Geology topics

Research about Santos Basin

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Santos Basin.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2024

Recognition of artificial gases formed during drill-bit metamorphism using advanced mud gas

Drill-bit metamorphism (DBM) is the process of thermal degradation of drilling fluid at the interface of the bit and rock due to the overheating of the bit. The heat generated by the drill when drilling into a rock formation promotes the generation of artificial hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon gas, changing the composition of the gas. The objective of this work is to recognize and evaluate artificial gases originating from DBM in wells targeting oil accumulations in pre-salt carbonates in the Santos Basin, Brazil. For the evaluation, chromatographic data from advanced mud gas equipment, drilling parameters, drill type, and lithology were used. The molar concentrations of gases and gas ratios (especially ethene/ethene+ethane and dryness) were analyzed, which identified the occurrence of DBM. DBM is most severe when wells penetrate igneous and carbonate rocks with diamond-impregnated drill bits. The rate of penetration, weight on bit, and rotation per minute were evaluated together with gas data but did not present good correlations to assist in identifying DBM. The depth intervals over which artificial gases formed during DBM are recognized should not be used to infer pay zones or predict the composition and properties of reservoir fluids because the gas composition is completely changed.

Santos Basin↗

USGS2016

Pockmark asymmetry and seafloor currents in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil

Pockmarks form by gas/fluid expulsion into the ocean and are preserved under conditions of negligible sedimentation. Ideally, they are circular at the seafloor and symmetrical in profile. Elliptical pockmarks are more enigmatic. They are associated with seafloor currents while asymmetry is connected to sedimentation patterns. This study examines these associations through morphological analysis of new multibeam data collected across the Santos continental slope offshore Brazil in 2011 (353–865 mbsl). Of 984 pockmarks, 78% are both elliptical and asymmetric. Geometric criteria divide the pockmarks into three depth ranges that correlate with a transition between two currents: the Brazil Current transfers Tropical Water and South Atlantic Central Water southwestwards while the Intermediate Western Boundary Current transfers Antarctic Intermediate Water northeastwards. It is suggested that the velocity of seafloor currents and their persistence dictate pockmark ellipticity, orientation and profile asymmetry. Fast currents (>20 cm/s) are capable of maintaining pockmark flank steepness close to the angle of repose. These morphological expressions present direct evidence for an edge effect of the South Atlantic Subtropical Gyre and, in general, provide a correlation between pockmark geometry and seafloor currents that can be applied at other locations worldwide.

Santos Basin↗