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Well Control The Petroleum Play

CONTENTS

1.WHAT IS A PETROLEUM PLAY

2. RESERVOIR

3. SEAL

4. SOURCE ROCK, MATURITY AND

MIGRATION

5. TRAP

6. TIMING

7. RISK ANALYSIS

8. EXPLORATION TOOLS
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of this chapter are to provide the engineering student with the basic
concepts used by Explorationists (Geologists and Geophysicists) in the search for
new oil and gas fields.

The important Geological concepts of the petroleum play are introduced through the
main controls on petroleum accumulations, namely:

• Reservoir

• Seal

• Source rock and migration path

• Trap

• Timing

These controls are introduced together with a formal method of analysing the chance
of a successful outcome to an exploration well, in advance of its drilling. Knowledge
of these concepts is important in any discussions between engineers and explorationists
concerning the value of an exploration portfolio.

At the end of this Chapter the student will be able to:

1. Describe and illustrate a petroleum play

2. Know the difference between a lead and a prospect
3. List the components of a petroleum play
4. Describe exploration risk analysis
5. Describe the control on poroperms in clastic and carbonate rocks
6. Describe the palaeogeographic controls on reservoir development
7. Describe the effects of burial on reservoir rocks
8. Describe the elements of an effective seal
9. Describe the elements of a good source rock
10. Describe the effects of time and temperature on organic matter
11. Describe why some source rocks produce oil, some gas and some both
12. Describe maturity of source rocks
13. Describe primary and secondary oil migration
14. Describe the difference between a stratigraphic and structural trap
15. Describe the traps formed around salt domes
16. Describe why timing of source rock generation and trap formation are important

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 The Petroleum Play
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1. WHAT IS THE PETROLEUM PLAY?

In hydrocarbon exploration, favourable geological conditions are sought with a

reasonable chance that a well drilled in the location will encounter a significant
volume of hydrocarbons. The method by which Explorationists (the collective noun
for Geologists, Geophysicists and Geochemists) evaluate the geological conditions is
through a concept of the petroleum play. The petroleum play is a perception (or
model) of how a specific region of the Earth’s subsurface may be an appropriate target
for exploration drilling. More specifically, how a:

• producible reservoir (the rock with its connected pore or fracture system),
• petroleum charge system (the source rock for the hydrocarbons and its migration
path to the subject reservoir),
• regional topseal (the capping rock preventing migration out of the reservoir), and
• trap (the geological features defining the physical limits to the reservoir rock in the
subsurface)

may combine to produce significant petroleum accumulations at a specific stratigraphic

level. The US Geological Survey defines a play as a set of known or postulated oil
and (or) gas accumulations showing similar geological, geographical and temporal
properties such as source rock, migration pathway, timing, trapping mechanism and
hydrocarbon type. This essentially refers to already discovered fields rather that the
conditions favourable for their discovery. In both definitions, the necessary attributes
for a successful petroleum play are the same and are of fundamental importance to
explorationists.

Explorationists within the operator (the oil or gas company that holds a licence to
explore on the behalf of a consortium of companies) are charged with identifying the
3-D distribution of the various elements listed above (this is termed play mapping).
The basic data that are used for this purpose include:

• Outcrops where the rocks of interest come to the surface,

• Well data, where borehole measurements and samples of the rocks of interest are
available,
• Seismic data (providing sub-surface imaging of the rock structure),
• Geological studies by government geological surveys or industry contractors,
• Information from discussions with professionals in other companies (scout data).

These data have to be synthesised and integrated into a series of play maps to show
the general areas of interest for further consideration by operator management and
consortium partners. Within these areas (usually large, from 10’s to 100’s or even
1000’s of sq.km) the explorationists will also define specific leads (usually less than
10 sq.km) which can be identified and worked into prospects after further data
collection or analysis. The operator may wish to drill prospects if a sufficent chance
of success can be demonstrated. A lead is unlikely to be drilled without further work.

A prospect is an identified trap (structural or stratigraphic) which:

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• has a reasonable chance of containing rock that has holes (i.e., is porous) which are
connected and can conduct fluid (i.e., is permeable),
• is older than the time which oil/gas was available (oil and/or gas migrates from a
source rock on reaching thermal maturity),
• is in a location to which oil/gas could move (migrate)
• is of sufficent potential size with enough confidence that oil will be found to warrant
drilling an exploration well.

The decision to carry out any exploration work will depend on various factors at each
stage. A play has to be identified before any exploration drilling starts. Initial
surveying will depend on the potential of the play. Detailed surveying will depend on
the size and number of leads identified. At any stage, the licence position with the
licencing authority (usually government) has to be agreed. Licencing rounds are
usually offers for competitive bidding from consortia. Licences are usually awarded
on the basis of the largest proposed work programme (usually surveys and wells). An
operator will want to secure a licence before undertaking too much exploration
expenditure. For these commercial reasons, exploration is usually conducted in the
utmost secrecy.

The size of a lead or prospect and the likelihood of success are often linked. The
greater the possible return, the higher the level of risk (probability of failure) which
can be taken. Several other criteria will be applied to the decision process. These
include location (offshore/onshore, distance from facilities or export routes), tax
regime of the relevant country and the characteristics of the operator (risk taker/
avoider, cash rich, etc).

These vary so much between operators and between locations that it is hard to place
limits; however, the principles and the approach taken are always the same. There is
no way to be certain about what a prospect contains before it has been drilled.
Uncertainty is always present in exploration (and also in appraisal or even production)
wells. The explorationists’ most important task, after identifying a prospect, is to
provide an estimation of technical risk. Risk analysis is a technique used to quantify
the technical uncertainty by estimating the probability of success in the key elements
of a prospect. The key elements are summarised as:

• Reservoir,
• Seal,
• Source Rock, Maturity and Migration Path,
• Trap,
• Timing

In this chapter, we will examine the method(s) by which the risk can be assessed in
each of these areas. Before proceeding, we can summarise this section:

(a) The Petroleum Play is a concept that allows explorationists to identify

drillable prospects.

(b) The Petroleum Play includes the integrated analysis of various data to address
relevant geological elements:
producible reservoir (RESERVOIR),

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 2
The Petroleum Play

petroleum charge system (SOURCE ROCK, MATURITY, MIGRATION

PATH and TIMING),
widespread topseal (SEAL), and geological structure (TRAP).

(c) The analysis of the Petroleum Play leads to the estimation of the probability of
success for a particular prospect.

2. RESERVOIR

A rock is considered to be a potential "reservoir" if it contains holes (porosity is the

ratio of holes to solid) and the holes are connected over a significant volume
(permeability is the ability of a rock to transmit fluid). Porosity determines the volume
of hydrocarbon the structure might contain (hydrocarbon-in-place) and permeability
controls the rate at which it can be produced. In prospect appraisal, it is usually the
former that explorationists focus on, because porosity and permeability in many
reservoir rocks are often related (10% porosity often equates to a 1mD cut-off which
is thought necessary for oil production). The explorationist will thus be risking the
occurrence of rock that is greater than 10% porosity in order to define the reservoir.
Exploration wells may be “successful” and find oil, but the rock might be so
impermeable that none of it can be economically produced! Sometimes the
economics of oil can change (oil price rises, new technology, etc.), so it is often
difficult for the explorationist to apply an appropriate cut-off value to estimate if the
reservoir should be economically productive.

