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Basic Geology
Basic Geology The Earth - Overview The Earth - Mechanisms Rock Types Deposition Clastic rocks Carbonate Rocks Reservoir Rocks Porosity Permeability

Notes

JJ Consulting 1997

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The Earth

The earth is made up of a number of components. At the centre is the solid core which is Nickel - Iron ; around this is a liquid core of the same material. The next part is a liquid called the Mantle, composed of much lighter materials. Finally there is a solid crust, a very thin sheath.

Notes

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The crust is not one solid skin on the mantle. It is broken into a number of irregular plates. The plates can be large, the Pacific Plate, or relatively small, some of the Mediterranean plates. The centres of the plates are stable environments while the edges are the earthquake/volcano regions of the earth. These plates move around driven by the convection currents in the mantle.

The Earth 2

Notes

The crust is broken into a number of plates.

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Plate Tectonics 1

The mantle is plastic. It flows in convection currents from the very hot core to the outer Mantle/crust. These currents cause the crust to move. The currents are continuous and are responsible for all the features on the earth's surface.

Notes

Convection currents flow from the very hot core up to the crust. It is these currents which produce the movements seen on the surface.

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Compressional Features

Two types of features are caused by the movement of the plates. The first set are compressional. Here two plates are pushed together. They can create a zone of mountains or one plate can go under the other creating a trench. Mountains are usually associated with trenching as well.

Notes

These features are caused by the mantle currents pushing plates together

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On the other side of the currents tensional effects are found. Here the plate is stretched out thin creating faults and rifts and eventually a new plate. Both compressional and tensional features play a large role in the structures of reservoirs.

Tensional Features

Notes

Tensional features are causes by the plates moving apart, for example a rift.

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This diagram shows two ocean plates colliding in a compressional event. The trench is formed on one side while mountains (volcanoes) are created on the other.

Ocean plate - Ocean Plate

Notes

Trench Mountains When an ocean plate meets another, one is forced down creating a trench. Volcanoes form at the junction.

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This is a typical trenching effect with the ocean plate being forced Down under the continental plate. The latter is forced up into a mountain chain, while there is a trench formed at the boundary. An example of this type of feature is found on the western side of Sumatra. The island has a range of volcanic mountains while offshore is a deep trench. The ocean plate is being driven by the creation of a mid-ocean ridge. A good example of this types of feature is the Mid Atlantic Ridge which stretches from Iceland to below Argentina.

Ocean plate - Continental plate

Notes

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Two continental plates colliding create a mountain between them. Compressional forces driving this effect. The entire region surrounding the mountains with be heavily affected by faulting and fracturing.

Continental - Continental

Notes

The collision of two continental plates creates a mountain range. A good example is the Himalayas, created when India collided with Asia.

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Plates

This slide shows a number of the plates and other features of the Indian Ocean. Several mid-ocean ridges are clearly visible delineating the edges of the plates. The plates contain features such as basins and plateaus. the latter are higher regions, some even forming island chains. At the edges of the plates are features such as the Java trench, created where the ocean plate moving east is going under the continental plate.

Notes

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The basins are close to continents and obtain the sediments from the interior. A basin cannot be near the edge of a plate as any sediments would be stirred making reservoir formation difficult.

Basins
The basin is where hydrocarbon reservoirs are found. A shallow sea in a quiet region of a tectonic plate is required. The sediments can build up and form rocks without being disturbed.

Notes

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Current Basins

Current basins where reservoirs are forming are the Persian Gulf, the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Barrier Reef. All of these are stable. The Mediterranean is not a basin although there are plenty of rivers depositing sediment, it is unstable with numerous tectonic boundaries running through it. The geologist has to image the earth as it was millions of years ago to find those ancient basins where reservoirs formed.

Notes

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The rocks forming the earths crust are broken down into three major classes reflecting their origins. Igneous coming from molten material of the mantle, sedimentary rocks from sediments and metamorphic from the effects of heat and pressure of both of the others.

