Petroleum prospecting and exploration

Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration)

• Is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for
hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil
and natural gas.
• Oil and gas exploration are grouped under the science of
petroleum geology.
Evidences of hydrocarbon generation
• Oil seeps
• Natural gas seeps
• Porkmarks (under water craters caused by escaping gases)

08/07/2020 1
 5 Elements of a petroleum prospect
A prospect is a potential trap which geologists
believe may contain hydrocarbons.

• A source rock- a rock where hydrocarbons form.

Usually rich organic rocks eg. shale or coal
• Migration - The hydrocarbons are expelled from
source rock by density-related mechanisms
• Trap - The hydrocarbons are buoyant and have to
be trapped within a structural or stratigraphic trap

08/07/2020 2
• Seal or cap rock - The hydrocarbon trap has to be
covered by an impermeable rock known as a seal
or cap-rock to prevent hydrocarbons escaping to
the surface
• Reservoir - The hydrocarbons are contained in a
reservoir rock i.e porous sandstone or limestone.
The oil collects in the pores within the rock
although open fractures within non-porous rocks
may also store hydrocarbons. The reservoir must
also be permeable so that the hydrocarbons will
flow to surface during production
08/07/2020 3
 GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION

• is the applied branch of geophysics which uses

surface methods to measure the physical properties
of the subsurface Earth, along with the anomalies in
these properties, in order to detect the presence and
position of ore minerals, hydrocarbons, geothermal
reservoirs, groundwater reservoirs, and other
geological structures.

08/07/2020 4
• It applies physical methods (such as seismic,
gravitational, magnetic, electrical and
electromagnetic) to measure the physical
properties of rocks, and in particular, to detect
the measurable physical differences between
rocks that contain ore deposits or
hydrocarbons and those without.

08/07/2020 5