The American Association of Pelroleum Geologists Bulletin
V. 64, No. 6 (June 1980) P. 916-926, 13 Figs.. 4 Tables
Time and Temperature in Petroieum Formation: Application of
Lopatin's iMethod to Petroieum Exploration^
AlMtract N. V. Lopatin in the Soviet Union has devel-
oped a method for taking t)oth time and temperature
into account as factors in thermal maturation of kero-
gen. Lopatin's time-temperature index of maturity (TTI)
values correlate with the thermal regimes correspond-
ing to generation and preservation of hydrocarbons.
Because such information Is potentially of great Inter-
est for oil exploration, a calibration and evaluation have
tjeen made of Lopatin's method. Within the limitations
of the data presently available the following statements
can be made:
1. The rate of the chemical reactions involved in
thermal maturation of organic material appears to dou-
ble with every I C C (18°F) rise In temperature.
2. Threshold values of Lopatin's time-temperature
index of maturity (TTI) are:
15 Onset of oil generation
75 Peak oil generation
160 End oil generation
~500 40° oil preservation deadline
~ 1,000 50° oil preservation deadline
~ 1,500 Wet gas preservation deadline
>65,000 Dry gas preservation deadline
3. TTI values calculated from Lopatin reconstruc-
tions consistently agree with other maturation parame-
ters commonly used by petroleum geochemlsts.
Potential applications of Lopatin's method for oil ex-
ploration include timing of oil generation, calculation of
volume of hydrocarbons generated within a basin, and
determination of economic deadlines.
BSTRODUCnON
It has been generally established in recent years
that both time and temperature are important
factors in the process of oil generation and in the
subsequent cracking of oil to methane. In 1971,
N. V. Lopatin in the Soviet Union published a
paper which described a simple method by which
the effects of both time and temperature could be
considered in calculating the thermal maturity of
organic material in sediments. He developed a
"time-temperature index" of maturity (TTI) to
quantify lus method.
Lopatin's original work was greeted with some
enthusiasm and much criticism. Some of the
problems which surfaced could be attributed to
the poor quality of the data with which Lopatin
originally calibrated his model (Neruchev and
Parparova, 1972; Golitsyn, 1973; Karpov et al,
1975). Despite these technical details, Lopatin's
basic idea has merit. It was therefore decided to
attempt to coordinate Lopatin's method with
other parameters which relate to oil generation to
devise a model which could predict the thermal
916
DOUGLAS W. WAPLES^
conditions under which hydrocarbons could be
generated and preserved.
CONSTRUCTION OF GEOLOGIC MODEL
Implementation of Lopatin's method begins
with a reconstruction of the depositional and tec-
tonic history of the geologic section of interest.
This is best accomplished by plotting depth of
burial versus geologic age, as shown in the hypo-
thetical example in Figure 1. It should be remem-
bered that such reconstructions are not geologic
cross-sections. In the example in Figure 1 a Low-
er Cretaceous sediment was deposited 125 m.y.
B.P. at the sedimentary surface (depth = 0).
Since its deposition the sediment has had the
time-depth history shown by the sohd line in Fig-
ure 1, moving from left to right. Its history con-
sisted of continual deposition at varying rates un-
til 80 m.y.B.P., at which time a brief (2 m.y.)
uplift occurred in which the sediment was raised
from a depth of 7,000 ft (2,134 m) to 6,000 ft
(1,829 m). UpUft was followed by renewed subsi-
dence until a depositional hiatus was reached at
20 m.y.B.P. The hiatus persisted until 6 m.y.B.P.,
when subsidence commenced again. The sedi-
ment is at present (time = 0 m.y.B.P.) at a depth
of 10,500 ft (3,200 m). The line in Figure 1 thus
(g)Copyriglit 1980. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All
rights reserved.
A APG grants permission for a single photocopy of this article for research
purposes. Other photocopying not allowed hy the 1978 Copyright Law is
prohibited. For more than one photocopy of this article, users should send
request, article identification number (see below), and $3.00 per copy to
Copyright Clearance Center, I n c . 21 Congress St., Salem, MA. 01970.
• Manuscript received, July 13, 1979; accepted, November 5,
1979.
2Chevron Oil Field Research Co., La Habra, California
90631. Present address: Department of Chemistry and
Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado
80401.
1 thank Chevron Oil Field Research Co. for support of this
work and for permission to publish the findings. Among the
many geologists who helped in the development of the methods
I particularly thank Boone Warner, Jack Nelson, and Ed DeFeu
of Chevron U.S.A., Denver, and Don Kushnir, Dean Bamum,
Denny Jizba, and Bob Jones of COFRC for stimulating
discussions and many new ideas. Tom Edison and Dave Baskin
performed the TAI analyses.
Article Identification Nundber
0149-1423/80/B006-0005$03.00/0
 Time and Temperature in Petroleum Formation
FIG. 1—Depositional and tectonic history of a Lower
Cretaceous sediment.
FIG. 3—Complex subsurface temperature grid.
traces the depth-time relation for the sediment.
Any shallower strata, such as those shown in Fig-
ure 2, will have depth-time lines subparallel with
the first line, commencing with their deposition.
A set of these lines, as in Figure 2, forms
Lopatin's geologic reconstruction. Except in cer-
tain situations (to be dealt with later in the sec-
tion entitled "Special Cases") the depth-time line
segments for the various horizons will always be
parallel.
The geologic reconstruction is based on the
best information available. Some reconstructions
will be easy to make with a high level of confi-
dence, particularly where deposition has been
continuous. For sediments which have had com-
plex histories, however, the reconstruction may
represent only a best guess.
The second aspect of the geologic model is the
temperature grid. The subsurface temperature
917
FIG. 2—Depositional and tectonic history of several
sedimentary horizons.
FIG. 4—Illustration of section thinning by erosion.
must be specified for every depth throughout the
geologic past. The simplest way to do this is to
compute the present-day geothermal gradient and
assume that both the gradient and the surface
temperature have been constant throughout the
time interval covered by the reconstruction;
therefore, the temperature grid is simply a series
of equally spaced lines of constant depth. A 10°C
spacing is convenient.
Figure 3 shows a more comphcated situation,
in which there is a break in the present-day geo-
thermal gradient. The upper part of the section,
which is mainly sand, has a low gradient, but the
lower shaly part has a high gradient. If it is as-
sumed that the geothermal gradient is related to
lithology, the geothermal gradient prior to 88 m.y.
B.P. must have been high for the entire section,
for only shales were present. The low gradient
came into existence after 88 m.y.B.P., when depo-
918 Douglas W. Waples