Porosity and permeability in clastic reservoirs are primarily controlled by the textural
properties. The texture of a sediment is the concern of the sedimentologist and the
reader is referred to the following Sedimentology Chapter 3 for a full appreciation of
this subject. In the petroleum play, the two main elements of the textural description
are the size of the sand grains in the sandstone (grain size) and how variable the grains
are (sorting, where well sorted means all the grains are approximately the same size,
poorly sorted means they are a wide range of sizes). Grain size and sorting have a
major control of porosity and permeability - collectively known as poroperms in
popular usage (figure 1).
Figure 1
Textural control on vw
g
rtin
poroperm properties in so
vp
sandstones 100,000

(from experimental work

10,000
published in 1973 by Prior c
PERMEABILITY (mD)

and Beard & Weyl) 1000

Grain size varies from very grain

100 size
fine (vf) to coarse (c) and
sorting from very poor (vp) 10
vf
to very well (vw). Sorting
1
captures the variation in
grain size within a 0.1
0 10 20 30 40 50
sandstone sample
POROSITY (%)

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The grain size and sorting will depend on the physical conditions where the sands
ceased to be transported and so were deposited, prior to being lithified (i.e., the
depositional environment), because of:

• nearness or proximity to sediment source (coarser material is usually transported

over less distance).

• nature of sediment source which is known as provenance (an eroded sandstone will
generate a different sediment than a granite, both in grain size and composition).

• the energy of the depositing currents

• fluctuations in depositing current strength and direction

The play mapping for a prospective reservoir unit will therefore include a model for
the deposition of sandstone (or other reservoir rock) through time and space. The
evolution of a reservoir is often represented by maps (horizontal or plan representations)
and cross-sections (vertical section representations) for various stratigraphic levels
recording the vertical and lateral distribution of rock types (figure 2). Depositional
trends preserved in the rock record (described in detail in Chapter 3) can be used to
infer depositional patterns. Geologist's use the term palaeo- to indicate a feature in
the geological record. Hence the depositional patterns may indicate palaeo-slope,
palaeo-wind direction and palaeo-drainage directions.

Figure 2
FZ FZ 3km

FZ
N Sandstone development in
the Ridge Basin, California
(after Allen and Allen,
1990). Top: A plan map
FZ view with the north (N)
arrow indicating
SW NE
RIDGE BASIN orientation. Below: A cross
section through the centre
of the map from north-east
(NE) to south-west (SW).
FZ Pleistocene (PLEIS),
Pliocene (PLIO) and
Miocene (MIO) are
FZ
FZ
3km FZ
3km
chronostratigraphic terms
FZ - FAULT
(see Fig. 22, Chapter 1)
DEPOSITIONAL TRENDS
indicating that the 12km of
PLEIS
sediment in this basin was
BRECCIA

PLIO FLUVIAL SANDS AND SHALES

TERTIARY
MIO DEEP MARINE SANDS AND deposited in the last 26
PRE-TERTIARY IGNEOUS/METAMORPHIC BASEMENT

million years.

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 The Petroleum Play
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With an understanding of the depositional environments through time, reconstructions
can be made, with a reasonable degree of accuracy, even where the rock record is not
preserved or not sampled. These maps, made for the depositional system at the time
of deposition, are known as palaeogeographic reconstructions (figure 3).

T2
N

BRAIDED FLUVIAL
CHANNEL SYSTEM

BRAID PLAIN
ALLUVIAL FANS

MOUNTAINS

Figure 3
Palaeogeographic T1
LAND
N
reconstructions at two time
COASTAL
periods, in the Ridge Basin, DEPOSITS

TURBIDITES
California, based on the OCEAN

SUBMARINE FANS
cross section (refer to Fig.
2). The locations of time LAND?

planes T1 (centre) and T2

(top) are shown in the
cross-section (below) and
represent reconstructions of
T2
the geography in Miocene
and Pliocene times,
respectively, as the basin
filled up over geological
T1
time

For the Ridge Basin in California, reconstruction at time planes (stratigraphic level of
a particular time in the geological record) at time T1 (Miocene), shows the distribution
of ocean with both deep water (submarine fans and turbidites1) and shallow water
(coastal deposits1) sediments being deposited. By time T2 (Pliocene) the ocean had
drained and the region was dominated by a broad river system (braided fluvial channel
system and braid plain1) over a wider area than covered by the earlier Miocene ocean.
Such maps will show where the important trends lie (e.g., depocentres where the
thickness reservoir of source rock may be deposited, depositional edge lines where
the distribution limits of potential reservoirs are mapped) that might lead the
explorationist to target certain areas in preference to others.

1
- Sedimentological terms to be defined in Chapter 3

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The textural maturity (i.e., how quartz-rich a sand is) is also important as diagenesis
tends to degrade the properties of immature sands (those with particles other than
quartz, which is quite stable) more rapidly. Provenance studies can be used to map
the source of the sand material and its likely maturity (You should be aware of the
difference between “sediment source rocks” and “organic source rocks” and “textural
maturity of sandstones” and “thermal maturity of source rocks”). The variability in
petrophysical properties (reservoir heterogeneity) is not too important at the explo-
ration stage - these are more the concern of the production geologist. It is usually
assumed (perhaps incorrectly in some cases) that the heterogeneity will be addressed
by the field development scheme.

Porosity in sedimentary rocks usually declines with depth of burial (figure 4) and this
burial effect is often incorporated in a reservoir play map. Initial porosity in shales is
higher than that of sandstones at the time of deposition, but declines more rapidly as
the sediment expels waters.

POROSITY (%)
1 10 100 10 100
0

2
BURIAL DEPTH (km)

4
Figure 4
Plots of log prosity against
6
depth for a range of shales
and sandstones
(after Allen and Allen,
SHALE SAND
8 1990).

Examination of thin sections and SEM images allow the relative timings of the mineral
phases and cements to be determined by petrographic analysis. This analysis allows
the sequence of diagenetic events to be determined (figure 5). Porosity-reducing and
porosity-increasing phases of diagenesis can be identified. The latter is particularly
important as it can lead to anomalously high porosities (relative to those predicted in
figure 4) at depths. This type of porosity is known as secondary porosity.

In the UK North Sea Central Graben, High-Pressure, High-Temperature (HPHT)

reservoirs have become an exploration target and an important North Sea Play in
recent years, with >20% porosity resulting from secondary porosity events at up to
6km depth (figure 6). Higher than normal water pressures (overpressure) in the
reservoirs (the HPHT reservoirs are also highly overpressured) is another mechanism
for the preservation of reservoir porosity at depth.

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 The Petroleum Play
2
Figure 5 TIME
A petrographically-
PETROGRAPHIC SEQUENCE
EARLY DIAGENESIS
determined sequence of - FULMAR SST

porosity-decreasing DOLOMITE

cements for a reservoir DOLOMITE DISSOLUTION

QUARTZ OVERGROWTH
sandstone unit in the ILLITE

Central North Sea (after FELSPAR

ANASTASE
Wilkinson, et al., 1997).
Note phases of dissolution ANKERITE

ANKERITE DISSOLUTION

of dolomite, felspar and POROSITY REDUCING BITUMEN

CALCITE
ankerite (a carbonate POROSITY ENHANCING

mineral) also lead to the

development of porosity .

