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1 Petroleum Geology y Petroleum Reservoir- a rock formation that hold oil and gas, somewhat like a sponge holds water. The world s largest oil field is Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia. o 1.8 Million Acres in size o Produces 5 million barrels a day The United States largest oilfield is Prudhoe Bay on the northern Alaska slope. o 213,000 acres o Produces 285,000 barrels per day

Basic Concepts of Geology y y Earth is estimated to be 4.55 billion years old and was form from a cloud of cosmic dust. Layers of the Earth o Hydrosphere and Atmosphere (Fluids) o Lithosphere (Rigid) and Asthenosphere (Plastic) o Mantle (Solid) o Outer Core (liquid) o Inner Core (Solid) Minerals rich in Aluminum, silicon, magnesium and other light elements solidified to make the thin crust above the mantle. Plate Tectonic Theory- provides the basis for how continents and formations formed o The crust is made up of huge plates that fit together and pieces of the Earth s crust continue to move and change shape o Permian- 225 million years ago o Triassic 200 million years ago o Jurassic- 150 million years ago o Cretaceous- 65 million ago o Present day

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Crustal Plates y Geologist distinguish between oceanic crust and continental crust o Oceanic Crust is thin about 5 to 7miles and is made up primarily of heavy rock that formed when molten rock, called magma cooled. o Continental Crust- is much thicker- 10 to 30 miles and relatively light. o As a result, continents drift like icebergs among heavier oceanic rock and rise high above sea level as mountains where they are thickest. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of two plates moving aprt, forming new oceanic crust as lava rising from beneath the plates hardens.

Geologic Structures Geologist s describe tow basic structures that occur when rocks deform or change shape due to tectonic movement: o Folds are rock strata that have crumpled and buckled into wavelike structures.  Most common structures in mountain chains, ranging from 1 inch to great arches and troughs.  The arches are called anticlines. y A circular anticline is something called a dome. y Dome shapes are common along the U.S. Gulf Coast in areas where faults, or breaks in the overburden, allow weak rock called salt to raise into a dome shape.  The troughs are called synclines y Broad regional synclines that dip down toward a common center are called basins. o Faults  When rocks near the surface break, the two halves might move in relation to each other, producing a fracture known as a fault.  Example: San Andreas Fault- represents the boundary between the Pacific and North American Plates. (moved 21 ft horizontally in 1906)  Faults are generally classified by the direction of their movement. y Normal- primarily verticle y Reverse - primarily verticle y Thrust- primarily verticle y Lateral or strike- primarily horizontal y Overthrust- combo of horizontal and vertical y Growth- combo of horizontal and vertical y See Pg. 19  Faults are important bc their movement creates areas that accumulate oil and gas.  Faults can produce recognizable surface features. y Graben- a long, narrow block of crust between two faults that has sunk relative to the surrounding crust. y Borst- a block of crust that has risen. Types of Rocks y Igneous- are formed when the molten magma cools and solidifies. (Granite and basalt) y Sedimentary- are formed from sediments in horizontal layers called strata.(limestone, sandstone, and shale) y Metamorphic- were originally igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rocks that were buried deep in the Earth and subjected to high temperature and pressures. o The word metamorphic comes from the Greek meta, meaning after or beyond, morph, meaning to change form or shape. o During the metamorphic process, the original rock undergoes physical and chemical changes that greatly alter its composition and appearance.  Limestone can be metamorphosed into marble, and sandstone can turn into quartzite. y

Contact metamorphism occurs when heat and chemicals come into contact with rock and impose changes o Regional metamorphism is more common and occurs in rock that is buried deep or deformed by tectonic changes. A unit of one type of rock in a layer is known as a formation. o

The Rock Cycle

Petroleum Bearing Rocks y y y Most of the world s oil lies in sedimentary rock formed from marine sediments deposited on the edges of continents. (Gulf of Mexico and the Persian Gulf) It is uncommon for igneous and metamorphic rock to contain oil and gas. Hydrocarbons must be generated in the subsurface, trapped within reservoic rocks, and remain in place until they are produced.

Origin of Petroleum y The most accepted theory about how oil and gas are formed is the organic theory. o It states that oil and gas come predominantly from the remains of microscopic plant and small animal organism. o Kerogen a rich hydrogen and carbon, organic mixture that is created from small dead microscopic life. o The mixture is cut off from any oxygen and is not able to decay, as it normally would on land. o Over thousands of years, sediments continue to deposited on top and the great weight causes the sediments to be turned to rock. o Increasing pressure and temperature cause kerogen and hydrocarbon molecules to recombine to make oil and gas. o From the time the kerogen rick rocks, often referred to as source rocks, are hot enough to generate oil (up to about 300 F) they are in a stage called the oil window.

As the rocks continue to get buried deeper and as temperatures increase to above 300F, the heavier long chain molecules break in to smaller, lighter hydrocarbons such as methane gas. This is known as the gas window. Further addition of the overburden rock will eventually; create temperatures of 500 F or more that destroys the hydrocarbons and source rock.

Porosity and Permeability of Oil Bearing Rocks Porosity-the volume of pores in a rock y y y A rock that has pores is considered to be porous, and its porosity can be measured. Porosity may range from 5% in tightly cemented sandstone or carbonate to more than 30% in unconsolidated sands. To be commercially valuable, most reservoir rock must have a porosity of 10% or greater- that is 10% of the rock must have pore space capable of containing petroleum.