sition of sand began. The isotherms (dashed lines) Table 1. Temperature Factors
in Figure 3 thus represent the subsurface temper- for Different Temperature Intervals
atures as a function of geologic time.
There is no theoretical limit to the complexity
which can be introduced into the temperature his- Temperature Index Temperature
tory of a section. However, most data necessary Interval Value Factor
for a highly sophisticated temperature reconstruc- (°C) n 7
tion wiU simply not be available.
Lopatin's method can be applied to any geo- _-7
30- 40 -7
logic model, regardless of the model's crudeness _-6
or complexity. A well thought out, detailed recon- 40- 50 -6
_-5
struction will obviously yield more rehable results 50- 60 -5
_-4
than one which is based largely on guesswork. 60- 70 -4
These hmitations should be borne in mind in any 70- 80 -3 ^-3

subsequent interpretation of Lopatin data. How- 80- 90 -2 -2

ever, even a very crude or approximate model 90-100 -1 J.-1

may be able to answer important questions about 100-110 0

hydrocarbon generation or preservation.
SPECIAL CASES
Although many geologic models can be con-
structed in a strai^tforward manner, there are
some situations in which caution is advisable, or
where special techniques are necessary. When
uplift and erosion occur, some section is lost.
TTius although the horizon Unes remain parallel
after such an event, the distance between them
will be reduced, as illustrated in Figure 4.
Another problem can arise when the section
under examination is cut by a fault. Such sections
above and below the fault may have had different
thermal histories. It is thus necessary to make two
different geologic reconstructions for the two dif-
ferent sides of the fault and combine them to ob-
tain the complete reconstruction for the section.
THEORY OF LOPATIN'S METHOD
Lopatin and many others believe that two fac-
tors, time and temperature, are important in oil
generation and destruction. These two factors are
interchangeable: a high temperature acting for a
short time can have the same maturation effect as
a low temperature acting over a long time. Lopa-
tin assumed that the dependence of maturity on
time is linear—doubling the cooking time at a
constant temperature doubles the maturity.
Chemical reaction rate theory predicts that the
temperature dependence of maturity will be expo-
nential. To take into account this relation be-
tween reaction rate and temperature, Lopatin di-
vided the temperature profile into ICC intervals
and drew the isotherms, as in Figure 3.
He then chose the 100 to 110°C interval as the
base interval and assigned to it an index value of
n = 0. The other intervals were assigned index
values as shown in Table 1. Lopatin then defined
a y factor, which reflects the exponential depen-
110-120 1
_2
120-130 2
J.3
130-140 3
_4
140-150 4
J.5
150-160 5
.. ..' m ,m
' Data not available.
dence of maturity oil temperature. He assumed
that the rate of maturation increased by a factor r
for every 10°C rise in reaction temperature. Thus
for any temperature interval the temperature fac-
tor y = r°, where n is the appropriate index value
given in Table 1.
For his time factor Lopatin used the length Of
time (in m.y.) that the sediment spent in each
temperature interval. The maturity added in any
temperature interval i is given by AMaturityi =
(ATi)(r"i), where ATi is the length of time spent by
the sediment in the temperature interval i. Be-
cause maturation effects on the organic material
are additive, the total maturity (or TTI) of a given
sediment is given by the sum of the maturities
acquired in each interval. Thiis
nmax
nmin
where nmax and nmin are the n-values of the
highest and lowest temperature intervals encoun-
tered. If Lopatin's idea is correct, the TTI value
should correlate with data obtained using other
methods for evaluating the thermal maturity of
organic material.
The present work attempted first to choose a
value for r, and second to estabhsh a correlation
between TTI and vitrinite reflectance and ther-
mal alteration index (TAI) measurements.
 Time and Temperature in Petroleum Formation 919

Table 2. Interconveision of Thermal Alteration between measured and calculated maturities are
Index (TAl) and Vitrinite Reflectance Values (Rg) f>oor at the extreme values of r, but are generally
good for values of r between 1.6 and 2.5. The plot
TAI TAl of TTI versus Ro for r = 2 is shown in Figure 5.
Ro Ro
There is significant scatter in the data, prob-
ably due to two main factors: error in TAI or Ro
0.30 2.0 1.26 3.15 measurements, and error in the geologic models
0.34 2.1 1.30 3.2 used. Because of the large number of samples,
0.38 2.2 1.33 3.25 however, the average TTI-Ro line (as shown in
0.40 2.25 1.36 3.3 Fig. 5) is probably satisfactory.
0.42 2.3 1.39 3.35
As there was no strong evidence indicating a
0.44 2.35 1.42 3.4
0.46 2.4 1.46 3.45
better choice for r, a value of 2 (representing dou-
0.48 2.45 1.50 3.5 bling of the reaction rate with every 10°C temper-
0.50 2.5 1.62 3.55 ature rise) was selected. All further discussions in
0.55 2.55 1.75 3.6 this paper assume that r = 2.
0.60 2.6 1.87 3.65
0.65 2.65 2.0 3.7
0.70 2.7 2.25 3.75
0.77 2.75 2.5 3.8 00,000:
19
0.85 2.8 2.75 3.85 •\ •
0.93 2.85 3.0 3.9
1.00 2.9 3.25 3.95 \
1.07 2.95 3.5 4.0 L •
1.15 3.0 4.0 4.0 10,000: \ *,
1.19 3.05 4.5 4.0
1.22 3.1 5.0 4.0 T«
• \ •*
i •»
m\

1,000:
\ •
CHOOSING VALUE FOR r M* •
The Arrhenius equation states that the rates of .•\»o
chemical reactions approximately double for ev-
ery 10°C rise in temperature. Lopatin himself ac-
•§•
•i**.
cepted this rule, and thus selected 2 for r. Other
•a*
100:
workers, however, have disputed this choice (Ner-
uchev and Parparova, 1972; Golitsyn, 1973). Be- "
cause of the complexity of the chemical reactions
actually involved and the broad temperature
TTI