POTENTIAL POROSITY
10 0.15 0.30 0.45

PRIMARY
POROSITY
1 Cementation

Figure 6
BURIAL DEPTH (km)

n
pa al
io

Porosity versus depth for 2

rm
ct
No

two North Sea Central

m
Co

Graben wells plotted SECONDARY

3 POROSITY
against a “normal”
compactional loss of
porosity show loss of
4
porosity due to cementation WELL A
PRESENT DAY
and then later increase of
WELL B
porosity as the cement is PRESENT DAY
5
dissolved

The primary fabric and mineralogy of carbonate reservoirs are also controlled by
deposition, through biological activity (e.g., the building of reefs by coral), and by
precipitation (small carbonate grains - ooids - are built by carbonate precipitation
around a nucleus). Carbonate reservoirs are often developed as coral reef build-ups
on a shallow marine shelf (figure 7). However, more importantly, it is diagenesis that
creates most of the porosity in a carbonate reservoir. Diagenesis includes all changes
that occur to the rock once buried after deposition. Periods of post-depositional uplift
and subaerial dissolution by rainwater (leaching of holes in the surface, karsts, or
subsurface, caverns, etc.) are particularly important as a reservoir-creating mecha-
nism. Trends showing where this might have occurred (critical for exploration
consideration) can be mapped from regional information.

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SHELF SLOPE ANHYDRITE

Figure 7
SALT
Cross section through a
carbonate (CARB)-
CARB
evaporite (SAL) dominated
SALT
CARB platform of Upper Silurian
REEF FLANK FACIES
age from the Michigan
Basin, USA, showing the
CORAL REEF
30m development of isolated,
CARB. MUD MOUND 1km large coral reefs. (after
Allen and Allen, 1990)

The change of limestone into dolomite during diagenesis is accompanied by a volume

reduction (16%) which can create microporosity betwen the dolomite crystals.
Dolomitization is largely a depth-controlled phenomenom, so dolomite reservoirs
tend to be deep (or have been buried deeply). But, dolomite can also be deposited in
some situations-such as in the evaporitic conditions of sabkha settings on desert
coasts. There are also other diagenetic changes. A result of the relative instability of
carbonate under burial, pressure solution occurs, leading to the development of sub-
horizontal discontinuities known as stylolites and potentially to reservoir development.
The connection of voids, in order to provide permeability, is often a major concern in
carbonates where large numbers of large pores (vugs) may have no effective
permeability because the vugs are disconnected.

Carbonate rocks are relatively brittle (dolomite more so than limestone) and have a
tendency to break in response to structural deformation (i.e., fracture). Fracture
trends or zones may be mappable from seismic or from structural analysis.

Chalk is a special type of limestone, being made up from the shells of many
microscopic marine organisms. Chalk reservoirs tend to be low permeability unless
fractured, as in the main producing zones in the Danish Offshore and the Austin Chalk
of Texas.

The Upper Cretaceous Chalk of the Norwegian North Sea is a rather special carbonate
reservoir. In one area (i.e., the Ekofisk Complex), chalks have provided a high
porosity matrix where they have been redeposited by deep marine flows of sediment
from the shelfal areas. Early oil migration and overpressuring have ensured a high
porosity (40-50%), high permeability reservoir that is quite unusual in a carbonate.
The production mechanism is partly provided by a matrix compaction drive which has
had a dramatic effect, even at the sea bed where settlement of the platform was
observed!

Key RESERVOIR points from this section to note are:

• In clastic reservoirs the reservoir quality is a function of grain size and sorting.
• Grain size and sorting are a function of depositional environment.
• Primary porosity generally (but not always) reduces with depth of burial.
• Porosity and permeability development in carbonates is dominated by secondary
processes.

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 The Petroleum Play
2
3. SEAL

A seal is a fine-grained rock that prevents the oil migrating to the surface (which
happens in many parts of the world - leading to natural oil seeps). In some situations,
salt provides an effective seal but muddy, clay-rich rocks represent most seals. The
seal is an important component in a prospect. A fine-grained caprock seal is effective
if the capillary entry pressure (figure 8) into the pores of the seal rock above an
accumulation is in excess of the buoyancy drive of the underlying hydrocarbon
column. The field demonstration of this comes from Jennings (1987) where the 43m
(140ft) oil columns equate to the entry pressure of the siltstones in a stratigraphic trap
(figure 9).

A B
Figure 8
Explanation of capillary
pressure.
m

S
Left - height of water rise in al
lP
Height

a series of capillary tubes. ores

Right - Buoyancy pressure

needed to overcome
La

capillary entry pressure for

ge
r

oil to displace water from P ore s

capillaries in a reservoir
0 1
Water Saturation

1km

Figure 9
Map (top) and cross-section
(bottom) through the Bell
Creek oil field in SE A'
A Dip Direction
Montana. Eleven different
oil colums are trapped by Water Oil

siltstone with 0.1 - 3mD

A A'
permeability (after
Jennings, 1987). The
0
capillary pressure curves
show low entry pressure in 43m
0 Capillary Release Valve
the sandy rock (bar facies) w

and high entry pressure in Bar Lagoon

Facies Facies
the muddy rock (lagoon
facies). Bell Creek Montana

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The importance of seals and trapping warrants the following explanation. let us define
the terms:

ρp petroleum density [kg/m3]

g acceleration due to gravity [m/s2]
H height of hydrocarbon column [m]
γ water-petroleum interfacial tension [N/m]
rs SEAL pore radius [m]
rr RESERVOIR pore radius [m]
θ water-petroleum contact angle [degrees]

Seal entry pressure (i.e. the pressure needed to breach seal)

Pcap = 2 γ [(1/rs) - (1/rr)] cos(θ) [Pascals] (2)

The minimum requirement to breach a seal is when

Pbuoyancy = Pcap (3)

Since
Pbuoyancy = H.g.[ρw - ρp]

Therefore

H = [2 γ [(1/rs) - (1/rr)] cos(θ)] / [(ρw - ρp) g] (4)

In general, the term for the seal radius in equations 2 and 3 dominates as the seal has
much smaller pores than the reservoir. As a consequence, equation 4 can be (and
usually is) reduced to:

H = [2 γ (1/rs) cos(θ)] / [∆ρ g] (5)

The contact angle is usually taken as being zero for water-wet water/petroleum
systems, so the cos(θ) term is unity, and the expression can be further reduced to:

H = [2 γ (1/rs)] / [∆ρ g] (6)

If we assume some typical values (water density of 1.013, oil density of 0.77, and an
interfacial tension of 10-2 N/m), we can see how the critical column height varies with
the radius of the pore throat of the seal (figure 10). Clearly, to use these formulae, it
is necessary to estimate the “effective” pore throat radius for the seal. This is not easy,
but shales and salt are often assumed to be effective seals (and this is borne out by
observations of hydrocarbon accumulations).