Permeability- the capability of porous rock to permit flow of fluids through the pores. y y y y y y A rock is permeable when its pores are connected, allowing the oil, gas, and water to move from one pore to another. Darcy- the unit of measurement of permeability A porous formation is not necessarily permeable, but highly porous formations are often also highly permeable. Sandstones and carbonates such as limestone and dolomite are generally the most porous and permeable rock and also are the most common reservoir rock. Shale is a rock that has no permeability. If it is porous and contains hydrocarbons, it is called shale oil or shale gas. If the reservoir is made of sandstone along with significant tar developed, it is referred to as tar sands.( Canada, Venezuela, and Russia)

Migration of Petroleum y y y Water is essential for petroleum to migrate toward the surface of the Earth. Oil and gas are less dense than water and therefore have a natural buoyancy, or tendency to rise, when mixed with water. Immediately after hydrocarbons form, they begin to slowly migrate through the permeable rocks toward the Earth s surface, sometime assisted by cracks or fissures within the rocks

Traps y y y A trap is an arrangement of rock layers containing an accumulation of hydrocarbons where the formation prevents the hydrocarbons from rising to the surface. The trap consist of an impermeable layer of rock above a porous, permeable layer containing the hydrocarbons Geologist break down traps into two groups: structural trap and stratigraphic trap o Structural Traps-occurs when the reservoir formation deforms in some way.  Anticlinal  Fault o Stratigraphic traps- are those in which porosity or permeability has changed within a formation or where a nonporous layer seals off the top of a reservoir.  Unconformity  Impermeable barrier Structural Traps o Most are formed by the folding or faulting or reservoir rock. o Common types of structural traps are fault, anticlinal, and dome plug traps. o Anticlinal trap- the rock layers that were originally formed horizontally are foled upward into an arch or dome.  Caprock- a layer of impermeable rock above the reservoir-sealed off the reservoir and stopped further upward movement.  A special type of anticlinal trap is a plug trap.  A dome with a core of rock called a plug, that has pushed into the other formations can create a plug trap.( plug is usually made of nonporous salt) o Fault Traps- are formed by movement of rock along a fault line.  In the fault trap, one side is an impermeable layer opposite the reservoir that prevents hydrocarbons from migrating further. Stratigraphic Traps o These traps are caused either by a nonporous formation sealing off the top edge of a reservoir bed or by a change of porosity and permeability with in the reservoir bed. o Three type of unconformity- the time gap in a geologic record  Nonconformity- an unconformity where the older, eroded layer of rock is igneous and the newer layer is sedimentary.  Disconformity- an infonformity where the old and new rock layers are parallel to each other  Angular unconformity- the older rock below the unconformity that has deformed before the overlying rock were deposited. This causes the strata to be titled relative to each other. o Lenticular trap- is caused by a change of permeability within a rock layer.  Abrupt changes in the amount of connected pore space seal off the hydrocarbons in the more permeable part of the bed.

Reservoir Fluids y A reservoir contains three fluids: oil, gas, and saltwater. o This is preferred bc the pressure of gas and water can drive oil out of the rock to the surface, making pumping necessary. Oil reservoirs are sedimentary formations deposited near the sea that is saturated with salt water. The forming petroleum displaced some of the salt water. o The salt water that still remains in the formation is known as connate interstitial water. Bottom water occurs beneath the oil accumulation and edgewater is found at the edge of the oil zone. A film of water sticks to or is adsorbed by, the solid rock material surrounding the pore spaces and is called wetting water. o Wetting water usually coats the grains of the reservoir rock. o There are rar exceptions called oil-wet reservoirs that have an oil saturation of 100% of the available porosity and have no film of water lining the pores.

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Natural Gas y Gas occurs with oil and water in reservoirs in two principal ways: o Solution gas- occurs in high pressure low temperature reservoir. The gas comes out of the solution like a bottle of soda fizzes o Free gas- gas not dissolved in oil tends to accumulate in the highest structural part of a reservoir, where it forms gas cap.  As long as there is free gas in a reservoir gas cap, the oil in the reservoir remains saturated with gas in solution and lowers the viscosity, making the oil easier to flow. o Oil-water contact line- in a reservoir where layes of oil and water touch.

Reservoir Pressure y Normal Pressure- can be maintained when a direct connection to the surface exists. o When the petroleum reservoir has a connection to the surface the pressure is considered normal. o When the reservoir has a connection to the surface, the only pressure is usually that caused by fluid in and above it. As long as the connection exists, rocks that overlie a reservoir do not create any extra pressure in the reservoir. Abnormal Pressure-an artesian effect occurs when there is a build up of abnormally high pressure. o Reservoirs that do not have a connection with the surface are usually surrounded by impermeable formations and the overlying rock formations add to the reservoir pressure bc the heavy weight of the overlying beds press down and squeeze the reservoir. The fluid cannot escape. o Abnormally high pressure can also build up due to an artesian effect.  Formations surround the reservoir will trap the oil and gas but allow the water below the oil to reach up toward the surface some distance away.  Bc the water seeks its own level, when the well provides an outlet for the reservoir, the water under it pushes the hydrocarbons up.