Rocks General
There are three major classes of rock: Igneous: (e.g. Granite). Sedimentary:

Notes

(e.g. Sandstone). Metamorphic: (e.g. Marble).

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Volcanic rocks are those seen immediately after a volcanic eruption. They cool quickly resulting in an amorphous structure. They have no texture. Plutonic rocks cool much slower as they come up from the Mantle and stop much deeper inside the crust. They have a crystalline structure. Continuing movements of the crust may bury the volcano and bring the plutonic rock to a shallower depth or even surface.

Igneous Rocks
Comprise 95% of the Earth's crust. Originated from the solidification of molten material from deep inside the Earth. There are two types: Volcanic - glassy in texture due to fast cooling. Plutonic - slow-cooling, crystalline rocks.

Notes

crystalline

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A granite has no porosity or permeability of its own, however tectonic forces may fracture the rock. Into these fractures hydrocarbons can flow to create a reservoir. The nature of volcanoes is to eject material which is mixed with the already existing formations. This is what happened in some places where the sandstone of the reservoir has volcanic debris mixed into it.

Igneous Rocks and Reservoirs

Igneous rocks can be part of reservoirs. Fractured granites form reservoirs in some parts of the world. Volcanic tuffs are mixed with sand in some reservoirs.

Notes

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The effect of heat and pressure is to transform the rock into a new form. In doing this it destroys all porosity and any hydrocarbon. Metamorphic rocks do not exist in reservoirs.

Metamorphic Rocks
2) Metamorphic rocks formed by the action of temperature and/or pressure on sedimentary or igneous rocks. Examples are Marble Hornfels Gneiss formed from limestone from shale or tuff similar to granite but formed by metamorphosis
Notes

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Sedimentary Rocks
The third category is Sedimentary rocks. These are the most important for the oil industry as it contains most of the source rocks and cap rocks and virtually all reservoirs. Sedimentary rocks come from the debris of older rocks and are split into two categories Clastic and Non-clastic. Clastic rocks formed from the materials of older rocks by the actions of erosion, transportation and deposition. Non-clastic rocks from chemical or biological origin and then deposition.
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Sedimentary rocks are formed from the material of other rocks which could be igneous, metamorphic or older sedimentary rocks. The classification splits those rocks which form from materials transported from one place to another - clastic rocks, from rocks which are created from materials in their place of formation ; no transportation - non clastic rocks.

Notes

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Depositional Environments
The depositional environment can be Shallow or deep water. Marine (sea) and lake or continental. This environment determines many of the reservoir characteristics

The depositional environment often plays a vital part of the evaluation of a well and a field. This often defines the major lithology and points to the possibilities of minor minerals. For example the shallow fan of the delta in the slide produces a conglomerate , the deep water is showing shales ( fine sediments ). Clues to the deposition come from a lot of measurements in and around the well. Core data is invaluable for the fossils, something that cant be seen on logs. The analysis of Dipmeter curves was always one of the first steps to choosing the depositional environment. Lately the imaging tools have made the process much easier with high resolution borehole images.

Notes

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Depositional Environments 2
Continental deposits are usually dunes. A shallow marines environment has a lot of turbulence hence varied grain sizes. It can also have carbonate and evaporite formation. A deep marine environment produces fine sediments.

The classical continental deposition of sand dunes produces an excellent reservoir quality reservoir rock. To create a reservoir the dune has to be buried with a source rock and cap rock providing the rest of the elements of the reservoir. The sediments carried down rivers will be deposited once the energy of the river currents drops. Heavier particles will come out first, leaving the fine sediments to go into deep water.

Notes

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Sediments deposited in deep water will form poor quality reservoir rocks as the fine grains lead to poor permeability.

