ES-409/ES-475

Traps
 Trap

• One of the five essential pre-requisites for a

commercial accumulation of hydrocarbons is the
existence of a trap

• The term trap was first applied to hydrocarbon

accumulation by Orten (1989)
– “ ……. Stocks of oil and gas might be trapped
in the summits of folds or arches found along
their way to higher grounds”
 Definition

• Trap is defined as the place where oil and gas are barred
from further movement (Loverson 1967). This definition
needs some qualifications.

– Geoscientists search for potential traps

– After drilling and testing is it known whether trap
contains oil or gas
– A trap is still a trap whether it is barren or productive
 Nomenclature of a trap

Nomenclature of trap with reference to a simple anticlinal trap

Closure and structural relief – not the same thing!
• Crest or culmination: highest point of a trap
• Spill point: lowest point at which hydrocarbons
may be contained
• Spill plane: horizontal contour containing spill
point
– A trap may or may not be full to the spill plane
• Closure: vertical distance between crest and spill
point
• Structural relief: distance between crest and
trough
– Closure and structural relief may not be same
• Gas cap (zone): saturated with gas
• Oil zone: saturated with oil
• Water zone: saturated with water
• Bottom water: zone immediately beneath the
petroleum
• Edge zone (water): zone of the reservoir laterally
adjacent to the trap
• Pay: within the trap the productive reservoir is
termed the pay

• Gross pay: vertical distance from the top of the

reservoir to the petroleum/water contact; this
thickness may vary from 1-2 meters to several
hundred meters
– All of the gross pay does not necessarily consist of
productive reservoir
• Net pay: cumulative vertical thickness of a
reservoir from which petroleum may be produced
– Gross:net pay ratio is an important parameter
• Within the geographic limits of an oil and gas field
there may be more than one pools, each with its
own fluid contact
• Each individual pool may contain one or more
pay zones

Pool is an inaccurate term, derived from fantasies of

vast underground lakes of oil but it is wisely used!
 Two pools

Sandstone
net pay <
gross pay

Shale

net pay =
gross pay
• A trap may contain oil, gas, or both
• Oil, gas and water occur in stratified layers –
density difference
• Oil:water contact (OWC): deepest level of
producible oil
• Gas:oil contact (GOC) or gas-water contact
(GWC): lower limit of producible gas
• OWC/GOC/GWC may be sharp or transitional
• Abrupt fluid contacts indicate permeable
reservoir
• Gradational contacts indicate low permeability
with high capillary pressure
 Tar mat

• Some oil fields have a layer of heavy oil, termed

tar mat, immediately above the bottom water
• Tar mats impede flow of water into reservoir
when petroleum is produced
• They develop in most porous and permeable part
of the reservoir
• Tar mats are formed long after migration has
ceased and due to bacterial degradation of oil
• Alternate idea is that tar mats form by absorption
of asphaltenes onto clays
 Tilted fluid contacts

• Fluid contacts in traps are generally planar but

always horizontal
• Tilted (i.e., non-horizontal) fluid contacts may
result from:
– hydrodynamic flow
– fluid movement initiated by the production of
oil from adjacent field
– tilted reservoir with tar mat/cementation
– change in facies
 Classification of traps

• Structural traps – caused by tectonic processes

– Fold traps – compressional anticlines (shortening)
compactional anticlines (tension)
– Fault traps
• Diapiric traps – salt diapirs and mud diapirs
• Stratigraphic traps – caused by depositional
morphology or diagenesis
• Hydrodynamic traps – caused water flow
• Combination traps – combination of two or more
of the above processes
 Folding

Faulting
Structural traps
Anticlinal trap Fault trap
 Anticlinal traps

Classical anticlinal trap

Compactional anticlines
Fault traps
Fault traps
Fault-related
anticlines
Extension fault
Diapir
Drape fold
Stratigraphic pinchout trap
Hydrodynamic trap
Traps in giant oil fields
• An impermeable cap is essential for a trap to
retain petroleum

• Timing of trap formation relative to source

rock maturation, petroleum migration and
reservoir deposition