Definitions:

Lithology: The lithology of a rock defines the actual

composition or rock type, e.g. sandstone or limestone. A
comprehensive lithological description will include
information about the structure, texture, grain size, colour,
mineralogical composition and general rock classification e.g.
thin-bedded fine-grained buff sandstone.
Formation name: The formation name is the name given to a
particular bed or beds in a specific area. This name may or
may not give indications as to the lithology of the rock, e.g.
Bunter Sandstone, Travis Peak Formation. The same bed or
unit of rock may be given several different formation names as
it traverses laterally. The formation name can be likened
botanically to a common name of a plant species.
The importance of a lithological, or petrographic, rock
description in conjunction with a formation name provides a
comprehensive account of the sample and allows a
comparison of like lithologies.
Stringer: A stringer is a thin bed of a differing mineralogical
or lithological composition from the surrounding unit. The
stringer is generally of a differing hardness to the surrounding
unit; this can cause erratic drilling. E.g. a stringer of limestone
in a shale bed.
Interbedded: The term interbedded refers to beds of rock lying
between or alternating with other beds of differing lithological
composition. E.g. interbedded sand and shale.
Porosity: Porosity is the percentage of the total volume of rock
not occupied by mineral grains, i.e. the percentage that is pore
space.
Permeability: Permeability is the ability of a formation to
allow the passage of pore fluid through the pore spaces. The
fluid viscosity, hydrostatic pressure, size of the pore spaces
and the degree to which these pore spaces are interconnected
affects this characteristic. A rock can have high porosity but
low permeability.
Rock Groups:
There are three fundamental rock groups:
Sedimentary Rocks: Sedimentary rocks are sediments that
have been compacted or cemented to form solid rock bodies,
lithification. The sediment comprises of a combination of rock
& mineral fragments, chemical precipitates such as salt or
calcium carbonate, and organic matter such as coral, shell
fragments and vegetation. This constituent material is
generally eroded or weathered, transported and deposited at a
different site from where it was formed, known as the
sedimentary deposition site, where it is then deposited in strata
or layers, producing a distinctive feature of this rock group
known as stratification.
Compaction and cementation form the final process whereby
loose unconsolidated material is lithified in to solid rock.
Compaction is achieved through the shear weight of overlying
sediment compacting and consolidating the grains and
fragments below. Cementation occurs through precipitation of
mineral matter, circulated by pore fluid, forming cement
around the sedimentary grains thus holding them together.
Rock that has undergone cementation can be classed on a
weakly to strongly cemented scale; the degree of cementation
will influence directly the ‘drillability’ of a rock. Examples of
common cementation minerals are calcite and quartz.
Compaction and cementation both result in a decrease in the
porosity of the rock.
Sedimentary rocks are characterised by formation at the
earth’s surface by interaction between the earth’s crust and the
hydrologic system (the system of moving water at the earth’s
surface). Fossils are found in abundance in sedimentary rocks.
Sedimentary rocks are classified according to their lithological
constituent and the size and shape of such. This results in there
being two main sedimentary groups:
• Clastic, formed from fragments of other rocks. Examples
include conglomerates, sandstone, siltstone and shale.
• Chemical & Organic, formed through chemical
precipitation or biological activity. Examples include
limestone, dolomite and anhydrite.
Lithological Terminology & Definitions.
KM 002
Julie Pearce, Knowledge Management Department Technical Summary
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Most oil and gas reserves are found in sandstone or porous
limestone or dolomite reservoirs.
Commonly Drilled Sedimentary Rocks:
Sandstone: Sandstone is typically composed of sand-sized
quartz grains, smaller than 2mm but larger than 1/16mm.
Other minerals may be present but quartz is usually the most
dominant, due to its abundance in many other rock types and
its high resistance to weathering and degradation through
abrasion or chemical action.
The shape of the grains can range from well rounded to very
angular, and the size range distribution of these grains is
classed on a scale from very well sorted to poorly sorted.
Sandstone cement is typically iron oxide, calcite or quartz and
is often used in the naming of the sandstone, e.g. sandstone
with calcite rich cement can be described as calcareous
sandstone. The colour of the sandstone is often determined by
the nature of the cement, for example sandstones with calcitic
or quartzitic cement are usually pale coloured, while iron
oxide cement will produce brown or red coloured sandstone.
Conglomerate: A conglomerate is a consolidated deposit of
gravel composed of rounded particles larger than 2mm in
diameter, with variable amounts of interstitial mud and sand.
Most conglomerates display crude stratification or layering
and may include isolated pockets or lenses of sandstone. The
parent rock or rocks are typically some distance from the site
of deposition of the conglomerate; the rounding of the pebbles
is due to water transportation and river or coastal wave-action.
Conglomerates are indicators of slow encroachment of the sea
over the land.
Breccia or Sharpstone: A breccia is a sedimentary rock
composed of angular particles larger than 2mm in diameter.
