PAPER NO.

99-101
PETROLEUM SOCIETY OF CIM

THIS IS A PREPRINT - SUBJECT TO CORRECTION

A GIS-SUPPORTED REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGY

FOR PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION

L. Liu
G.H. Huang
G.A. Fuller
University of Regina

PUBLICATION RIGHTS RESERVED

THIS PAPER IS TO BE PRESENTED AT THE EIGHTH PETROLEUM CONFERENCE OF THE SOUTH SASKATCHEWAN SECTION, THE
PETROLEUM SOCIETY OF CIM, HELD IN REGINA OCTOBER 18-21, 1999. DISCUSSION OF THIS PAPER IS INVITED. SUCH
DISCUSSION MAY BE PRESENTED ATTHETECHNICAL MEETING AND WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR PUBLICATION IN CIM JOURNALS
IF FILED IN WRITING WITH THE TECHNICAL PROGRAM CHAIRMAN PRIOR TO THE CONCLUSION OF THE MEETING.

Key words: exploration, geographical information system,

ABSTRACT
lineament, petroleum resources, remote sensing.

The increasing demands for petroleum nowadays are

leading to a growing interest in using remote sensing (RS)
technologies for detecting petroleum deposit formations.
Remotely sensed surface lineament analysis, correlated with
a variew of geo-science data, could provide a useful
approach for oil and gas exploration. At the same time, as a
powerful and eflcient data handling and processing tool,
geographical information system (GIS) could also be
incorporated within the RS framework for manipulating the
obtained data and improving effectiveness of petroleum
exploration. In this paper, a hybrid RS-GIS system is
proposed for identifying potential petroleum exploration
targets, and searching for undiscovered oil and gas
formations aIong Iineament trends. This hybrid approach
would not only facilitate petroleum resources exploration,
but also enhance the related spatial analyses, modeling
studies, and systems planning. The method is applied to a
case study in the Liaohe OilJelds in Liaoning Province,
China. The results indicate that reasonable and interesting
outcomes have been generated
INTRODUCTION
Many countries in the world nowadays continue to have
heavy reliance on petroleum resources due to the rapid
population growth and economic pressures. As one kind of
non-renewable energy resources with the nature of scarcity
and depletion, petroleum resources management has caused
an increased attention and concern for several decades,
which involves oil and gas exploration, exploitation,
transportation, distribution, allocation, conservation, and
petroleum waste management. Among them, petroleum
resources exploration and exploitation are one of major
concern since (i) distribution of petroleum deposits could be
verified through exploration, and (ii) petroleum supply may
be increased to some extent by reasonable exploitation.
Moreover, it seems quite evident that the period of massive
discoveries of easily approachable oil and gas deposits had
come to an end at late 1960’s ‘, Since then, the exploration
and development of petroleum resources have involved
enormous capital investment. Low efficiency exists in these

processes due to limitations in technical and managerial
effectiveness, especially in developing countries. This paper
focuses on the provision of potentially more effective tools
for petroleum exploration and exploitation.
The process of petroleum exploration and exploitation
requires the consideration and integration of different types
of information for creating a clear understanding of
underground gas- and oil-bearing formations. Generally,
distribution and reserve of petroleum resources under a
certain region are unknown to some degree. Even some of
the proved petroleum reserves, which are being exploited,
could be changing temporally and spatially. Therefore,
continuous acquisition of updated information is desired.
Previously, the related information was collected, collated
and analyzed through slow and painstaking manual
methods I. By traditional way of petroleum deposit
exploration, we can drill anywhere and hit oil, but there is no
way of knowing whether we have got a well that will last.
With the advent of aerial photography and satellite remote
sensing, remote sensing (RS) data become major sources of
information required by decision-makers for petroleum
resources management. RS is useful for fractured reservoir
explorations, which looks at the surface in a way one can
estimate or guess what is going on below. It can cover large
areas quickly and help pinpoint the most productive wells.
Meanwhile, various geological and geo-physical, and geo-
chemical data are available now from large-scale
geographical survey and laboratory analysis, with the
provision of more detailed information about potential
petroleum exploration targets.
On the other hand, the remotely sensed data, together with
other geo-science data-sets, need to be properly managed,
analyzed, retrieved, displayed and maintained. This could be
accomplished through introduction of geographic
information system (GIS) into the RS framework. In recent
years, increasing interests are being paid on integrated use of
RS and GIS for natural resources and environmental
management 2. For example, in 1990, the Unite States
"National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis"
(NeGIA) started a research initiative "Integration of Remote
Sensing and GIS", which identified a number of key research
issues 3. A number of publications resulted from these and
related efforts 4, S, 6. Although remotely sensed data, together
with geological and geophysical information, have been
applied to many projects of petroleum exploration and
exploitation 7,8, few studies have been reported on integrated
RS-GIS application. As an extension of these previous
works, this study first introduces the mechanism about
"tectonic heredity" of remotely sensed surface lineaments.
Through analysis of correlations between remotely sensed
lineaments data and subsurface geological and geophysical
conditions, a RS-GIS framework will be developed to allow
more effective and systematic analysis of the spatial
information. An application to a case study on petroleum
resources exploration and exploitation in Liaoning Province,
northeastern China, will be provided. This hybrid RS-GIS
approach will not only facilitate petroleum resources
exploration and prospecting, but also enhance the related
spatial analyses, modeling studies, and system planning.
GEOLOGICAL MECHANISM OF SURFACE
LINEAMENTS
Remote sensing in geology represents the most extensive
application of remotely sensed data with a term of
photogeology. An important type of information available to
geologists from remote sensing is the structural information
revealed by lineaments on the imagery I.
For oil- and gas-bearing regions, the majority of geological
objects lack direct surface indication. Even additional
processing of the original photo images would not ensure
desired results. However, there is increasing evidences of
genetic and geometric connections among remotely sensed
lineaments (photolineaments or surface lineaments) and
linear morphostructural elements decipherable from
subsurface geological and geophysical maps. Such a
connection is referred to as "tectonic heredity". That is,
surface lineament features and patterns probably reflect the
effects of important geological processes operating over a
long time. The properties of lineament network and
lineament fractures deciphered on remote sensing imagery
originate from their geological nature at different depth,
stratigraphic, scale and class levels 1,9.
Although the exact structural nature and origin of the
lineaments has not been well understood, they may represent
fundamental zones of weakness subdividing the crystalline
basement rocks into discrete blocks. Lineaments were the
sites of paleotectonic activity during deposition of
Cretaceous rocks. These units have potential for hydrocarbon
accumulations, and oil-/gas- formations, particularly shallow
biogenic gas. Thus, surface lineament features on the
imagery maps could be useful tools for identifying potential
exploration targets 10, II.
Several previous studies demonstrated that the origins
between the trends of surface lineaments and the orientation
of regional systematic joints are closely related 8,12.13. Some
subsurface joint and fault systems which match surface
lineaments are thought to mark deep structures that
propagated upward through time from great depth to re-