Petroleum Geology

OCCURRENCE OF PETROLEUM
The petroleum deposits can be classified under several categories but most useful ones are based
on:
1. Mode of Occurrence:
a. Surface occurrences, such as seepages, springs, exudates of bitumen, mud volcanoes,
nspissated deposits, vug and vein feelings, and various kinds of oil, kerogen, and
bituminous shales.
b. Subsurface occurrences, including minor of oil and gas, pools, fields, and provinces.
2. Geographic Location
The distribution by countries, continents, and other geographic units.
3. Geologic Age Reservoir Rock

Conditions for Commercial Deposit of Oil or Natural Gas

In order for there to be a commercial deposit of natural gas or crude oil, three important
geological conditions must be met. First, there must be a source rock in the subsurface of that
area that generated the gas or oil at some time in the geological past. Second, there must be a
separate, subsurface reservoir rock that holds the gas or oil. Third, there must be a trap on
the reservoir rock to concentrate the gas or oil into commercial quantities.
The source of gas and oil is the organic matter—dead plant and animal material—that is buried
and preserved in some ancient sedimentary rocks. The most common, organic-rich sedimentary
rock and the source rock for most gas and oil is black shale. In the subsurface, temperature and
time turn organic matter into crude oil. Crude oil starts to form at about 150°F (65°C) at a
depth of about 7,000 ft (2,130 m) below the surface of the land (fig.1). It is generated from
there down to a depth of about 18,000 ft (5,500 m) at about 300°F (150°C). If the source rock is
buried deeper where the temperatures are above
300°F (150°C), the remaining organic matter can generate natural gas.

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 Fig. 1 Generation and Migration of Oil and Gas

One type of trap is a natural arch in the reservoir rock (fig. 2) called a dome or anticline. The caprock is a
seal that does not allow fluids to flow through it. Without a caprock, the oil and gas would leak up to the
surface. Two common sedimentary rocks that can be caprocks are shale and salt.

B
Fig. 2 Cross section of a subsurface petroleum trap

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Petroleum traps

Figure 3.
If free gas is present, it forms the gas cap which overlies the oil ring; the interface between the
two zones is the gas/oil contact or GOC. Below the oil, in turn, is the water which fills the
remainder of the reservoir space; oil and water are separated by the oil/water contact or OWC. If,
as in the upper section, the water does not underly the entire oil accumulation, the term edge
water is used; otherwise, one speaks of bottom water (see lower section). The maximum total
height of the hydrocarbons above the OWC, i.e. the distance to the highest point of the reservoir,
is called the HCH, hydrocarbon column height; the thickness of the oil ring is the oil column
height, OCH.
Well 3 has penetrated the O W C and thus gives direct information on the depth of the contact.
Well 2 penetrated the bottom of the reservoir before reaching the OWC: it contributes only a
minimum possible depth, which is referred to as the ‘oil-down-to’ or ODT depth. On the other
hand, well 1 went straight into the water leg and provided a maximum possible depth for the
OWC, the ‘water-up-to’ or WUT depth.

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Organizational Structure

Fig.4 Technical wing of oil and gas industry.

Specific Functions of Various Departments:
~ Exploration Department carries out the search for accumulations of oil and gas.
- Petroleum Engineering Department is charged with the planning and functional supervision of
- but generally not the line responsibility for - all operations required for the commercial
production of hydrocarbons.
- Drilling Department is responsible for the drilling of the wells, in accordance with the general
plans developed by the petroleum engineering department.
- Production Department carries out all operations to ensure the flow of the hydrocarbons from
the reservoir through the well bore to the surface facilities.
- Field Engineering Department constructs and operates the surface facilities: drilling sites,
roads, tanks, pipelines, pump stations, etc.

Fig. 5 More detailed sectioning of the oil and gas industry.

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Trap Types

Fig. 6 Simple Traps

The first three types have their origin in tectonic deformation; the following two are caused by
sedimentary conditions. The last one results from alteration of the hydrocarbons in the reservoir:
by escape of lighter components or by contact with meteoric water, the viscosity of the oil
becomes so high that further travel up-dip in the reservoir zone becomes impossible; below the
resulting tar seal, there may then still be lighter, less modified oil present.

