DM01: Geology for Drilling Engineers Rev 0

Geology 1: Basic Geology

1)
a. Name the three principal rock types found on earth.
1. Igneous rocks: solidify from magma or molten rocks.
2. Sedimentary rocks: form from materials that are eroded from other rocks
3. Metamorphic rocks: are rocks that have changed due to being heated and/or compressed

b. Give examples of each and suggest where these might be found.
Rocks Where they might be found
Igneous Can be found in anywhere where there were and are having volcanic
activities or in uplifted and eroded areas of past plutonic intrusions, deep
underground nearly anywhere, or in areas of past or present glaciation,
where igneous rock has been eroded and deposited
Sedimentary Mostly streams, river, at the bottom of lakes and ocean. Where there is
moving water or sand. It cover the majority of the Earth's rocky surface but
only make up a small percentage of the Earths crust compared to
metamorphic and igneous types of rocks.
Metamorphic Usually located at great depths within the Earth's crust, at the base of
mountains, or in contact zones where plutonic intrusions have
metamorphosed the host rock via high temperatures. Eg: In Colorado one can
find an abundance of metamorphic rocks in the eroded Rocky Mountains

c. Describe the importance of each main rock type, with regard to oil and gas exploitation.
Rocks Importance to O&G
Igneous Igneous rocks are crystalline with no porosity and rarely a reservoir
target.
While in drilling igneous rock is to be avoided due because it is extremely
hard and affecting drilling bit.
But occasionally fractured granite and lava are found to contained
hydrocarbon. The earliest documented discovery HC in igneous rock is in
Hara field, Japan which began production in 1900s.
Sedimentary Sedimentary play major role in petroleum reservoirs and source rocks. It is
very important to petroleum system and most hydrocarbon productions are
from sedimentary rocks.
Metamorphic Metamorphic rocks are rarely drilling targets for hydrocarbon because
they are recrystallized with no porosity.
But like igneous rock, metamorphic rocks found to contained
hydrocarbon as well. Eg: Yaerxia Field, Yumen oil production was up ti
1050 bpd. As well as some fields in China.

2) Outline how plate tectonics operates, giving examples of evidence for its existence, and the
principal mechanisms involved.
The theory of plate tectonics established in early 1600s after observations of the shapes of the continents,
particularly South America and Africa, which fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle and have similar rocks
and fossils despite being separated by a modern ocean. The Earths solid crust is always moving around by slow
DM01: Geology for Drilling Engineers Rev 0
convection currents in the asthenosphere (relatively plastic layer of the upper mantle of the Earth on which the
tectonic plates of the lithosphere move).
The lithosphere which comprised of crust at the surface and a portion of the mantle that is cool and rigid is
split into sections called plates that move towards and away from each other.


When these plates meet they are either; converging, diverging or sliding past each other (transform boundary).


Boundary Principle Mechanism Example
Convergent are areas where plates move toward each other and collide.
Oceanic vs oceanic: one plate dive beneath the other. A deep
trench is formed in the ocean floor along the line of convergence
which is called subduction zone.
Oceanic vs continent:, the lighter continental crust overrides the
ocean floor. The descending plate melts fractionally, often
producing a volcanic arc along the edge of the continent.
Continent vs continent: thick continental crust, instead of sliding
down into the mantle, it crumples, folding and breaking into
huge slabs that pile on top one another hence great mountain
ranges are pushed up.

East Philippine,
Marianas Trench

Off the coast of South
America along Peru-
Chile trench

Alps & Himalayan
Divergent Where plates move away from each other, forming either mid
oceanic ridges or rift valleys.
The region in which a rift begins to form is uplifted; after
separation of the continental masses, the rift zone itself remains
higher than the seafloor on either side.
Mid Atlantic Ridge
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Transform (slide) occur when two plates grind past each other with only limited
convergent or divergent activity
A fault is break along which two blocks of the crust slide past
one another. As a consequence of relative plate motion, the
ocean floor is crisscrossed with faults.
Along the edge parallel to its motion, a plate slides past its
neighbour with very little interaction
San Andreas fault
zone in California


