Integration of field work and hyperspectral data for oil and gas exploration

Hydrocarbon microseepage theory establishes a cause-and-effect relation between oil and gas reservoirs and special surface anomalies, mainly including surface hydrocarbons and related mineral alterations. Thus, diagnostic spectral features of hydrocarbons and mineral alterations are capable of providing reliable evidences for the oil and gas exploration. In the paper, the integrated practical system of exploring for oil, gas is introduced by using reflectance spectroscopy and hydrocarbon microseepage theory. This system is applied to processing and analyzing not only hyperspectral remote sensing data but also the data provided by field work. Furthermore, great efforts are focused on spectral model of hydrocarbon microseepage and Hyperion data classification algorithms. In our work, two exploration targets of natural gas are identified from the study area which covers 2100 km². All the two exploration targets have been proven industrial reserves by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in July 2006.