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 Fig. 7 Combination Traps

Petroleum
Petroleum is a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules and lesser quantities of organic molecules
containing sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen, and some metals. The term includes both oil and
hydrocarbon gas. The density of liquid petroleum (oil) is commonly less than that of water and
the oil is naturally buoyant. So-called heavy (high specific gravity) oils and tars may be denser
than water. Some light (low specific gravity) oils are less viscous than water, while most oils are
more viscous than water.
The Source

A source rock is a sedimentary rock that contains sufficient organic matter such that when it is
buried and heated it will produce petroleum (oil and gas). High concentrations of organic matter
tend to occur in sediments that accumulate in areas of high organic matter productivity and

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stagnant water. Environments of high productivity can include nutrient rich coastal upwellings,
swamps, shallow seas, and lakes. However, much of the dead organic matter generated in such
systems is scavenged and recycled within the biological cycle. To preserve organic matter, the
oxygen contents of the bottom waters and interstitial waters of the sediment need to be very low
or zero. Such conditions can be created by overproduction of organic matter, or in environments
where poor water circulation leads to stagnation.
Organic matter rich in soft and waxy tissues, such as that found in algae, commonly yields oil
with associated gas on maturation (heating), while gas alone tends to be derived from the
maturation of woody tissues. Even oil-prone source rocks yield gas when elevated to high
temperatures during burial.

Fig. 8 Cross-section of part of petroleum bearing basin

The seal
Oil and gas are less dense than water and, as such, once they migrate from the source rock, they
tend to rise within the sedimentary rock column. The petroleum fluids will continue to rise under
buoyancy until they reach a seal. Seals tend to be fine-grained or crystalline, low-permeability
rocks. Typical examples include mudstone/shale, cemented limestones, cherts, anhydrite, and

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salt (halite). As such, many source rocks may also be high-quality seals. Seals to fluid flow can
also develop along fault planes, faulted zones, and fractures. The presence of a seal or seals is
critical for the development of accumulations of petroleum in the subsurface. In the absence of
seals, petroleum will continue to rise until it reaches the Earth's surface. Here, surface chemical
processes including bacterial activity will destroy the petroleum.

The trap

The term "trap" is simply a description of the geometry of the sealed petroleum-bearing
container Buoyant petroleum rising through a pile of sedimentary rocks will not be trapped even
in the presence of seals if the seals are, in gross geometric terms, concave-up. But if the seal is
concave-down it will capture any petroleum that migrates into it.
The simplest trapping configurations are domes (four-way dip-closed anticlines) and fault
blocks.

The reservoir
A reservoir is the rock plus void space contained in a trap. Traps rarely in close large voids filled
with petroleum; oil filled caves, for example, are uncommon. Instead, the trap contains a porous
and permeable reservoir rock. The petroleum together with some water occurs in the pore spaces
between the grains (or crystals) in the rock. Reservoir rocks are most commonly coarse-grained
sandstones or carbonates.

Chemistry of Petroleum
Hydrocarbons are molecules composed of hydrogen (H) and carbon (C) bonded together.
Petroleum also contains lesser quantities of organic molecules that contain nitrogen (N), oxygen
(O), and sulfur (S). Small but significant quantities of organometallic compounds (commonly
with vanadium and nickel) are also present, as are a large array of elements in trace quantities.
Examples of small and simple hydrocarbons include methane (CH 4), ethane (C2H6), and
propane (C3H8). Each of these compounds contains only carbon and hydrogen. Since one carbon
atom can bond with a maximum of four hydrogen atoms, methane is the simplest hydrocarbon
molecule and, in the absence of oxygen, it is also chemically stable. It is said to be saturated; that
is, there are no spare bonds and a change in chemistry involves replacement of one of the
hydrogen atoms. Where spare bonds are available, the compound is unsaturated and less stable
than the equivalent saturated compound. It will more readily react. The most common groups of
hydrocarbons found in natural occurrences of petroleum (e.g., crude oil and natural gas) are
saturated compounds found in the alkane or paraffins, and in the naphthene or cycloparaffins
groups.

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 Alkanes (paraffins)

Methane, ethane, propane, and butane are all stable compounds with the maximum permitted
number of hydrogen atoms. These saturated compounds form part of the group of hydrocarbons
called alkanes, with a chemical formula C nH2n+2, where n is the whole number of carbon atoms.
Alkanes contain chains of carbon atoms but no closed loops. The smallest molecules up to the
formula C4H10 (butane) are gases at standard conditions (i.e., at the Earth's surface) of
temperature and pressure. Liquid compounds at room temperature range from C 5H12 (pentane) to
C16H34 (hexadecane). Larger molecules have an increasing number of structural variations.
There are two important naturally occurring alkanes that are used in source rock analysis.
Pristane and phytane are both branched alkanes of biological origin with an odd number of
carbon atoms (C17 and C19, respectively), whose relative abundance in crude oils is an indication
of the depositional environment of their source rock.

Fig. 10 Chemical formulas for alkanes and alkenes and examples

Fig. 11 Standard molecular representation techniques.

