Methane sealed due to the formation of gas hydrate system in the South China Sea

Although the release of methane into oceans and potentially the atmosphere could accelerate climate change, detailed investigations on the gas source from deep-buried strata and its migration through the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) to the seafloor are limited. These studies are often hindered by the presence of diffracted waves and inaccuracies in seismic velocity models, leading to poor seismic imaging that hampers the understanding of gas sources, migration pathways, and gas hydrate accumulation. In the study, we utilize the technique of common scatter point (CSP) gathers to build an accurate velocity model and obtain high-quality images for a complex gas-hydrate and natural-gas petroleum system. The CSP processing enables the accurate migration of reflected and diffracted waves, resulting in improvements in signal-to-noise ratio and lateral resolution. The improved seismic images offer clearer visualization of various petroleum elements. Specifically, we can identify the top of the hydrate zone and base of the free gas zone within a shallow-buried hydrate system, fault geometries within the free gas zone, a middle-buried natural gas reservoir, gas chimneys as migration pathways, and the deep-buried source rock strata beneath the intrusive volcanic rocks. As a result, we reveal a joint prospect of natural-gas reservoir and gas-hydrate system in the deep-water region of the South China Sea. Our results suggest that methane in the natural gas reservoir has migrated upwardly into the hydrate system, and it is unlikely to leak into the water column.