. isJ
ranges over which these reactions occur, it is not
possible to make a sound theoretical prediction
10: wR
#^iV«
about the best value for r. It was therefore decid-
;
^ 'vB*
ed to try to evaluate r empirically by looking at a " Sua •
large quantity of TAI and vitrinite reflectance •^
(Ro) data and choosing the r value which gave the *%/•
1: ••
best correlation between calculated and measured • •
maturities. %ti •
Thermal maturity data for 402 samples from 31 ~ »•
- •• 1
worldwide wells were tabulated. The sediments -
sampled ranged in age from early Paleozoic to •t
.1:
Quaternary, and thus represent a broad time in- 1• •1
terval. Maturities were measured by either TAI or - ••«•>
Ro. To compare TTI values with a single maturity «
parameter, TAI values were converted to their Ro •
equivalent according to the scale in Table 2. The
.01-
range of reflectance values of the samples is M i l 1 1 1—1 i i i i i r f 1—1 1
10
about 0.4 to 6.
To test empirically for the most appropriate
value of r, TTI was plotted versus Ro for various FIG. 5—^Time-temperature index of maturity (TTI) ver-
values of r, ranging from 1.0 to 10.0. Correlations sus vitrinite reflectance (Ro) for r = 2.
920 Douglas W. Waples

Table 3. Calculation of Present TTI Values for Geologic Model (Fig. 6)

Temp. Interval A Time* Interval Total

r" (m.y.) TTI TTI
rc)
Horizon A
20- 30 2' 15 0.06 0.06
30- 40 5 0.04 0.10
40- 50
r'
T" 5 0.08 0.18
50- 60 T' 10 0.31 0.49
60- 70 3.5 0.22 0.71
70- 80
r" (3.5+6.5) 1.25 1.96
80- 90
r^ (4.5+37.5) 10.5 12.5
90-100
r= 10.5 5.3 17.8
100-110
r'
1 24 24.0 41.8

Horizon B
20- 30
30- 40
r« 3.5
(3.5+2.5)
0.01
0.05
0.01
0.06
40- 50
r'
T' (5 + 38) 0.67 0.73
50- 60 T' 12.5 0.39 1.12
60- 70 T" 24.5 1.53 2.65

Horizon C
20- 30 T" 10.5 0.17 0.17
30- 40 f 29.5 0.22 0.39

* AT for a particular interval is merely the age at which the sediment enters that interval, minus the age at which
it enters the next interval.

CALCULATION OF TTI calculated from our geologic models. Results of

The principles involved in calculating TTI val- *«se correlations, which are based on the previ-
ues have been explained in the foregoing; here we «"sly mentioned statistical analysis of 402 sam-
shall go t h r o u ^ a specific example. Figure 6 ples from 31 worldwide reconstructions, are given
shows a geologic model having three sediment ' ° Table 4. ^ , ^ ,^^^
horizons (A, B, and C) and a moderately complex Table 5 shows R<« TAI and TTI values for sev-
temperature grid. The calculation for each hori- eral important stages of o J generation and preser-
zon is given in Table 3. Computer calculation of ^^tion. The boundanes of the oil generation win-
TTI values is feasible. dow are very similar to those proposed by Dow
It is also possible to calculate the TTI value at (1^77) and many others. The oil preservation lim-
any time in the past in the same way. Suppose we
are interested in the TTI value of horizon A 60 •fin tAr\ i?n inn
•"='"'"
nn t^rt Aft ?n n

m.y. ago (represented by point P in Fig. 6). The

calculations are carried out in a manner analo- >"•=
gous to that done previously but stop 60 m.y.B.P. «<>••:
instead of at the present. The calculated TTI ="•'
value for point P in Figure 6 is 5.9. «"=
INTERPRETATION OF TTI VALUES
ecc -
Lopatin (1971) originally proposed that definite so-c
TTI values correspond to the different stages in ,oo^;.
the process of oil generation. The specific values „^,,
that he chose, however, appear to be incorrect
because of errors in his original geologic recon-
struction. A new scale of TTI versus vitrinite re-
flectance (Ro) has therefore been constructed by
comparing measured Ro values with TTI values FIG. 6—Geologic model for horizons A, B, and C.
 Time and Temperature in Petroleum Formation 921

