Abstract
Frontier exploration means assessing an area for hydrocarbon prospectivity that lacks information and data. Satellite remote sensing provides the first set of potential fields data to enable the delineation of basins and build large regional geological models in 3D. These models can be used to execute exploration strategies such as the conjugate margin concept which transfers knowledge from known basins on margin to their unknown counterpart on the conjugate margin along fracture zones.
Remote sensing also plays a major role in providing the boundary conditions for basin and petroleum system models. These form the framework for more detailed interpretation once seismic data and well logs become available.
At field scale, interpretation carried out on remote sensing data at the surface can be used as in-situ geologic analogues to guide the structural and depositional interpretation of 3D seismic data in the subsurface.
The integration of satellite remote sensing and sparse regional 2D seismic sections give insights into the shallow structural framework through the map** of shallow buried channels, which in turn often follow regional faults. In volcanic areas, the interpretation and integration of multiple satellite remote sensing data allows delineating the subsurface extent of volcanic rocks, thus giving clues for estimating the potential impact volcanism may have had on the maturity of hydrocarbons in the subsurface.
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Laake, A. (2022). Frontier Exploration. In: Remote Sensing for Hydrocarbon Exploration. Springer Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73319-3_9
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