all traces are uncorrelated,
normally distributed, stationary, and of equal magnitude. Therefore, different stacking technologies have
been proposed, along with improvements in optimizing weights of seismic traces.

How stacking is done?

Stacking is a data compression of one to two orders of magnitude. The signal to random noise ratio is
increased through an N-fold stack by √N. After stack, data are displayed at the surface location of the
midpoint between source and receiver. When all adjustments to the data have transformed the offset data
into time and phase coincidence with the zero offset trace, a stack trace is used as the approximation to the
zero offset trace. With flat reflectors, the CMP (Common mid Point) is the CDP (Common Depth Point).
With dipping reflectors, the CMP after conventional processing is not the CDP. Any time-shift errors, or
misalignments, remaining in the data will affect the high frequency components more than the low
frequency components upon stacking. Therefore, unless moveout and statics are done very carefully, CMP
stack can act as high cut filter. The high frequencies are desirable for resolution and waveshape character.
In practice, the high frequency content of the stack can be compared to that of the near offset traces in the
CMP gather.

DMO (Dip Moveout Correction) which is an extension of NMO when dips are present improves the quality
of the stack and the usefulness of the stacking velocity field.
The advantage of stacking can be enumerated as-
1. It increases S/N ratio. As during stacking reflection added in phase and noise is added out of phase. It
reduces the amount of processing.
2. CDP stacking helps to differentiate between primary reflection and multiple from each other based on
NMO, as multiple has greater NMO then primaries at the same time on the records. Stacking does not
eliminate multiples but it attenuates or weakens them.

1.2.16 MIGRATION: (refer to page no. 34)

The term migration refers to the movement of the observed events to their true spatial positions. Migration
is an inverse process, in which the recorded waves are propagated back to the corresponding reflector
locations. The purpose of migration is to reconstruct the reflectivity map of the earth from the seismic data
recorded at the surface. The seismic signal recorded by a receiver (geo-phone) is a superstition of seismic
waves originating from all possible direction in the sub-terrain. Thus the recorded events most often are not
from reflectors directly below the receiver but from geological formations far away from the point of
recording. The concept of migration can be summarized in the following terms. In the process of seismic
data acquisition the upward traveling waves are recorded at the surface. In the migration process these
recorded waves are used either as initial conditions or boundary conditions for a wavefield governed by the
wave equation. As a result, these waves are propagated backward and in reverse time, from the surface to
the reflector locations.

The goal of migration is to make the stacked section appear similar to actual geological cross-section in
!21
depth along a seismic traverse. Migration improves seismic interpretation and mapping because the
locations of geological structures, especially faults, are more accurate in migrated seismic data. Proper
migration collapses diffractions from secondary sources such as reflector terminations against faults and
corrects bow ties to form synclines. There are numerous methods of migration, such as dip move out
(DMO), frequency domain, ray-trace and wave equation migration.

The main objectives of migration are:

1) To move the apparent reflection point to true reflection point.
2) To collapse diffraction.
3) To attenuate multiples.
Migrations are of two types:
1) Pre-stack Migration
2) Post-stack Migration

1.2.17 GAIN:

A great many types of gain are used. Among them the more often used are:

1) Programmed gain control (PGC):-A set of multiplier, time pairs is selected by trial and error
2) Automatic gain control (AGC):-AGC functions are determined statistically

I.RMS AGC-IN RMS AGC the multipliers are inversely proportional to RMS values
II. Instantaneous AGC:-The multipliers are inversely proportional to average absolute values in each gate.

3) Exponential gain

!22
 SEISMIC DATA PROCESSING (KG BASIN)

During my two months tenure as a summer research fellow at CSIR- National Geophysical Research
Institute, Hyderabad I had to work with the marine data of the Krishna-Godavari Basin. A series of
different processing steps were applied to the raw data with a view to producing a geologically
meaningful image of the subsurface for interpretation. The software used is Paradigm® FOCUS.
About the Data:

LINE LINE A
DATA TYPE HIGH RESOULUTION MULTICHANNEL SEISMIC DATA
DATA LENGTH 4 SEC
SAMPLING INTERVAL 1 MILLISECOND
NEAR OFFSET 70 METRES
FAR OFFSET 1500 METRES
NO. OF CHANNELS 120
RECEIVER INTERVAL 12.5
SHOT INTERVAL 12.5
SHOT ID -

!23
The Processing steps are as follows:

! 