its are based upon unpubUshed Chevron data. representing a variety of ages and Uthologies. The
These correlations effectively define the TTI correlations of TTI with TAI, vitrinite reflec-
range in which oil generation occurs (15 to 160); tance, bitumen/organic carbon ratio (Bit/Corg),
the highest TTI values at which oils of 40 and 50° carbon preference index (CPI), kerogen hydro-
API will be preserved (approximately 500 and gen/carbon (H/C) ratio, percent expandable
1,000, respectively); and the highest TTI values at clays, and gravity (API) are presented graphically
which wet gas can be preserved (1,500). Dry gas is in Figures 7 through 11. Results from each of
produced in the Union of California 1-33 Bruner, these relations lead to the same conclusion: TTI
Beckham County, Oklahoma, from a horizon is a valid measure of thermal maturity of organic
having a TTI of about 65,000, but it has not yet material.
been established that this is the maximum possi-
ble TTI at which methane is still stable. Bltmneii/Orgaiiic Carbon Ratios
CORRELATION OF TU WITH OTHER It is generally accepted among organic geo-
GEOCHEMICAL DATA chemists that Bit/Corg ratios should show an in-
crease within the oil-generation window. In actual
Calculated TTI values were compared with practice, however, Siis increase is not always
measured data from many worldwide samples clearly visible, because such factors as migration
and kerogen type may strongly affect the bitumen
Table 4. Correlation of Time-Temperature Index content. When a large number of samples is ana-
of Maturity (TTI) with Vitrinite Reflectance (RQ) lyzed statistically, however, a maximum in the av-
erage Bit/Corg ratio should be visible within the
TTI TTI generative window.
Ro Ro
Figure 7 shows a plot of TTI versus Bit/Corg
where each point represents the average of up to
0.30 <1 1.36 180 46 individual pieces of data. A visible maximum
0.40 <1 1.39 200 where the ratio is about two times that of the
0.50 3 1.46 260 baseUne is apparent between TTI = 25 and TTI
0.55 7 1.50 300 = 200. This region corresponds rather well to the
0.60 10 1.62 370 oil generative window (TTI = 15 to 160) as de-
0.65 15 1.75 500
0.70 20
termined from TAI and Ro data.
1.87 650
0.77 30 2.00 900
0.85 40 2.25 1,600 Carbon Preference Index
0.93 56 2.50 2,700 It is generally accepted that CPI values de-
1.00 75 2.75 4,000 crease with increasing thermal maturity. The data
1.07 92 3.00 6,000 in Figure 8 bear out the truth of that statement.
1.15 110 3.25 9,000
1.19 120 3.50 12,000
CPI values for immature samples range from low
1.22 130 4.00 23,000 to very high, but among the more mature samples
1.26 140 4.50 42,000 very high values are conspicuously absent. The
1.30 160 5.00 85,000 maximum CPI value possible for a given TTI
value decreases as TTI increases, as shown by the

Table 5. Correlation of TTI with Important Stages of Oil Generation and Preservation

Stage TTI TAI

Onset of oil generation 15 0.65 2.65

Peak oil generation 75 1.00 2.9
End of oil generation 160 1.30 3.2
Upper TTI limit for occurrence of oil
with API gravity <40° -500 1.75 3.6
Upper TTI limit for occurrence of oil
with API gravity <50° -1,000 2.0 3.7
Upper TTI limit for occurrence of wet gas -1,500 2.2 3.75
Last known occurrence of dry gas 65,000 4.8 >4.0
Liquid sulfur in Lone Star Baden 1
(below dry gas limit) 972,000 >5.0 >4.0
922 Douglas W. Waples

I.OOO.OOOn Kerogen H/C Ratios

(7) Figure 9 shows a plot of TTI versus average
kerogen H / C ratios, with each point representing
up to 49 individual samples. Again TTI directly
reflects thermal maturity, for the average H / C
100,000- ratios decrease with increasing TTI values.

(61 Percent Expandable Clays

Although the transformation of montmorillon-
ite (expandable clay) to illite (nonexpandable
clay) has often been thought to be associated with
10,000-
a definite subsurface temperature, the M ^ I
transformation may actually be a kinetically con-
• (32)
trolled process. It therefore should be possible to
apply Lopatin's method to clay transformations
in the same manner in which it is applied to cata-
1,000 genesis of organic material.

TTI 100,000:
.(38)
100
(42)

'•(36) OIL GENERATION

10,000
(40) WINDOW
,(46)

1,000:

(15) NO. OF SAMPLES

I-

(25) 100:

TTI
L(35)

