1003: Petroleum Geology

•Introduction, occurrence, and composition of Hydrocarbons

& Kerogen & Oil origin & generation process
•Migration & Accumulation of Hydrocarbons: traps
mechanism and types of traps
•Surface indication and direct methods of hydrocarbons
detection
•Characteristics of sandstone & carbonate reservoirs and
Provenance
•Geology of onshore and offshore petroliferous basins of
India
•Distribution of oil and gas in Indian sedimentary basins
•Principles of stratigraphical classification and correlation
 MIGRATION AND
ACCUMULATION OF OIL
AND GAS
PRIMARY MIGRATION OF OIL
PRIMARY:
Through capillaries & narrow pores of a fine grained
source rock

SECONDARY:
Through wider pores of more permeable coarse grained
carrier porous rocks
Cause of migration

Migration is caused by burial, compaction, and

increase in volume and separation of the source
rock constituents.

Needed rock properties

There must be space ‘porosity’ within the rocks to

allow for movement. In addition, there should be
‘permeability’ within the rocks to allow for flow.
Burial
Increasing pressure (overburden) of the
overlying rocks squeezes and compacts the
rock to provide the driving forces to expel
water, oil and gas.

The mineral grains do not compact but their

pore spaces are decreased.

Any hydrocarbons generated is therefore

squeezed out of the source rock spaces.
Increase in volume

The maturation of a liquid or gas from a

solid, causes an enormous increase in volume
which may cause fracturing of the source
rock.

The hydrocarbons generated, therefore,

escape upwards through such fractures that
are created.
Compaction

Compaction of the source rock (burden)

provides the driving mechanism to expel the
hydrocarbons.

Easiest route of movement: i.e. ( through the most

porous beds or fractures) moving to regions of
lower pressure (that normally would be at
shallower depths.)
Separation

Gravity separation of gas, oil and water takes place in

reservoir rocks that are usually water saturated.

Consequently, petroleum is forever trying to rise until it

is trapped or escapes at the earth’s surface.

(Note : Water, Oil and gas will only migrate through

permeable enough zones where spaces between rock
particles deposited or generated are interconnected and
large enough to allow fluid movement to an entrapment
point).
Source rocks Carrier rocks seal rocks Reservoir rocks

Fine Coarse Fine

Coarse grained
grained grained grained

Less
Organic organic Impermeable Less permeable
matter rich matter

Wider
Narrow pores
pores (more
(porous) permeable) Shale & Sandstone &
Carbonate Coarse grained
Good rocks shale
Permeable
Dismigration

The loss of hydrocarbons out of a

trap is called as dismigration
Fig.1. schematic representation of primary and secondary migration
Role of specific gravity in Process of migration:

The specific gravities of gas (0.7gcm-3) and

oil (0.9gcm-3) are less than the specific
gravity of saline pore water (>1.0gcm-3)

?why gas and oil pools are mostly

found in structural highs
Primary Migration:
1. Physiochemical aspects of Primary migration
• Temperature & Pressure
• Compaction
• Pore diameter & Internal surface areas
• Fluids
2. Geological and Geochemical aspects of Primary
migration
• Time and depth
• Change in composition of source rock versus crude oil
 Temperature & Pressure
The increase in temperature
with burial depth is a
consequence of the transfer
of thermal energy from the
interior of the earth to the
surface where it is dissipated.
Different geothermal
gradients depends on the
overall thermal
conductivity of the rock
strata, regional heat flow
conditions and subsurface
water movement.
A average geothermal
gradient is considered to be
250C km1.

Fig.2: sub-surface temperature profile

Shield regions: (Stable parts) with
crystalline rocks : lower
geothermal gradients

Mobile orogenic zones: more

geothermal gradient than shield
areas
Arc-trench-gaps: 100Ckm-1.
Sedimentary basin: 150-500 C km-
1

(in exceptional cases some low and

high gradient is also recorded:
Ex: 50Ckm-1 is reported from
14,585” well in Andros Island
(Bahamas Basin)
770Ckm-1 recorded in well drilled
in upper Rhine Graben in Fig.2: sub-surface temperature profile
Germany
Graphic representation of temperature versus depth

Indicate that geothermal

gradient are not always
linear
Irregularities caused by:
1.variations in thermal
conductivity of rocks
2. Proximity to the
surface
3. Subsurface water
flow

Fig.2: sub-surface temperature profile

Fig. 3 Germany well:
SAAR-1 temperature
profile
Fig. 4:
Average thermal
conductivities of
selected rock types
Pressure gradient

Pressure rises with increasing

overburden under the gravity Hydrostatic pressure
load of overlying sediments Petrostatic pressure

Fig. 6. plot of hydrostatic and petrostatic gradients

 Due to compaction
Compaction:
:bulk density of sediments: increases
: porosity: loss

