Introduction to types and classification of rocks

A rock is a natural occurring solid cohesive aggregate of one or more mineral or

materials. Rocks are broadly classified into three groups based on their process of
formation. The three major rock types are: 1. Igneous rocks 2. Sedimentary rocks 3.
Metarmoprphic rocks. Sedimentary rocks make up to 66% of the earth’s crust, with 34%
being the igneous and the metamorphics. Igneous rocks however, forms the majority of
34% (Ehlers and Blatt, 1997).The reason why sedimentary rocks accounts for most of the
rocks on the earth’s surface is because they are mainly found in the ocean floor basins
which accounts to 70% of total area of the earth. The three rock types are further
classified based on chemistry, environment of formation and how they are formed.

Igneous rocks: Igneous rocks are formed from solidification and cooling of magma. This
magma can be derived from partial melts of pre-existing rocks in either a planet's mantle
or crust. Typically, the melting of rocks is caused by one or more of three processes
namely; an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition.
Igneous rocks are associated with volcanic activity and their distribution is controlled by
plate tectonics. Divergent plates are usually associated with creation of basalts and
gabbros especially in the oceanic crust e.g. in the mid-Atlantic ridges. While in the intra-
continental areas you can have wide array of rocks from basic, intermediate to the acidic
rocks. In the convergent plates usually granites and andesites magmas are produced e.g.
In the South America, Indonesia etc. Igneous rocks are divided into two main categories:
Plutonic (intrusive) rock and volcanic (extrusive). Plutonic or intrusive rocks result when
magma cools and crystallizes slowly within the Earth's crust. A common example of this
type is granite. Volcanic or extrusive rocks result from magma reaching the surface either
as lava or fragmental ejecta, forming rocks such as pumice or basalt. The chemical
abundance and the rate of cooling of magma typically form a sequence known as
Bowen's reaction series (read). The Bowens reaction series explain sequences of crustal
formation. The Bowens series is important because it forms basis for explaining igneous
mineral and textures.

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Types of igneous rocks: Igneous rocks can be differentiated according to their texture,
colour and composition. The difference in these three parameters depends on
environment of deposition and chemistry of magmas.

Metamorphic rocks: Metamorphic rocks are basically rocks that have experience
change due to high pressure and temperature below zone of diagenesis. Protolith refers to
the original rock, prior to metamorphism. In low grade metamorphic rocks, original
textures are often preserved allowing one to determine the likely protolith. As the grade
of metamorphism increases, original textures are replaced with metamorphic textures and
other clues, such as bulk chemical composition of the rock, are used to determine the
protolith. Below is an examination of the role of two agents of metamorphism.

The Role of Temperature: Changes in temperature conditions during metamorphism

cause several important processes to occur. With increasing temperature, and thus higher
energy, chemical bonds are able to break and reform driving the chemical reactions that
changes the rock's chemistry during metamorphism. Increase in temperature can also
result in the growth of crystals. In a rock, a small number of large crystals have a higher
thermodynamic stability than do a large number of small crystals. As a result, increasing
temperature during metamorphism, even in the absence of any chemical change, will
generally result in the amalgamation of small crystals to produce a coarser grained rock.
It is a fact that individual minerals are only stable over specific temperature ranges. Thus,
as temperature changes, minerals within a rock become unstable and transform through
chemical reactions to new minerals. This property is very important to our interpretation
of metamorphic rocks. By observing the mineral assemblage (set of minerals) within a
metamorphic rock, it is often possible to make an estimate of the temperature at the time
of formation.

The Role of Pressure: Pressure, the second of the two physical parameters controlling
metamorphism and occurs in two forms. The most widely experienced type of pressure is
lithostatic. This "rock-constant" pressure is derived from the weight of overlying rocks.

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Lithostatic pressure is experienced uniformly by a metamorphic rock. That is, the rock is
squeezed to the same degree in all directions. Thus, there is no preferred orientation to
lithostatic pressure and there is no mechanical drive to rearrange crystals within a
metamorphic rock experiencing lithostatic conditions. The second pressure is the directed
pressure; this is pressure of motion and action. Plate tectonics provide the underlying
mechanical control for all forms of directed pressure. Thus, metamorphism is closely
linked to the plate tectonic cycle and many metamorphic rocks are the products of
tectonic interactions. As was the case with changes in temperature, changes in pressure,
either lithostatic or directed, have important impacts upon the stability of minerals. Every
mineral is stable over a range of pressures, if pressure conditions during metamorphism
exceed a mineral’s stability range the mineral will transform to a new phase.

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS: Sedimentary rocks are formed by the deposition of material

at the Earth's surface and (or) within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective
name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles (detritus) to settle and
accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution. Sediments can be detrital, chemical
or organic sediments. Detrital sediments are mechanically eroded from pre-existing
rocks. Chemical sediments on the other hand are fluid precipitates or evaporates
deposited in various environments. Sedimentary rocks are important in regard to
resources like limestone deposits, coal and oil. They are also important geologically in
interpretation of earth’s history (Carlson et al, 2009). Below is a table with descriptions
of some common sedimentary rocks which include; sandstone, limestone, shale,
conglomerate, and gypsum.