Breccias are usually found close to the site of the parent rock
that led to their formation. Typically, they are formed as a
result of accumulating scree at the base of a mountain slope,
they may also occur along fault planes.
Chert: Chert is a sedimentary rock composed of chemically or
biologically precipitated granular cryptocrystalline silica. The
term flint is often used in place of chert – both terms are
interchangeable.
Salt: Salt deposits form through the evaporation of lake and
seawaters in very dry climates. Salt undergoes plastic
deformation when under stress and is often concentrated in to
large dome-shaped masses; the rising salt dome deforming
surrounding bedding can produce associated oil traps.
Limestone: Limestones are a group of rocks rich in calcium
carbonate. Limestones range from having a high proportion of
calcium carbonate-rich skeletal matter, e.g. reef limestones or
shelly limestones, to those with a biogenic or chemical origin,
e.g. oolites and oozes.
Chalk is the purest type of limestone, containing only a
fraction of sand or mud. It is mostly comprised of the remains
of algae and broken shells and is typically very brittle and
weak; it is white in colour.
Shelly limestones may contain a large proportion of the
remains of crinoids, corals or brachiopods with the remainder
being calcite or detrital mud. These shelly limestones form
thick non-porous massive beds that are well jointed and thus
allow the percolation of ground water.
Reef limestones form from the hard skeletons of colonial
corals, algae and associated reef dwelling organisms. These
limestones exist as compact, rounded structures of hard
nodular limestone among well-bedded layers. Reef limestone
structures have a high porosity and as such are important as oil
reservoirs.
The formation of microcrystalline limestone occurs in quiet
water environments where calcium carbonate precipitates as
tiny needle-like crystals; these crystals then accumulate to
form a limy mud. Compaction and recrystallisation modifies
the crystals to form a dense very fine-grained microcrystalline
limestone.
Oolitic limestone, limestone composed of oolites, form in
highly calcareous shallow seas. As a nucleus, shell fragment
for example, is rolled up and down the beach by wave action,
it is repeatedly chemically coated in calcareous matter, and
this resultant pellet is termed an oolite.
Magnesian limestone forms as a result of chemical
replacement of the original calcium carbonate by magnesium
carbonate, resulting in a dirtier buff coloured limestone.
Dolomitisation, replacement of calcium carbonate by
magnesium carbonate, reduces rock volume by approximately
12% thus assisting in increasing porosity.
Igneous Rocks: Igneous rocks form as a result of the cooling
and crystallising of liquid rock material, or magma. Igneous
rocks are classified based on their texture and composition,
from this one can gain information on the cooling history and
the origin of the parent magma. Igneous rocks that remain
below the earth’s surface as they cool are termed intrusive;
those that cool at the surface are termed extrusive.
Examples of igneous rocks are basalt, granite and tuff.
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Commonly Drilled Igneous Rocks:
Basalt: Basalts are black, dense rocks associated with lava
flows and the margins of minor intrusions. Basalts have a
crystalline structure, with small individual crystals; they are
essentially composed of calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar,
augite and olivine, a ferromagnesian mineral.
Granite: Granite is often termed an acid igneous rock and is
associated with metamorphic rocks and areas of mountain
formation, or orogeny. Granites have a coarse-grained
granular crystalline structure; they contain a high proportion
of quartz and orthoclase feldspar, with variable amounts of
plagioclase, biotite and muscovite mica. Granite is a relatively
light rock.
Tuff: The term tuff refers to any volcanic rock formed from
lithified ash layers or other volcanic ejectiles & pyroclastic
material.
Metamorphic Rocks: Metamorphic rocks form as a result of
the application of heat, pressure and the chemical action of
pore fluids on existing material; this action results in a change
in the rock’s chemical composition along with new textures
and structures within the rock itself. Sedimentary, igneous and
even previously metamorphosed rocks can all undergo
metamorphism producing metamorphic rocks. A general
characteristic of metamorphic rocks is their crystallinity: they
consist of a fabric of interlocking crystal grains aligned in a
planar structure, or foliation, developed in the direction of
least stress. Occasionally, in metamorphic rocks with only one
constituent mineral, such as marble or metamorphosed
limestone, a strong foliation is not present, instead a granular
or sucrose texture can be observed.
Metamorphic rocks are classified based on presence or
absence of foliation or planar texture. The process of
metamorphism reduces a rock’s porosity.
Examples of metamorphic rocks include slate, schist, gneiss,
quartzite and marble.
References
1. Press F. and Siever R. 1994: “Understanding Earth.”
2. Hamblin W. K.1985: “The Earth’s Dynamic Systems,
4th Edition.”
3. Deer, Howie & Zussman, 1996: “An Introduction To
The Rock Forming Minerals”, 2nd Edition.
4. Barnes J. 1993: “Basic Geological Mapping”, 2nd
Edition.