Research paperGeologic implications of gas hydrates in the offshore of India: Krishna–Godavari Basin, Mahanadi Basin, Andaman Sea, Kerala–Konkan Basin
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Editor's note
This report is part two of a two-report series that summarizes the results of the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 (NGHP-01). This report (Kumar et al., 2014) in this series reviews the occurrence and geologic controls on gas hydrates in the Krishna–Godavari Basin, the Mahanadi Basin, the Andaman Sea, and the Kerala–Konkan Basin, while the first report in this series summarizes the overall operational and scientific accomplishments of NGHP-01 (Collett et al., 2014).
Krishna–Godavari Basin
The Krishna–Godavari Basin is a proven petroliferous basin along the east coast of India. The onshore portion of the basin covers an area of approximately 15,000 km2, while the offshore portion covers an area of at least 25,000 km2 extending seaward to the 1000 m isobath. The basin contains sediments about 5-km thick with several depositional sequences, ranging in age from Late Carboniferous to Pleistocene (Curray et al., 1982).
The eastern continental margin of India formed as the result of
Site NGHP-01-02
Site NGHP-01-02 (Prospectus Site KGGH03-A) is located at the far southwestern margin of the Krishna–Godavari Basin study area (Fig. 1). The water depth at this site is ∼1058 m. This site was not cored; only LWD data were obtained from two holes. The seismic-imaged stratigraphy at this site is characterized by a ridge with steeply dipping stratigraphy (Fig. 2). The depth of the seismic-identified bottom-simulating reflector (BSR) at this site was estimated at ∼171 mbsf.
The LWD-acquired
NGHP-01 scientific reporting
NGHP-01 provided the data and information needed to characterize the lithostratigraphic controls on the occurrence of gas hydrate, physical properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediments, interstitial water and gas geochemistry, and microbiology of the gas hydrate systems in the Krishna–Godavari Basin, the Mahanadi Basin, the Andaman Sea, and the Kerala–Konkan Basin. NGHP-01 also yielded important information on the well log and geophysical properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediments in each basin
Gas hydrate petroleum systems analysis
In recent years, significant progress has been made in addressing key issues on the formation, occurrence, and stability of gas hydrate in nature. The concept of a gas hydrate petroleum system, similar to the concept that guides conventional oil and gas exploration, has been developed to systematically assess the geologic controls on the occurrence of gas hydrate in nature (Collett et al., 2009). In a gas hydrate petroleum system, the individual factors that contribute to the formation of gas
Conclusion
The Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 (NGHP-01) was designed to study the gas hydrate occurrences off the Indian Peninsula and along the Andaman convergent margin with special emphasis on understanding the geologic and geochemical controls on the occurrence of gas hydrate. Drilling of both a passive and convergent continental margin on the same expedition also allowed for the comparison of the geologic factors believed to control the occurrence of gas hydrate in these two
Acknowledgment
The editors wish to thank those that contributed to the success of the National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 (NGHP-01). NGHP-01 was planned and managed through collaboration between the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (India), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Consortium for Scientific Methane Hydrate Investigations (CSMHI) led by Overseas Drilling Limited (ODL) and FUGRO McClelland Marine Geosciences (FUGRO). The platform
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