OPERATIVE ASSESSMENT OF HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL OF AN AREA IN ZOHR GAS FIELD REGION ON THE EGYPT OFFSHORE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA BY THE FREQUENCY-RESONANCE METHOD OF REMOTE SENSING DATA PROCESSING AND INTERPRETATION

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to analyze the application of the mobile, direct-prospecting method of remote sensing data frequency-resonance processing for operative assessment of petroleum potential of the individual structures and objects within the offshore in the region of the drilled wells in the Mediterranean Sea and within four major search blocks in the Barents Sea. Design/methodology/approach. Experiments were carried out using the mobile technology of frequency-resonance processing and interpretation of remote sensing data, which is a “direct” method of oil and gas exploration and operates within the “substantial” paradigm of geophysical investigations [5]. The technologies and methods, developed on the principles of this paradigm, are aimed at the searching for a particular (desired in each case) substance ? oil, gas, condensate, gold, zinc, uranium, etc. Findings. In the Mediterranean Sea, in the region of the Zohr large gas field discovered by the Eni Company, three anomalous zones of the “oil and gas deposit” type have been detected and mapped within an investigated area of 2200 km2. The area of the detected anomalies over the Zohr gas field is 105 km2. The total area of all anomalies is 251 km2, the percentage for the area of the surveyed site being 251/2200 = 11,41 %. Three search intervals for hydrocarbon deposits have also been found within the area of the gas field: 3720?4180 m, 5070?5620 m and 6500?6570 m. Three search intervals were also allocated within the other two anomalies. One of them was mapped on the Cyprus offshore. In the Norwegian part of the former “gray” zone of the Barents Sea, the remote sensing data were processed within four search sites covering 39 742 km2, with the area of 3D seismic work within them being 13 956 km2. Two anomalous zones of the “gas deposit” type and 13 anomalous zones of the “gas + condensate reservoir” type with total area of 1613 km2 were detected and mapped within the investigated areas. Three dry wells on the Trinidad and Tobago offshore did not fall into the contours of the mapped anomalies. Practical value/implications. The discovered anomalous zones are, in fact, the projections into surface of hydrocarbon accumulations contours in the cross-section. This additional information can be used for approximate assessments of hydrocarbon resources within the surveyed areas and structures. The development of the surveyed license blocks starting from the detected anomalous zones will permit, in general, significantly accelerate and optimize the prospecting process. Mobile technology of frequency-resonance processing and interpretation (decoding) of remote sensing data can be used for operative assessment of the petroleum potential of individual structures and prospecting areas in marine and ocean waters, including difficult of access and remote Arctic and Antarctic regions.