FEATURES OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF HYDROCARBON GASES IN THE BOTTOM SEDIMENTS OF THE KARKINITSKAYA BAY

Abstract

Problem Description and Purpose of the Study. Interest over the past fifty years in the Black Sea shelf has increased as a part of the earth’s crust, which includes oil and gas reserves. This is due to the accumulation of various geological and geophysical information about the structure of the basin`s sedimentary cover, which indicates the processes of generation, migration, and the presence of hydrocarbon accumulation zones within the Black Sea. The study is aimed at geochemical prospecting signs, namely the consequences of the impact of fluidogenic flows recorded in the bottom sediments of the Karkinitsky Bay. Data & Methods. To solve the tasks set, the study uses the method of analyzing and interpreting gas chromatography data at a site located on the Black Sea shelf, at the mouth of the Karkinitsky Bay, in the promising Schmidt and Karkinitskaya areas. This study will show how to identify possible hydrocarbon deposits on the Black Sea shelf, using geochemical data. Consideration of the formation of hydrocarbons was focused on fluidogenesis. Results. Analysis of the obtained data showed that among the hydrocarbon gases, in addition to methane (which is the most quantitatively), there are homologues to pentane, inclusive, and alkenes to propylene. The maps constructed for all gases convincingly showed the abnormal content of hydrocarbon gases within the study area. In addition, among alkanes, there is a tendency to the effect of gas rectification, manifested in the zonal circumference of located anomalies, which were identified in the schematic contours of the degassing pipe. The ratio of schematic degassing pipes to productive deposits indicates the possibility of formation of deposits in the peripheral parts of degassing pipes. This shows that the detection of degassing pipes by geochemical methods is a reliable prospecting indicator of a productive deposit.