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Examples of sedimentary rocks

Classification of reservoir rocks (Adapted from Nichols, 2009,)

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RESERVOIR ROCKS

According to Society of Petroleum Engineers Glossary, a reservoir rock is a rock

containing porosity, permeability, sufficient hydrocarbon accumulation and a sealing
mechanism to form a reservoir from which commercial flows of hydrocarbons can be
produced. Porosity and permeability are the reservoir rock most significant physical
properties.

Types of reservoir rocks

All types of rock (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic) can act as reservoir rocks if it
can accommodate and drain hydrocarbons. For a rock to be named a reservoir it has to be
porous and permeable usually sedimentary in origin. These sedimentary rocks may be
made of sandstones (quartz sand or arksosic sandstone), carbonates mud or dolomite.
Dolomites mostly form good reservoirs because the common reason behind it is that there
is Mg, 13% smaller than Ca in a way that during dolomitization, there is a total decrease
in volume of the material by 13%, hence 13% porosity is gained.

Sandstone reservoir rocks

The term sand refers to a specific grain with sizes between (62 µm - 2 mm). The
performance of the sandstone as a reservoir rock is described by its combination of
porosity and permeability depending on the degree to which the sand dominates it. The
favorable texture is depicted by packaging of similar sized grains, not a combination of
coarse and fine grained composition. The best sandstone reservoirs are those that are
composed mainly of quartz grains of sand size of nearly equal sizes or silica cement, with
minimal fragmented particles. Sandstone reservoirs are generally 25 meters thick.

Carbonate reservoir rocks.

Carbonates are usually made of fossils which “range from the very small single cell to the
larger shelled animals”. Most carbonate rocks are deposited at or in very close
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neighborhood to their site of creation. The "best-sorted" carbonate rocks are Oolites in
which encompass grains of the same size and shapes even though Oolites are poorly
sorted.

Reservoir rock properties, interpretation and significance

The reservoir properties that are important in oil and gas operations particularly in
volumetric computations include; net to gross, porosity, permeability and hydrocarbon
saturation.

 Porosity is the void space in a rock that can store the fluids. It is measured as
either a volume percentage or a fraction (expressed as a decimal). In the
subsurface this volume may be filled with petroleum (oil and gas), water, a range
of non hydrocarbon gasses (CO2, H2S, N2), or some combination of these.

Porosity is symbolized in phi (ϕ) and its value is expressed in percentage. Porosity value
calculation:

Porosity is divided into two types, absolute porosity and effective porosity. Absolute
porosity is the ratio of the total pore volume in the rock to bulk volume, obtained by the
calculation:

Effective porosity is the ratio of interconnected pore volume to bulk volume, obtained by
calculation:

Based on the way of its formation, there are two types of porosity:

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  Primary porosity is porosity that formed while sedimentary rock deposited.
 Secondary porosity is porosity that formed after the sedimentary rock deposited.
Primary porosity types:

Inter-particle: In this type, rock content was quickly lost in muds and carbonate sands
through compaction and cementation respectively. This type is mostly found as
siliciclastic sands.

Intra particle: porosity by which the porosity is made of interiors of carbonate skeletal
grains.

Secondary porosity: the porosity formed after deposition leads to other couple of
reservoirs types. Dissolution porosity type is made of carbonate dissolution and leaching,
it is also called carbonate reservoirs. Fracture porosity which is characterized by not
being voluminous.

 Permeability: The permeability of a rock is a measure of its ability to transmit

fluids, and is a function of pore space distribution and connectivity
(e.g. porosity and pore throat distribution). The units of permeability are length
and it is typically quoted in Darcies (d) or millidarcies (md), where 1 d (103 md) is
approximately equal to 10-12 m2. Formations that transmit fluids readily, such as
sandstones, are described as permeable and tend to have many large, well-
connected pores. Impermeable formations, such as evaporites, shales and
siltstones, tend to be finer grained or of a mixed grain size, with smaller, fewer, or
less interconnected pores. It should be noted that, a reservoir rock can be porous
without being permeable. For example a rock is permeable if the pores
“communicate”. When the porous medium is completely saturated by a single
fluid, the permeability will be described absolute, and described as effective
permeability when its porous medium is occupied by more than one fluid.
 Net to gross NTG: The Net/Gross ratio is proportion of the GRV formed by the
reservoir rock (range is 0 to 1). It is usually defined by a cut off on permeability or

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 porosity. It should represent the volume of rock that is able to store hydrocarbons.
It can also be defined as the ratio of the porous and permeable interval to the
nonporous and or non permeable interval. This means the rock that has enough
permeability or saturation to produce hydrocarbons. The danger in this method is
that recoverability changes through field life and based on the recovery technique
and therefore the N/G can change during field life.
 Net reservoir and net pay: Rock that sores hydrocarbons that can flow.
 Net rock: rock that can store hydrocarbons.

Intrinsic reservoir properties

Porosity, permeability, grain density and water saturation are measured on core plugs
during routine core analysis. Such data is used to determine the storage volume and flow
potential of a reservoir.

