ABSTRACT
EXPLORATION FOR MINERALIZATION AND HYDROCARBON PROSPECTING ZONES OF ABAKILIKI ASPECT OF LOWER BENUE TROUGH
Journal: Acta Scientifica Malaysia (ASM)
Author: Cyril C. Okpoli and Imo Veronica
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
DOI: 10.26480/asm.02.2019.12.16

Exploration of structural dynamics using high resolution aeromagnetic dataset of Abakiliki part of the Lower Benue Trough, Nigeria; was deployed for mapping and delineating hydrocarbon prospecting zones, in order to boost the Nation’s economy. The aeromagnetic data were subjected to several forms of filtering, reductions, and enhancement techniques for both qualitative and quantitative interpretations. The result of the reduction to equator- total magnetic intensity (RTE-TMI) revealed the magnetic intensity of subsurface rocks ranging from 34.14nT to 61.40nT. This range of magnetic anomalies intensity values extends to the sedimentary covers of Asu River Group, Awgu shale, Eze-AKu shale and Nkporo shale. The second vertical derivative (SVD), Tilt-angle derivative (TDR) and Analytical signal (AS) revealed three (3) major faults; F1-F11, F2-F12 and F3-F13, trending NE-SW, ENE-WSW and NW-SE directions respectively. The depth to top of magnetic source were revealed by the radially averaged power spectrum (RAPS) and Euler deconvolution as 27m – 2.64km as well as <250 m – > 2500 m for shallower and deeper sources respectively. This study demonstrated the efficiency of aeromagnetic methods, with their improved techniques as tools for regional mapping of lithologies and structures that may host important minerals and aid hydrocarbon accumulation and their probable depths.