PETROLEUM GEOLOGY

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 ➢ PETROLEUM
➢ Petroleum geology is a term used to refer to specific set of
geological disciplines applied to search for hydrocarbons.
➢ What is Petroleum … ?
➢ How does it occurs..?
➢ What are the organic components..?
➢ Physical properties – Color, Optical Properties, Fluorescence,
Refractivity Index, Density, FVF/SVF, Pressure (Bubble Point,
Dew Point), Viscosity, Temperature (cloud point, pour point,
flash point, burning point), Electrical resistivity.
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 Occurrence
◼ Rock type – Igenous/Metamorphic/Sedimentary
◼ Subsurface occurrence (Pool/Field/Province)
◼ Surface occurrence (live vs dead) Live Dead
◼ Geological age (Mesozoic, Cenozoic, Palaeozoic) Fast Disseminated
◼ Habitate (Marine/Non-marine) Slow Solid occ.
◼ Lithology (Sandstone/Limestone/Others)
◼ Trap (Structural/Stratigraphic)
◼ Depth wise (above 1500m, 1500-4000m, more than 4000m)
◼ Basinal Part (Rim/Shelf/Slope/Deep)

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 Origin
◼ Abiogenic origin/Inorganic Theory
Berthelot-1866 (alkali carbide + H2O), Mendeleev – 1877 (Iron Carbide + H2O), Volcanic Theory
(Mount etna), Tempico Province-Maxoco (fract. Ig. Rock)

◼Biogenic origin/Organic Theory

Evidence for Biogenic –
◼ Remain of organisms in crude (under Microscope)
◼ Recent organic matter of gulf of maxico/Venezuela, Laluna limestone
◼ Jatropha
◼ Optical activity
◼ Pristane/Phytane
◼ C13/C12 isotope ratio
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 ➢ Depositional Environment
➢ Chemically inactive/reducing environment
➢ Absence of scavenger
➢ Anoxic condition
➢ Rapid burial
➢ Low kinetic energy

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 Transformation

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Burial leads to P & T increase)
 Petroleum geology is concerned with the evaluation of seven
key elements in sedimentary basins.
Seven Key Elements
◼ Source
◼ Reservoir
◼ Seal
◼ Trap
◼ Maturation
◼ Migration
◼ Timing
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 SOURCE ROCK

TYPE MATTER PROPERTY

TYPE-I SAPROPELIC EXCELLENT FOR OIL SOURCE

(AMORPHOUS ROCK (68-70%), MAINLY LONG
KEROGENE) CHAIN PARAFINE, H/C=1.4 TO 1.8,
MARINE NATURE

TYPE-II HERBACEOUS GOOD FOR OIL SOURCE ROCK (40-

50%) , MEDIUM SIZE ALKANE,
H/C=1.4 TO 1.0,
MARINE+TERRESTRIAL

TYPE-III COALY & GOOD FOR GAS SOURCE ROCK,

WOODY AROMATIC RICH, H/C 1-0.4,
TERRESTRIAL

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 Source Rock Evaluation

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 Source Rock Evaluation
➢ Effective source rock : any sedimentary rock that has already generated
and expelled hydrocarbons.

➢ Possible source rock : any sedimentary rock whose source potential has
not yet been evaluated, but which may have generated and expelled
hydrocarbons.

➢ Potential source rock : any immature sedimentary rock known to be

capable of generating and expelling hydrocarbons if its level of thermal
maturity were higher.

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➢ Oil shale (generated but not expelled) and kerogen shale

➢ Quantity of Organic Material

Quantity of organic material is measured in terms of Total Organic
Content.
TOC% Rating
<0.5% poor
0.5-1.0% marginal
1.0-2.0% good
>2.0 very good
For shale >0.5% is considered as source while for Limestone >0.3 %

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Maturity of Organic Material
➢ Maturity of organic matter is measured in terms of Vitrinite reflectance
(VRo), Thermal Alteration Index (TAI), Time Temperature Index (TTI)

➢ Vitrinite reflectance (Ro) : The value of less than 0.6VRo is considered as

immature. Oil generative window has VRo between 0.6-1.35VRo (catagenetic),
1.35-2.0 VR0 (wet gas-catagenetic), 2.0-4.0 VRo (dry gas-Metagenetic), more
than 4.0 VRo is metamorphic

➢ Thermal Alteration Index : The value of less than 2.6 (yellow) is taken as
immature. The value for the oil window vary between 2.6 and 3.0 (orange), 3.0-
3.75 (light brown) wet gas-Catagenetic, 3.75-4.5 (dark brown) dry gas-
Metagenetic.

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➢ Pyrolysis – Tmax – 430-435 (immature), 435-450 (Catagenetic), 450-
470 (Metagenetic)
(Genetic potential and production index)

➢ Time Temperature Index : This is another maturity factor

combining time, temperature and burial depth of sediments. The value
of 15 is considered as onset of oil generation and 160 is considered as
end of oil generation.