Core and well log interpretation

Core provides the basic geological data from which to build a detailed description of the
reservoir. It also provides the basis upon which petrophysical parameters can be
measured; (porosity and permeability and relative permeability).

Core description also tells about the depositional environments and may give the
reservoir net to gross.

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Schematic representation of core image

Relative permeability: Absolute permeability to air is measured during routine core

analysis. A consequence of there being more than one fluid in the pore system is that
neither water nor oil will flow as readily as if there were one phase; this is known as
relative permeability. Relative permeability is measured in the laboratory through
experimentation. The experiments are run at reservoir temperature and pressures, using a
combination of real or simulated formation water and oil. Sequences of oil and water are
flushed through the samples of preserved core and the relative permeabilities of the two
phases at a variety of partial saturations are measured.

Errors in coring:

- Coring and handling may alter the rock properties

- Exposure to a radically different stress conditions may have the same effect
- Some intervals may be too weak for coring
- Other cores may be too thin
- It may be impracticable to analyze tight cores.

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Wettability

In some reservoirs, the surface of the rock is water wet, with petroleum lying at the
centers of the pores. A few reservoirs are oil wet. The factors that influence wettability
are the mineralogy of the reservoir and presence or absence of natural surfactants within
the petroleum (polar compounds). Wettability in a reservoir is a measurement of the
ability of a fluid to coat the rock surface. Wettability and heterogeneity have a significant
impact on the shape of the relative permeability curves. The wetting fluid relative
permeability curve is concave upwards whereas the non-wetting fluid has an “s” shape. In
the case where there is no interfacial tension between the fluid phases, the relative
permeability curves simplify to straight lines between the endpoints.

Water-Wet Relative Permeability Curves (Oil and Water)

A schematic of oil-water relative permeability curves in a water-wet reservoir is shown

below. In water-wet rock, a water layer wets the rock surface and acts like a lubricant for
the oil located in the central parts of the pores.

 Swc is the connate or irreducible water saturation. This is the water

saturation below which water is not mobile because of capillary forces. The
relative permeability of water at water saturations below Swc is zero.
 Sorw is the residual oil saturation or critical oil saturation. This is the oil
saturation below which the oil is immobile, that is, its relative permeability
is zero.

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Schematic of oil-water relative permeability curves in a water-wet reservoir

Oil-Wet Relative Permeability Curves (Oil and Water)

The figure below displays a schematic of water-oil relative permeability curves in an oil-
wet reservoir rock. In oil-wet rock, oil wets the pore surfaces and water occupies the
central regions of the pores. Typically, the irreducible water saturation in oil-wet
reservoir rock is lower than that in water-wet rock.

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Schematic of water-oil relative permeability curves in an oil-wet reservoir

Gas-Oil Relative Permeability Curves

The schematic below displays a set of gas-oil relative permeability curves. In this case,
the wetting phase, the oil phase, impedes the flow of gas. The water saturation in the
reservoir rock is taken to not exceed its irreducible value. This means that the water is not
mobile, but exists in the pore space and simply reduces the available pore space that the
gas and oil can occupy.

 Sgc is the critical gas saturation. This is the minimum saturation for gas to
become mobile.
 Sorg is the residual oil saturation to gas. This is the immobile oil when gas is
the displacing fluid.
 krogc is the relative permeability of oil at the critical gas saturation.
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  krgc is the relative permeability of the gas at the residual oil saturation.

Gas-oil relative permeability curves-oil is the wetting phase

Formation volume factor (FVF)

The pressure and temperature differ from trap to trap, and from trap to the earth’s surface.
Most oil shrinks as they are lifted from the ground. This is partly a temperature effect, but
is largely due to exsolution of gas as the pressure is reduced. The ratio between the
volumes of petroleum at reservoir conditions to that at standard conditions (stock tank
conditions) is called FVF.

Water saturation

A petroleum bearing reservoir always contains some water. The quantity of water is
commonly expressed as fraction or percentage of the pore space.

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Gas to oil ratio

The gas that exsolved when oil is raised from the trap to the surface is produced
alongside the oil. The proportion of gas and oil in the produced fluid at stock tank
conditions is known as the gas oil ratio (GOR).

Other factors that affect the volume of the reservoir rock

 Grain size and pattern arrangement: Apart from the arrangement pattern of grains
size which effect rock properties, the actual size of the grains does not affect the
permeability of neither reservoir rock nor porosity.
 Shape of the grains: grains with high sphericity tend to pack themselves well to
make a minimum pore space, the fact which increases angularity and hence pore
space volume increases.
 Sorting or uniformity of size of the grains: size of grains has an effect on reservoir
properties; the more uniform the grains are sized, the great proper volume of voids
spaces. Thereby mixing grains of different sizes tends to decrease total volume of
void space.
 Subsequent action to the sediments (compaction): The more grains are compacted,
more the volume of void spaces decreases. However the compaction of sand is less
effective than the way clay does.
 How the grains were formed.