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 The Petroleum Play
2
900

800

Petroleum Column Height (m)

700

600

500

Figure 10 400

Variation of critical 300

hydrocarbon height 200

controlled by pore-throat 100

radius of seal (water 0

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.10 1.1
specific density of 1.013 and Seal Pore Radius (microns)
oil of 0.77)

4. SOURCE ROCK, MATURITY AND MIGRATION PATH

Petroleum originates (or is "sourced") from biologically-derived organic matter

buried as sediment in sedimentary rocks. The sedimentary rocks, rich in organic
matter, which are capable of generating hydrocarbons are known as source rocks.
"Good" source rocks usually contain between 5% - 20% organic matter. Living
organic matter, is comprised of four main chemical components: carbohydrates,
proteins, lipids and lignins. Lipids and lignins are the most likely to be preserved and
incorporated in sediment. Lipids occur in marine animals (fauna) and terrestial plants
(flora). Lignins are found only in land plants. Lipids are predominantly oil
precursors (i.e., the material they contain may end up as oil); lignins, gas precursors.
Palaeozoic land plant deposits (i.e., coals e.g., Carboniferous in SNS) tend to be gas
prone; however, more recent ones (e.g., Tertiary in SE Asia) can also be oil prone.

Anoxic (low oxygen levels) conditions favour the preservation of organic matter. This
is because the low oxygen availability restricts the action of organisms that would
otherwise consume the deposited organic materials.

Source rocks are deposited in three main settings:

Lakes - isolated basins with poor turnover of the liquid column, allow the accumulation
of land-derived (gas prone) or algal-derived (oil prone) organic matter. The Eocene
Green River Shale of the Western US and many of the SE Asian (particularly in China)
source rocks were deposited in lakes (lacustrine).

Deltas - Deltas occur where rivers meet the sea (e.g., Nile, Mississippi). They are
characterised by river channels with swamps and ponds (lagoons) in between.
Organic matter can be derived from lagoonal algal concentrations or directly from
plants growing on the delta plain. Coals in the Tertiary sequence of Indonesia,
originally deposited in swamps, form important oil source rocks. The lagoonal shales
in the Carboniferous (e.g. the Pumpherston Oil Shale outcropping at S. Queensferry,
Lothian, Scotland, immediately underneath the Forth Rail Bridge) have been an oil
source. More commonly, the coals in the Carboniferous are the source for gas, as
occurs in the Southern North Sea.

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Marine basins - Marine basins, especially those with restricted circulation, form ideal
conditions for the accumulation of thick organic-rich source rocks. The Kimmeridge
Clay (North Sea) is a good example of a rich source rock (e.g. high organic content)
in a marine shale. The Posidonia Shale (Posidonia is a marine fossil), of Lower
Jurassic age, is the oil source in the southern part of the Dutch Offshore and the Paris
Basin and is a marine source rock. Zones of adundant upwelling in the oceans, where
the fauna thrives because of the abundance of nutrients brought up as warm light water
meets dense cold water, can also lead to the formation of organic rich beds.

Source rocks are usually detected by the analysis of unwashed cuttings. The Total
Organic Content (TOC) of a shale can be readily measured in the laboratory (by
burning a sample and measuring the amount of carbon dioxide given off) and
laboratory pyrolysis (cooking to ca. 500oC and measuring the products) can determine
the petroleum yield of a source rock. TOC varies from 2-10+% in marine shale source
rocks to >50% in a coal. Collection of headspace gas (gas given off by the drilling
cuttings samples when stored in a can) can be used to determine source rock potential
of the sample. The analysis of source rocks is the role of the geochemist. Geochemical
sampling is routine on all exploration wells. The geochemical typing of shales is
important to the subsequent tracing of the source of any discovered oils/gases.

Oil shales are defined as those capable of producing commercial quantities of oil. The
first industrial shale oil plant was developed in France in 1838 followed by the famous
works of James “Paraffin” Young at Bathgate in 1850. The spoil heaps from the latter
(mined from the Pumpherston Oil Shale) can still be seen to the west of Edinburgh.

There are three components (known as macerals) of coal; vitrinite (gas prone), exinite
(oil prone) and inertinite (not hydrocarbon prone). These can be readily identified
petrographically by geochemists. The reflectivity of vitrinite (vitrinite reflectance)
to ordinary light under the microscope increases as the maturity of a coal increases.
Anthracite, a mature coal, is shiny whilst brown coals, which are immature, are dull.
Maturity is a function of time, temperature and pressure (as every cook knows).

Vitrinite reflectance, measured as a percentage of the light which is reflected back, is

used to determine the maturity of a source rock. The vitrinite reflectance (Ro) is
correlatable with the main zones of hydrocarbon generation.

Ro < 0.55 Immature

0.55 < Ro < 0.80 Oil (and gas) generation
0.80 < Ro < 1.0 Cracking of oil to gas, gas generation
1.0 < Ro < 2.5 Dry gas generation

These levels are based on typical North Sea source rocks, Note that some oils (e.g.,
Tertiary, SE Asia) can be sourced at much lower (Ro < 0.40 ) maturities because of the
nature of the source plant material.

Kerogen is the lipid-rich part of organic matter that is insoluble in common organic
solvents (lipids are the more waxy parts of animals and some plants). The extractable
part is known as bitumen. Kerogen is converted to bitumen during the maturation
process. The amount of extractable bitumen is a measure of the maturity of a source
rock. Bitumen becomes petroleum during migration. Petroleum is the liquid organic

14
 The Petroleum Play
2
substance recovered in wells. Crude oil is the naturally occurring liquid form of
petroleum. Oils can be correlated with other oils (oil-oil) and with source rock extracts
(oil-source rock) by the comparison of gas chromatograhy (figure 10).
Chromotagraphy works by passing the oil (or extract) through a column of glass beads
where the different hydrocarbon components can be separated. These components are
then flushed out and burnt. The peaks on a chromatogram record the amount of each
component against time with the heavier ones being flushed out later than the light
ones. In the chromatograms in figure 11, the reader is left to compare the two oils with
the source rock by matching up the peaks - the Audignon Field seems to match better
than the Guajacq Field.

Oil
Audignon
(Albian)

Figure 11
Comparison of gas
chromatograms of
saturated hydrocarbons for
oil-oil and oil-source rock Source Rock
Aire-sur-Adour
correlation (from the (Upper Jurassic)
Alberta Basin, W. Canada,
after Tissot and Welte,
1978). The verical scale is
a function of the
concentration and the
horizontal scale is time. Oil
Gaujacq
The heavier components (Albian)
will appear to the right
hand side of the figure. See
text for further discussion.

The light fraction in oils is also subject to biodegradation during and after accumulation.
Bacteria living in the subsurface will readily consume this fraction of the hydrocarbon
as food and high temperature is needed to prevent this (at least 60ºC). Biodegraded
crude oils are notably heavier (more viscous) than unbiodegraded ones. Waxy crudes
are also hard to deal with from an engineering point of view. Waxyness is also a
function of the source organic matter and lacustrine source rocks are notably wax-
prone.

Kerogen is divided into reactive (most easily converted waxy, labile, part and the
more woody, refractory part) and inert portions (figure 12). The proportions will
depend on the source organic matter and the depositional conditions of the source
rock. The petroleum liquids expelled from each portion can be quite different in
composition and also have a different timing of expulsion (figure 13). A source rock

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University 15

1

may also have zones with varying components. It is important to assess the type of
source rock and the temperature history of a source rock carefully to assess what may
have been generated and when it was generated. This variation in source material and
the oil generation process goes some way to explain the variety of oils found in
reservoirs.

