Hydrocarbon anomalies using airborne gamma radiation over the unconventional petroleum system of the South Portuguese Zone, Portugal

Gabriel A Barberes; Maria Teresa Barata; Rui Pena Dos Reis; André L D Spigolon

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109406

Hydrocarbon anomalies using airborne gamma radiation over the unconventional petroleum system of the South Portuguese Zone, Portugal

Appl Radiat Isot. 2020 Dec:166:109406. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109406. Epub 2020 Sep 19.

Authors

Gabriel A Barberes¹, Maria Teresa Barata², Rui Pena Dos Reis³, André L D Spigolon⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Earth Science and Centre of Geoscience, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Coimbra. Largo Marquês de Pombal, 3000-272, Coimbra, Portugal; Univ Coimbra, CITEUC - Centre for Earth and Space Research, Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory, Sta Clara. 3040 - 004 Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address: gabriel.barberes@gmail.com.
² Univ Coimbra, CITEUC - Centre for Earth and Space Research, Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory, Sta Clara. 3040 - 004 Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address: mtbarata@gmail.com.
³ Department of Earth Science and Centre of Geoscience, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Coimbra. Largo Marquês de Pombal, 3000-272, Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address: penareis@dct.uc.pt.
⁴ Petrobras/CENPES, Geochemistry Division, 21941-915, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Electronic address: andrespigolon@petrobras.com.br.

PMID: 32979759
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109406

Abstract

The use of airborne gamma radiation in hydrocarbon exploration is widely known to define possible areas of microseepage. At this paper, the radiometric survey was applied to identify hydrocarbon anomalies over the South Portuguese Zone (SPZ) unconventional petroleum system. Spectral gamma-ray data were processed to thorium normalization method. Obtained results show positive anomalies mainly on the southwest sector of the SPZ, corroborating the data obtained through fluid geochemical analysis, revealing other several surface sweet spots for hydrocarbons emanations.

Keywords: Carboniferous shales; Gamma radiation; Hydrocarbon anomalies; Remote sensing; South Portuguese Zone; Unconventional petroleum geology.