BASIN-CENTERED GAS SYSTEM (BCGS)

Asit Baran Mahato

Roll No - 07306003
Basin Centered Gas System (BCGS)
Characteristics
Types of BCGS
Development of BCGS
System Elements and Processes
Source Rock, Reservoir rocks and Seals
Hydrocarbon Generation, Expulsion and Migration
Trap Development
Global distribution
Summary and Conclusion
Outline of the talk
Basin-Centered Gas System
gas accumulation in deep basin syncline
Defined as
abnormally pressured, gas-saturated accumulation in low
permeability reservoirs lacking a downdip water contact
...(Law)
Characterized by
(i) low-permeability reservoir rocks,
(ii) commonly occur structurally down dip from more permeable water-filled
reservoirs,
(iii) are almost always either over-pressured or under-pressured,
(iv) have no obvious structural and stratigraphic trapping mechanism, and
(v) cut across stratigraphic units
(i) Direct BCGS : having gas prone source rocks (Kerogen type III)
(e.g. Greater Green River Basin)
(ii) Indirect BCGS : having oil prone source rocks (Kerogen type I or II)
(e.g. Appalachian Basin)
Downdip from water Downdip from water Occurrence
Highly variable >0.7%R
0
Thermal maturity top of BCGS
Bedding parallel Cuts across stratigraphy Nature of upper boundary
Good Variable Seal quality
Lithologic / capillary Capillary Seal
Thermal cracking of oil to gas Hydrocarbon gas generation Pressure Mechanism
Over-/underpressured Over-/underpressured Reservoir pressure
Short/long Short Hydrocarbon migration distance
<0.1 <0.1 Reservoir in-situ Permeability (md)
Liquid-prone types I/III kerogen Gas-prone type III kerogen Source Rock
Indirect Direct Type
Types of BCGS
Law
Development of BCGS
Development of BCGS continued
Phase I
Normally pressured and 100% water saturated.
With further burial
- compaction of framework grains
- increase in formation pressure
- decrease in water saturation
- rise in temperature
Oil & gas generation starts for indirect system
Overpressured may develop because of
- rapid sedimentation
- Compaction disequilibrium
Development of BCGS continued
Phase II
Direct systems:
source rock begins to generate more and more gas
rate of gas generation > gas loss,
reservoir pressure exceeding water-wet capillary pressure in pores
water is expelled from the pores; developing gas saturated
overpressured reservoir
Indirect systems:
oil and gas are generated, expelled and migrated
accumulate in structural and stratigraphic traps with downdip water
undergoes thermal cracking to gas
water expelled from the reservoir
Development of BCGS continued
Phase III
Phase of pressure loss
Reservoir experiences a period of uplifting, erosional unloading
and/or heat flow perturbations
Gas started to shrinks and may escape from system
System became underpressured
Phase IV
Theoretical phase and probably more applicable for direct system
Gas loss continued
Water reenter into the system
System may evolve to normally pressured, water bearing reservoir
completing the pressure cycle
System elements and processes
Source Rocks
Direct System:
Commonly humic-type coal beds and carbonaceous shale
Characterized by kerogen type III
e.g. Cretaceous rocks in Rocky Mountain basins
Indirect System
Hydrogen-rich shale
Characterized by kerogen type I and II
Ordovician shale in Appalachian basin
System elements and processes continued
Reservoir Rocks
Are regionally pervasive
May be single reservoirs of few feet thick (indirect type) or
vertically stacked reservoirs of several thousand feet thick
(direct type)
Low porosity (<13%) and low in-situ permeability (<0.1md)
Composed of sandstone, siltstone and sometimes
carbonate
Lacking downdip water content
Seal
Ranges from lithologic to water-block i.e. capillary pressure seal
Gas-saturated reservoirs grade vertically as well as updip into
normally pressured, water bearing reservoirs (direct system)
Grade updip only, follow lithologic boundary (indirect system)
Direct system
Indirect system
System elements and processes continued
System elements and processes continued
Trap Formation
Secondary importance for direct system
Necessary for accumulation of oil and gas in indirect system
Because disseminated oil can not generate overpressured situation
Resources and Spatial Distribution
Global resource and distribution is poorly known
In United States 15% of their annual gas production comes from BCGS
Summary and Conclusion
BCGS is self-sourced, self-sealed, and self-overpressured petroleum
system.
BCGS reservoir is regionally pervasive accumulations of gas
encompassing hundreds or thousands of square miles.
Four main distinguishing characteristics are low permeability
reservoirs, abnormal pressure (over- or underpressured), gas
saturation and no downdip water leg.
Two types of BCGS are recognized: direct and indirect having
different types of source rock characteristics. In direct system source
rock is mainly gas-prone and in indirect system it is liquid-prone.
In future it can be considered as a good substitute of conventional
energy resources.
Thank you