Methods to determine rock properties

Reservoir rock properties such as porosity and permeability are directly or indirectly
measured. The direct methods consists of measuring the core sample taken from the
parallel lithological area of the reservoir rock to assess them while the indirect methods
consist of using data collection, well logs, seismic, production tests, etc., the porosity data
are used in the basic reservoir to evaluate volumetric calculation of fluids in the reservoir
and calculating fluid saturations and geologic characterization of the reservoir.

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Reservoir rock properties calculation formula

Porosity ф =, Vp = VB - VS ,

Ф symbolizes porosity, Vp (volume of all pores), Vs represents volume occupied by other

particles (Matrix materials), VB represents the total volume, ƿ represents their respective
densities.

Permeability: the permeability of a reservoir reckons on the determining the flow of a

fluid which depends on constant, k, and Darcy constant. With q representing volume of
flow rate; A - the area section of pores, µ represents viscosity constant of fluid and dp/dl
represents the infinitesimal change of flowing pressure.

The rate at which petroleum migrates can be calculated using Darcy’s Law;

Q = kAΔP/dzµ (Darcy Linear Flow rate equation)

Diagram showing definitions and directions for Darcy’s law

Que: Write the Darcy linear flow equation and define the terms.

Conventional reservoirs

A conventional reservoir is that which has a good permeability and can flow with ease
towards the well bore. Mostly carbonate, fractured basement and sandstone have the good
permeability which are said to be conventional reservoir. The reservoirs which have the
permeability above 0.1 md (milidarcy) are considered as the conventional reservoir.

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Unconventional Reservoir Wells

Unconventional reservoirs are essentially any reservoir that requires special recovery
operations outside the conventional operating practices. Unconventional reservoirs
include reservoirs such as tight-gas sands, gas and oil shales, coalbed methane, heavy oil
and tar sands, and gas-hydrate deposits. Shale is unconventional type of reservoir because
the permeability of shale is less than 0.1 md sometimes 0.001 md. To get the good
recovery from the unconventional reservoir the fracturing is the main role. These
reservoirs require assertive recovery solutions such as stimulation treatments or steam
injection, innovative solutions that must overcome economic constraints in order to make
recovery from these reservoirs monetarily viable. To help improve well economics in
unconventional reservoirs it is important to evaluate wellbore architecture - including the
cement sheath - as integral to well performance and total recovery.

 Coal bed methane: occurs in coal deposits and is formed during coalification,
transformation of plant material into coal. Natural gas is trapped in the carbon
structure of coal seams; methane is absorbed to the surface of the coal
 Basin Centered Gas: abnormally pressured, gas-saturated accumulations in low-
permeability reservoirs lacking a down dip water contact.
 Gas hydrate: solid gas molecules trapped in a lattice of water molecules at
temperatures above 0°C and pressures above one atmosphere. Most gas hydrates
are formed from methane.
 Injectites: unconsolidated sand remobilized and forced upward through overlying
impermeable layers. Forms permeable conduits in otherwise low-permeability
units, excellent pay zones and enhance reservoir connectivity.
 Shale gas: shale gas is defined as natural gas from shale formations and trapped
within shale formations of very low permeability. Shales are fine-grained
sedimentary rocks that can be rich sources of petroleum and natural gas. Only
shale formations with certain characteristics will produce gas. Two major drilling

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 techniques are used to produce shale gas; (1) Horizontal Drilling is used to provide
greater access to the gas trapped deep in the producing formation, (2) Hydraulic
fracturing (commonly called "fracking" or "hydrofracking") is a technique in
which water, chemicals, and sand are pumped into the well to unlock the
hydrocarbons trapped in shale formations by opening cracks (fractures) in the rock
and allowing natural gas to flow from the shale into the well.
 Oil shale: the term oil shale generally refers to any sedimentary rock that contains
solid bituminous materials (called kerogen) that are released as petroleum-like
liquids when the rock is heated in the chemical process of pyrolysis.

Deposition Environments and associated reservoir types

Defined as;

 The aggregate or complex of physical and/or chemical and/or biological

conditions that exist or prevail at a given point or in a given local area at a given
time or for a period of time.
 A distinctive kind of geographic setting characterized by a distinctive set of
physical and/or chemical and/or biological conditions.

Sedimentary bed that might define depositional environment include: grain size, grain
shape, grain surface texture, grain fabric, sedimentary structures, composition
(siliciclastic; carbonate, evaporite, coal, chert), fossils, stratification sequence, and
sediment-body geometry/architecture.

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Schematic for depositional environments of sedimentary rocks

Siliciclastic Reservoir

Siliciclastic sedimentary rocks are the most abundant of the sedimentary rocks. They are
formed from the detritus left over from the weathering of igneous, metamorphic, and
older sedimentary rocks.

Shallow marine system

Shallow marine sandstones can form ideal petroleum system because they commonly
ccummulate in association with source rock which may act as seal. The net to gross is
very high and homogenous. The tidal and wave /storm energy controls the development
and internal architecture of sand bodies.

Sub marine fan

It develops at the base of the slope within sedimentary basins. Sand and mud are
transported via mass flow; gravity induced process but trapped on the slope in small
intra-slope basins. The composition depends on the sediment source. Rock type can be
formed in deposition marine areas such as shelf sandstone and turbidity sandstone.