BIT/C„,„
org
FIG. 7—Time-temperature index of maturity (TTI) ver-
sus ratio of bitumen/organic carbon (Bit/Corg)-

envelope Une in Figure 8. According to these

data, bitumens associated with kerogens within
the oil generative window can have CPI values of
up to 1.75 (at TTI = 15) or 1.2 (at TTI = 160).
TTius although a decrease in maximum CPI corre-
lates with oil generation, the actual CPI's of new-
ly generated bitumens do not necessarily reach
tike low values normally found in crude oils (CPI
< I . l ) , indicating that thermal maturity is only CPI
one of the possible factors which can strongly in-
fluence n-paraffin distributions (Tissot et al, FIG. 8—Time-temperature index of maturity (TTI) ver-
1977). sus carbon preference index (CPI).
 Time and Temperature in Petroleum Formation 923

ted versus oil gravity in Figure 11. Most oUs, in-

cluding all those of low gravity « 3 0 ° API), show
TTI values of <160; that is, these oils are found
within or structurally above the oil generation
window. A few of the lighter oils (API gravity
>40°) were recovered from horizons having TTI
values >160; that is, from reservoirs which have
been subjected to additional thermal maturation

10,000:

1,000,000

OIL
GENERATION 100,000;
WINDOW

10,000:
(30) NO. OF SAMPLES

(30)

TTI
— I 1 '—I 1 "-1 1 1

0 .2 .4 .6 JB 1.0 1.2 1.4 1,000:

FIG. 9—Time-temperature index of maturity (TTI) ver-

sus kerogen hydrogen/carbon ratios (H/C).

To this end a plot was made of TTI versus per- 100:

cent expandable clay layers (Fig. 10). There is a
strong correlation between the maximum percent
expandable layers and the TTI, as shown by the
solid line. Samples lying significantly left of the
line in the thermally immature region probably
represent material which contained less than
l()b% expandable layers when it was originally
deposited.
About 50% of the interlayer water has already
been lost from between the layers before the on-
set of oil generation, and another 25% prior to
peak oil generation. The quantity of expelled in-
terlayer water available for transport of newly
generated oil is therefore much smaller (except
perhaps in supemormally pressured regimes) than
some workers have estimated. This observation
should be important in future studies of the -I r
mechanism of primary migration. 40 60
% EXPANDABLE
API Gravity of Oils LAYERS