Initial Oil

Kerogen
Gas

Labile
Reactive

Oil
100 - >150oC
150oC
Figure 12
Refractory
>150oC
Gas Classification and fate of
organic matter in source
Inert Graphite rocks (after Allen and
Very high T + P
Allen, 1990)

Petroleum generation takes place as the breakdown of kerogen occurs with rising
temperature. Temperature and time are the most important factors affecting the
breakdown of kerogen (a processes similar to domestic pressure cooking - all recipes
give a time and a temperature). As formation temperature rises on progressive burial
(figure 13), an immature stage is succeeded by stages of oil generation, oil conversion
to gas or cracking (to make a wet gas with significant amounts of liquids) and finally
dry gas (i.e., no associated liquids) generation. Different proportions of components
at various times in the evolution of hydocarbons is shown schematically in figure 13.

HYDROCARBONS
0 Ro
KEROGEN
IMMATURE
DIAGEN

1 0.4
Figure 13
General scheme of
OIL

0.6 hydrocarbon formation as a

DEPTH (km)

function of burial of source

CATAGENESIS

2
rock. With burial the rock
OIL undergoes a rise in
0.9
DRY GAS WET GAS

3 temperature and passes

through phases of change:
diagenesis, catagenesis and
GAS
METAG

4 eventually metagenesis.
2.0 Vitrinite reflectance, Ro, is
the maturity indicator.

16
 The Petroleum Play
2
Petroleum expulsion and primary migration take place as the oil leaves the source and
enters the permeabile formation that will allow its migration to the ultimate reservoir
(this is called the carrier bed and, often but not always, this might be the same
stratigraphic unit that contains the reservoir). Primary migration is generally thought
to be helped by the volume expansion associated with oil generation. Primary
migration is, however, difficult to observe directly and primary migration paths are
difficult to identify. Shales with silt beds (i.e., internal plumbing) can be efficient
source rocks (e.g., Posidonia shale). Expulsion efficiency (i.e., how much of what is
generated is expelled) can be as high as 60-90%, if the source rock is very rich and
permeable, although this is difficult to estimate. For lean (low TOC) source rocks, the
expulsion efficiency may be very low. Following the earlier analogy of the "cooking"
of a source rock, its is natural to call the location where that happens - the source
"kitchen". Once in the carrier, secondary oil migration takes place from the
“kitchen”, under buoyancy (i.e., gravity-dominated) flow (figure 13) to the reservoir.

Poor
charge
Good charge

Good charge
Source
kitchen
EP
DE

Figure 14
Migration from a mature
W

Poor
LO

kitchen area by simple

AL

charge
SH

buoyancy (after Allen and

Allen, 1990).

The details of the migration might be quite complex as the oil has to move through a
pore system in the rock where capillary entry pressure is a strong controlling
mechanism. A complex network of accumulations and flow paths can be shown by
simulations of secondary oil migration (figure 15, from Carruthers et al., 1997).
Regional flows of aquifer water (known as hydrodynamic flow) in basins can also
influence the efficiency of secondary oil migration. If these disperse the migration
fluid, this may reduce the efficiency of the process. Strong hydrodynamic flow may
also help focus the flow. Secondary oil migration is prevented when the buoyancy
driven flow is restrained by the capillary entry pressure of a caprock (i.e., it meets its
seal), breaking through when sufficient column has accumulated. Secondary oil
migration is thought to be a fairly inefficient process and requires "channeling" within
a few carrier beds to be effective over long distances.

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University 17

1

(a) (b)

Micro accumulation
The vertical migration
beneath a high threshold
trajectory is deflected by
pressure baffle
the sedimentary
structure
Figure 15
Simulations of secondary
(c) (d) oil migration under gravity
Oil has reached the The oil migrates vertically and capillary dominated
capillary baffle and through the undisturbed
saturation begins to sand and the vertically conditions in a small
increase in the lower zone aligned burrows until
another baffle is reached sandstone slab (courtesy
and another micro
accumulation is formed Dan Carruthers, 1997).

Once in the reservoir, the hydrocarbon can be subjected to further changes due to
increased temperature, perhaps leading to the in-situ cracking of oil into gas. Bacterial
action can also degrade the oil by eating away the lighter ends and producing "heavy"
oil, (<20OAPI). A gas charge into an oil column can also lead to the formation of a
solid residue (known as asphaltene). Often the hydrocarbon will retain some links
with the characteristics of source rock extracts, allowing the oil sources to be
identified. These may be multiple sources, or the hydrocarbon could be generated by
multiple events. Either way, and quite commonly, these can lead to petroleum
compositional variations which can be exploited to determine reservoir compart-
ments (i.e., isolated fault blocks) .

N
MOST LIKELY
OIL MIGRATION ROUTES

10km

W-E SECTION THROUGH TROLL

oil gas

G

VESLEFRIKK
TROLL
WEST
OIL
PALAEO OWC

TROLL EAST

PROVINCE

OSEBERG
Figure 16

TROLL
WEST
GAS
Filling directions for fields

PROVINCE
in the Troll area,




BRAGE
OSEBERG OIL POPULATION
Norwegian North Sea











NORTHERN TROLL OIL POPULATION

VESLEFRIKK OIL POPULATION

(from Horstad and Larter,
1997)

Studies of the geochemical tracers and hydrocarbons contained within a series of

fields can be used to determine the filling history and to identify the best prospects,
since the hydrocarbons may have varying properties and hence be of varying value.
These geochemical studies also help the understanding of the compositional varia-
tions within and between fields (figure 16). For the reservoir engineer there may be
an interesting and complex story behind observed variations in oil properties.

18
 The Petroleum Play
2
Key SOURCE ROCK points:

• Source rocks for hydrocarbons are fine-grained organic-rich sediments (e.g.,

coals, shales).

• Source rocks may be quite different stratigraphic units, in a location far away, from
the reservoir rocks.

• Shales tend to source oils and coals, gas.

Key MATURATION points:

• Pressure and temperature sustained for a period of time are needed to generate oil
or gas from a source rock.

• Gas tends to be generated at higher pressures and temperatures.

• The region in which maturation takes place is called the kitchen.

Key MIGRATION points:

• Migration from the source rock into the carrier bed is called primary migration.

• Primary migration is driven by pressure build-up caused by hydrocarbon genera-

tion.

• Migration from the source kitchen area to the reservoir trap is called secondary
migration.

• Secondary migration is a gravity-driven processs controlled by pore-entry net-

works.

5. TRAP

The hydrocarbon-trapping structure (trap) can be either a structural or a stratigraphic

feature. Hydrodynamic trapping has also been observed in areas where there is active
aquifer flow.

Structural traps are those caused by tectonic (figures 16-18), diapiric (figure 19),
gravitational and compactional processes. These form at some time after deposition
of the reservoir as a result of Earth movements. (See Structural Geology Chapter 4).