Depositional Environments 3
The depositional characteristics of the rocks lead to some of their properties and that of the reservoir itself. The reservoir rock type clastic or non-clastic. The type of porosity (especially in carbonates) is determined by the environment plus subsequent events.
Notes

The structure of a reservoir can also be determined by deposition; a river, a delta, a reef and so on. This can also lead to permeability and producibility. of these properties are often changed by further events.

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Sedimentary rocks are subject to changes over time. If water of a different chemical composition flows through the rock, reactions can occur changing the rock type or dissolving some of it. Tectonic forces are always present. They crack the rock creating fractures.

Diagenesis
The environment can also involve subsequent alterations of the rock such as: Chemical changes. Diagenesis is the chemical alteration of a rock after burial. An example is the replacement of some of the calcium atoms in limestone by magnesium to form dolomite.

Notes

Mechanical changes - fracturing in a tectonicallyactive region.

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Rock Cycle

The start and end of all rocks is the magma in the mantle . This is cooled to create igneous rocks. these can be broken down into sediments. The sediments are turned into sedimentary rocks. These can be buried deeper with heat and pressure, turning into metamorphic rocks. If these are then heated we return to the magma. Inside this major cycle are subcycles. Igneous rocks can be heated to give metamorphic rocks. Any rocks can be broken into sediments to give sedimentary rocks.

Notes

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Sands are a reservoir rock, while shales are a source rock and a cap rock. The shales are very fine grained and although the can contain fluids this can only leak out in geological time, very slowly. Shales and silts also contain other minerals than Quartz. The sediments are buried to create the sedimentary rock, initially filled with water.

Clastic Rocks
Clastic rocks are sands, silts and shales. The difference is in the size of the grains.

Notes

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Depositional Environment - Delta

Sediments are transported to the basins by rivers. A common depositional environment is the delta where the river empties into the sea. A good example of this is the Mississippi.

Deltas can have huge extents. There are also a large number of potential traps in this environment, channels, bars and sheets of sands further out in the deeper water. hence the delta is one of the most prolific hydrocarbon environments. They are also complex with the structure ranging from shallow , shoreline to deep water.

Notes

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Ancient river beds below the current level can add up to a considerable thickness. The shape of a river/channel type deposition is often complicated, causing problems for well placement.

Rivers

Notes

Some types of deposition occur in rivers and sand bars. The river forms a channel where sands are deposited in layers. Rivers carry sediment down from the mountains which is then deposited in the river bed and on the flood plains at either side. Changes in the environment can cause these sands to be overlain with a shale, trapping the reservoir rock.

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Carbonates contain about half the worlds reserves in less than half of the reservoirs mainly due to the super giant fields of the Middle East

Carbonates
Carbonates form a large proportion of all sedimentary rocks.

They consist of: Limestone. Dolomite.

Notes

Carbonates usually have an irregular structure. They are formed from biological debris, shells, skeletons etc.

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Limestones and dolomites are usually reservoir rocks. A very dense, low porosity limestone can, occasionally, be a cap rock . Dolomitisation is a very important mechanism as it not only creates porosity but permeability paths vital to some reservoirs. Chalk reservoirs tend to have very high porosity and very low permeability.

Carbonate types
Chalk is a special form of limestone and is formed from the skeletons of small creatures (cocoliths). Dolomite is formed by the replacement of some of the calcium by a lesser volume of magnesium in limestone by magnesium. Magnesium is smaller than calcium, hence the matrix becomes smaller and more porosity is created.

Notes

Limestone Dolomite

CaCO3 CaMg(CO3)2

Evaporites such as Salt (NaCl) and Anhydrite (CaSO4) can also form in these environments.