API gravity data were available for 57 world- FIG. 10—Time-temperature index of maturity (TTI)
wide oils from reconstructed sections. TTI is plot- versus % expandable layers in mixed-layer clays.
924 Douglas W. Waples
FIG. 11—Time-temperature index of maturity (TTI)
versus oil gravity (API).
after oil generation. Because oil gravity is general-
ly conceded to be at least in part related to ther-
mal maturity, it is significant that low-gravity
(immature) oils are not found associated with
liigh TTI values.
From these limited data it is possible to esti-
mate tentative "deadlines" for the preservation of
oils of a certain API gravity. The solid line in
Figure 11 approximately indicates the upper TTI
value at which a given gravity of oil can be pre-
served. Thus the maximum TTI value for finding
a 40° oil would be about 500, and for a 50° oil,
about 1,0(X). These numbers should, however, be
viewed cautiously as merely the best extrapola-
tions possible at present on the basis of our limit-
ed data.
Natural Gas
Data from 36 natural gas localities were avail-
able. Although the data are too sparse to allow an
accurate calculation of the maximum TTI value
at which wet gas ( > 5 % C2+) can be preserved, a
TTI value of about 1,500 might be a reasonable
estimate for the wet-gas deadline.
The dry-gas deadline (below which methane
will not be found) could not be exactly de-
termined, but appears to he at TTI >65,0(X). Dry
gas is produced from the Union of California 1-
33 Bruner well in Beckham County, Oklahoma, at
a TTI of about 65,000. The Lone Star 1 Baden
well in Washita County, Oklahoma, struck liquid
sulfur at a TTI of 972,000, indicating that the dry
gas deadUne probably lies at a TTI value between
65,000 and 972,000. It is interesting that the Socal
1 James dry gas discovery in Wlieeler County,
Texas, the world's deepest producer at 22,918 to
23,938 ft (6,985 to 7,296 m), is at a TTI of only
17,500.
APPLICATION OF TTI DATA TO EXPLORATION
TTI values obtained by application of
Lopatin's method can be useful in several ways
for oil exploration. If we are concerned with how
deep we can expect to find preserved accumula-
tions of oil, wet gas, or dry gas, we need only
calculate the present-day TTI values of the sus-
pected reservoirs and find the TTI regime into
which they fall. For example, suppose it is expect-
ed that a certain reservoir rock will be encoun-
tered at 12,000 ft (3,758 m) in a proposed well.
Can oil or gas be expected, and if oil, of what
gravity?
Suppose that we calculate a TTI of 1,2(X) for
the reservoir formation. This means that the res-
ervoir has a higher TTI value than that at which a
50° oil can be preserved (1,000 from Table 5). We
would predict from the TTI calibrations that the
reservoir lies beond the oil deadUne, and could
therefore contain only wet or dry gas. As stated
previously, the confidence level of this interpreta-
tion would depend upon the quaUty of the geo-
logic model.
A second way in which TTI values can assist in
oil exploration is in answering the question of
-Z''^. BASIN OUTLINE
PRESENT-DAY TTI OF
OIL SOURCE ROCK
CONTOUR OF ONSET OF
OIL GENERATION
FIG, 12—Present-day TTI values of organically rich
shale in hypothetical basin.
 Time and Temperature in Petroleum Formation
AGE (MY)
1^0
FIG. 13—Iso-TTI lines on geologic model.
whether or not the thermal maturity necessary for
hydrocarbon generation has occurred in a region.
For example, an organically rich shale has been
found in a basin, and we want to know whether
this shale has reached thermal maturity. By mak-
ing time-depth reconstructions for several points
in the basin, we can calculate present TTI values
for the shale at these points, as shown in the hy-
pothetical example in Figure 12. By contouring
the TTI values we can get an idea of the areal
