The following summaries include observations from the study of hydrocarbon sequestration or storage in natural and man made reservoirs on projects at Microseeps, Inc. and Gulf Research and Development Company. For the most part these studies relate to the observation and characterization of leakage of hydrocarbons from these reservoirs and in some cases the subsequent remediation of hydrocarbon presence in sediments above the reservoirs.
In most of the examples, Dr. Pirkle was directly involved in the sampling and interpretation of the leakage patterns, and in a few he was a reviewer of the resulting data and its interpretation.
|
In general the leakage observed is related to two major causes, namely migration up geologic faults and fractures and leakage associated with wells. Documentation of these leaks was made for the most part by near surface soil gas measurements and no attempt was made to quantify the flux, therefore the conclusions that can be drawn from these studies relate only to the leakage mechanism. 
View next project summary... 