Straight-chain and branched alkanes share the same formula. n-Pentane and iso-pentane (C 5H12)
are used to illustrate the different molecular arrangements, which lead to different physical
properties.
Naphthenes (cycloalkenes)

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 In some hydrocarbon compounds the carbon atoms are linked in a ring, thereby reducing
the number of sites for bonding with hydrogen atoms (Fig.). In natural petroleum, the
most common group of compounds with a ring structure is the naphthenes. The simplest
is cyclopropane (C3H6, Fig.), which is a gas. Cyclopentane (C5H10) and cyclohexane
(C6H12) are liquids and are abundant in most crude oils. The chemical formula for the
naphthenes is CnH2n. Large naphthene molecules commonly have more than one ring.
Some related compounds have a series of rings with straight-chain branches (Fig. ). Thus,
the range of naphthene compounds is large. As a consequence, it is often possible to
specify the exact source of a sample of crude oil from its unique chemical signature or to
match the oil found in a reservoir to its source rock.

Fig. 12 Naphthene, or ring, compounds have the chemical formula C nH2n.

A second group of compounds exists with the chemical formula C nH2n. The alkenes form a group
of unsaturated hydrocarbons in which some of the carbon atoms have more than one bond.
Typical compounds include ethylene (strictly ethene, C 2H4) and propylene (strictly propene,
C3H6). These compounds occur only in small quantities in natural petroleum. They are also

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manufactured by the petrochemical industry because they are useful starting materials for the
manufacture of plastics.

1. Aromatics

Unsaturated hydrocarbon ring compounds are called aromatics. Benzene (C6H6) is the simplest
(Fig. 1.5). The simplest aromatics have a chemical formula C^H2n _6, but there are many
complicated compounds that combine the benzene ring with naphthene and straight-chain
branches to produce a wide range of compounds. For example, toluene (C6H5CH3), in which
one of the hydrogen atoms has been substituted by a methyl (CH3) branch chain (Fig. 1.5), is a
common constituent in aromatic crude oils. One characteristic of the purer aromatic compounds
is their pleasant odor, in contrast to the naphtheno-aromatics, which, if they contain some sulfur,
smell awful.

Fig. 13 Example of aromatic compound

2. Asphaltenes

Complex hydrocarbon compounds that are relatively enriched in N, S, and O are known as

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asphaltenes or resins. They are characterized by high molecular weight and large size, and
form some of the heaviest molecules in crude oils. These compounds are frequently found in
immature oils and where the original oil has been altered due to biological activity, generally
at low temperatures (below about 900C).
Asphaltenes commonly present particular problems for reservoir, production string (the
tubing from reservoir to surface), and facilities management. The production of oil from a
reservoir requires a drop in pressure around the producing wellbore and drops in temperature
in the production string and topsides facilities. Reductions in pressure and/or temperature can
lead to asphaltene precipitation. This may occur in the reservoir near to the wellbore,
blocking the pores in the rock and "killing" the well. It may also block any pipework.
Cleaning, either mechanically or by solvent washing, is difficult and expensive in pipework
and is not possible in the reservoir. In summary, hydrocarbon compounds fall into a number
of groupings that depend on the molecular arrangement of the carbon and hydrogen atoms.
The molecular arrangement determines the physical and chemical characteristics of the
group, but the size of the molecule dictates whether the compound is gas, liquid, or solid at
standard conditions of temperature and pressure. The presence of minor amounts of N, S, and
O will have a marked impact on the properties. Petroleum contains arrange of compound
mixtures, from relatively pure natural gases to highly complex mixtures found in some
biodegraded crude oils.

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Petroleum Exploration
Simply means the process of exploring for oil and gas resources in the earth.
There are some requirements to meet a petroleum reservoir:

1. Source Rock
2. Reservoir Rock
3. Hydrocarbon Trap

Source rock maturity for the petroleum reservoir depends on pressure and temperature during the
lithification process, time, and a chemical reaction between carbon and hydrogen.

The maturity of the source rock is very important to whether the reservoir ca can
n be produced or
not. Limestone and shale are the major type of source rocks. Coal may also be considered as a
source rock, even though it is present in relatively small quantities within the earth. The concept
co
of reservoir rock is a storage that contain hydrocarbon gas, hydrocarbon liquid, and salt water.
The hydrocarbon fluids are less dense than the salt water. So, when it meets salt water, the
hydrocarbon fluids will force salt water to migrate downward below. This migration is controlled
by rock’s permeability and porosity.

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 Fig. 1 Temperature window for generating hydrocarbon (source: Saudi Aramco).