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University 19

1

SECTION PLAN

10 Figure 17
Trap
20 Structural trap formed by
30 20
high-angle reverse
40 Trap
(contractional) fault in
50 10
50 cross-section (left)
Hanging wall
Footwall 40 and plan or map view
(right)

SECTION PLAN

10
Trap 20 Figure 18
30 20 Structural trap formed by
40 Trap
normal (extensional) fault
50 10
50 in cross-section (left)
Footwall 40 and plan or map view
Hanging wall
(right).

SECTION

10
Trap
20
30
40
50 Figure 19
Structural rollover traps
formed by extensional fault
PLAN
Hanging Wall Anticline
movement (examples from
the Niger delta area).
30 20 Trap Sometimes this movement
20
30
occured during deposition
40 leading to thicker sections
on the hanging wall.

20
 The Petroleum Play
2
Figure 20
Structural traps associated
with salt diapirs. Salt is
mobile in the subsurface
Traps
and tends to rise to the
Salt Dome
surface, aided by its low
density. Rising salt takes
on a distinctive "diapiric"
shape. Salt domes are very
common is some areas of
the world (e.g., Gulf Coast ) A structural (or stratigraphic trap) is said to be filled to spill point if there is sufficient
oil to fill the structure to overflow (or “underflow”) at the spill point, which is the
infection point on the deepest closing contour of the map. If a structure is not filled
to spill point, it implies insufficient oil has been generated or flowed along the
migration path. (This is directly analogous (but inverted) to a sink or bath which has
its spill point at the overflow pipe). An alternative is that the top seal limits the column
height.

Stratigraphic traps are those in which the geometry is inherited from the depositional
morphology, subsequent diagenesis, facies changes (figure 21) or unconformities. In
each case there is a stratigraphic reason for the juxtaposition of reservoir and seal in
a favourable arrangement to trap migrating hydrocarbons. Stratigraphic traps never-
the-less require structural tilting.

Unconformity

Figure 21 Facies Change

Stratigraphic traps
associated with an
unconformity (top) and a Facies Change
lateral facies change
(middle). Where the facies
changes are transitional
“waste zones” can develop
(lower).

Hydrodynamic traps are comparitively rare, but occur when the hydrocarbon is trying
to migrate under the force of gravity against (or across) the downwards flow of aquifer
water.

Often traps have a combination of structural, stratigraphic and hydrodynamic trapping

mechanisms. Active hydrodynamic flow can also produce tilted oil-water contacts,
together with complex structural or filling histories. Fields commonly have different
hydrocarbon contacts in different parts of the overall trap (figure 22).

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University 21

1

TRAP PRESSURE
CONFIGURATION PROFILE

STATIC

DYNAMIC
AQUIFER
FLOW

AQUIFER FLOW

PERCHED
CONTACT

MIGRATION

MULTIPLE
CONTACTS

Figure 22
STRUCTURAL Scenarios for oil-water
COMPARTMENTS
contacts due to aquifer
flow, filling history or fault
compartmentalisation.

Key TRAP points:

• Tectonic features such as faults, folds and salt domes give rise to structural traps.

• Stratigraphic traps are formed by favourable stratigraphic arrangement of seal and

reservoir rock.

• Active movement of fluid through the aquifer can lead to the tilting of hydrocarbon-
water contacts and assist the trapping of hydrocarbons.

• Fields may have more than one hydrocarbon contact.

6. TIMING

One of the most important considerations required in a play evaluation is the timing
of trap development relative to the timing of hydrocarbon migration. Stratigraphic
traps due to depositional facies changes tend to pre-date any hydrocarbon generation.
Unconformity traps and structural traps can develop much later in geological history,
risking the loss of any early migration of oil. One aspect not to ignore is the possibility
of remigration from one trap to another. This occurs in basins where late phases of
tilting may empty earlier traps.

22
 The Petroleum Play
2
The timing of oil migration can be determined by basin modelling. Basin modelling
concerns the (computer) modelling of the stratigraphy, structure and source rock
history through time. If the stratigraphic section is reasonably complete, the time
period for each unit of rock can be determined using biostratigraphy. If the thickness
and time period of deposition are known, the rate of sedimentation can be estimated.
For a kilometre of rock deposited over 1 million years at a uniform rate of 0.1cm/yr,
the burial history can be shown graphically (figure 23a). This burial gradient is less
steep compared to a burial history for a rate of 0.15cm/yr. Different rates of
sedimentation can be shown on a burial history curve. Since the sediment compacts
as it is buried, the compaction can be incorporated as a reduction in thickness. When
going "backwards" from the preserved rock record that is seen in a well to calculate
depositional rates, de-compaction has to be taken into account. Successive units with
varying sedimentation rates can be used to build up a burial curve (figure 23b). Non-
deposition or uplift and erosion can also be illustrated graphically (figure 23c). In this
way the burial history (also called geohistory) of a source rock through time can be
determined. The vertical scale is usually depth, with temperature overlain. As an
example, burial histories for a Jurassic source rock in two well locations (one marginal
and one axial to the basin) in an Australian basin are shown in figure 24.

1 m yrs 1 m yrs
A
Figure 23
1 km
Illustration of burial or
0.1 cm/yr
geohistory curves. A) Over 0.1 cm/yr
0.15 cm/yr
a time period of 1million 0.15 cm/yr

years, a rock will be buried

NO COMPACTION 80% COMPACTION
1km for a sedimentation
rate of 0.1cm/year or 1.5km 2 1 m yrs 0 2 1 m yrs 0

for 0.15cm/yr. With 20% B

compaction the rock will be
buried to only 800m or
1.2km respectively. B) In
this case a rock is buried at
NO COMPACTION 80% COMPACTION
the rate of 0.1cm/yr for per m yrs

1myrs and then at 0.15cm/

yr (Vertical scale as in A). C
C) If the rock undergoes 3 2 1 m yrs 0 3 2 1 m yrs 0

15
non-deposition it will
30
remain at a fixed depth
(which may also be a fixed 45
oC

temperature). If the rock is 60

uplifted, its depth of burial 75

UPLIFT
is reduced (and the rock AND
90 EROSION
will cool). NON-
DEPOSITION

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University 23

1

The curves can represent (figure 23):

(a) different rates of deposition, with or without compaction;

(b) the sequence of burial history with different rates of deposition, and

(c) periods of non-deposition, or uplift and erosion.

A constant rise in temperature with depth (geothermal gradient) of 30oC/km has

been used to generate the temperature profile shown in figure 23(c) . Note the time
scale usually has present day at the right hand side and time (in million of years before
present - MYBP) increasing to the left.

The geothermal gradient ensures that deeper rocks are at higher temperatures than
surface ones. The burial curve gives the residency time of the source rock in a
temperature window and the time and temperature can be used to estimate a maturity
profile (in the same way that a recipe book has to give a time and a temperature to tell
the reader when something will be cooked). As rocks are uplifted, the temperature
reduces and maturation slows down or stops.

BASIN AXIS
MYBP
150 100 50 0

SEABED
0

Ro 2
0.5
DEPTH (km)

0.7
Log (Ro)
-0.8 -0.4 -0.2 0 4
0
1.0

2 DATA 1.3 6
CALC
4
8

BASIN MARGIN Figure 24

150 100 50 0 Geohistory curves for two
0 wells from the Bass Basin,
Australia. From these, it is
DEPTH (km)

Log (Ro)
-0.8 -0.4 -0.2 0 Ro = 0.5
possible to determine the
- 2
0
maturity levels of the
various formations in the
2
4 basin axis (top) and basin
4 margin (bottom) (From
Williamson et al., 1987).

