Tectono-stratigraphic controls on the hydrocarbon leakage in the Malvinas Basin, offshore Argentina passive margin

Scope
Sedimentary basins constitute significant sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in both marine and terrestrial systems. Thermogenic gas leakage is a process recognised in most of sedimentary basins and continental margins worldwide. Nevertheless quantification of these emissions and their variability through geologic time have not been carried out on the western South Atlantic so far. The Malvinas Basin is an excellent natural laboratory to study this process as it is located in an interesting tectonic framework, which comprises both passive margin and compressional domain.
The main goals of the Project are 1) to understand the long-term evolution of the Malvinas Basin, off-shore the Argentine continental margin, 2) to detect the abundance and distribution of hydrocarbon migration/leakage indicators in this basin, and 3) to estimate quantitatively the thermogenic gas generation, migration and sequestration dynamics through geological time since rifting. We intend as well to understand the potential effect of these thermogenic gas emissions on paleo- and present-day climate. These goals will be achieved using seismo-stratigraphic interpretation of a dense grid of 2D seismic reflection profiles provided by our industry partner (fig 1), and integration/ correlation with borehole data, in order to construct a 3D basin-scale geomodel which will be used as input for a high-resolution petroleum system modelling, which will allow the quantification of methane fluxes over geologic time.
The project belongs to the Helmholtz-(University) Young Investigator Group on thermogenic Methane quantification on off-shore basins. Results from this project will be integrated into the Methane on the Move (MOM) project.
 

Contact
Nikolaus Baristeas 
Zahie Anka
Rolando di Primio 

Partners
Petrobras Energia S.A.

Funding bodies
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers