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Gas and Oil Seepage and Hydrothermal Venting in the Ocean Bottom
— Detection by Fluorescence


Back to Seep paper

Table 1. Oil Seepage - Global Budget

Summary of global oil seepage data suggesting seepage to bottom sediments may have been underestimated in past. Note that total estimated oil seepage volumes from the two single events shown are approximately equal to the entire estimated world seepage for a single year. Also note the large petroleum sources potentially available to produce additional undetected seepage.

Description (reference)
Amount (g C)
Rate (gC/yr)
 
Estimates - total annual oil seepage to World's Oceans:
Annual seepage from marine sources (Hunt, 1996)
 
2.145E+11
 
Annual seepage from continents (Hunt, 1996)
 
7.15E+10
 
Oil seepage rate (Miller, 1992)*
 
6E11to 6E12
 
Global seepage, marine (Miller, 1992)*
 
2.15E+11
 
Oil Seepage rate (Kvenvolden & Harbaugh, 1983)*
 
2E10 to 2E12
 
Gas dispersed, dissolved, lost at surface (Hunt, 1996)
 
1.4014E+11
 
 
 
 
 
Examples - total carbon from specific oil seepage events:
Harvey, Venezuela seep
 
1E+12
g
Pemex well, Ixtoc (S. Gulf of Mexico)
 
5E+11
g/300 days
 
 
 
 
Comparison to other carbon fluxes to the ocean:   
Flanks ocean spreading centers
1E+15
5E+12
 
Passive Margins (Hydrologic flow)
1E+14
5E+11
 
Passive Margins (Active discharge from petroleum systems)
?
?
 
Ocean Ridges
2.4E+13
1.2E+11
 
Ocean margins (compaction) (Elderfield et al., 1990)
5E+12
2.5E+10
 
 
 
 
 
Comparison to other carbon reservoirs:
Total kerogen in sediments of the world (Hunt)
1.20E+22
 
 
Oil retained in source rocks today (Hunt, 1996)
1.61E+19
 
 
Oil & gas in reservoirs, known &undiscovered (Hunt, 1996)
8.58E+17
 
 


Last Updated on 4/8/99