!24
1.DSIN- This command is used to input raw data from the main server to the user computer.

s
Fig1.12: Input of raw data

2. FILTER- This command is used to apply different kinds of filters like Band Pass, High Pass, Low
Pass, Butterworth, Notch etc. I have used Band Pass (Trapezoidal). In this filter four filtering limits
were are given. Band Pass filter allows all frequencies within the specified limit and cuts the other
frequencies. Two points (F2 and F3) are the two desired high and low frequency parameters while the
other two points (F1 and F4) are the two tapering limits to the filter. The conventional frequency range
for seismic data is 8 to 80 Hz.

F1 F2 F3 F4
5 10 70 80

!25
s

Fig1.13: (left) Trace before application of FILTER; (right) After application of FILTER

4. MUTE- This command is used to pick up points on the seismic trace to form a line so that all
seismic data traces above the line are muted to zero amplitude. Muting helps to remove
undesirable parts of the trace.

!26
 s
Fig1.14: Left section shows trace before muting. Right section shows trace after muting. Green
points show the mutes that have picked, while the red line joins all the green points to form a line
above which the trace will be muted.

5. DECON- This process is done to perform deconvolution on the trace. There are several types of
deconvolution like Adaptive Deconvolution, Predictive Deconvolution, Spiking Deconvolution etc . I
have used predictive deconvolution. 8 points are to be given to perform this action.
TDS- Start time design gate, TDE- End time design gate, TAS- Start time application gate
TAE- End time application gate.

TDS1 TDE1 TDS2 TDE2 TAS1 TAE1 TAS2 TAE2

1000 1700 1200 2000 1343 1730 4000 4000

!27
 !
(a)

!
(b)
Fig1.15: (a) Spectral analysis after DECON; (b) (left) Data before Deconvolution; (right) Data after
Deconvolution

!28
 6. FILTER- Again, a second Band Pass filter with the same parameters has to be applied after
deconvolution.

s
Fig1.16: (left) Unfiltered deconvoluted data ; (right) filtered deconvoluted data

!29
 7. VELDEF- This command is used to pick velocities to perform velocity analysis.

!
(a)

!
(b)
Fig1.17: (a)VELDEF function helps to compute coherency and pick up velocities on the contours.(b) The
RMS velocity section is shown.

!30
!

Fig1.18: Interval Velocity on stacked section

!
Fig1.19: RMS velocity on stacked section

!31
8. NMO- This command is used to apply NMO to the trace. It helps to straighten out all hyperbolic
traces into straight traces.

!
Fig1.20: Trace (left)before application of NMO; (right) After application of NMO

!32
9. STACK- This command is used to apply stacking.

!
Fig1.21: Stacked section

Fig1.21: (left) Trace before application of STACK; (right) After application of STACK

!33
 10. MIGRATE- MIGRATE command is used to apply migration to the stacked data.
A BSR (Bottom Simulating Reflector) is reflection that roughly parallels the seafloor reflection, caused
by the contrast between an overlying gas hydrate layer (having high acoustic velocity) and underlying gas-
saturated sediments (having low acoustic velocity) or occasionally by opal transition. Especially seen in
deep water where sub seafloor sediments are at low temperature but under substantial pressure
The BSR is marked with an arrow and is indicated by an arrow and is identified by:
1. Polarity reversal
2. Mimicking the seafloor
3. Cross-cutting relationship with the surrounding reflector

!
(a)

!34
 BSR

!
(b)

!35
!
(c)

Fig1.22: (a) Migrated section of the seismic trace (b) Interval velocity on migrated section layer (c) RMS
velocity on migrated section layer. BSR is shown with an arrow.

!36
 GAS HYDRATES

Gas hydrates are naturally occurring ice like crystalline form of methane (or other higher hydrocarbon gas
molecules) and water in a cage like structure (clathrate compound). It is estimated that a significant part of
the earth's fossil fuel is stored as gas hydrates. It consists of 99.9% Methane and water, and is found in
shallow sediments of outer continental margins and permafrost regions.

