Petroleum Geology and Energy Minerals - 4201

Petroleum Investigations and Terminologies

By Fredrick Josiya : Earth Sciences Department

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Lesson Outcomes

■ Characteristics of Petroleum Occurrences

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 Petroleum Exploration Terminologies
■ A petroleum system is a dynamic hydrocarbon generating system,
functioning in a geologic space and time scale.
■ A conventional petroleum system requires the timely convergence
of geologic elements and events essential to the formation of
petroleum deposits. These include
• Mature source rock
• Expulsion
• Secondary migration to reservoir rock

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 • Retention
Four Levels of Petroleum Investigation

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 Modified from Magoon and Dow, 1994
What Is a Prospect?

■ A prospect is an area of petroleum exploration in which petroleum

is predicted to exist in economic quantities.

■ Justification for drilling a prospect is made by assembling evidence

for an active petroleum system.

■ There also must be evidence for structural closure so that a

petroleum accumulation is possible.

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■ A group of similar prospects constitutes a play.

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 What is a Play?
A play is a group of reservoirs genetically related by depositional facies, structural
style or trap type, and or seals.

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 Petroleum Reservoir
■ A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface pool
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 of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations.

■ Petroleum reservoirs are broadly classified as conventional and

unconventional reservoirs.

■ In conventional reservoirs, the naturally occurring hydrocarbons,

such as crude oil or natural gas, are trapped by overlying rock
formations with lower permeability,

Unconventional Reservoirs

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■ Unconventional reservoirs, the rocks have high porosity and low
permeability, which keeps the hydrocarbons trapped in place, therefore
not requiring a cap rock. Reservoirs are found using hydrocarbon
exploration methods.

■ Unconventional oil is petroleum produced or extracted using techniques

other than the conventional method (oil well). Industry and
governments across the globe are investing in unconventional oil
sources due to the increasing scarcity of conventional oil reserves

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 End of Lecture No 5

Thank You
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