Geology

Structure of the Earth

Average Crust thickness is 17 km
Varies from 5 km to 70 km

Continental Crust
Solid Core

Liquid Outer Core

Oceanic Crust
Mantle

Crust

Circumference of 25,000 miles

Diameter – 8,000 miles
Interior of the Earth
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 Crustal Plate Boundaries

Crustal Plates and Their Movements

Surface Crust varies from 3 miles to 44 miles thick – consists of

Continental & Oceanic Plates “Plate Tectonics”
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Earthquake Frequency at Plate Boundaries

Three Kinds of Rocks

Shales: 47%
Sands: 31%
Limestones: 22%

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Rock Cycle

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Lithification
• “Turn into Rock”
• Loose, unconsolidated
sediment deposited in marine
environment
• Heat and pressure forces
some water out
• Water flows through sediment,
dissolving minerals from some
and depositing them on others
• Minerals form cement that
bind loose rock grains
together

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 Environments of Deposition
The major geological structure or setting of deposition,
controls the recovery efficiency, reservoir quality,
reservoir shape and size

• Delta / river channel

• Beach / Margins of seas
• Swamp / lagoon
• Deep Sea

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Generalized Locations of Sediments

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 Sediments and Corresponding Sedimentary Rocks
Sediment Sedimentary Where the Sediment Accumulates
Rock
Gravel Conglomerate Alluvial Fans, river channels, wave-swept
coastlines
Sand Sandstone Desert dunes, river channels, shorelines,
deltas, shallow seas
Mud Shale Lakes, river flood plains, tidal flats, distal
deltas, deep sea
Shells and Lime Limestone Warm shallow seas
Mud
CaCO3 from Chalk Deep sea
plankton
SiO2 from Chert Deep sea
plankton
Woody plant Coal Swamps
matter, peat
Salt Rock salt Lagoons, marginal seas
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POROSITY (ø) : Pore Space

Void spaces between rock grains, usually

filled with water and sometimes oil and gas
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 PERMEABILITY (K)

The “interconnectedness” of the pore

spaces between rock grains that allows
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fluids to flow through the rock

Clean, Friable Sand

This rock consists

dominantly of quartz
grains (white) and
large, interconnected
primary pores (blue)

Thin Section
Photomicrograph

Porosity = 38%: Permeability = 5,500md

Burgan SS, Kuwait
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 Shaly Sand

Quartz grains (white),

Depositional shale
(brown),
Pores (blue)

Springhill Formation, Argentina

Porosity = 13%, Permeability = 154md
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RESERVOIR
ROCK

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 Grain Structure in Rocks

Sedimentary rocks
provide space
between the grains
for fluids – HC/H2O
to be trapped
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World Sedimentary Basins

Gas

Oil

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 Geologic
Time
Scale

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Devonian – Massive Sand Delta - North Sea

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Carboniferous Swamps– North Sea

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Permian – Desert from Uk to Germany

-Rotliegendes

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Triassic/Jurassic deep sea - Zechstein
Chalk reservoirs

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How Long Does It Take to Make Oil?

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The Petroleum System – “Filling the Reservoir Rock”
Sealing Trap

Reservoir Rock

Pressure
Petroleum
Migration

Temperature
Production of Oil Pressure
and Gas

Carbon Rich Temperature

Sediments

Oil Window 104 – 300 Deg F – 5-12,500ft

Gas Window 300– 660Deg F – 12,500ft >
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Petroleum Reservoir –
Five conditions must be met:
• Source Rock - generate oil and/or gas
• Burial to a minimum temperature of 104 Deg F
– Oil Window 104 – 300 Deg F – 5-12,500ft
– Gas Window 300 – 660Deg F – 12,500ft >
• Reservoir Rock with porosity & permeability
• Trap - reservoir must be sealed by an
impermeable cap rock to prevent the escape
of petroleum to the surface
• Source, reservoir and seal must be arranged
in such a way as to trap the hydrocarbon

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 Oil moves up structure
due to gravity segregation

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Hydrocarbon Reservoir

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Anticlinal Trap

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 Regional East-West cross section

1948 – Discovery
1951 – First Oil
Arab “D” limestone reservoir
+/- 5.7MM BOPD
2 BCF/day Associated Gas
2005 - Cum Prodn: 60 Billion Bbls

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Ghawar Field
Seismic Depiction

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 Trap Formed by Fault

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Traps Formed by Salt Dome

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 Dome has 4 way Closure

Example: Spindletop – Beaumont, TX 37

Stratigraphic Unconformity

Unconformity – erosional boundary

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 Stratigraphic Unconformity

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Pinch Out

Decrease or loss of reservoir quality rock

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 Regional Evaluation / Basin Analysis
• Regions
• Evaluate & Define basins
• Delineate plays
• Predict quality of:
– Source
– Reservoir
– Sealed trap
– Recoverability

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Petroleum Geology
Need to understand the rocks to calculate the
Hydrocarbon Volume

• Geology Defined
• Structural Geology
The Volumetric Equation – Basin definition
– Trap formation
STOIIP = GRV * Net/Gross Ratio
• Sedimentology
* Porosity* oil saturation* (1/Bo) – Reservoir
– Seal
GIIP = GRV * Net/Gross Ratio * – Source
Porosity* gas saturation* (1/Bg)

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 Exploration Phase

Stage 1: Exploration - The reservoir and its contents

are just beginning to be defined and understood.
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Seismic Survey

From “Well Production Awareness” course, BP

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 Seismic Survey Interpretation

From “Well Production Awareness” course, BP

Calibrate Seismic by Delineation Drilling

From “Well Production Awareness” course, BP

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How is a Seismic Survey Taken on Land?

How is a Seismic Survey Taken at Sea?

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 Delineation Phase

Stage 2: Delineation - The size and extent of the

reservoir are delineated.
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Development & Production Phase

Stage 3: Development & Production - The

understanding of the reservoir continues
to improve and field activity is high. 50

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 Extended Production Phase

Stage 4: Extended Production

thru Enhanced Oil Recovery 51

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