The Jackalope gas hydrate system in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico
2020
Abstract We present a new gas hydrate system, Jackalope, in the US Gulf of Mexico ~110 km from the Louisiana coast primarily in Mississippi Canyon (MC) Blocks 127 and 128. Jackalope is a relatively shallow
prospect(~1650 m water depth) and is associated with a submarine channel-levee depositional system. Several kilometers below the seafloor, an extended sub-circular salt ridge rooted into the
allochthonoussalt canopy creates a system of faulted anticlinal folds. Accordingly, the distribution of bottom simulating
reflections mappedat ~250–300 m below seafloor (
mbsf) is structurally controlled, indicating that gas tends to accumulate above the hinge of the salt ridge in sand-dominated
turbidites. The Jackalope system is not a single accumulation; it comprises two primary
prospects(Saint Petersburg and Columbus) and several secondary
prospects. The primary
prospectsare defined based on seismic data by peak-leading reflections and phase reversals at the base of the
gas hydrate stability zone: a strong peak-leading amplitude above it changes to trough-leading amplitude below. We interpret strong peak-leading amplitudes as gas hydrate in sand-rich intervals, which is confirmed by resistivity and
gamma ray logsat the margin of the Saint Petersburg
prospect. Continuous gas-water contacts below the primary
prospectscharacterize them as permeable three-component reservoirs comprising gas hydrate above gas, and gas above water. Both
prospectsare located at ~230–300
mbsfoccupying a total area of ~5.9 km2. Low and high estimates of in place gas at standard pressure and temperature conditions in the primary
prospectsrange between 1.5 and 10.6 BCM. These characteristics define Jackalope as a promising, cost- and time-efficient gas hydrate system for further drilling exploration. Moreover, Jackalope demonstrates there is potential for new discoveries in the US Gulf of Mexico in particular due to expanding public 3D seismic and well log datasets.
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