Fig 2.1: Methane Hydrate Cage Burning of Gas Hydrate Clathrate structures

1m3 of Gas Hydrate 164 m3 of Gas 0.8 m3 of Water

!37
As shown above 1 unit volume of gas hydrate releases 164 unit volume of methane gas and 0.8 unit
volume of fresh water at standard temperature and pressure (STP). Gas hydrates have attracted the global
attenuation due to their widespread occurrences, potential as future major energy resource, role in climate
change and submarine geo hazards and geothermal modelling. The worldwide occurrences of gas
hydrates is roughly estimated to be about 1013 metric tones which is approximately double the carbon
content in total fossil fuel (crude oil, Natural Gas and coal) reserves all over the world. Gas Hydrates ranks
above all the other renewable energy resources like wind, solar, wave, hydro, nuclear, hydrogen, biopress,
geothermal, etc. and non-conventional energy resources (gas shale, tight gas shale, coal bed methane,
basin centred gas, gas-hydrates, etc.) because of its cleaner production process. A total volume of ~1900
trillion meter cube of methane gas, stored in the form of gas-hydrates, has been predicted within the vast
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of India. This volume of gas is greater than 1500 times of India’s present
natural gas reserve. Only 10% production from this huge deposit can overcome India’s burgeoning energy
demand for about a century.

2.1. STRUCTURE OF GAS HYDRATES

Structure I Gas Hydrate:

! Crystal-Cubic Lattice
! Can hold only small molecules (5.2 angstroms or less) such as ethane (C2H6) and methane (CH4)
! Biogenic in nature.
Structure II Gas Hydrate:
! Crystal-Diamond Lattice
! May contain larger molecules (5.9-6.9 angstroms) such as propane (C3H3) or isobutene (C4H10)
! Thermogenic in nature.
Structure H Gas Hydrate:
! Crystal-Hexagonal lattices
! Rare
! Able to hold much larger molecules such as iso-pentane.

Fig 2.2: Structures of gas hydrates

!38
 Fig 2.3: Morphology of natural gas hydrate (Blue parts indicate gas hydrates while yellow parts
indicate host rocks)

2.2. WHERE ARE GAS HYDRATES FOUND:

They are found abundantly worldwide in the top few hundred meters of sediment beneath continental
margins at water depths between a few hundred and few thousand feet. They are present to a lesser extent
in the permafrost sediments in the arctic areas.(northern Canada and Russia).

2.3. CONDITIONS OF FORMATIONS OF GAS HYDRATES:

i. Gas hydrates typically form in High Pressure and low temperature environments where sufficient
gas and water are present.
ii. The optimum pressure range is 6-30 Mpa.
iii. The optimum temperature ranges from 10 to 2°C.
iv. Methane concentration should exceed solubility limit for gas hydrate formation.
v. Minimum residual methane concentration of 10ml/L of wet sediment required for formation of gas
hydrate.
vi. Total Organic carbon (TOC) content should be greater than 0.5%.

2.4. CLASSIFICATION OF GAS HYDRATES:

2.4.1. Based on geological setting:

1) OCEANIC/MARINE HYDRATE: They occur in unlithified, geologically weak marine sediments at

about 150- 750m below sea floor. In such marine settings temperature is controlled by the ocean
bottom water temperature and geothermal gradient at any given location and pressure is controlled
!39
 by sea level. In aquatic sediments where water depth exceeds about 300m and bottom water
temperature is nearly 0°C, gas hydrate is found at sea floor to sediments depth up to 1100m with
temperature ranging from 2 to 20°C. Some common examples are Gulf Of Mexico and Caspian
Sea.

Fig 2.4: Gas hydrate stability zone in continental margin

2) PERMAFROST HYDRATE: They occur within strong geological structures. In Permafrost setting,
however temperature gradients are considerably lower than in the ocean. The ambient temperature and the
thickness of the permafrost layer therefore are of significant importance for the stability of the gas hydrate.
In polar continental regions, temperature range from -10 to 20°C.
A typical example of permafrost hydrate is polar region of North America.

