NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION FOUNDATION SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM

GEOSCIENCE PRACTICAL REPORT CLASS D

SEPTEMBER 2012

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In order to obtain a basic idea of rocks and geology, a visit to the lab was organized by the Nexus training team. During this visit, rock samples were examined and thin sections of some of these rocks were observed under the microscope; cores obtained from sandstone reservoirs were also examined. This report is divided into three parts titled ROCK, CORES and THIN SECTIONS respectively. The ROCKS part covers twenty-one (21) rocks with each rock described by the name, the type, the texture as well as other physical properties of the rock. Visual Images of each rock is also displayed as well as information its hydrocarbon implication. The CORES part covers the description of the cores that were displayed and the answers to the questions that were asked in the practical manuscript; the importance of cores to the petroleum industry was also discussed briefly. The THIN SECTIONS part contains information on the thin sections of rock that was viewed under the microscope. The hydrocarbon implications of these rocks were also discussed.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 PART 1 ROCKS PART 2 CORES PART 3 THIN SECTIONS 17

1 2

4 15

PART 1 ROCKS
SPECIMEN NO: 1
Rock Type: Metamorphic Rock Name: Granite Gneiss Colour: Grey and Pink alternations Texture: Coarsely granular (gneissose texture) Structure: foliated and banded Grain Size: medium - coarse Sorting: poor

Hydrocarbon Implication: This rock cannot be a source rock or reservoir rock for petroleum deposits because it is poorly sorted and has very low porosity.

SPECIMEN NO: 2

Mineral Type: Feldspar Mineral Name: k-Feldspar Colour: Salmon Pink Texture: Perthitic Structure: Crossed twinning and fractured Grain Size: Fine-grained Sorting: very good

Hydrocarbon Implication: K-Feldspar is of no importance in the Hydrocarbon Extraction Industry because it has a very low porosity.

SPECIMEN NO 3:
Mineral Type: Quartz Mineral Name: Milky Quartz Colour: brownish milk Texture: fibrous Structure: massive with interlocked grains Grain Size: fine Sorting: good

Hydrocarbon Implication: This mineral rock has tightly interlocked grains with very low porosity and therefore cannot be a reservoir or source rock for crude oil.

SPECIMEN NO 4:

Mineral Type: Carbonate Rock Name: Calcite Colour: milky with brown impurities Texture: granular Structure: Cleavage with conchoidal fractures Grain Size: coarse Sorting: good

Hydrocarbon Implication: This rock is important in the Oil and Gas Industry because a lot of oil has been found in the carbonate reservoirs of the Middle East.

SPECIMEN NO: 5
Mineral Type: Barite Mineral Name: Barite Colour: Pinkish White Texture: aphanitic Structure: perfect cleavage with irregular fractures Grain Size: fine medium grained Sorting: poor

Hydrocarbon Implication: This mineral cannot serve as a source or reservoir rock. It is poorly sorted with low porosity. However, it is a very important weighting material in drilling fluids.

SPECIMEN NO: 6

Mineral Type: Clay Mineral Name: Kaolin Colour: chalky white with grey impurities Texture: aphanitic Structure: massive with cleavage Grain Size: fine Sorting: fair

Hydrocarbon Implication: Kaolin has a low shrink-swell capacity and its grains are tightly packed therefore it can act as a cap rock in the petroleum system.

SPECIMEN NO: 7
Rock Type: Metamorphic Rock Name: Marble Colour: cloudy white Texture: phaneritic Structure: mineral cleavages with joints Grain Size: medium coarse grained Sorting: poor

Hydrocarbon Implication: Sorting is poor and porosity is low, this implies that this rock is not a good candidate for storing crude oil.

SPECIMEN NO: 8

Rock Type: Igneous Rock Name: Potassium Syenite Colour: dark grey with black spots Texture: perthitic Structure: massive Grain Size: coarse- grained Sorting: poor

Hydrocarbon Implication: This rock cannot be a hydrocarbon reservoir.

SPECIMEN NO: 9
Rock Type: Sedimentary Rock Name: Coal Colour: black Texture: soothy Structure: mineral cleavages and layering Grain Size: fine Sorting: good

Hydrocarbon Implication: Coal is relevant in the Oil and Gas industry. Apart from being a source of energy itself it is also a reservoir for the famous Coal bed Methane (CBM).

SPECIMEN NO 10:
Rock Type: Igneous rock Rock Name: Granite intruded by Dolerite Dyke Colour: dark grey with pinkish spots Texture: phaneritic Structure: massive with closely packed grains. Grain Size: coarse Sorting: poor

Hydrocarbon Implication: This igneous rock is of no relevance to petroleum formation or accumulation. Deposits of weathered materials of granite will be coarse-grained but poorly sorted and matrix supported, therefore cannot be a reservoir rock.

SPECIMEN NO: 11
MineralType: Augen Mineral Name: Augen-Gneiss Colour: pink with black bands Texture: porphyroblastic Structure: large lenticular eye-shaped grains Grain Size: medium - coarse Sorting: poor

Hydrocarbon Implication: This mineral is poorly sorted and cannot be a reservoir rock.

SPECIMEN NO 12:
Rock Type: Igneous Rock Name: Biotite Granite Colour: Pink with dark spots Texture: phaneritic Structure: massive Grain Size: coarse grained Grain Shape: angular to subangular

Hydrocarbon Implication: This rock cannot be a hydrocarbon reservoir.

SPECIMEN NO: 13
Rock Type: Metamorphic Rock Name: Banded Biotite Gneiss Colour: Pink with black bands Texture: Phaneritic Structure: Massive Grain Size: medium grained Grain Shape: angular to subangular

Hydrocarbon Implication: Sorting is poor and porosity is low, this implies that this rock is not a good candidate for storing crude oil.

