Dr. LAwal Muhedeen Ajibola
Graduated PhD Student
Lawal Muhedeen received a BSc in Geology (2013) from the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria and a MSc in Petroleum Geology (2016) from the University of Perugia, Italy. In 2016, he was an exploration geoscience research intern at the Exploration HQ of ENI in Milan where he worked on the tectonostratigraphic evolution of an area in the offshore domain of the hydrocarbon-rich Niger Delta. Apart from background work in hydrogeophysics and geochemistry, Lawal also has experience in Tarsands exploration in the Ogun state axis of Nigeria's Dahomey Basin. In addition, in 2017, he was involved in detailed geological mapping of rocks, structural elements and their relationship with gold mineralization in the Ife-Ilesha schist belt of SW Nigeria. His PhD work included high-resolution seismic interpretation and modeling of standard E&P 2D and 3D seismic datasets. Lawal's project took place in full cooperation with the Applied Marine Exploration Lab (AMEL) at the Department of Marine Geosciences (with Prof. Yizhaq Makovsky). Lawal is currently a postdoc associate at Ohio State University. He is an active member of the AAPG, SEG, SPE, and IAS societies. He enjoys playing soccer and learning new skill sets.
Lawal's project was mentored in collaboration with Prof. Yizhaq Makovsky.
Past Research
Seafloor gas seepage features, potential gas accumulations and migration pathways: Implications for resource exploration and geohazards, SE Levant Basin
Fluid seepage features are common seafloor features in many continental margins. Their identification on seismic reflection data depends on data resolution and interpretation strategies. When present, they have implications for subsurface resource and geohazard assessment. In recent years, several seafloor fluid seepage features (e.g., pockmarks, cold seeps communities and hydrocarbon-related microbial activities) were discovered in the south-eastern part of the Levant Basin within the Israeli Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by seafloor exploration campaigns, namely E/V NAUTILUS 2010 and 2011 surveys and the EUROFLEETS SEMSEEPS project. To date uncertainties exist as to the controls on the distribution of these features, the sources and nature of the seeping fluids and their migration patterns and pathways. To this end, the proposed study mainly focuses on the shallow subsurface post-Messinian sedimentary stack in the SE Levant Basin, where a system of highly scattered sub-bottom high amplitude seismic reflectivity marking a buried, intertwined and complex shallow Plio-Quaternary reservoir system has been identified from seismic data. While available results of previous seafloor expeditions provide ground truth data, the availability of 3D and 2D seismic datasets across the Levant basin permits: a) an investigation of the basin-wide manifestations and distribution of suspected shallow gas accumulations, b) examination of the distribution of gas seeps, their geological controls and gas migration pathways and c) establishing the implications of the features on subsurface resource and geohazard assessment. This research will be carried out using seismic interpretation, multi-attribute analyses, advanced visualization and blending techniques (e.g. RGB and HSV).
Preliminary results reveal the existence of a) ridge-centered seafloor pockmarks in the vicinity of the Palmahim Disturbance (a huge submarine gravitational slide produced by thin-skinned deformation of the post-Messinian sedimentary stack) within the base of the south-eastern continental margin of the Levant Basin and b) several subcircular seafloor pockmarks that are distributed basinward into the Nile Deep Sea Fan in the southern part of the study area. These pockmarks sit above suspected sub-seafloor shallow gas accumulations manifested as high amplitude seismic reflections. The high amplitude reflections are thought to represent gas-bearing sediments within sub-seafloor channel-levee complexes. In the same manner, amplitude anomalies which are thought to signal gas accumulations are observed below a km-scale faulted and folded Mass Transport Deposit (MTD) within the Plio-Quaternary sedimentary succession beneath seafloor pockmarks. These observations thus suggest possible shallow and deep plumbing of seafloor pockmark clusters. The proposed research is tailored towards an investigation of the geological controls on the distribution of seepage features, identification of possible fluid sources and detection of additional seafloor seepage sites within the Israeli EEZ. The findings will provide new concepts into understanding the deep and shallow fluid plumbing systems in the Levant basin. In addition, results will help predict other seep sites and zones with possible sub-bottom gas accumulations. All these will provide knowledge with important implications on deep-water hydrocarbon exploration, geohazards assessment, infrastructure planning & installation and research.