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A reef is the simplest carbonate deposition, the skeletons of the reef animals.
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Depositional Environment Carbonates

In the shallow lagoons, Calcium Carbonate is deposited. Shells and so on are added to the mixture. Changes in sea level allow the deposition of salt or anhydrite as a seal. Carbonate deposition is very complex as the rocks themselves have particle sizes ranging from whole shells to line mud. The basic deposition is in shallow seas from biological and chemical action. CaCo3 is soluble hence can be transported around as a solute and then reprecipitated elsewhere. In addition to the carbonates these environments also produce evaporites such as salt ( NaCl ) and anhydrite ( Ca So4 ) . Other rocks include pyrite ( FeS2 ) and siderite ( FeCo3 ) and chert, microcrystalline quartz, the carbonate reservoir is hence very complex.

Lagoon

Carbonates are formed in shallow seas containing features such as: Reefs. Lagoons. Shore-bars.
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Rock Properties
Rocks are described by three properties: Porosity quantity of pore space

There are many other ways to describe a rock from a geological perspective. The minor constituents often determine how a rock behaves as a reservoir, hence they are included in the description. For example then shale content of a sandstone and the type of shale will be used.

Permeability - ability of a formation to flow Matrix major constituent of the rock

Notes

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Definition of Porosity

The amount of porosity gives the volume of the reservoir containing fluids. As it is a fraction it can be described as a number e.g. 0.25 or commonly as a percentage, 25%. Porosity can range from zero to over 50%. In normal reservoirs the range of 20% - 39%.

Notes

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The two packing models shown represent some of the possibilities .Cubic packing , with a porosity in excess of 47% is the theoretical maximum which is rarely reached. These pictures are valid in a lot of cases as the sand sediments deposited are often of uniform size and shape. The addition of smaller grains will reduce the porosity. Chalk often exhibits cubic packing.

Porosity Sandstones
The porosity of a sandstone depends on the packing arrangement of its grains. The system can be examined using spheres.
In a Rhombohedral packing, the pore space accounts for 26% of the total volume.

With a Cubic packing arrangement, the pore space fills 47% of the total volume.

Notes

In practice, the theoretical value is rarely reached because: a) the grains are not perfectly round, and b) the grains are not of uniform size.
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Porosity and Grain Size

A rock can be made up of small grains or large grains but have the same porosity. Porosity depends on grain packing, not the grain size.

In a clastic rock the grain size ( same size grains ) does not affect the porosity. Thus a sand, a silt and a shale can have the same porosity .The differences come in permeability where the grain size has a direct effect, large grains meaning higher permeability. This is the reason that a universal porosity - permeability transform does not work; two rocks with the same porosity but different grain sizes will not have the same permeability. The saturation can occur even in the same sandstone layer in a reservoir in a sequence where the grain size has changed during deposition eg. a firing up sequence. This implies that the silts and shales have porosity containing fluid. The fluid is water as the pore size is so small that capillary forces prevent hydrocarbon from entering.

Notes

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Sandstones can also contain fractures and vugs, however this is rarer than in the carbonates. In the case of vugs the latter are soluble while sandstone is not.

Carbonate Porosity
Intergranular porosity is called "primary porosity".

Porosity created after deposition is called "secondary porosity".

The latter is in two forms: Fractures Vugs.

Notes

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Fractures are classed as either being vertical or horizontal, although they can appear at almost any angle. If they are vertical they can penetrate from an oil column down into the water, and, as they have very high permeability, can cause production problems. This set of porosities are not fabric selective, ie. they happen to the entire rock. Fractures crack through any of the types of mineral or shell in the rock.

Fractures
Fractures are caused when a rigid rock is strained beyond its elastic limit - it cracks. The forces causing it to break are in a constant direction, hence all the fractures are also aligned. Fractures are an important source of permeability in low porosity carbonate reservoirs.

Notes

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Vugs

The full definition of vugs is more complicated. They are irregular holes in the rock. They have been caused by dissolution of shell (etc) fragments and also some of the matrix surrounding them. They can vary widely in size from a few microns to metres. In this context they are regarded as being a centimetres at most. In most cases the vugs are not connected to each other in any producible manner and hence do not contribute to the formations productivity. Carbonate rocks will frequently contain both vugs and fractures.