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Shelf sandstones

They are formed from precipitation in the shallow marine area. Sands are transported by
water current from river to shallow marine area. Because of that process, sand bodies are
formed around the pro delta and maybe form the fan like in delta.

Turbidity sandstones

Rock formed in deep marine area with rotation force existing due to deep current and
form the coarse layer which has interaction with shale layer in the deep marine.

Lacustrine Reservoir

This type of reservoir form in basin containing water surrounded by land and initially
formed by tectonic processes, volcanic, rifting, soil movement, and erosion by the wind
on the coast or in land. The texture of sedimentary rocks in the environments is usually
granules grained and the size between 2 mm – 4 mm. The preservation potential is low
and oil and gas is reservoired in lacustrine fan.

Aeolian dune Reservoir

They develop within deserts. Aeolian dune sands often occur in association with fluvial
(wadi) and sabkha deposits at the basin margins, and lake deposits, possibly ephemeral
playa lakes, at the basin center. Aeolian sandstone is uncommon as reservoirs because
they have low preservation potential as a result of the seas and rivers washing them away.
During catastrophic flooding, of sub aerial basins, the sands are preserved. Aeolian
sandstone has better reservoir quality than the fluvial and sabkha deposits because of
better sorting. The sediments result from wind-blown sand. The clastic texture of the
environment is granules (2 mm – 4 mm) and coarse (over 2 mm).

Fluvial Reservoir

River systems connect the site of sediment production (erosion) to areas of (coastal)
deposition. For river sediments to be preserved and thus potential reservoirs, deposition
must occur in areas of net subsidence. When this happens, river complexes commonly

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form extensive and thick sand (and mud) bodies. Braided rivers are commonly very sand-
rich and therefore the net to gross is very high (0.7-1.0) and very thick. Braided
channels are characterized by rivers that have a significant amount of sedimentary load, a
steep profile and where discharge regularly fluctuates. Meandering rivers can also form
extensive sand body that may occur as petroleum reservoirs. The net to gross is less than
that of braided rivers due to channel stacking. (Read the different river types)

Meandering river system (modified after Einsele, 2000)

Que: How is a braided river formed?

Alluvial fan

They tend to develop along the front of mountains, along the sides of major valleys or at
the sides of glacier ice. High energy upland streams and rivers loose energy quickly as
they escape the confines of mountain valleys and, as they drop their sediment load as
soon as they reach flatter open land. The fans commonly develop into low-angle half
cones. Their size is largely dependent on the climate in which they develop, arid fans
tending to be smaller than wet fans.

Deposition of sediments of the fans is intermittent, linked directly to periods of high

rainfall in the mountains. At the head of the fan, flow tends to be channelized, while it is
more sheet like on the lower parts of the fan. Sorting of sediments is very poor in the
channelized portions and increases down fan. Individual alluvial fan are commonly small,
as consequence, reservoirs are small too unless the reservoirs are amalgamated along a
fault front or large thickness of potential reservoir rock accumulates as faulting creates
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accommodation space. The reservoir quality tends to poor and poorly sorted sediments
due to nature of deposition.

Schematic for an alluvial fan (left) and braided river systems right

Deltaic Reservoir

Sediments are deposited as they reach sea. They are rich in sand and both deltas and
marginal marine complexes form important reservoirs. The sand stone are well sorted
shore face sandstone. Barriers and baffles may exist because of mixture of lithology
types.

Log interpretation schematic for different deposition environments

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Carbonate Reservoir

Carbonate rocks are sedimentary rocks with carbonate fraction more than 50%. These
rocks can be used as a reservoir because of its porosity and permeability; and can be
classified to clastic and non clastic sediment. Its environmental formation is tropic-ocean.
The porosity concept of a carbonate rock is more complex than other rocks, because of its
secondary porosity, from carbonate dissolution made from skeletal remain and microbe
with cement. Almost all of carbonate reservoir type accumulated as a shallow marine
sedimentary, except on a pelagic chalk and deep marine. Carbonate reservoir rocks can
be found as a clastic limestone, carbonate framework (reef), and dolomite.

Reef Reservoir

Reef is a framework made of sea organism containing skeletal, grow in shallow clean
water where sunlight can reach as nutrition. Reef is a non-clastic carbonate rock without
transportation process on its formation.

Clastic Limestone

Clastic limestone are usually associated with oolit and become a pretty good reservoir.
Deposition is in shallow marine environments along the coast with high energy (strong
wave currents). Porosity may be extremely high because of the dissolution, but
permeability is not far from 5 milidarcy. It is called clastic because oolit associated with
limestone is present through the transport process before finally deposited.

Dolomite

Dolomite is formed by processes of calcite dolomitization from other carbonates (e.g.

limestone). Dolomitization occurrs not long after the process of sedimentation.
Dolomitization process can be reviewed as the secretion of magnesium contained in sea
water into the compounds associated with carbonate. Calcite that has not been
dolomitized will dissolve quickly and arising secondary pores, sometimes with very large
size. Dolomite has its price of porosity as high as limestone porosity, which is about 20-
30%. However, permeability is very high, reaching up to 5 milli Darcy to 2 Darcy.

