International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XXXIX-B7, 2012
XXII ISPRS Congress, 25 August — 01 September 2012, Melbourne, Australia
STUDY ON OIL-GAS RESERVOIR DETECTING METHODS USING HYPERSPECTRAL
REMOTE SENSING
Qingjiu Tian^ *
2 International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China-tianqj@nju.edu.cn
Commission VII, WG VII/3
KEY WORDS: Hyper spectral, Land, Sea, Oil-gas reservoir, Detection
ABSTRACT:
Oil-gas reservoir exploration using hyperspectral remote sensing, which based on the theory of hydrocarbon microseepage
information and fine spectral response of target, is a new direction for the application of remote sensing technology. In this paper,
Qaidam Basin and Liaodong Bay in China were selected as the study areas. Based on the hydrocarbon microseepage theory, the
analysis of crude oil in soil in Qaidam Basin and spectral experiment of crude oil in sea water in Liaodong Bay, Hyperion
hyperspectral remote sensing images were used to develop the method of oil-gas exploration. The results indicated that the area of
oil-gas reservoir in Qaidam Basin could be delimited in two ways: the oil-gas reservoir can be obtained directly by the absorption
bands near 1730nm in Hyperion image; and Linear Spectral Unmixing (LSU) and Spectral Angle Matching (SAM) of alteration
mineral (e.g. kaolinite, illite) could be used to indirectly detect the target area in Qaidam Basin. In addition, combined with the
optimal bands in the region of visible/near-infrared, SAM was used to extract the thin oil slick of microseepage in Liaodong Bay.
Then the target area of oil-gas reservoir in Liaodong Bay can be delineated.
1. INTRODUCTION
Oil and gas reservoirs hydrocarbon micro-leakage phenomenon
is prevalently exist in theory. It is a comprehensive performance
of multiple mechanisms transferring along various approaches,
about 85% of oil and gas fields have the phenomenon of micro-
leakage. For the existence of micro-leakage phenomenon, there
are abnormal signs of hydrocarbon component and content of
soil and sea surface which above the hydrocarbon reservoirs.
By using remote sensed dataset, we can detect the unusual
phenomenons of hydrocarbon components in the surface soil
and water, and then explore the hydrocarbon content of the land
and sea. “Hydrocarbon altered column” and “hydrocarbon
alteration halo” which always formed in the land surface that
above the hydrocarbon reservoirs become one symbol of land
oil and gas exploration. The hydrocarbons that come from the
micro-leakage or diffuse to the air above the land surface, or
exist in the gaps between soils, or exist in the underground
water, or absorbed by the mineral grain of soil, or interact with
other materials and then form alternation bodies, they make the
spectral characteristics of surface natural landscape abnormal
which always display as soil adsorption hydrocarbon halo, haze
shaped halo, res layer faded halo, low-value iron enrichment
halo, clay halo, carbonate mineralization halo, and so on(Philp
et al.,1982). Researches on the elaborate spectral characteristics
performed by the hydrocarbons and micro-leakage halo of
hydrocarbons in the land surface are the basis of theory and
method of finding hydrocarbon by using the hyperspectal
technology of remote sensing. Submarine hydrocarbon leakage
is one of the phenomena of marine oil and gas reservoirs, and
the thin film formed by the hydrocarbons is an important
symbol of oil and gas reservoirs at the bottom of the sea. When
abnormal range of hydrocarbons reach the status of relative
saturation, hydrocarbons in the bottom of the sea continue
vertical upward migration by the action of buoyancy, part of
* Qingjiu Tian: Professor in Nanjing University, China. The main research direction is Hyperspectral remote sensing.
hydrocarbons form hydrocarbon-rich sea water column under
the role of seawater solvation, a part continue to float to the
surface to form thin film, different thickness of the thin film can
produce a different color, it will become silver and invisible
floating oil film after a few seconds, this special floating film,
in theory, is not visible(Almond et al., 2000). The oil layer
formed by the stable distribution of the sea floating film above
the oil and gas reservoirs leakage source affect the
electromagnetic radiation characteristics of sea surface, and
thus can be detected by hyper spectral remote sensing
technology.
In order to make use of the information of hydrocarbon micro-
leakage of the land surface and sea surface to retrieve the
spatial distribution of oil and gas using hyper spectral remote
sensing. First we should have a better understanding about the
land surface hydrocarbon information of the micro-leakage and
its alteration mineral as well as spectral characteristics of sea
surface oil film. Early due to the limitations of spectral
resolution of multispectral sensors, it is difficult to achieve the
direct detection of the hydrocarbon information of land surface
and sea surface film type; it becomes possible from the air to
detect land surface and sea surface oil and gas hydrocarbon
information because of the development of hyper spectral
imaging spectrometer. Thus probing terrestrial and submarine
tectonic region or local trap oil and gas, which can directly or
indirectly, exploratory oil and gas reservoirs and delineate the
oil and gas drilling target to achieve rapid, large area to find oil
purpose, The domestic and foreign scholars have a more unified
understanding of hydrocarbons of the land surface oil and gas.
The absorption characteristics of oil and gas reservoirs micro
leakage to land surface oil and gas hydrocarbons was mainly in
the 1720-1750nm, 2310-2350nm wavelength (Cloutis et al.,
1989). The absorption feature are stronger at 2310-2350nm, but
there is overlap with other mineral absorption features (such as
