FE 02

Basic Mud Logging Seminar

Seminar Objectives
How hydrocarbons are formed
The search for oil and gas
Present the parts of the rig
Outline the steps taken in drilling and
completing a well
Overview of basic mud logging operations
How Are Hydrocarbon Deposits
Formed And Trapped?
Life and Geologic Time
The presence of C,H,N and O created the conditions of life
on Earth
First bacteria appeared 3.5 billion yrs ago
Oil and gas derived entirely from decayed organic matter
Death, Decomposition and Burial
Most organic waste is destroyed by bacteria
Some are deposited in oxygen-poor aquatic milieus and are protected
from bacterial action
Sedimentary layers sink naturally or are buried deeper by tectonic
forces
Maturation
Maturation is the cooking of organic matter trapped in sedimentary
layers
Increasing heat and pressure causes kerogen to form
Source rocks are rocks that contain sufficient substances to generate oil
and gas
When a source rock starts to generate oil or gas it is said to be mature
Kerogen
Dark-colored
Indefinite and complex mixture
of compounds with large
molecules containing mainly H
and C but also O, N, and S
Insoluble in water and
petroleum solvents
It may consist of compacted
organic material
Source of most hydrocarbons
generated
Oil Window
Special environment where oil is generated
The temperature in the oil window:
65 and 150 C
Gas Window
Special environment where gas is generated
Temperature range: 120 to 225 C
Oil and Gas Windows
Migration
Migration is the tendency to move about and away
from the source rock.
A slow process
2 types: (primary migration) and (secondary
migration)
Triggered by natural compaction and the processes
of oil and gas formation
Oil and gas migrate upward and through porous and
permeable beds
Primary Vs. Secondary Migration
Primary Migration release of oil from
kerogen and its movement in the narrow
pores and capillaries of the source rock
Secondary Migration movement of
hydrocarbons away from the source rock
Porosity and Permeability
Porosity is the amount of void space in a
rock
Permeability is the degree of
interconnectivity of these voids (pores)
Entrapment
Oil and gas fields need to be trapped in
permeable reservoir rocks and capped by a
seal called a cap rock
Reservoir Rock
A subsurface body of rock having sufficient
porosity (usu. 5% to 30%) and permeability to
store and transmit fluids.
Contains little, if any, insoluble organic matter
Most hydrocarbons are found in clastic reservoirs
(sandstones and siltstones) followed by carbonate
reservoirs
Petroleum accumulations are rarely found in
shales, igneous and metamorphic rocks
Traps
2 main types of traps:
Structural traps
Stratigraphic traps
Traps must exist before hydrocarbon generation ceases
Structural Traps
Traps formed by Earth movements
Examples:
Fault traps
Anticlinal traps (80% of the worlds
oilfields are in this category)
Rocks are domed over rising salt masses
Stratigraphic Traps
Traps that result when the reservoir bed
is sealed by other beds or by a change
in porosity or permeability within the
reservoir bed itself
Examples:
a tilted or inclined layer of petroleum-bearing
rock is cutoff or truncated by an essentially
horizontal, impermeable rock layer
petroleum-bearing formation pinches out
reservoir bed is surrounded by impermeable
rock
change in porosity and permeability in the
reservoir itself
A Final Word
Only about 2% of the organic matter
dispersed in sediments become petroleum
Only 0.5% of it gets accumulated in
reservoirs
End of Topic
The Search for Oil
Buried Treasure
Oil seeps used for
medicinal purposes,
lighting fuel, caulking
boats and for military
purposes
Industrial Revolution
saw a need for better
source of fuel
First oil well completed
by Edwin Drake in 1859
Buried Treasure
Oil exploration involves science, creativity,
and also good luck
The Decision to Explore
Oil Exploration is undertaken by a variety
of people for a variety of reasons such as:
Governments
Development of local resources reducing
dependence upon others
Development of industry / Employment
Private Companies
Financial Gain
Government Run Companies
Examples of National Oil Companies
include:

PTT Thailand
Pertamina Indonesia
Petronas Malaysia
PetroBras Brazil
Private Oil Companies
Majors
Shell
Exxon Mobil
BP-Amoco-Arco
Chevron-Texaco
Independents (range from Multi-national to local)
Lasmo
Gulf Resources
Unocal
Economic Framework
Production Sharing Contracts (P.S.C.)
A system whereby a Government leases acreage for
Private Oil Companies or National Oil Companies to
explore.
Economic Terms vary dependant upon a wide variety
of factors including:
Country tax system
Location of acreage
Duration of agreement
And many more !
Where to Drill?
This decision is made at a variety of levels:
Global:
Which Country/Basin should we drill in?
Economic Terms?
Political Stability?
Availability of prospective acreage?
Market / Infrastructure?
This decision is part of a companies overall strategy,
made by upper management and New Ventures
explorationists.
Where to Drill?
Local:
Which basin?
Which province / block?
Which structure?
Where on the structure?
Which formations are prospective?
Sedimentary Basins
Areas of extensive and prolonged subsidence
where large accumulations of sediments occur and
are hosts of hydrocarbon deposits
600 known sedimentary basins of which 160
sedimentary basins have yielded oil but only 26
are significant producers
Exploration has occurred in another 240 basins,
but no discoveries
The most predominant sedimentary basin is the
Arabian-Iranian basin (>20 super giant fields)
Sedimentary Basins
The Job of the Geologist
Observe, explore and
record any clues related
to hydrocarbons
Reconstitute a scenario to
identify places of oil/gas
accumulations
Work with other
specialists
The Job of the Geophysicist
Initially use gravimetry and
magnetometry and later
seismic surveys
First 2 are regional in scale,
less costly than seismic and
are used to identify
potentially oil-bearing
sedimentary basins
Gravimetry
Gravity surveys can be used to map the
extent or depth of sedimentary basins or
even individual hydrocarbon prospects.
Gravimetry - the measurement of
gravitational acceleration over an area,
usually presented as a map or profile of
Bouguer or free-air anomalies
Magnetometry
Generally performed from the
air (aeromagnetic survey)
Measures variations in the
magnetic field. This gives an
idea of the depth distribution
of crystalline terrains that
have NO chance of containing
any oil.
Seismic Survey
Measure the travel time of sound waves generated
by a shock applied to the ground or sea
More costly than gravimetry and magnetometry
But essential to discovering oil and gas fields
Seismic Survey
1. Signal emitted by
vibrator truck
2. Reflected waves are
received by
geophones
3. Data transmitted to
laboratory truck
Offshore Seismic
1. Seismic vessel
2. Hydrophones

More data
obtained
offshore than
onshore
The Job of the Geophysicist
Use gravimetry, magnetometry
and later seismic surveys
Create an image of the subsurface
deposits and their deformations,
to help geologists identify traps.
In coordination with the geologist
they interpret the image to
extrapolate the geometry of the
trap.
Seismic Interpretation
1. Isochronic lines points on the
ground at which the waves take
exactly the same time to be
reflected / refracted at the
surface
2. 3-D Seismic Maps
Seismic profile
Depth section based on
seismic profile
Arriving At The Decision
Where to Drill
The decision where to drill
is based partly on science
and partly on gambling.
The site for a wildcat
(exploration well) is usually
above the thickest part of
the stratum thought to
contain hydrocarbons.
End of Topic