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Hence, dolomite carbonate reservoirs have higher production of hydrocarbon than
limestone.

Lakes in arid regions

Deep ocean abyssal zone

Deposition environment, transport process and sediment type

Other types of reservoirs

Although the porosity and permeability are poor, shale, silt stone, limestone can even act
as reservoir due to fractures in the rock body (secondary porosity – secondary

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permeability). For other than sedimentary rocks (igneous–metamorphic) could be
reservoir rock if they are in fractured state.

Facies and facies models

The term facies refers to a distinctive kind of sedimentary deposit, which was deposited
in a distinctive setting. Usually a stratigraphic section shows a small to large number of
facies, stacked up with some degree of order or succession.

The main kinds of features of beds include; stratification, texture, bed thickness, bed
geometry, and nature of contacts. Of these, stratification offers the most valuable
possibilities for interpretation. Fundamentally this is because stratification is a fairly
direct reflection of the bed configuration that existed at the time of deposition, while the
bed configuration varies greatly as a function of flow conditions. On the other hand,
texture has always been considered to hold great interpretive potential, but we don’t yet
know very well how to make interpretations from textural features. Bed thickness and
bed geometry are more difficult to interpret because they reflect aspects of the
depositional environment on a scale which to a great extent is broad or regional rather
than local.

Cross stratification:-read (good indication of the overall paleoflow direction).

Hydrocarbon formation

The Origin of oil and gas - Organic matter

Petroleum is formed from organic matter and the organic matter is deposited in a marine
environment and remains buried under anoxic conditions for 100-400 millions years.
Over the years, layers of silt, sand and other sediments settle over the buried organic
matter. The increase of pressure and temperature slowly transforms the organic matter
into hydrocarbons (kerogen, oil, gas).

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The deposition of organic matter takes place under the flowing conditions:

 Marine organisms (zooplankton and algae) that settled to seabed at depths where
oxygen concentration is very low to decompose the organisms.

 Organic matter from nutrient-rich regions such as ancient river deltas. Those large
amounts of organic material were covered by subsequent sediments faster that
decomposition could take place.
 Organic matter was buried before decomposition takes place. The lack of oxygen
(anoxic conditions) is an essential factor since it prevents the decomposition of the
organic matter which is then transformed to oil.
 Subsequent layers cause the increase of pressure and temperature and the
transformation of the organic matter to hydrocarbons (maturation)

Source Rock:

Hydrocarbons are created from organic matter buried in an anoxic marine environment.
However, a few more conditions are required for hydrocarbons to accumulate and form a
petroleum reservoir. Most source rocks contain in excess of 1.0 wt% of organic carbon,
rich source rocks contain >5.0 wt% and the value can reach as high as 20 wt%.

Preservation of organic matter

The two basic requirements for the generation and preservation of organic matter in
sediments are (1) high productivity and (2) oxygen deficiency of the water column and
the sea bed. The supply of organic matter to any deposition site is controlled by primary
productivity (within 50 m of the water column) and the depth of water through which the
material must settle. The preservation beneath the sediment/water interface is a function
of the rate of burial and oxygenation of the bottom waters. Environments of high
productivity include (1) continental margins-, (2) lagoons- lack of water circulation leads
to anoxic conditions, and restricted sea- stratification results in high productivity in the
photic zone and periodic overturning leads to oxygen supply to the sea bed and high

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organic activity at the surface leads to anoxic conditions, (3) deltas in warm latitudes-
with high sedimentation rate, and (4) lakes – high productivity characterized by anoxic
bottom waters.

Que: Describe four environments associated with high organic matter productivity

Controls on the quantity and quality of organic matter

 The environment at the time of deposition of organic matter

 Rate of deposition at burial
 Ratio of terrestrial to marine plant input
 Oxidation state of the deposition environment
 Amount of reworking of the sediment prior to burial

Kerogen types

The term kerogen refers to the organic constituent of the sedimentary rocks that is neither
soluble in aqueous alkaline solvents nor in the common organic solvents. Some authors
still restrict the name kerogen to the insoluble organic matter of oil shales only; the
fraction extractable with organic solvents is called bitumen. The kerogen type is
dependent on the type of organic material preserved in each sedimentary environment
and they undergo different burial conditions controlling time of petroleum generation and
expulsion from the source rock, they also produce differing yields.

The kerogen type has been classified according to hydrogen index (HI) values and
hydrocarbon pyrolysis yields (S2). Type I and Type II kerogen commonly possess HI
values more than 300 mg HC/g TOC, Type I and Type II kerogen have high pyrolysis
yields (S2) (>15 mg HC/g rock), whereas Type III kerogens have moderate low pyrolysis
yields (S2) (<10 mg HC/g rock). However, the Rock-Eval or Source-Rock-Analyzer
(SRA) data (i.e. HI, OI and S2) does not always accurately represent the types of kerogen
present and the types of hydrocarbon that may be generated by the source rocks.

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Type I: has high hydrogen to carbon ratio but low oxygen to carbon ratio. It is oil prone,
with a high yield (up to 80%). It is derived mainly from algal source, rich in lipids which
formed in lacustrine environment or lagoonal environment.

