Pet roleum Geology:

From Mat ure Basins t o New Front iers

Proceedings of the 7th Petroleum Geology Conference
Edited by
B. A. Vining and S. C. Pickering

2a. Level of Petroleum Investigation

Published by The Geological Society

 SEJARAH
PERKEMBANGAN
MINYAK DAN GAS BUMI
------- Man hours   Exploration ------
Geophysics
 Development ------ In the petroleum
industry, petroleum
geology is only one
 Production ------ aspect of petroleum
exploration and
Geology Petroleum Engineering
production

First Well Discover Production

Drilled y made begins
------- Time ten of years 
Chemical and
Mechanical
Geophysics Petroleum Geology Petroleum Engineering Engineering Marketing

Acquisition of Exploration / Transportatio

Refining Sale
Concession Production n

(Selley, 1998)
All operation subject to legal, political and economic constraints
PURE SCIENCES

Physics Chemistry Biology

GEOLOGY

Geophysical
Structural Organic
Exploration Sedimentology Petrography Stratigraphy Paleontology
Geology Geochemistry
& Logging

Carbonates
APPLICATION

Evaluation of Structural and Porosity and Source rocks and

Sedimentary Stratigraphic trap permeability the generation of
Basins location within reservoir petroleum
1st • SEDIMENTARY BASIN

2nd • PETROLEUM SYSTEM

EXPLORATION
PHASE
3rd • EXPLORATION PLAY

4th • PROSPECT

5th • DELINEATION
DEVELOPMENT
6th • DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION
PHASE

7th • PRODUCTION
1st
• SEDIMENTARY BASIN
ECONOMICS
NOT
IMPORTANT

2nd
• PETROLEUM SYSTEM

3rd
• EXPLORATION PLAY
ECONOMICS
VERY
IMPORTANT

4th
• PROSPECT

Four Levels of Petroleum Investigation

Magoon and Dow (1994)
Sedimentary basins, petroleum systems, plays, and prospect
can be view as separate levels of investigation, all of which
are needed to better understand the genesis and habitat of
hydrocarbons.

Sedimentary basin investigations emphasize the stratigraphic

sequence and structural style of sedimentary rocks.

Petroleum system study describe the genetic relationship

between a pod of active source rock and the resulting oil and
gas accumulations.

Investigation of play describe the present-day geologic

similarity of a series of present-day traps.

Study of prospects describe the individual present-day trap

 Factor Comparison
in the Four Levels of Petroleum Investigation

Factor Sedimentary Petroleum Play Prospect

Basin System
Investigation Sedimentary Rock Petroleum Traps Trap

Economics None None Essential Essential

Geologic Time Time of deposition Critical Moment Present-day Present-day

Existence Absolute Absolute Conditional Conditional

Cost Very Low Low High Very high

Analysis & Basin System Play Prospect

Modeling
Magoon and Dow (1994)
If plate tectonics involves all phases of global geology, it follows that it directly
influences petroleum geology. There is no field of petroleum geology that is not
controlled by (or at least connected with) plate tectonic processes, including basin
formation processes, certain sedimentation processes, the type of sediments
present, and the thermal maturation of kerogen-thus, the entire history of oil and gas.
For example: a petroleum geologist will ask "To what degree is a certain area a
prospect for oil?" To arrive at a correct answer, he or she must first answer a number
of individual questions:

1 • In what type of basin does the area lie?

2 • How old is the sedimentary sec on?

3 • Are source beds, reservoirs and cap rocks present?

4 • What is the thermal history of the basin and the surrounding area?

5 • Are there hydrocarbon migra on possibili es?

6 • Are there traps and, if so, of what type and age?

7 • Have hydrocarbons leaked?

8 • What is the possibility of discovering oil reserves?

 Petroleum System Definition
Geologic components and processes necessary to generate and store hydrocarbons, including a mature
source rock, migration pathway, reservoir rock, trap and seal. Appropriate relative timing of formation of
these elements and the processes of generation, migration and accumulation are necessary for
hydrocarbons to accumulate and be preserved. The components and critical timing relationships of a
petroleum system can be displayed in a chart that shows geologic time along the horizontal axis and the
petroleum system elements along the vertical axis. Exploration plays and prospects are typically
developed in basins or regions in which a complete petroleum system has some likelihood of existing.

Elements Processes
Source Rock Generation
Migration Route
Migration
Reservoir Rock
Accumulation
Seal Rock

Trap Preservation
Venezuela Well Evaluation Conference, 1997, p. 1-24.