Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in Iraq

Lecture 2
21 Oct. 2020
 Source rocks

• The principal of source rocks in Iraq is comprise

1- Lower Silurian Shales which are charged the reservoirs of the Paleozoic
Era.

2- The Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous shales, marly limestone and
marl (Sargelu and Naokelekan Fms. of Jurassic period). These are the main
sources of hydrocarbons trapped in Cretaceous and Tertiary reservoir.
 The Hydrocarbon Reservoirs
Sandstone Rocks
• Main reservoir rocks are either sandstones or carbonates. More than
60% of the world oil reserves are found in sandstone reservoirs.
• Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized rock
grains cemented together. Most of the sandstones are composed of 
quartz (SiO2) and/or feldspar because these are the most common
minerals in the Earth's crust.
• Reservoirs that are primarily composed of sandstone are porous
enough to store large quantities of hydrocarbons. There are many
types of sandstones, each type have different capability for storing
hydrocarbons.
 Carbonate Rocks as reservoirs
Carbonate rocks are composed primarily of carbonate minerals.

The two major types of carbonate rocks are limestone (CaCO3) and dolostone, primarily composed
of the mineral dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2). Carbonate rocks can be of various origins like:
•
1- Detrital, which are formed of debris of limestone, shell, etc.,
•
2- Constructed, which are originated from reef,
•
3- Chemical, which are formed by precipitation of bicarbonate and mainly originating in marine muds
and Chalk.

4- In general, Limestone rocks become excellent reservoirs when they are well fractured or jointed which
guide to Increasing their permeability
 Reservoir rocks in Iraq
• They were deposited in the passive margin or shelfal basin which are
sandstone and fractured limestone in most of Iraqi reservoirs.

• Reservoir rocks in Iraq cover a wide stratigraphic interval from

Paleozoic to Tertiary.
• Cenozoic reservoir rocks contain 24% of that of Iraqi succession.
• Cretaceous reservoir rocks contain 75% .
• The older reservoir rocks about 1%.
24%

75%

1%
 Seal or cap rocks
Hydrocarbon reservoirs most have a seal known as cap rock, which is of
low permeability that prevent the escape of hydrocarbons from the
reservoir rock. Common seals are  evaporites, chalks, and shales.

• Cap rocks in Iraqi traps include

• evaporates of Late Jurassic …… Gotnia Fn.
• and Middle Miocene …… Lower Fars Fn.
• together with siliciclastics.
Lower Fars Fm.

Gotnia Fm.
 Oil and gas in Reservoirs
• Oil reservoirs can be classified as saturated and undersaturated reservoirs.
• The degree of saturation in a gas-saturated reservoir is a function of
reservoir pressure and temperature.
• The bubble point pressure (pressure at which gas begins to come out of
the solution)
• If the bubble point is equal or less to reservoir pressure, oil in the reservoir
is gas-saturated. This means oil has dissolved all of the gas, it is capable of
holding under given conditions.
 Oil and gas in Reservoirs
• Oil in the reservoir is gas-undersaturated if there is less gas present in
the reservoir than the amount that may be dissolved in oil under
given conditions.
• In the case of undersaturated, gas begins to come out of the solution
as soon as the reservoir pressure begins to decrease.
• Gas-undersaturated = Oil-Saturated ----- vise versa
• Presence of a gas cap in a reservoir always indicates saturated oil.
 Gas Reservoirs
•  Gas reservoirs can be classified as:
• (1) dry gas reservoirs
• (2) Retrograde condensate gas reservoirs
• Dry gases consisting of pure methane and ethane are produced from these
reservoirs.
• In some reservoirs, retrograde condensation occurs in petroleum gases containing
heavy hydrocarbons as single-phase fluids in deep reservoirs at high pressure and
temperature.
• Reduction in pressure at a constant temperature, which leads to “retrograde
condensation.” This means that production may cause rapid condensation of
hydrocarbons.
• In this case, well-stream composition changes with depletion, which means the gas
produced will be depleted of initial heavy hydrocarbons.
 Unconventional and Conventional
Reservoirs

• The difference between a conventional and unconventional reservoir

is migration.
• The unconventional reservoir has hydrocarbons that were formed
within the rock and never migrated.
• The conventional reservoir is a porous rock formation which contains
hydrocarbons that have migrated from a source rock (unconventional
reservoir).
 A successful hydrocarbon reservoir

• Successful reservoir management requires understanding the structure of the

reservoir,
• The distribution of fluids within the reservoir,
• Drilling and maintaining wells which can produce fluids from the reservoir,
• Transport and processing of produced fluids,
• Refining and marketing the fluids,
• Safely abandoning the reservoir when it can no longer produce,
• Mitigating the environmental impact of operations throughout the life cycle of
the reservoir.
 Factors influence maturation of
hydrocarbon
• Maturation of the  source rocks depends on a range of factors:
•
1- The primary rock type and its original content of organic matter (Kerogens).
2-The history of sedimentation and burial (depth, pressure).
3- The local geothermal gradient (temperature).
4- Duration of sedimentation (time).
Kerogen is solid, insoluble organic matter in sedimentary rocks. It is the most
abundant source of organic ..
 Petroleum Source Rock Evaluation

• There are three factors to consider the evaluation of petroleum in

source rocks:
• 1- The Quantity:

• 2- The Quality:

• 3- Thermal Maturity:
 Quantity

• When talking about the Quantity of organic Matter, the basic question
is whether or not.
• 1- The rocks contain sufficient organic matter to have generated oil
and gas.
• 2- Type of reservoir rocks and amount of primary and secondary
porosity and permeability.
 Quality

• The chemical classification of organic matter appeared four types:

• Type one is hydrogen rich.
• Type two has medium amounts of hydrogen and oxygen. This will
generate oil and some gas.
• Type three is oxygen rich and hydrogen poor and at best will generate
gas at the proper levels of maturity with very little liquid hydrocarbons.
• Type four is the oxidized residue that has no significant hydrocarbon
generating potential.
 Thermal Maturation

• Maturity is the extent of heat driven reactions that convert

sedimentary organic matter into petroleum and gas. When we discuss
maturity, we want to know whether the source rocks have been
heated sufficiently to generate oil and gas.
 (MCF) of gas is equal to approximately 1,000,000 BTU (British Thermal Units)

boe= barrel of oil equivalent

Gbo 1Billion barrel of oil