Type II: has intermediate hydrocarbon to carbon and oxygen rations. It is oil-and-gas
prone, with yields of 40-60%. The source is mainly membranous plant debris (spores,
pollen, cuticles), and phytoplankton and bacterial organisms in marine sediments.

Type III: has low ratio of hydrogen and high ratio of oxygen relative to carbon, and
therefore forms a low yield kerogen, principally generating gas. The primary source is
high plant debris found in coals or coaly sediments.

Type IV: nonfluorescing product of any of the above kerogens. It’s high in carbon and
very low in hydrogen, and often dead-carbon having no potential to yield oil and gas.

Que: Describe the various kerogen types and the associated hydrocarbons

Maturation: is the conversion of organic matter to hydrocarbons. The first stage is the
formation of kerogen. As the pressure and temperature in the source rock is further
increased, kerogen converts to petroleum. If the temperature is raised above 130C for
even a short period of time, crude oil will convert to gas.

Initially, the composition of the gas will show a high content of C4–C10 components
(wet gas and condensate), but with further increases in temperature the mixture will
convert to light hydrocarbons (C1–C3, dry gas). An average geothermal gradient is about
30C per 100 m of depth. The oil window is 60-120 0C (2-4km) and gas window is 120-
180 0C (4-6 km).

Note: Temperature is the first most important factor for thermal maturation and
determines the resultant hydrocarbon type. Time is the second most important factor for
thermal maturation and maturation indicators are used to evaluate potential hydrocarbon
accumulations.

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Depth as a function of maturation (left) and van Krevelen diagram (right) -types of
kerogen and how their elemental compositions change as they mature.

Migration of hydrocarbons

Primary migration: (movement within source rock or to carrier bed) is divided into two
phases namely;

a) Where petroleum is aided by water present in the source rock.

b) Where petroleum moves as a separate phase independent of any associated water

movements.

Water controlled processes include;

- Solution of oil in water

- Solution of gas in water

- Solution of non oil organic molecules in water

- Micellar formation

- Emulsion of oil in water

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Movement of the solution/emulsion occurs through;

 Diffusion

 Convection

 Meteoric water movement

 Compaction-induced water movement

 Lease of water during clay dehydration

Secondary migration: (movement from source rock to trap via carrier bed)

The driving mechanism for secondary migration is density difference between the
petroleum and water. The density difference is expressed through the buoyancy force
generated by the pressure difference between a point in continuous petroleum column and
adjacent pore water. It’s a function of the density difference between the petroleum and
the water and the height of the petroleum column.

Buoyancy force ΔP = Ypg(ƍw – ƍp)

Where;

g = acceleration due to gravity

ƍw =subsurface density of water
ƍw=subsurafec density of petroleum

The restricting force for petroleum migration is the capillary injection pressure. The force
required to move petroleum through pore throat is a function of the radius of pore throat,
the interfacial tension between petroleum and water, the wettability of the rock–
petroleum-water system.

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Displacement pressure

Tertiary migration: (leakage, and dissipation of the petroleum at the earth’s surface. The
mechanism is the same as that in secondary migration. Trap failure through capillary
leakage, hydraulic fracture or tectonism are the major causes.

Seal capacity.

A fundamental requirement for an effective seal is that the entry pressure of the cap rock
be greater than the buoyancy pressure of the CO2 stored in the reservoir beneath. The seal
entry pressure or seal capacity is the capillary pressure at which CO2 will leak into the
pore space of the cap rock. This is dependent on both rock and fluid parameters. Rock
parameters include the size distribution of continuous pore throats – the small space at the
point where two grains meet which connects two larger pore spaces. Fluid parameters
include the fluids (or gases) present (e.g. CO2, hydrocarbons, water), the density of the
fluids, and the interfacial tension of the fluids. A cap rock, or seal, provides a barrier to
the migration of fluid or gas out of intended trap due to its low permeability, high
capillary-entry pressure nature.

The maximum petroleum column is controlled by the capillary entry pressure of the
petroleum into the largest pores in the seal. Thus the petroleum will tend to migrate
along the coarsest, high – permeability pathways. The capillary entry pressure (Pd) of a
water-wet rock is given by the equation.

Pd = 2Y CosƟ / R

Where; Y = interfacial tension between the water and the petroleum, Ɵ = is the contact
angle, R= the radius of the largest pore

Note: the interfacial tension and contact angle change with increasing temperature and
pressure and relate to fluid type and density.

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The Trap

The three trap categories are structural, stratigraphic and hydrodynamic.

 Structural traps may be generated through tectonic, dipiric, compaction and

gravitational processes (structural deformation of rocks) and they may include
(tilted fault block, anticlines, diapiric traps, drape structures etc).

Anticline trap showing different fluid distributions

 Stratigraphic traps- formed by lithological variations imparted to sediment at

deposition or generated subsequently by alteration of the sediment of fluid through
diagenesis. They include; pinchout, reef traps, channel fills sandstone, onlap,
unconformity, shallow marine sandstone bar etc.
 Hydrodynamic Traps- If pore water flow in a sedimentary basin is strong enough;
the oil-water contact may deviate from the horizontal because of the
hydrodynamic shear stress that is set up. In some cases, oil may accumulate
without closure. Flow of fresh (meteoric) water down through oil-bearing rocks

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 commonly results in biodegradation of the oil and formation of asphalt, which
may then form a cap rock for oil.