extent of rich shale which has entered the genera-
tive window. In the example in Figure 12 the gen-
erative area (within the TTI = 15 contours) rep-
resents only a small part of the total basin; hence
only a small fraction of the rich shale could have
begun to generate oil. Thus the exploration risk in
prospects adjacent to this basin would be consid-
erably higher than if the whole basin had akeady
reached tiiermal maturity.
A third appUcation of TTI data in exploration
is in answering questions about timing of genera-
tion. Figure 13 shows a geologic model in which
TTI values of 15 and 160 have been located on
each of several horizons. If we contour iso-TTI
values on this model we have two lines which del-
imit the oil-generative window for the entire sec-
925
tion throughout the geologic past. The shaded re-
gion in Figure 13 indicates the generative
window. Let us suppose that one particular for-
mation, indicated as "Oil Source Rock" in Figure
13, is the only plausible oil source rock (OSR) for
this region. We can determine when in the geo-
logic past the OSR generated oil by inspection of
Figure 13. The OSR entered the generative win-
dow 181 m.y.B.P. and ceased generating 120 m.y.
B.P. The region in which the time-depth con(fi-
tions are appropriate for oil generation in the
OSR is shown in Figure 13 in black. As we now
know the time span during which oil generation
occurred (from 181 to 120 m.y.B.P.), we can begin
to answer important questions about the timing
of oil generation and trap formation. Suppose
that the only structural traps in the region were
created during the uplift lasting from 100 to 90
m.y.B.P. Because trap formation occurred at least
20 m.y. subsequent to the end of oil generation,
the probability is low that this oil could have been
captured by these local traps. It is more likely that
by the time these traps were formed the oil had
already migrated out of the region because there
was no barrier to its movement.
This Ust of potential applications of Lopatin's
926 Douglas W. Waples
method is doubtless incomplete, for the method is
very versatile. Creative geologists will certainly
discover new ways to use TTI data to answer spe-
cific questions important in their own particular
exploration areas.
CONCLUSIONS
This study has verified that the maturation of
organic material in sediments depends upon both
time and temperature. There is good correlation
between calculated TTI values and measured
geochemical-maturity parameters. A scale corre-
lating TTI values with TAI and Ro data has been
constructed.
TTI values corresponding to the oil generative
region have been determined. Using these TTI
values it is possible to predict wheSier a given
sediment has reached thermal maturity and, if so,
at what time in the geologic past.
TTI values corresponding to deadlines for pres-
ervation of various kinds of hydrocarbon deposits
have also been determined. These TTI values ef-
fectively delimit the depth limits in each area at
which oil, wet gas, and dry gas can be expected.
TTI values calculated from Lopatin recon-
structions agree consistently with other parame-
ters commonly employed by petroleum geochem-
ists in estimating thermal maturity of organic
material.
Potential application of Lopatin's method for
petroleum exploration is considerable. Among
the more obvious possibilities are quantitative ba-
sin analysis, comparison of timing of oil genera-
tion with trap formation, and determination of
economic basement. Further applications will un-
doubtedly be discovered by exploration geologists
as Lopatin's method begins to be employed rou-
tinely.
REFERENCES CITED
Dow, W. G., 1977, Kerogen studies and geological in-
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Golitsyn, M. V., 1973, The duration of the process of
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