Styles of Shallow Gas Migration and Accumulation on the Norwegian Continental Margin

We have acquired P-Cable data from four locations with shallow gas accumulations on the Norwegian continental shelf. Two of the areas are characterized by a high density of pockmarks and pipe structures indicating focused fluid flow throughout the Neogene. The presence of shallow gas accumulations poses both a risk and a chance to the offshore industry. When abundant, such as in the case of the Peon field, the natural gas is a valuable resource. When occurring in small pockets insufficient mapping of the gas can lead to disastrous blow-outs such as the West Vanguard accident. The high-resolution data from the P-Cable system provide us with the possibility to map in detail the occurrence of shallow gas pockets and the accompanying migration structures. This allows better understanding of the underlying fluid and gas migration processes on the Norwegian continental margin.