Resumo

GALVAN-GARCIA, E  e  AUVINET-GUICHARD, G. Geostatistical and Geotechnical Model of Hydrocarbon Leaking in the Seabed of Sonda de Campeche, Mexico. Ing. invest. y tecnol. [online]. 2011, vol.12, n.2, pp.223-234. ISSN 2594-0732.

This article introduces a model of the formation of hydrocarbon leaking in the seabed of Campo Cantarell in Sonda de Campeche, Mexico. The analysis was carried out appealing to geostatistics and geotechnics. Using geostatistics, the thickness of the stratum of soft soil that constitutes the marine bottom was estimated and the spatial variation of the physical and mechanical characteristics of the soil was assessed. It was found that soil shear strength behaves like a "white noise" spatial process. It was possible to define a boundary subdividing the clay stratum in two sublayers, one of soft and another of very soft consistency. A finite element geomechanical model was used to simulate the behavior of the sea bottom clayey stratum under the effect of a subpressure which induces failure of this stratum and leads to the generation of hydrocarbon leaking. The model has an explanatory value and allows defining risk zones for the oil facilities, which coincide with the areas of minor thickness of the clayey stratum.

Palavras-chave : Chapopotera; seabed; soft soil; sub-pressure; random fields.