Fig. 7. Depth-porosity relationship as determined for samples from three different basins
 Pore diameter and internal surface areas

During sedimentary compaction

and resulting porosity reduction
there is also a marked regular
decrease in pore diameters (fine-
grained clastic sediments).
With increasing depth of
burial pores become more and
more flat.
Psudo-pore diamter: internal
surface areas measured by the
gas adsorption techniques
Fig: Interrelationship of various physical
parameters with increasing
depth of burial for shale-type sediments
Fig: Interrelationship of various physical parameters with increasing
depth of burial for shale-type sediments
Possible mode of Primary migration

• The type of petroleum compounds that are

transported ranges from Methane (CH4, mol. w: 16)
to Asphaltenes (upto mol.w:5000)
• Consequently at normal pressure / temperature,
these compounds may be gaseous, liquids or solid
state
• Effective molecular diameter of petroleum
compounds range from 3.8A0 (CH4) to 50-100A0
(Asphaltenes)
• Transportation depends on state of distribution in
the source bed environment:
Oil phase, Gas phase, Oil droplets, gas bubbles,
colloidal etc.
Fig. Effective molecular diameters of selected petroleum
compounds
Transportation may occurs by:
• Bulk flow
• Diffusion
Both type of transportation required some kind of energy like
Two driving forces:
Temperature: less common
Pressure: more common
Bulk flow: (depends on Pressure gradient)
Diffusion: (Concentration gradient: Higher to lower
concentration)
Ex: CH4 in subsurface tends to diffuses from warm
region to cooler region
Factors for transportation through pore system of
sub-surface rocks:

1. Whether the fluid system is monophasic or

polyphasic (interfacial tension determines the
flow behavior)

2. Whether the pore walls are oil-wet or water-wet

Geological and Geochemical aspects of Primary Migration

1. Time & Depth of Primary migration:

Primary Migration

Early primary Late Primary

1500m-3500m (Cenozoic, Mesozoic,
First 1500m of subsidence Paleozoic)
Loose much of porosity Beginning of main phase of oil
Yielding large amount of H20 formation

Tertiary age Dewatering phenomenon

Clay dehydration process responsible
for migration
2. Change in composition of source rock Kerogen versus
reservoir oil

Three main aspects are:

a) Hydrocarbon distribution in the contact zone
and between source rock and reservoir rock
b) Gross chemical composition of crude oils vs
source rock kerogen/bitumen
c) The phenonenon of oil-source rock
correlation
Example:

Fig. Abundance and extracts across the transition zone source rock-reservoir rock in a Devonian shale-sand series,
(Algeria, after Tissot and Pelet, 1971).
Fig. comparison in terms of gross chemical composition between crude oils and source rock bitumens in a shale/
And carbonate sequence
Secondary migration and
accumulation

SM: defined as the movement of

petroleum compounds through more
permeable and more porous rocks
(carrier beds) to reservoir rocks
SM terminates in hydrocarbon pools
(reservoirs), but tectonic events cause
redistribution of filled oil and gas pool and
known as Tertiary migration or
“remigration”.
SM: controlled by:

(a) Buoyant rise of oil and gas

in water-saturated porous
rocks

(b) Hydrodynamic water flow

(c) Capillaries pressure

PROCESS OF SECONDARY MIGRATION

As hydrocarbons leave the dense, fine grained source

rocks as a discrete hydrocarbon phase and enter the
larger pores of carrier bed or reservoir rock, larger
globules of oil or gas should immediately form,
depending on its state of dispersion.
Larger bodies of oil may move upward by
buoyancy, but tiny droplets may not because
there is more resistance to flow due to higher
surface energy in smaller bodies of oil.

Transport of an oil
globule through
pore in a water-wet
sub-surface
environment.
capillary pressure
oppose the buoyant
force
Transport of oil
globule through a
pore in a water-
wet environment
under
hydrodynamic
condition

Upward flow of
water helps
buoyancy to
overcome
opposing capillary
pressure
Horizontal transport of a stringer of oil under
hydrodynamic gradient
Geological and Geochemical implications of secondary migration

Geological implications includes:

Need of study of present and paleo hydrodynamic
condition of basin

Based on Hydrodynamic conditions basins are

classified into:
1. Juvenile Basin
2. Intermediate Basin
3. Senile Basin
Juvenile Basin:
Young, with compaction
induced centrifugal lateral
movement
Intermediate Basin:
With centripetal basin,
artesian properties and fresh
water invasion
Senile Basin:
With hydrostatic conditions,
generally invaded by
meteoric water
Termination of secondary migration and accumulation of oil & gas

Concentration of oil and gas in the highest

part of the trap.

The seal rock must exert the capillary

pressures which are great enough to stop
the passage of oil or gas particles.
Next topic:
Accumulation of Hydrocarbons: traps and types of traps;