Fig 2.5: Gas hydrate stability zone in permafrost region

2.4.2. Based on origin:

Gas hydrates can be classified into two types based on origin - Biogenic and Thermogenic. This is the
source of methane, the most common gas in Gas hydrates.
i) Biogenic methane is generated in-situ by bacterial breakdown of copious organic matter in shallow
sediments where rate of sedimentation is quite high. Structure 1 Gas hydrates are of biogenic
origin. Depth limit of methane hydrate with biogenic origin is about 400-500m. Examples include

!40
 dispersed hydrates in coarse grained rocks are of such origin.
ii) The thermogenic gas is generated by the maturation of kerogen in petroleum-rich province at much
greater depths and higher temperatures, and contains higher molecular weight hydrocarbons.
Structure 2 Gas hydrates are of thermogenic nature. The lower limit water depth for hydrates with
thermogenic origin is about 220m. Examples include massive hydrates associated with faults in fine
grained sediments are of such origin.

Fig 2.6: (a) Stability thickness map of gas hydrates in the continental margin and (b) Phase curve for gas
hydrate stability. (b) The phase diagram of gas-hydrates in which the solid line represents the pure
methane-hydrate phase curve. The dashed line represents the hydro-thermal curve and the dotted solid
line represents the geothermal curve. The figure shows the zone from the seafloor down to a depth up to
few hundred meters where gas-hydrates are stable. The base of the hydrate stability field represents the
phase boundary between the gas-hydrate bearing sediments above and the gas charged or water bearing
sediments below and is associated with the BSR. The thickness of gas hydrates zone depends on the sea
floor temperature, pressure,
existing geothermal gradient, presence of higher molecular weight hydrocarbon and impurities like salts,
carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfides, etc.
2.5. GAS HYDRATE INDICATORS:

1. BSR
Gas hydrate bearing sediments show anomalously high electrical resistivity and high acoustic
velocities. At the base of the gas hydrate stability zone, that marks the contact gas hydrate and free
gas bearing sediments, a distinct drop in acoustic velocity is observed in the acoustic log. The
presence of gas hydrate in sediments is inferred commonly by identifying an anomalous seismic
reflector, known as Bottom Simulating Reflector or BSR.
The BSR is not a lithological interface but a physical boundary between the gas-hydrates bearing
sediments above and free-gas saturated sediments below. Bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs) are
identified from seismic reflection profiles and are conventionally interpreted as indicators for gas
hydrate beneath Sea floor. The BSR is identified based on its characteristic features of (i)opposite
!41
 polarity with respect to the sea floor event (ii) cutting across the dipping strata, (iii) most importantly
mimicking the shape of the sea-bottom, controlled by prevalent thermo-baric conditions.
Temperature is a function of heat-flow and depth.

2. Amplitude Blanking: Blanking is reduction of amplitude of the seismic reflection, which appears to
be caused by presence of gas hydrate.

3. Reflection Strength The reflection strength depends on the contrast of acoustic impedance. The
strong reflection indicates the apparent changes in seismic impedance contrast. As there is high
impedance contrast between gas hydrates and underlying free gas so increase in reflection
strength is a good indicator of gas hydrates.

4. Instantaneous Frequency: The instantaneous frequency is a time or depth derivative of the

instantaneous phase and a measure of the frequency of the waveform at every sample. It is
considered a good tool for lateral seismic character correlation. For the gas zone under gas hydrate
higher frequencies are attenuated. So lower instantaneous frequency is caused by free gas and
high for gas hydrate.

5. P- Wave velocity The direct indicator of gas hydrate is the study of anomalies in P-wave velocity
above and below BSR. Higher velocities should be associated with gas hydrate and lower values
should be associated with free gas.
The bathymetry, sea-floor temperature, total organic carbon(TOC) content, sedimentary thickness,
rate of sedimentation, geothermal gradient ,Q factor are some of the indicators of gas hydrates. The
gas-hydrate stability increases with
a) Increasing water depth
b) Decreasing sea-bottom temperature
c) Decreasing geothermal gradient
The study of attenuation or Q can be used as an indicator of gas hydrate without BSR or even
ascertain whether there exists any relation between BSR and hydrate.

