The goal of this project, in Phase I, was to construct regional models for the sedimentary thermal history and hydrocarbon maturation in the Deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico.
Phase II is a pull back to the shallower waters of the GOM with attention given to the deep strata (below 5 km or 16,400 feet) where MMS sees the potential for 5 to 20 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered gas. Drilling for the deep gas can be very expensive because of risks associated with high pressure and high temperatures. One of the most serious risks is that produced gas from deep strata may contain very high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) since high temperature conditions is favorable for the thermo-chemical sulfate reduction processes that produce H2S, a product both extremely toxic and corrosive. By knowing the heat profile of adjacent wells and the down-hole variation of individual heat flow trends, geologists can extrapolate temperatures to develop a thermal regime of deep sediments to help evaluate potential risks of H2S. With this information, Phase II produced deep thermal gradient maps of potentially H2S contaminated zones and computer simulation software through completion of these four tasks:
1. Geothermal gradient calculation for each well,
2. Establish the thermal conductivity variation in function of depth per well,
3. Estimate the radiogenic heat production in each well,
4. Create the Bullard plots for the heat simulation model for zones beneath the
measured well depths.
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Phase I of the project began in 2002 followed by Phase II in July of 2004; both involving the collection and examination of hundreds of sets of well logs from the deepwater GOM examined leading toward mapping of deep geothermal gradients within the continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. Phase II was completed in July 2006.