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The Agadir Project |
This project is now in progress, sponsors should click here for further information
Introduction
The Agadir Project involved a scientific research cruise to a modern deep-water turbidite system that has already been surveyed in detail and accurately mapped. The cruise part of the project was completed in November 2004. This cruise was a partnership between NERC and three industry sponsors (ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Shell and BHPBilliton).
Overall this partnership should prove to be very beneficial to all involved, and if successful there will be the opportunity to investigate other modern deep-water systems in a similar fashion, e.g. meandering slope channels.
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ObjectivesThe primary aim of the project is to generate a high-quality core and shallow seismic dataset that will allow us to accurately constrain turbidite sandbody geometry in a channel, channel mouth and basin floor setting. The Agadir Basin (AB) is an outstanding 'natural laboratory' for studying 3D geometry of turbidite sands and understanding their depositional processes. Preliminary coring of the Agadir Basin fill has revealed that turbidites are derived from two main source areas and display a wide range of volumes. An initial model has illustrated how turbidite bed geometry is strongly controlled by source area and flow volume. This model will be better constrained using the new data and may help to populate reservoir models with more realistic sandbody geometries. The results will be particularly applicable to the large 'spill-and-fill' basins in the deep-water GoM. |