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 Reservoir Rock
◼ Sandstone/limestone/siltstone/fractured
basement/fractured shale.
◼ Properties
1. Porosity
2. Permeability

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 Porosity
◼ Primary
◼ Secondary
Effective porosity = interconnected + connected
Total porosity = interconnected + connected + isolated

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 ◼ Primary porosity
◼ Intergranular
◼ Intragranular

Measurement- log/core
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 Secondary porosity

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◼ Reservoir Estimation: To find the total vol of hydrocarbon present
in reservoir rock.
Total Reserve: Vol of Reservoir X Porosity X Hydrocarbon saturation (SHC)
Ex: Find the total hydrocarbon present in a reservoir of dimension
800mX2000mX1m, having porosity 10% and Hydrocarbon saturation
is 0.7
Solution:

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 Reservoir Seal
➢ A relatively impermeable rock which disallows or retards the escape of
hydrocarbons moving up through rocks
➢ Evaporite/Shale/Carbonate

Seal

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 ➢ Traps
➢ Leverson defines Trap as:
✓“The place where oil and gas are barred from further movement”
➢ Traps can be defined as:
✓Structural
✓Stratigraphic
✓Combination

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 Structural Traps
➢ Dominant structural element in entrapment mechanism
✓“A structural Trap is one whose upper boundary has been made
concave, as viewed from below, by some local deformation, such as
folding or faulting or both, of the reservoir rock”
➢ Pool edges determined by intersection of the underlying water table
➢ Several ways of mapping structure :
✓surface, subsurface, core-drill and geophysical
➢ The objective is to find locally high structural conditions in reservoir
that might have trapped hydrocarbons

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 Structural Traps : Folds & Faults
➢ The Traps that result from folds vary in shape from dome to anticline to overturned
anticline

➢ Commonly occurring Traps associated with normal faults may be

➢ Single curved fault
➢ Intersection of two faults
➢ Combination of two faults
➢ Normal fault and low amplitude fold Digboi Oil Field
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➢ Normal fault and high amplitude fold
 Stratigraphic Traps
➢ These traps result from lateral variation in lithology of reservoir rock or a break
in its continuity
➢ Difficult to make generalities, but must close three dimensionally
➢ A permeable reservoir may
✓ change to less permeable/impermeable
✓ be truncated by an unconformity
✓ be overlapped
✓ change along the bedding
➢ Reservoir extent: boundary between two kinds of rocks (sharp or gradational )
➢ Need more test wells for delineation and Pools are succession of surprises
➢ Seismic data must for development
➢ May be divided in two categories- Primary and Secondary
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➢StratigraphicTraps
➢Commonly occurring primary traps are:
✓Point bars
✓Distributory channels
✓Barrier island bars
✓Shelf sand stones
✓Submarine fans
✓Delta front sandstones
✓Crevasse splays
✓Turbidites
✓Carbonate reefs/ ramps/ slopes

Lakwa Barail Channel Sratigraphic Traps

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➢ Secondary stratigraphic traps result from
✓ Stratigraphic anomaly ( unconformity )
✓ Variations developed after deposition and diagenesis
➢ Traps bounded by unconformity are classed secondary stratigraphic because they
are formed after lithification and diagenesis of reservoir
➢ Weathering and groundwater circulation attended by solution, cementation and
recrystallization
➢ Irregular permeability distribution in impervious rock may form traps

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 ➢ Combination Traps
➢ Traps formed with varying proportion of structural and stratigraphic elements (also Salt
Trap)
➢ Stages involved in the formation of such traps are:
✓ Stratigraphic element causes the formation of edge permeability
✓ Structural element causes the deformation combining with the stratigraphic element
✓ Diagram shows the simplistic visualization of these phenomenon

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 Hydrodynamic Traps

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 Traps in Nature

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 ➢Generation and Migration
➢ Hydrocarbons are compounds of Hydrogen and Carbon (gas/liquid/solids)

➢ Organic material in sediments (Marine or Terrestrial) transforms to hydrocarbons

➢ Transformation process is complicated

✓ Organic Material dies and accumulates (land or ocean)
✓ Biochemical degradation
✓ Biogenic gas/ break down of unstable constituents
✓ Hydrocarbon chains/ Humin
✓ Insolubalisation (all soluble matter driven out)
✓ Humin to Kerogen
✓ Thermal degradation (oil window)

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 Primary migration

◼ Compaction
◼ Micro fracturing
In clay rich system water expulsion took
place in two stages, after water proto-
petroleum escape as per solubility.

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 Migration
➢ Once oil has been generated, it migrates from source to the Trap
➢ Two types of migration :
✓ Primary migration is the migration from a relatively impermeable source rock to
the primary migration paths (faults/fractures/permeable carrier rock )
✓ Secondary migration is migration to a Trap that occurs along established
permeability paths

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Secondary Migration
1. Buoyancy
2. Capillary force
3. Hydrodynamics

◼ Density difference b/w oil & gas caused upward movement of HC through
carrier bed. It continues until oil droplets reaches to the pore size smaller
than its diameter and capillary force now come in to play. (further motion
only after deformation)

◼ Percolating surface water create hydrodynamic gradient in downward

direction that resist upward buoyancy motion
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◼ Indian Examples:
◼ Sandstone Reservoir:- Digboi Field- Assam, Ankleshwar & Kalol
Field- Gujrat, Mangala Field- Rajasthan etc.
◼ Limestone:- Bombay High
◼ Fractured reservoir: Indrora, Jhalora and Wadu Field of Cambay
Basin-Gujrat.
◼ Fractured Coal:- Kalol Field
◼ Fractures Basalt: Khoraghat – Assam, Gamji Field-Cambay,
Kutch Offshore and Bombay offshore (Deccan Basalt), Razol and
Narsapur of K-G Basin.
◼ Pricambrian Crystalline rocks: Bombay High (Heera and Mukta
field), Borehola-Assam, Pundi and Matur- Cambay Basin.
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