Heat Flow Surveys

Heat flow measurements serve critical purposes in oil exploration and production. The measured background or equilibrium heat flow, and measured sediment thermal conductivity provide strict constraints to geochemical models that determine regional scale maturation of basins with respect to oil and gas. In addition, area-wide heat flow surveys provide significant geological information on fluid flow from faults, lineaments, and around structures. Heat flow measurements in conjunction with seismic and sea floor geochemical studies provide a mechanism to assess fault and structural seals and contribute to a better understanding of regional hydrodynamics and hydrocarbon occurrence.

GSI Brooks partner, TDI -Brooks, has performed heat flow studies off the west African coast in Nigerian, Congolese and Angolan waters, in the Gulf of Mexico and in the CaribBean. This heat flow probe performs heat flow surveys in water depths up to 6000 m.

The heat flow in a region is due to heat moving upward from the mantle, together with thermal input from the radioactive decay of long-lived, naturally occurring isotopes in the earth's crust. This conductive thermal regime is easily perturbed by the movement of fluids, which is the most effective form of heat transport. Thus, heat flow anomalies are indicative of recent or ongoing fluid flow in a sedimentary basin. Heat flow variations may also provide insight into basin stretching, sedimentation rates, and the presence of salt. Salt has a high thermal conductivity and thus enhances heat flow and perturbs maturation patterns and hydrodynamics around salt structures. In addition, the geotechnical stability of the ocean floor can be addressed as measured temperatures can determine the stability of gas hydrates in shallow sediments.