During the migration, the reservoir rock needs a trap or seal, so when the fluid migrate it will
encounter
nter an impermeable rock. If the fluids continue to migrate when there is no trap or seal, it
would go to the surface and dissipate.

Many hydrocarbon reservoirs need to be mapped before we know the volume and shape of a
reservoir. Desk
esk study, aerial surve
survey,
y, seismic survey, exploratory drilling, appraisal, development
and production are steps to assess a designate field for oil or gas prone.

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 Fig. 2 Petroleum Exploration Flow chart (Source: Saudi Aramco).
Desk Study
A desk study is the most basic way to define the geological conditions, and the possibility of a
petroleum system, below the surface. It can be finished by learning the topographic map,
geological map, and literature review of an area. Literature review is the main study research to
review the current issues of petroleum exploration and development, planning, and project
issues of natural resources and other relevant secondary data information. This secondary data
is collected during literature review and during fieldwork interviews by collecting data statistics,
documents, or literature about the area. It can be proceeded through a review of academic
sources information and discussions.
Aerial Survey

After a desk study finds favorable geological features for a petroleum system, an aerial survey is
conducted by remote sensing. A remote sensing image analysis can be carried out with
geomorphologic information, structure, and to define rock type classification. Seismic survey
will be done when aerial survey informations are prospective for a explorers.

Seismic survey

In petroleum survey, conducting seismic survey is important to achieve subsurface imagery of

survey area. It is operated by contractors (oil field service company) or the oil company itself.
Seismic survey can be conducted whether in land, marine, or transition zone; and the procedure
of all types of seismic survey is quite the same, when source used in field acquisition is
geophone and marine is hydrophone.

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 Fig. 3 Marine Seismic Survey

Fig. 4 Example of Land Seismic Survey

The survey is started with laying out the line to determine the position of source point and center
of geophone group. This work is conducted by the surveyors who also responsible to plan the
access route for all survey crew and following works.

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In seismic survey, determining field layouts is needed to get expected result. Once the layout is
assigned, the rest of survey’s procedure must follow the layout plan. The layouts that must be
planned include spread type, common-midpoint method, array concept, and other special
methods.

Spread is relative location of source and center of geophones used to record reflected seismic
wave. Particular type of spread to reduce the noise and unusable trace recorded by geophone
group which lies adjacent with the source. The common spread type used is asymmetrical spread.

Common-Midpoint (CMP) methods is used when each reflecting point is sampled than one.
Although some surveys conduct single fold recording, CMP method is common in seismic
survey. Recorded data can be displayed in common-shot gather, common-receiver gather, or
common-midpoint gather.

Array is distribution of sources that fired simultaneously. Arrays will provide a way to
discriminate waves which arrived from different directions, either vertically or horizontally from
source arrays. Determining array concepts will include tapered arrays, areal arrays, and array
constraints. Types of arrays used are sometimes determined from preliminary noise analysis.

After planning field layout, determining field parameters is not less important. Some of field
parameters are maximum offset, minimum offset, array length, group interval, and number of
channel. Other field parameters sometimes are obtained with field testing. To define the near
surface, uphole survey is conducted to find the thickness and velocity of low- velocity layer;
which will be followed by seismic refraction.

When the acquisition is complete, data processing is conducted to increase signal to noise ratio
and obtain imagery of the subsurface. The process includes noise attenuation, velocity analysis,
deconvolution, migration, stacking, and so on. Once the data have been processed and resulted in
form of seismic section, the seismic sequence will be interpreted to find out the underlying
structure, stratigraphic sequence, and find the petroleum system.

Exploratory Drilling

The data collected from the geologic and geophysical surveys will conclude to a possibility of oil
resources location. However, the conclusion is not definite enough before petroleum is now to be
existed in the trap, and the quantity is sufficient to make the production activity economical. The
only way to provide a definite answers is to drill and test exploratory well(s).

The exploratory well location is determined by geologists and geophysicists. Samples of the rock
cuttings obtained from exploratory drilling are collected and examined to identify the type of
formation and the presence of hydrocarbon materials within the rock based on sample’s
composition.

Besides rock cutting examination, well logging are also run. Well logging will provide
information about rock and fluid properties based on type of logging operated. The tools are
placed to the well using electric cable (wireline). There are various type of wireline logging:

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radioactive log, consists of Gamma Ray, Neutron, and Density; electric log, consists of SP and
resistivity; acoustic log; image log; and sampling. Logging will provide information of rock or
fluid properties versus depth.

The data provided by one exploratory well may not be sufficient, so additional exploratory
drilling is needed to provide better information of the petroleum system. Along with seismic
section, well logs will provide data to calculate volume ooff hydrocarbon stored and conclude
whether the production will be economically feasible.