Apart from these, Gas chimneys, Velocity Amplitude Pull Down(VAMPs) and time pull up features.

!42
 Fig 2.7: A showing the variable-density display of part profile of seismic line A.
A strong bottom simulating reflector and enhanced reflections can be identified.

Fig 2.8: Showing high acoustic impedance above the BSR and low below BSR.

2.6. METHODS OF PRODUCTION OF GAS HYDRATES:

The primary methods of production of natural gas from hydrates are:-

1. DEPRESSURIZATION: At fixed temperature, operating at pressures below hydrate formation

pressure.

2. INHIBITIOR INJECTION: Inhibition of the hydrate formation conditions by using chemicals such as
methanol and salts.

3. THERMAL STIMULATION: At fixed pressure, operating at temperatures above the hydrate

!43
 formation temperature. This can be achieved by insulation or heating of the equipment.

4. RECOVERY WITH FLUORINE AND MICROWAVE: This technique deals with the new method for
recovery of gas hydrate; it involves the electromagnetic heating of the gas hydrates using an
electro strip antenna. In this process we have emission of high power Electromagnetic waves of
frequency 2450 MHz which align the molecules according to electric field and whose alteration
causes molecular movement and thus causes melting of gas hydrates which are similar to ice.

Fig 2.9: Different methods of production of Gas Hydrates

2.7. GAS HYDRATES CHALLENGES :

Technical, environmental and economic hurdles have made gas hydrate development a distant goal of the
industry rather than near-term possibility. Recovering methane and economically transporting it, pose a
challenge to technologists and scientists. However, this view is changing with realization that gas hydrates
could be developed with existing conventional oil and gas production Technology.

➢ Economic challenges

It appears however that the complexities and challenges for exploration and production of methane
hydrates from the hostile and difficult marine environment require considerable focused R&D effort in
various fields, for which adequate financial support is lacking. This is perhaps due to the perception that
methane hydrate exploitation will be economically viable only when the price of conventional hydrocarbon
and other fuels rises substantially.
i. The R&D is high cost.
ii. The R&D is high risk.
iii. Science is still new
iv. Occurrences are complex
v. High costs of long pipelines across unstable continental slopes
vi. Economic competitiveness with conventional resources
vii. Hydrates need to be located near existing infrastructure facilities or the cost to prove hydrate
production will be too large.
!44
 ➢ Environmental Challenges

i. Damage to sensitive chemosynthetic communities

ii. The potential connection, between the gas hydrate reservoir and the earth's climate is little
understood and the quantitative contribution of different elements in this complex loop needs to be
established through further research. Lack of understanding between gas hydrate reservoir and the
earth's climate could be an even bigger inhibitor on hydrate exploration than present low oil prices
and lack of funding support for hydrate research.
iii. The possible short and long term impacts of large scale hydrate exploitation on the geological
environment and global climate need to be studied to develop safe standardized procedures for
exploration and production before attempting to exploit this resource.

Fig 2.10: Gas Hydrate Drilling and Production Problems

➢ Technical Challenges

i. Hydrates decompose releasing hydrocarbons as a gas when removed from low temperature/high
pressure environment.

ii. Gas hydrate, flow assurance and system implications- Methane hydrate contains methane in
concentrations up to 164 times its volume. Gas hydrates are solids with densities greater than those of
typical fluid hydrocarbons and this has practical implications for flow assurance and the safety thereof.
However, methane hydrate also can form within pipelines under certain pressure and temperature
conditions, forming a solid or semi-solid mass that can slow or completely block gas flow. While the
problem is particularly serious for producers moving gas from offshore wells to onshore processing
facilities.

iii. Drilling for recovery of methane from the hydrate is a challenging task because of the characteristics
of the hydrates especially, its unstable nature with change in pressure temperature conditions. Hydrates
may dissociate during the process of drilling and initiate a process of uncontrolled gas release and site
subsidence.

!45
2.8. WHY ALL THE GLOBAL ATTENTION?