Schematic for hdrodynamic trapping mechanism

Structural and stratigraphic trap schematics

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Diagenesis

Diagenesis refers to the sum of all the processes that bring about changes (composition
and texture) in a sediment or sedimentary rock subsequent to deposition in water. The
processes may be physical, chemical, and/or biological in nature and may occur at any
time subsequent to the arrival of a particle at the sediment ‐ water interface. The range of
physical and chemical conditions included in diagenesis is 0 to 200 oC, 1 to 2000 bars
and water salinities from fresh water to concentrated brines. The range of diagenetic
environments is potentially large and diagenesis can occur in any depositional or post
‐depositional setting in which a sediment or rock may be placed by sedimentary or
tectonic processes. This includes deep burial processes but excludes more extensive high
temperature or pressure metamorphic processes. Early diagenesis refers to changes
occurring during burial up to a few hundred meters where elevated temperatures are not
encountered (< 1 4 0 p ( 4 oC) and where uplift above sea level does not occur, so that
pore spaces of the sediment are continually filled with water.

The processes include;

 Compaction due to over pressure hence porosity reduction by grain rearrangement

and plastic deformation (resulting from burial and overburden in the sediment
column, most significant in fine-grained sediments – shale.
 Grain coatings inhibits quartz cement precipitation hence porosity preservation.
 Porosity enhancement by dissolution of framework grains or cements
 Preservation of porosity due to emplacement of hydrocarbon pore fluids
 Suppression of quartz cementation
 Reduction in porosity of sandstones by compaction (effective stress caused by
sediment loading)
 Quartz growth- the cement crystals nucleate on detrital quartz grains and reduces
intergranular porosity.

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  Dissolution of detrital grains or cements enhances porosity. Unlike CaCO3, all the
oceanic water column is under saturated with respect to amorphous silica but only
a fraction. While some elements escape the sediment through advection of pore
waters as a result of compaction, many others migrate in and out of the sediment
by diffusion, driven by concentration gradients established as a result of diagenetic
processes such as mineral dissolution, ion‐exchange, and bacterial degradation of
organic matter.
 Precipitation of intergranular pore-filling cements (chlorite, kaolinite, illites etc)
reduces porosity. Formation of new minerals and modification of pre‐existing
minerals. Ion exchange on the surface and intra-sheet layers of clay minerals
 Bioturbation- by microorganisms enhances and also reduces porosity;
Biological/physical/chemical influence of burrowing organisms: organisms:
bioturbation and bioirrigation. Some organisms, such as crabs and snails, mix
surface sediments simply by crawling and plowing through it. More importantly,
others, especially polychaete worms and bivalves, burrow into the sediment and
ingest the sediment particles to extract organic matter as food. Such burrowing
activity can extend to several tens of centimetres. Once their burrows are
constructed, some organisms remain in them and flush the burrows with overlying
seawater, bringing about enhanced exchange between pore waters and overlying
seawater. This process is referred to as bioirrigation.

Que: Describe the process that do take place during diagenesis and explain how they
affect reservoir quality.

Types of hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbon molecules are composed of hydrogen (H) and carbon bonded together.
Petroleum also contains leaser quanties of organic molecules that contain nitrogen
(N), oxygen (O), and sulfur (S). Small but significant quantities of organo-metallic
compounds (vanadium and nickel) are present.

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 The most common groups of hydrocarbons found in natural occurrences of petroleum
(crude oil and gas) are saturated compounds found in alkanes or paraffins and
napthenes or cycloparaffins.

Alkanes (CnH2n+2), Napthenes (cycloakanes) CnH2n, Aromatic CnH2n-6, Asphatenes

and resins- complex hydrocarbon compounds that are relatively enriched by high
molecular weight and large size and form some of the heaviest molecules in crude oil
and where the original oil has been altered due to biological activity, generally at low
temperature below 900. (Saturate, Aromatic, Resin and Asphaltene (SARA process) is
an analysis method that divides crude oil components according to their polarizability
and polarity. The saturate fraction consists of nonpolar material including linear,
branched, and cyclic saturated hydrocarbons (paraffins). Aromatics, which contain
one or more aromatic rings, are slightly more polarizable. The remaining two
fractions, resins and asphaltenes, have polar substituents. The distinction between the
two is that asphaltenes are insoluble in an excess of heptane (or pentane) whereas
resins are miscible with heptane (or pentane).

 Paraffinic: hydrocarbons characterized by open or straight chains joined by single

bonds
 Napthenes: cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbons characterized by one or more rings of
carbon atoms.
 Aromatic: Six Carbon Rings (Multiple Bonding), all bonds unsaturated
 Resins: heavy liquids or sticky solids with the same volatility and readily soluble
in oil.
 Asphaltenes: nonvolatile, dry, solid, black powders and do not dissolve in crude
oil but exist as a colloidal suspension.

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