Evaluating frontier deepwater basins is an expensive proposition with high risks and high rewards. Exploration teams evaluating deepwater basins need to know which concessions to pursue and which to drop. Modern seafloor mapping and precision geochemical sampling can quickly help teams make this decision. The method presented here is inexpensive and cost effective, at around $100/km2-about 10 times cheaper than 3D seismic. With multibeam echosounders, the deeper the water, the lower the cost to acquire a 100% seafloor depth image with co-located backscatter. The high-resolution image of the seabed acquired from modern multibeam echosounder data can be interpreted by specialists at sea (along with previously acquired regional 2D seismic data) for indications of seafloor seepage. The identified seeps are then sampled by precision-navigated piston cores. The resulting geochemical analysis can answer critical prospectivity, source and maturity questions from the migrated hydrocarbons that can help the exploration team assess their deepwater prospects.

Eastern Mediterranean Multibeam Data