Appraisal

You can interpret your subsurface area after you got the exploratory drilling data. From that, you
can predict the petroleum system there. First of all, you have to know is there any source rock in
your target or not. If your target doesn’t have any source rock, it will absolutely no petroleum
system there. After you find the source rock, you need to know is the source rocks mature
enough or not. It depends on when formed. If it is not mature enough, it can’t generated any oil
or expelled it. Then, if there any source rock, we have to look at the other elements of petroleum
system. It should has reservoir rock to absorb oil, seal rocks to seal the oil, trap to keep the oil
accumulation, and you have to know when and where is the migration path. Afterward, thing that
need to know before calculating the resources is, is it oil or gas prone, because oil and gas has
their own treatment to maintain the production.

This
his appraisal is used to know the extent of the discovery. Hydrocarbon reservoir properties,
connectivity of petroleum system, hydrocarbon type and gas gas-oil and oil-water
water contacts are
determined to calculate potential recoverable volumes. This is usually do done
ne by drilling more
appraisal wells around the initial exploration well. Production tests may also give insight in
reservoir pressures and connectivity. And so geochemical and petrophysical analysis is also
gives more information of the type of the target like its viscosity, chemistry, API,
API carbon content,
etc.

You need to calculate the total reserve of the reservoir. The calculation is given by volumetric
method, this is the calculation for oil in place:

You need to calculate the total reserve of the reservoir. The calculation is given by volumetric
method, this is the calculation for oil in place:

Where

N(t) = oil in place at time t, STB

Bb = 7758 A h = bulk reservoir volume, bbl
7758 = bbl/acre-ft
A = area, acres
h = thickness, ft

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 φ(p(t)) = porosity at reservoir pressure p, fraction
Sw(t) = water saturation at time t, fraction
Bo(p(t)) = oil formation volume factor at reservoir pressure p, bb/STB
p(t) = reservoir pressure at time t, psia

Andd if you find gas, this is the calculation of gas in place:

Where

G(t) = gas in place at time t, STB

Vb = 43,560 A h = bulk reservoir volume, ft 3
43,560 = ft3/acre-ft
A = area, acres
h = thickness, ft
φ(p(t)) = porosity at reservoir pressure p, fr
fraction
Sw(t) = water saturation at time t, fraction
Bg(p(t)) = gas formation volume factor at reservoir pressure p, ft 3/SCF
p(t) = reservoir pressure at time t, psia

Production and Development

After a hydrocarbon occurrence has been discovered and appraisal has indicated it is
economicallyly feasible enough to develop. We can focus on extracting hydrocarbon. Production
wells are drilled and prepared for producing the oil. For optimal recovery 3D seismic is usually
available and it can mapped the subsurface area. After produ
producing
ing the oil, we need to prepare for
enhanced recovery like steam injection, pumps, or any chemical way. This enhanced recovery
can extract more hydrocarbon so it can redevelop fields.

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Mostly, well is conducted to take oil from reservoir rocks. A reservoir rock like sandstone and
fractured limestone can be determined through a combination of regional studies. And it can be
determined from analysis of other wells in target area, stratigraphy and sedimentology, and
seismic interpretation. Once a possible hydrocarbon reservoir is identified, the key physical
characteristics of a reservoir that are of interest to a hydrocarbon explorer are its bulk rock
volume, net-to-gross
gross ratio, porosity and permeability.

Bulk volume of the rock is total volume of rock above any oil oil-water
water contact or gas-
gas water
contact, can be determined by mapping and correlating sedimentary packages. The net-to-net gross
ratio, typically estimated from analogues and wireline logs, is used to calculate the proportion of
the sedimentary packages that contains reservoir rocks. The bulk rock volume multiplied by the
net-to-gross
gross ratio gives the net rock volume of the reservoir. The net rock volume multiplied by
porosity gives the total hydrocarbon pore volume i.e. the volume within the sedimentary package
that fluids (importantly, hydrocarbons and wwater)
ater) can occupy. The summation of these volumes
for a given exploration prospect will allow explorers and commercial analysts to determine
whether a prospect is financially viable.

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Porosity and permeability were determined through the study of drilling samples, analysis of
cores obtained from the wellbore, examination of contiguous parts of the reservoir that outcrop at
the surface and by the technique of log analysis using GR, SP, resistivity, or neutron log, that
integrated each other. Modern advances in seismic data acquisition and processing have meant
that seismic attributes of subsurface rocks are available and can be used to infer
physical/sedimentary properties of the rocks.

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