Large quantities of gas hydrates exist on the world’s continental margins. Methane from gas hydrates may
constitute a future of natural gas. This energy potential is probably the main motivation for many national
gas hydrates programmes Overseas e.g. in Japan, USA, India etc. One unit gas hydrates contains 164
units methane and 0.8 unit water.
Gas hydrates are important for sea floor stability studies, because melting gas hydrate may cause seafloor
landslides. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Methane released from gas hydrates may therefore play
significant role in climate change.
It is important to distinguish between the climate change aspects of methane released from gas hydrates
and those of methane produced from gas hydrates for energy use. By burning methane or using it in fuel
cells ,the methane is converted to co2 just like burning coal or oil, combustion of methane however is more
co2 efficient than that of any other hydrocarbon e.g. twice as efficient as burning coal. Hence using
methane from gas hydrates as an energy resource would be compared to other hydrocarbons, relatively
climate friendly.

2.9. GLOBAL LOCATIONS OF GAS HYDRATES:

Gas Hydrates occur worldwide, but because of their pressure-temperature and Gas volume requirements,
they are restricted to two regions: polar and deep oceanic. In Polar Regions, gas hydrates are normally
associated with permafrost both onshore in continental sediment and offshore in sediment of continental
shelves. In deep oceanic regions, gas hydrates are found in outer continental margins in sediments of
slopes and rises where cold bottom water is present. Samples of gas hydrates have been recovered on
land in the west Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska and 14 oceanic locations, providing irrefutable evidence of
natural gas hydrate occurrence. Deep Ocean drilling has recovered gas hydrates at nine locations. Shallow
sediment coring has also recovered gas hydrates at six locations.

Fig 2.11: Distributions of gas hydrates in the permafrost and outer continental margins of the world

!46
2.10. INDIA'S CONTRIBUTION TO GAS HYDRATE EXPLORATION:

THE INDIAN NATIONAL GAS HYDRATE PROGRAM EXPEDITION (NGHP) was started in 2008 under the
partnership of DGH and USGS. It was an international partnership led by the Directorate General of
Hydrocarbons (DGH) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (Government of India) and the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) .
Upon the occasion of the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Gas Hydrate Conference held February
6-8, 2008 in New Delhi, India, the leadership and participants in the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program
(NGHP) Expedition 01 are pleased to release the results of the first modern, fully integrated gas hydrate
research and exploration program conducted in the offshore of India.

The expedition provided an insight into :

! the distribution and nature of gas hydrate in marine sediments

! the geologic controls on the formation and occurrence of gas hydrate in nature
! the processes that transport gas from source to reservoir
! the effect of gas hydrate on the physical properties of the host sediments
! the microbiology and geochemistry of gas hydrate formation and dissociation
! the calibration of geophysical and other predictive tools to the observed presence and
concentration of gas hydrates.
By looking into seismic data National Geophysical Research Institute has identified gas hydrates in
Saurashtra (S), Kerala Konkan (KK),Kerala Lakshadweep (KL), Cauvery (C), Krishna Godavari (KG),
Mahanadi (MN) and Andaman (AM) basin on the basis of BSR (proxy for gas hydrate). Drilling and coring
have proved the presence gas hydrates in KG, MN and AM basins. Figure shows the distribution of gas
hydrates along Indian continental margin.

Fig 2.12: Gas hydrate stability thickness map along the continental margins of the India, with EEZ boundary. The most
promising zones of gas hydrates occurrences in the Krishna-Godavari (KG); Kerala-Konkan (KK); Mahanadi (Mn); Andaman
(Am) and Saurashtra (S) Offshore are circles/ovals.

!47
 CONCLUSION

Seismic data processing helps a geophysicist to process the raw acquired seismic data from the field, like
noise reduction, static and dynamic corrections, deconvolution etc to ultimately get a processed data that is
error free and can be easily interpreted. The final result of stacking helps one to understand the position of
the Bottom Simulating Reflector (BSR) that helps in identification of Gas Hydrates. The second part of the
report deals with gas hydrates and its importance in present day energy solutions.

REFERENCES

1. OZ YILMAZ - Seismic Data Analysis, Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

2. Milton B. Dobrin, Carl H. Savit - Introduction to Geophysical prospecting, McGRAW-HILL
International Editions.
3. Research papers of Dr. Kalachand Sain, Dr. Maheswar Ojha and Dr. N.K. Thakur.
4. Internet.

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