24
 2
The Petroleum Play

Because the rock record in a well is often incomplete due to unconformities and faults,
these models need to be calibrated. The burial curves are calibrated by vitrinite
reflectance (Ro) profiles in wells which record the maximum temperature to which
the source rock has been taken - indicated by the level of thermal maturation of the
organic material (figure 24).

The geothermal gradient can be overlain on the burial history to provide the thermal
history (figure 22c). Knowing the time and temperature history of a source rock
allows the timing of onset of oil and/or gas generation to be determined. The variation
of geothermal gradient through the burial history period is another uncertainty which
can be compared with the Ro data. The model of the thermal history is usually
presented as modelled vitrinite reflectance levels from which the oil and gas window
can be determined (figure 12).

The burial history analysis also gives the periods of uplift and timing of structural trap
formation. The relative timing of oil sourcing and trap formation can be determined.
Hydrocarbons are often sourced in “kitchens” lying in the basinal (i.e., graben) areas
along side the uplifted (i.e., horst) areas where traps may form. The burial history of
kitchen and trap have to be determined. This can become a complicated 3-D basin
modelling exercise, which is becoming more common in exploration with the
development of appropriate computer software.

The availability of mature source rock is a critical aspect in oil exploration. Many of
the North Sea oil accumulations are to be found within the area of mature Kimmeridge
Clay (figure 25). Similar relationships hold for the gas fields in the Cooper Basin,
Australia (figure 26). Maps of maturity levels of the major source rocks are critical
to the play evaluation. In the Cooper Basin, wells drilled in the mature source region
have a 1 in 2 success ratio. In the post-mature zone there have been no discoveries.
In the immature zone one well in 23 has been successful where gas has migrated up
out of the deeper bain. If you were an Exploration Manager, you would certainly find
this map very useful.

OUTER BOUNDARY OIL PRONE

TO MIXED ORGANIC FACIES OF
LATE JURASSIC KIMMERIDGIAN

MATURE

KIMMERIDGIAN

OIL
FIELDS NORWAY
GAS FIELDS

SHETLAND

ISLANDS

ORKNEY NORTH SEA
ISLANDS BASIN

Figure 25

North Sea Basin showing UNITED
KINGDOM
relationship between
discovered oil fields and the
maturity region of the main Regionalised Oil and Gas
Maturation Fairway
source rock (from Ro>0.6

Demaison, 1984).

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University 25

1

AUSTRALIA
COOPER BASIN

2.0

0.90.9
GIDGEALPA
MOOMBA

PERMIAN COAL MEASURES Figure 26

MATURE (GAS)
0.9Ro
QUEENSLAND Cooper Basin showing
S.A. POST-MATURE
N.S.W
GAS FIELD distribution of gas fields
and the location of the gas
100 km
window (0.9 < R0 <2.0, after
SUCCESS RATIOS Demaison, 1984)
IMMATURE PERMIAN 1 IN 23

MATURE PERMIAN SOURCE ZONE 1 IN 2

POST-MATURE PERMIAN ZONE 0

The basin modelling (also called geohistory analysis), together with structural maps
and maps showing the location of source rock, can be assembled to produce a charge
model for a prospect (figure 27). In this way the risk associated with the source rock,
structure and timing can be assessed.

Potential Source Area

0.8 Isomaturity Lines (Ro)

3
1.0
2400 Figure 27
2200
0.8 2000 Example of a prospect
2
1800
charge model, applying
0.6
H
basin modelling (1D) to
1
A various locations in the
A' basin (after Sluijk and
Nedelrof, 1984). A: map
view showing contours of a
3 2 1 JUR CRET TERT source rock and “well”
0 0
locations; B: cross section
Depth(km)

Depth(km)

1
0.6 0.6 showing profile with iso-
0.8
0.8 2
1.0
1.0 maturity lines generated
3
4 Jurassic Source Rock 4 from; C: three burial
0.8 Isomaturity Lines (Ro) curves for the three well
B C
locations. Isomaturity lines
are lines connecting points
Key TIMING points: of equal maturity.

26
 The Petroleum Play
2
• Trap has to be older than the time of migration of hydrocarbons.

• Analysis of burial history of both reservoir and source is used to determine the
relative timing of trap formation and oil generation.

7. Risk Analysis

With the play maps available for all the key elements (figure 28), it is possible for
explorationists to establish the probability of a prospect containing trapped hydrocar-
bon in the various areas of a basin (figure 29). These “play chances” can be carried
forward into a more formal risk assessment.

Figure 28
Example of a play map
(from Allen and Allen,
1990).

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University 27

1

Figure 29
Subdivision of the play map
(Fig. 24) into common-risk
segments These assess the
contributions of charge
(source, migration path,
timing), topseal and likely
trap development. In this
illustration, segment A is
considered proven (play
chance = 1). Any structure
mapped in this area would
have a very good chance of
being a successful prospect.
(from Allen and Allen,
1990).

Probabilities are assigned for each of the elements from 0, impossible or very unlikely,
to 1, certain or very likely:

P(R) - The probability that there is reservoir developed in the prospect

P(SL) - The probability that sufficient unbreached, non-permeable seal continuously

existed above and lateral to the reservoir from prior to hydrocarbon
migration until the present day

P(SR) - The probability that there is a mature hydrocarbon source rock in the
vicinity of the structure and that a migration path exists

P(TR) - The probability that a structural or stratigraphic trap is present

P(T) - The probability that the trap was developed prior to hydrocarbon migration

The Total Prospect Risk, P, is determined as:

P = P(R) x P(SL) x P(SR) x P(TR) x P(T)

For this to be statistically correct, the events should be independent. Note that even
if one was reasonably confident in all elements, P(R) = 0.75, P(SL) = 0.75, etc., the
Total Prospect Risk would be so high (P= 0.24) that it would be very unlikely that the
prospect would be drilled with out more work. As a guideline:

28
 The Petroleum Play
2
"Needs more work” prospect P < 0.4
High Risk Prospect 0.4 < P < 0.6
Low Risk Prospect 0.6 < P < 0.8
Very good prospect 0.8 < P

From equation 3, it is clear that if there is some uncertainty in any two or three
elements, it will not be possible to convince management that a drillable prospect
exists. In this case there are a number of options - spend money to reduce uncertainty
to increase the chances of success (e.g., shoot more seismic), wait for someone else
to do it for you (by drilling a well and making a discovery nearby), or farm-out (i.e.,
get someone else to take the chance by drilling the well at their cost and they take part
of your percentage of the acreage), or relinquish the acreage (thereby saving the rental

;yy;
costs). Play maps are an important and valuable property to an oil company and as a
result they are usually very confidential!!