3) List as many reservoir trap types as you can and give the reservoir names. Note (Use your own or
other company reservoirs as example - information from internet sources is acceptable.)
Structural traps
1. Thrust fault: Turner Valley Field, Alberta
2. Fault: Dunvegan Field, Alberta, Cendor Field, Malaysia
3. Fold/Anticline: Bubbles and Jedney gas fields in northeastern British Columbia, Lukut Field Brunei.
4. Reef: West Texas & New Mexico
Salt dome: East Coast, Canada
Pinch Out / lateral variation: Crossfield, Calgary. Marlim & Baracuda, Brazil
Hydrodynamic traps; Kutei Basin, Kalimantan Indonesia
Combine Structural / Stratigraphic: Hugoton-Panhandle, Texas

4) Briefly describe three reservoir drive mechanisms.
Water drive reservoir
HC are in contact with a large volume of water bearing sand.
Driving energy comes primarily from the expansion of water as the reservoir is produced.
Gas cap drive
There is existing free gas in the reservoir accumulated at the top of the reservoir in the form of gas
cap.
This gas cap drive receives it energy from the high compressibility of the gas cap.
But there are is also the expansion of oil and its dissolved gas and the gas coming out of solution when
bottom hole pressure reach bubble points pressure.
Gravity drainage drive
Gravity drainage is where the relative density forces associated with the fluids cause the fluids; the oil,
to drain down towards the production well.
The tendency for the gas to migrate up and the oil to drain down clearly will be influenced by the rate
of flow of the fluids as indicated by their relative permeabilities.

5) For at least two of the reservoirs mentioned in Q3, state which drive is believed to be present.
Gas cap drive: Turner Valley Field
Water Drive: Kutei Basin, Kalimantan Indonesia & Lukut Field, Brunei, Cendor Field, Malaysia

6) What are the main naturally occurring petroleum series? Describe the salient features of each and
outline their principal uses.
DM01: Geology for Drilling Engineers Rev 0
Petroleum series naturally in form of gaseous (natural gas), liquid (crude oil and condensate) and solid
(asphalt). Organic in origin. Consists of thousands of chemical compound mainly C & H molecules + other minor
amounts of N2, CO2, S, O2.
1. Natural gas: mixture of hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight (C1-C5). The principal component is
methane CH4. Wet gas is a mixture of gas and light oil fractions. Biogenic gas is another origin of
natural gas which formed by bacterial activity in shallow sediments.
2. Condensate: coloured or colourless liquid hydrocarbon mixture with approximately over 50 deg API
gravity.
3. Crude oil is a brown coloured hydrocarbon mixture of less than approx. 50 deg API gravity, which is
often found together with associated gas. It is made up of complex hydrocarbons (C5 and higher has
different composition in different reservoirs.
4. Asphalt: solid form of hydrocarbon, and is commonly found in tar sands.

These petroleum series are made of hydrocarbon series:
Alkanes C
n
H
2n+2
consist only of carbon and hydrogen atoms joined by single covalent
bonds
Alkanes with more than three carbon atoms may have straight and
branched isomers.
Cycloalkanes have ring structures (but are not aromatic compounds) with
two fewer hydrogen atoms per molecule than the corresponding alkane;
many have more than one ring.
Commercial sources include petroleum and natural gas.
Uses, often as mixtures, include fuels, solvents, and raw materials.
Paraffin.
Alkenes C
n
H
2n
containing one or more carbon-to-carbon double bonds
contain less than the number of hydrogens found in the corresponding
saturated compound, alkane
The lower alkenes and dienes which have up to five carbon atoms are
gases at room temperature and pressure. Higher alkenes are colorless
liquids or solids. Like other hydrocarbons, alkenes are insoluble in water.
Alcohols C
n
H
2n+1
OH Alcohols have an odor that is often described as biting and as hanging
in the nasal passages. Ethanol has a slightly sweeter (or more fruit-like)
odor than the other alcohols.
In general, the hydroxyl group makes the alcohol molecule polar.
Two opposing solubility trends in alcohols are: the tendency of the polar
OH to promote solubility in water, and the tendency of the carbon chain
to resist it. Thus, methanol, ethanol, and propanol are miscible in water
because the hydroxyl group wins out over the short carbon chain.
Benzenes C6H
6
Its molecule is composed of 6 carbon atoms joined in a ring, with 1
hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom
Benzene is a colorless and highly flammable liquid with a sweet smell.
It is mainly used as a precursor to heavy chemicals, such as ethylbenzene
and cumene, which are produced on a billion kilogram scale

7) Again, for at least two of the reservoirs in Q3, state which are the principal petroleum products.
1. Lukut Field, Brunei: Crude oil
2. Cendor Field: Crude oil & condensate

8) What is Diagenesis? Give an example of relevance to oil and gas exploitation.
DM01: Geology for Drilling Engineers Rev 0
Diagenesis is the process of forming a sedimentary rock from the clastic grains. May also be in conjunction with
several geochemical processes such as cementation reactions and chemical dissolution.

