TWO GEOCHEMICAL EFFECTS PRODUCED BY ARTIFICIALLY-INDUCED SEISMIC VIBRATIONS

Abstract

The paper reports on studies of the breakdown of complex petroleum hydrocarbons by seismic vibrations in the subsoil of the Ostashkovichi oilfield (Pripyat' basin, Belorussia), and stratification of complex mixtures of accessory gases by seismic vibrations in the Abuzy oil field (Krasnodar region). Results indicate that the energy of a seismic vibrator breaks down complex organic petroleum hydrocarbon structures. The strength of the resulting geochemical anomalies in subsoils seems to be correlated with the bitumen content of the latter, which is a measure of the composition and structure of the rocks and the density of the upward hydrocarbon flux from the underlying oil or gas pool. In oil-water-gas formations the seismic field causes fractionation of gas components by molecular weight, a process that is also influenced by the solubility of these gases (primarily in oil) and their energy of adsorption on the surface of the mineral skeleton of the reservoir rock.