Permian Gas
Carboniferous

y;y;y;y;y; y; y;
Play
Gas Reserves
Limit of
Carboniferous German
Source Rock Sector
UK

y
;
N
N
Sector

y;y;y;y;y; y;y;y;y;
Permian Gas Netherlands
Field
A' Sector
Erosional Limit of
Rotliegendes
Reservoir

y
;
y; y; y; y;y;y;y;
Figure 30 Depositional Limit
Onshore
A: Map of the Permian Gas of Rotliegendes
UK
Reservoir
Play in the Southern North
A
Sea (after Spencer et al., Limit of Zechstein
Salt Onshore
1996) 100km Neth.
B: Schematic cross section
A-A' (figure 28A) showing
the Rotliegendes reservoir, A
underlying gas-producing SW NE
coals in the Carboniferous
A A'
and overlying Zechstein salt Poor Seal Salt Good Seal
Rotliegendes
seal. Where the Silverpit
Reservoir
Seal
Depth

Rotliegendes passes into

shale (to the north-east) Source Rock
Sand Coal
Reservoir
Carboniferous sandstones Location of Carboniferous and
become the target reservoir. Gas Field Source

B
The Permian gas play in the Southern North Sea is a good illustration of a petroleum
play that is very successful (figure 30) and well described. There are many gas fields
across the UK and Netherlands sectors of the North Sea, to the onshore Netherlands
and extending to the east into Germany. The successful gas-bearing fields occur in
structural traps that lie:

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University 29

1

• To the north of a line that defines the southern limit of the Zechstein salt seal,
overlying the Rotliegendes reservoir

• To the south of a line that marks the northern extent of the deposition of sand in the
Roliegendes.

• Within the area of underlying Carboniferous source rock

In the area to the north of the limit of Rotliegendes sandstones, gas fields occur in
Carboniferous reservoirs, sealed by Silverpit shales. Structural traps identified within
the play fairway (defined by the band of Rotliegendes reservoir with a top seal), have
little risk. Reservoir, source, seal and timing are all certain. In this fairway, a high
percentage of exploration wells are successful (p > 0.8), the dry holes usually
explained by poor structural definition.

Key RISK ANALYSIS points:

• Risk Analysis involves the estimation of chances of exploration success (defined

as finding hydrocarbons).

• The probabilty of a prospect’s exploration success is a funtion of the individual

probabilities concerning RESERVOIR, SEAL, SOURCE/MIGRATION, TRAP
and TIMING. If these are independent, the total prospect probability is the product
of the individual element probabilities.

• Risk analysis is an important exploration management tool to define which

prospects should be drilled, worked further, sold or otherwise given up.

8. EXPLORATION TOOLS

There are a whole range of sources of geological information that can be

combined in the determination of the play chances presented in the last section.
These data sources include:

Scout data: Information gained from the operator (officially or unofficially). Careless
talk gives away secrets!

Regional geological data: National Geological Surveys, consultants reports on

released data, outcrop studies.

Seismic data (refer to Chapter 5): 2-D traditionally in exploration, but increasingly
3-D. For structural and stratigraphic mapping. Exploration seismic data are often
acquired by the service companies as speculative data or “spec” data in advance of a
licence round, at the service companies expense and sold many times over to various
operators.

Well data: drilling records, wireline logs, cuttings (for biostratigraphy or geochemistry),
cores.

30
 The Petroleum Play
2
Traded data: The Operator that acquires the well or seismic data, owns the data on
together with members of the consortium. The data are held confidentially. The time
which companies are allowed (by government) to hold confidential data varies from
country to country. In the UK it is currently 10 years. Companies can agree to an
equitable exchange or “trade” of unreleased data.

Summary
In this chapter we have seen what the critical geological issues are prior to drilling an
exploration well. The engineer in a company will be expected to take exploration risk
numbers into the economic evaluation of a prospect portfolio. This introduction to the
concepts that underlie the explorationist's evaluation will help the engineer appreciate
the quality and controlling issues behind those assessments.

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University 31

1

References
Allen, P.A., and Allen, J.R., 1990, Basin Analysis, Principles and Applications,
Blackwell, Oxford, 451p. (Petroleum Play concepts covered in Chs. 10, 11)

Demaison, G., 1984, The Generative Basin Concept, in Petroleum Geochemistry and
Basin Evolution, Demaison, G and Murris, R.J., (eds.) AAPG Memoir 35, p1-14.

Horstad, I., and Larter, S.R., 1997, Petroleum Migration, Alteration and remigration
within Troll Field, Norwegian North Sea, AAPG Bulletin, 81 (2), 222-248.

Jennings, J.B., 1987, Capillary pressure techniques: Application to Exploration and

Development Geology, AAPG Bulletin, 71, 1196-1209.

Tissot, B.P., and Welte, D.H., 1978, Petroleum Formation and Occurrence, Springer
Verlag, Berlin, 538p

Weber,1997

Wilkinson, M., Darby, D., Haszeldine, R.S., and Couples, G.D., 1997, Secondary
porosity generation during deep burial associated with overpressure leak-off: Fulmar
Formation, UK Central Graben, AAPG Bulletin, 81(5), 803-813.

Williamson, P.E., Pigram, C.J., Colwell, J.B., Scherl, A.S., Lockwood, K.L., and
Branson, J.C., 1987, Review of the stratigraphy, structure, and hydrocarbon potential
of Bass Basin, Australia, AAPG Bulletin, 71(3), 253-280.

32
 The Petroleum Play
2
EXERCISE 1
Write a report on the Petroleum Play that occurs closest to one of the following:

your place of birth,

your home location, or
your work location.

Be sure to address each element of the play as identified in this Chapter.

EXERCISE 2 (Page 34)

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University 33

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EXERCISE 2
Across

2. See 3 down

4. A Jurassic clay source rock for oil (10)

6, 12 A favourable site for the accumulation

of hydrocarbons caused by lateral facies
changes in the reservoir unit (13,4)

11, 19. A light hydrocarbon (7,3)

12. See 6 across

13. A lead that’s worth drilling (8)

15. A 25º API hydrocarbon (3)

16. A gas source rock lithology (4)

20. See 8 down

23. A chemical change in the sediment

post- deposition (10)

24. A fine-grained sealing lithology (4)

Down

1. A reconstruction of the topography at time

of deposition (16)

3, 2. Calculating the probability of success

of a prospect (4,8)

4 The mother of hydrocarbons (7)

5. What occurs in the source kitchen (10)

7. Main petroleum exploration concept (4)

8, 20. What happened to a rock between its

deposition and the present day (6,7)

9. A pressure that controls secondary oil

migration (9)

34
 The Petroleum Play
2
10. One of the critical elements of a
Petroleum Play (6)

14, 22. Another name for a caprock (3,4)

17. A precursor of kerogen in land plants (6)

18. A critical ingredient for maturity (4)

21. A fluid interface in the reservoir (3)

3 4 5

6 7

8 9

10 11 12

13 14

15

16 17

18

19 20 21

22

23

24

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University 35

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ANSWER: EXERCISE 2

1
P
A
2
A N A L Y S I S
A
3 4 5
R K I M M E R I D G E
I E A O
6 7
S T R A T I G R A P H I C
K O U E L
8 9
G R O A B C
E A G Y U A
10 11 12
S N A T U R A L T R A P
O I A I I
13 14
U P R O S P E C T A L
15
R N H O I L L
16 17
C O A L I P A
18
E I C T R
19 20 21
G A S H I S T O R Y
22
N S M W
23
D I A G E N E T I C
N A
24
C L A Y

36
 2
The Petroleum Play

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University 37