SPECIMEN NO: 14
Rock Type: metamorphic Rock Name: Pegmatite Colour: brown with pinkish coloration and dark spots Texture: phaneritic Structure: joints and cracks Grain Size: very coarse grained Grain Shape:

Hydrocarbon Implication: Sorting is poor and porosity is low, this implies that this rock is not a good candidate for storing crude oil.

SPECIMEN NO: 15
Rock Type: Igneous Rock Name: Syenite Colour: dark grey Texture: Phaneritic Structure: massive Grain Size: coarse grained Grain Shape: Angular Rock Type: Sedimentary Rock Name: Ferroginised Sandstone Colour: Reddish Brown Hydrocarbon Implications: This rock cannot be a hydrocarbon reservoir. Texture: medium to fine grained

SPECIMEN NO: 16

Structure: burrows Grain Size: medium coarse grained Grain Shape: rounded Sorting: moderately sorted

Hydrocarbon Implication: This is a good reservoir rock as it is well rounded and moderately sorted. Sand stone reservoirs are predominant in the Niger Delta.

SPECIMEN NO: 17
Rock Type: Sedimentary Rock Name: Claystone Colour: Grey Texture: Fine Structure: Fissile planes Grain Size: Fine grained Grain Shape: Not visible Sorting: moderately sorted Rock Type: Sedimentary rock Rock Name: Black Shale

Hydrocarbon Implication: This cannot be a good reservoir as it has very low Colour: Grayish Black porosity, however it can serve as a cap rock for a petroleum reservoirs
Texture: Fissile Structure: Slaty Cleavages

SPECIMEN NO 18:

Grain Size: Fine grained Grain Shape: Invisible Sorting: well sorted

Hydrocarbon Implication: Black shale can serve as a cap rock for petroleum reservoirs.

SPECIMEN NO: 19
Rock Type: Sedimentary Rock Name: Limestone Colour: Light brown Texture: Crystalline to fine grained, chalky Structure: Crystalline Grain Size: Medium grained - fossiliferous Grain Shape: Angular to subangular Sorting: Moderately sorted

Hydrocarbon Implication: Limestone is a good petroleum reservoir as its grains are well sorted and it has sufficient porosity to store hydrocarbons.

SPECIMEN NO: 20

Rock Type: Sedimentary Rock Name: Conglomerate Colour: Reddish Brown Texture: Rounded pebble to cobble sized grained in a finer grained matrix Structure: No visible structure Grain Size: Coarse grained Grain Shape: angular to sub-angular Sorting: poorly sorted

Hydrocarbon Implication: Conglomerates are not good reservoirs as their sorting is poor

SPECIMEN NO: 21
Rock Type: Metamorphic Rock Name: Phylitic Schist Colour: Grey Texture: Phaneritic Structure: Cleavage, not well defined, flaky plates Grain Size: Medium to fine grained Grain Shape: angular

Hydrocarbon Implication: This rock cannot be a source rock or reservoir rock for petroleum deposits because it is poorly sorted and has very low porosity.

PART 2 CORES Cores are sections of representative formation taken from the reservoir; they are obtained by using special drill bits but side wall cores can also be obtained from the side of the formation. Figure 1 shows a core with the holes showing plugs taken for routine and special core analysis (SCAL).

Figure 1: Core Section OBSERVATIONS REASONS FOR OUTSIDE COATING 1. To preserve the fluid inside the core sample so that the sample remains representative of formation conditions. 2. To ensure that the unconsolidated core are kept intact to maintain the integrity of the core. SMALL HOLES IN THE CORES 1. The holes in the core samples indicate the areas where 1 or 1.5 plugs (see Figure 2) have been taken from the cores for routine or special core analysis (SCAL). These plugs could be horizontal or vertical depending on the bedding plane direction along which they were taken.

FORMATION OF THE ROCKS The cores were obtained from sandstone formation which is a sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rocks are formed by deposition of sediments from weathered rocks.

This deposition occurred in a geologic time sequence, hence the sequential bedding planes visibly seen on the cores.

Figure 2: Core Plugs.

PART 3 THIN SECTIONS The thin sections that were observed under the microscope are as follows:

1. DOLERITE

Type of rock: Igneous Hydrocarbon Implication: None Dolerite is the name given to basic igneous rocks found in small intrusions that are intermediate in grain size between basalt and gabbro. Small intrusions (dykes and sills) cool more quickly than large intrusions, but more slowly than lavas erupted at the surface.

2. OOLITHIC LIMESTONE

Type of rock: Sedimentary Hydrocarbon Implication: Good reservoir Oolitic limestone is made up largely of sand-sized, rounded pellets of calcium carbonate, which are formed in warm shallow water where carbonate sediment is moved about by currents. It is well developed having both concentric and radial structure. There is an early cement of fine radiating, ferroan calcite fringes. the main inter granular cement is ferroan

3. MARBLE

Type of rock: Metamorphic Hydrocarbon Implication: None Metamorphosed limestone is called marble. The calcium carbonate re-forms itself into larger, interlocking crystals of calcite (e.g. the pearly-coloured crystals in the centre). The impurities are converted into new metamorphic minerals. In this case, the larger bold-coloured crystals are forsterite (magnesium silicate, a variety of olivine)

4. SANDSTONE

Type of rock: Sedimentary Hydrocarbon Implication: High quality reservoir This sandstone is made of quite well rounded grains of quartz, cemented together by calcium carbonate.

5. AMPHIBOLITE

Type of rock: Metamorphic Hydrocarbon Implication: None This rock was originally a basic igneous rock (basalt or dolerite). When metamorphosed, the heating and compression changed the original minerals to hornblende (green) and feldspar (colourless), and gave the rock a banding of minerals.