Vugs are defined as non-connected pore space. They do not contribute to the producible fluid total. Vugs are caused by the dissolution of soluble material such as shell fragments after the rock has been formed. They usually have irregular shapes.

Notes

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The major difference in the two properties porosity or permeability is that the former is a static rock property while the latter is a dynamic rock and fluid property.

Permeability Definition
The rate of flow of a liquid through a formation depends on: The pressure drop. The viscosity of the fluid. The permeability. The pressure drop is a reservoir property. The viscosity is a fluid property. The permeability is a measure of the ease at which a fluid can flow through a formation. Relationships exist between permeability and porosity for given formations, although they are not universal. A rock must have porosity to have any permeability. The unit of measurement is the Darcy. Reservoir permeability is usually quoted in millidarcies, (md).
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The original experiment was designed to monitor the flow of water through the sand in the town of Dijon .

Darcy Experiment

The flow of fluid of viscosity m through a porous medium was first investigated in 1856 by Henri Darcy. He related the flow of water through a unit volume of sand to the pressure gradient across it. In the experiment the flow rate can be changed by altering the parameters.

Notes

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Darcy Experiment 2

The flow rate increases with increasing pressure drop; it decreases with increasing length ; it increases with increasing surface area; it decreases with increasing viscosity. Putting this altogether gives an equation with the unknown as the permeability, K.

Notes

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Permeability is a metric ( but not SI ) unit.

Darcy Law

Notes

K = permeability, in Darcies. L = length of the section of rock, in centimetres. Q = flow rate in centimetres3 / sec. P1, P2 = pressures in bars. A = surface area, in cm2. = viscosity in centipoise.

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The flow rate through the large pore spaces is high hence the permeability is high.

Permeability and Rocks

In formations with large grains, the permeability is high and the flow rate larger.

Notes

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Permeability and Rocks 2

In a rock with small grains the permeability is less and the flow lower.

The flow rate through the small grained rocks is low hence the permeability is low. The formation contrasts with the one in the previous slide; with the same porosity the permeabilities can differ dramatically. The ultimate contrast is between a very fine grained shale with zero permeability and a coarse sandstone with a high permeability.

Notes

Grain size has no bearing on porosity, but has a large effect on permeability.

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Permeability and Rocks 3

Due to bedding the permeability can change vertically to a clastic sequence . The vertical permeability kv is determined by the lowest permeability layer. The horizontal permeability kh does not have this problem. The anisotropy , Kv/Kh describes the difference between the two. This ratio is always less than or equal to 1.

low Vertical permeability

Notes

high horizontal perm

The flow through this system will be best along the horizontal direction through the large grained parts of the rock. The small grained layer will impede fluid flow in the vertical direction and hence reduce the permeability. The porosity of all 42 the layers can be exactly the same. 42 42

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As noted a rock can have porosity but no permeability. If it has zero porosity it will have zero permeability. In practical terms low porosity reservoirs ( < 10% ) exist.

Reservoir Rocks
Reservoir rocks need two properties to be successful: Pore spaces able to retain hydrocarbon. Permeability which allows the fluid to move.

Notes

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Clastic Reservoirs
Sandstone usually has regular grains; and is referred to as a grainstone. Porosity Determined mainly by the packing and mixing of grains. Permeability Determined mainly by grain size and packing, connectivity and shale content.

Sandstone reservoirs account for the majority of the worlds fields. There will always be bedding variations leading to differences in the quality of the reservoirs. The porosity and permeability are relatively simple to evaluate from core samples. Fractures may be important in low porosity reservoirs.

Notes

Fractures may be present.

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Carbonates reservoirs are difficult as their properties change in both the vertical and the horizontal directions, often in unpredictable ways. Fractures are nearly always present and can be essential to production.

