THERMOGENIC PETROLEUM POTENTIAL OF THE NANKAI SUBDUCTION ZONE, OFFSHORE SW JAPAN

In the Kumano forearc basin, offshore SW Japan, the potential occurrence of hydrocarbons has been inferred from both geophysical surveys which point to the presence of natural gas hydrates, and geochemical analyses of gas samples recovered from boreholes and submarine mud volcanoes. The forearc basi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of petroleum geology 2019-10, Vol.42 (4), p.417-434
Main Authors: Shiraishi, K., Yamada, Y., Nibe, T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accretion
accretionary prism
Anomalies
Basins
biogenic gas
Boreholes
Ecological succession
Forearc basins
Fractures
Gas hydrates
Geological time
Geophysical surveys
Hydrates
Hydrocarbons
Identification
Japan
Kumano forearc basin
Mud
Mud volcanoes
multi‐channel seismic
Nankai Trough
Natural gas
ocean‐bottom seismograph
Offshore
Oil and gas exploration
Petroleum
Petroleum hydrocarbons
Plate boundaries
plate subduction
Polls & surveys
Reflection
Seismic data
seismic reflection imaging
Seismographs
Subduction
Subduction zones
Surveying
thermogenic hydrocarbons
Volcanoes
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Summary:In the Kumano forearc basin, offshore SW Japan, the potential occurrence of hydrocarbons has been inferred from both geophysical surveys which point to the presence of natural gas hydrates, and geochemical analyses of gas samples recovered from boreholes and submarine mud volcanoes. The forearc basin is located in the inner part of the Nankai Trough where the Philippine Sea plate is subducting northwards beneath SW Japan. The basin succession unconformably overlies a deformed accretionary prism complex. Hydrocarbons with both microbial and thermogenic origins have been recorded in the Kumano Basin, but the thermogenic petroleum potential is poorly constrained because the regional‐scale geological architecture of the Nankai subduction zone is not well understood. In this paper, the regional‐scale petroleum potential of the Nankai Trough is investigated based on the geological interpretation of new seismic reflection images. The images were derived from legacy seismic survey data using advanced processing techniques such as reverse time migration, which make use of both primary and multiple reflections in wide‐angle seismic data collected with ocean‐bottom seismographs. In the study area, a seaward‐dipping reflector was identified which terminates at the plate boundary décollement and which is interpreted as part of the boundary between previously‐identified older (>14 Ma) and younger (
ISSN:0141-6421
1747-5457
DOI:10.1111/jpg.12744