Analysis of high-resolution airborne-magnetic data for hydrocarbon generation and preservation potential evaluation of Yola sub-basins,northern Benue Trough,northeastern Nigeria

High-resolution airborne-magnetic data acquired over the Yola extension of the northern Benue Trough,northeastern Nigeria,were analyzed to delineate rock distribution,define basement geometry,determine sedimentary thicknesses,and highlight structural framework among others for the hydrocarbon prospect evaluation of sub-basins in the extension.Filtered and refined magnetic intensity data were subjected to Analytic Signal,Horizontal and Vertical Tilt Derivatives and Euler deconvolution depth weighting analyses to enhance various geological features requisite for petroleum prospect evaluation.Sedimentary rock units flanked the northeast and south widely occur in the central part with volcanic rock intrusions delineated within the sedimentary terrain.Extracted lineaments(less than 5 km and up to 45 km)were observed to dominantly follow the established Benue Trough and Yola sub-basin evolutionary trend along the NEeSW and ESEeWNW directions,respectively.Three prominent subbasins with sedimentary thicknesses in excess of 3 km and width of more than 60 km,separated by basement highs of mostly volcanic intrusions origin,were identified.The occurrence of relatively thick and extensive sub-basins which are underlain by structurally active basement rocks suggests relatively high geothermal gradient for generation of hydrocarbon from organic matter rich source rocks while the generated oil and gas are preserved within intra-sedimentary structural traps created when the basement fractures were reactivated.

Evaluation of Structural Framework and Depth Estimates Using High Resolution Airborne Magnetic Data over Some Parts of Middle Benue Trough, Nigeria

High-resolution aeromagnetic data of parts of Middle Benue Trough, Nigeria (sheets 212, 213, 233 and 234) was interpreted by applying source Parameter Imaging (SPI) and Spectral Depth analysis with the aim of mapping out the magnetic lineaments and analysing magnetic signals coming from different sources. The results from the derivatives maps show major and minor lineaments trends in the NE-SW and NW-SE directions respectively. Results from SPI show the maximum sedimentary thickness of about -4546.7 m (-4.5467 km) around the region of Awe, Aman, Langtang south, Gassol and the north-eastern part of Donga. Minimum depth of -167.9 m (-0.1679 km) around the region of north of Shendam, north of Wase, north-eastern part of Aman, Bantaji, Donga, Ibi and Bali. The residual map was divided into twenty-five sections. Spectral Depth was run for each of these twenty-five sections, the result shows that the depth to the deep magnetic source ranges between -0.65 km and -3.35 km. The depth to the shallow magnetic sources ranges between -0.03 km and -0.44 km showing the presence of magnetic intrusive bodies within the sediments. Since the sedimentary thickness of 3.0 km and above is only sufficient for hydrocarbon maturation and accumulation, then the results from this present study show that the study area might be sufficient enough for hydrocarbon maturation and accumulation.

Research and Application of Micromotional Exploration in the Middle-Lower Yangtze Metallogenic Belt of China

Micromotion is the daily tiny vibration of the earth’s surface. Micromotional exploration can use the surface wave information of micro motion to study the shallow structure of underground media. In this study, we collected microtremor data at 68 stations in the Middle-Lower Yangtze Metallogenic Belt (MLYMB) and determined the resonant frequency and obtained the distribution of sedimentary thickness in this area by using H/V spectral ratio. According to the results of H/V, the sedimentary layer in the basin is thick, and the predominant frequency of the basin is 0.05 - 0.1 Hz. There are no obvious lateral changes in the impedance interface between bedrock and sedimentary layer in this area. The basement of Tongling, Anqing and Luzhou mining areas and their adjacent areas is Kongling-Dongling type basement, which is composed of a set of metamorphic core complex. The predominant frequency is 0.05 - 0.1 Hz. The sedimentary thickness gradually thinned from 3800 m in the west to 2100 m in the East. Moreover, this article used SPAC (spatial autocorrelation) method to obtain the S-wave velocity structure of the mining area near Luzong. The SPAC method reveals that the depth of the interface between the loose sediments and the volcanic rocks is about 600 m in the study area near the Luzhou mining area in the Middle-Lower Yangtze Metallogenic Belt, and the average depth of the interface between the volcanic rock section and the intrusive complex section is about 1000 m. The thickness of the intrusive rock is more than 2500 m. Tourmaline is developed in the interior of the intrusive rock, which may have better exploration value.