Carbonate Reservoirs
Carbonates normally have a very irregular structure. Porosity: Determined by the type of shells, etc. and by depositional and post-depositional events (fracturing, leaching, etc.). Permeability: Determined by deposition and postdeposition events, fractures.

Notes

Fractures can be very important in carbonate reservoirs.

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The majority of cap rocks are shales as it is these rocks which are normally present. Zero porosity carbonates not only form cap rocks but barriers in the reservoir itself.

Cap Rock
A reservoir needs a cap rock.

Notes

Impermeable cap rock keeps the fluids trapped in the reservoir. It must have zero permeability. Some examples are: Shales. Evaporites such as salt or anhydrite. Zero-porosity carbonates.
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Source rocks are shale or siltstone. These sedimentary rocks form in the deep ocean and have fine grains.

Source Rocks
Hydrocarbon originates from minute organisms in seas and lakes. When they die, they sink to the bottom where they form organic-rich "muds" in fine sediments. These "muds" are in a reducing environment or "kitchen", which strips oxygen from the sediments leaving hydrogen and carbon. The sediments are compacted to form organicrich rocks with very low permeability. The hydrocarbon can migrate very slowly to nearby porous rocks, displacing the original formation water.

Notes

Plankton and other dead animals fall to the bootm of the oceans

Organic rich mud

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Temperature Window
Temperature too low for hydrocarbon formation

The temperature at which the source rock has been cooked is important to the viability of the reservoir. It is closely related to the depth at which the rock was buried. As all this happened a long time in the past the geologist has to track the history of the source rock.

Oil Formed

Gas Formed

Notes
Temperature too high for hydrocarbon formation

If the temperature is too low, the organic material cannot transform into hydrocarbon. If the temperature is too high, the organic material and hydrocarbons are destroyed.

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Hydrocarbon Migration

Secondary migration is simple to understand with the higher hydrocarbon floating to rest on top of the original water. The primary part of the process is much more complex. The exact mechanism is uncertain as the experiment cannot be done in the laboratory ( high temperature and pressure and a very long time ).

Hydrocarbon migration takes place in two stages: Primary migration - from the source rock to a porous
rock. This is a complex process and not fully understood. It is probably limited to a few hundred metres.

Notes

Secondary migration - along the porous rock to the trap.

This occurs by buoyancy, capillary pressure and hydrodynamics through a continuous water-filled pore system. It can take place over large distances.
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Rock Classification
Clastics Rock type Conglomerate Sandstone Siltstone Shale

Clastic rocks are classified initially by their grain size. There are many more complex classifications for this type of rock but this is the simplest. In this list Conglomerates and Sandstones are reservoir rocks, Siltstones and Shales are source rocks and shales are also cap rocks. Non- Clastics can be described by their chemical composition, there are, once again many more complex descriptions. Here limestone and Dolomite are reservoir rocks and Silt and Anhydrite are cap rocks.

Particle diameter Pebbles 2 - 64mm Sand .06 - 2mm Silt .003 - .06mm Clay <.003mm

Non-Clastics Rock type Limestone Dolomite Salt Anhydrite Coal

Notes

Composition CaCO3 CaMg(CO3)2 NaCl CaSO4 Carbon

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Reservoir Structure
There are many other types of structure. The criteria for a structure is that it must have: Closure, i.e. the fluids are unable to escape. Be large enough to be economical.

The rocks compromising the reservoir undergo significant changes due to tectonic movements. The most important is folding and faulting as it is these alterations to the initial horizontal strata which create the structures forming reservoir traps. The depositional environment contributes greatly to the variety of trap. Shallow lagoons can have reefs as well as layers of carbonates.

The exact form of the reservoir depends on the depositional environment and post depositional events such as foldings and faulting.

Notes

1300m

1400m
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In the major oil basins of the world it is often the case of series of structures. Maps of the North Sea or Middle East clearly show the reservoirs lined up as one structure has overflowed into the next.

Trap definitions

Once the hydrocarbon reaches the spill plane it goes to fill up the next structure. Several fields can be created in a line. Closure is measured down to the spill plane.

Notes

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Traps General
Gross Pay: the total thickness of the reservoir zone from the top of the reservoir to the lowermost hydrocarbons

The key concepts are those of Net and Gross pay. Gross pay is always > Net pay. This can also be described by the Net -to - Gross ratio which is always less than or equal to one. The spill plane is the maximum level to which this particular reservoir can filled before the next anticline starts to be filled.

Closure: total reservoir size down to the spill point

Notes

Net Pay: the total thickness of producible hydrocarbons

Spill Point: connection to other systems

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Structural traps describe all the large features and includes domes, anticlines and faults. These large scale reservoirs include most of the Middle East giants.

Structural Traps
The simplest form of trap is a dome. This is created by upward movement or folding of underlying sediments.

Notes

An anticline is another form of simple trap. This is formed by the folding of layers of sedimentary rock.

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Fault Traps
Faults occur when the rock shears due to stresses. Reservoirs often form in these fault zones. A porous and permeable layer may trap fluids due to its location alongside an impermeable fault or its juxtaposition alongside an impermeable bed. Faults are found in conjunction with other structures such as anticlines, domes and salt domes.

Faulting is an important mechanism in most reservoirs. It forms reservoirs in its own right and also breaks other reservoirs down into specific blocks. Well testing helps determine the fault parameters such as distance from a well, angle and so on. Faulting of older blocks creating grabens also makes depositional environments for new reservoir formation. Overall a very important mechanism in most reservoirs.

Notes

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Stratigraphic traps describe the traps associated with the depositional environment. Reefs, channels and bars are from specific environments. Unconformities exist due to tectonic movements when a formation ;an anticline in the diagram is eroded ( it is above ground level ). It is then buried and more sediments are added creating the seal and hence the reservoir.

Stratigraphic Traps

Notes

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Salt Dome Trap

Salt Dome traps are caused when "plastic" salt is forced upwards. The salt dome pierces through layers and compresses rocks above. This results in the formation of various traps: In domes created by formations pushed up by the salt. Along the flanks and below the overhang in porous rock abutting on the impermeable salt itself.

Salt in creating the domes also adds faults and fractures due to the express pressures on the rocks. The traps around the dome are difficult to find as anything below the Salt is invisible on the surface seismic. ( the contrast between the salt and anything else is too large ).

Notes

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Most reservoir maps in the world use m.s.l. as the reference. Depths of the layer increases away from the crest of the structure. The reference is needed because the drilling rig can be on top of a mountain or an offshore platform. In each case the measured depth of the same layer is different as the drilling reference is different.

Reservoir Mapping

Notes

Reservoir contours are usually measured to be below Mean Sea Level (MSL). They can represent either the reservoir formation structure or fluid layers.
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Schlumberger

Basic Petroleum Engineering

FTC

Rock Ages

The vast majority of reservoirs fall into the middle era from about 300Myears to about 60Myears. This is because there has been enough time for all the process to happen. If too much time has passed the continuing tectonic movements will push the reservoir deep, destroying the hydrocarbon or cracked it open or raised it to the surface allowing the fluids to escape. If not enough time has passed all the elements of the reservoir will not be in place.

Notes

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Schlumberger

Basic Petroleum Engineering

FTC

The mechanical strength of the sandstone formations can be predicted using wireline logs. Lost circulation material is used to stop mud losses during drilling, it can be a number of materials, ground nut shells, cotton seeds, rubber bands, mica. In all cases its major property is to block holes.

Reservoir Rocks and Production

Sandstones Under high drawdown some sandstones will collapse; the well produces sand. This may cause damage to equipment. Lost circulation material is produced first and can clog valves and so on. Production may be through fractures and only a few perforations producing as jets.

Carbonates

Notes

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