When animal or plant matter is buried during sedimentation, the constituent organic molecules (lipids,
proteins, carbohydrates and lignin-humic compounds) break down due to the increase in temperature and
pressure.
Occurs in the shallow subsurface near normal temperature & pressure and results in the creation of two
primary products: kerogens and bitumens.




9) Describe three main areas of structural geology using annotated sketches.
DM01: Geology for Drilling Engineers Rev 0



DM01: Geology for Drilling Engineers Rev 0
Geology 2: Down Hole Pressures

1) What datum do Geophysicists & Geologists use to compare reservoir formation depths?
Mean Sea Level (MSL)

2) What effect can local hills (hills higher than the wells location) have on
a. The shallow water pressure just below the rig? ( i.e, water table)
Pressure gradients increased as a consequence of the horizontal variation in the height of the water surface
(the hills and valleys) from water table. Specifically, water piled up in a hill creates a zone of high pressure, due
to an increase in the height of the water column. In response, water flows down the pressure gradient. The
steeper the pressure gradient, the faster the water will flow

b. The reservoir pressure?
Reservoir will experience subnormal pressure because surface elevation of a well is much higher than the
subsurface water table or sea level. This subnormal pressure can cause lost circulation problems in wells drilled
with liquid drilling mud.

3) Describe overburden pressure.
Overburden stress is defined as the pressure exerted by the weight of the overlying sediments.
The overburden load is supported by the vertical stress in the grain framework
Related to compaction theory where during deposition, sediments are compacted by the overburden
load and are subjected to greater temperatures with increasing burial depth.
Geology 3: General Questions

1) What would a Drilling Engineer consider when planning a well in a subduction zone/orogenic
suture? Give three examples of subduction/orogenic suture zones around the world.
To consider when planning a well in subduction zone/orogenic suture:
Geological characterization
Tectonic reconstruction
Earthquake and plate tectonic movement history
In-situ stress measurement
Accretion the gradual process in which formation layers are formed and added over time
Long term geophysical monitoring
P&A planning
Distance from faults
Changes of fluid behaviour
Simulation of earthquake, tsunami and strong ground motion.



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Example of area:
1. Southern Kanto, Japan
2. North Island of New Zealand
3. Mexico
4. Cascadia
5. Indonesia


2) Briefly describe the following:
a. Clastics composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals and rock
Sandstone is a clastic rock and its properties often make it an excellent reservoir
rock. Sandstone can be any colour though often found in the form of tan, brown,
yellow and red etc. It is distinguishable from other clastic rocks by the size of the
grains of quartz or feldspar that it is predominantly composed of.
Clastic metamorphic rocks include breccias formed in faults, as well as some
protomylonite and pseudotachylite.
Clastic igneous rocks include pyroclastic volcanic rocks such as tuff, agglomerate
and intrusive breccias
b. Carbonates Carbonate reservoirs are often developed as coral reef build-ups on a shallow
marine shelf.
Thus the primary fabric and mineralogy of carbonate reservoirs are controlled by
deposition, through biological activity (e.g., the building of reefs by coral), and by
precipitation (small carbonate grains - ooids - are built by carbonate
precipitation around a nucleus).
All limestones are largely composed of the minerals calcite and aragonite,
otherwise known as calcium carbonate. This effectively means that some
limestones can be cap rocks and others can be reservoirs. Some limestones can
be easy to drill and others can be harder to drill. Some limestones might be tight
and solid and others might give rise to loss circulation through jointing, caverns
or through good permeability and porosity.
c. Evaporites a water-soluble mineral sediment that results from concentration and
crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution
There are two types of evaporate deposits: marine, which can also be described
as ocean deposits, and non-marine, which are found in standing bodies of water
such as lakes.
Evaporites are considered sedimentary rocks.
Example:
o Anhydrite is a fibrous Evaporite mineral / rock, commonly white or a
shade of off white in colour that is often found in association with halite
and other rock salts and carbonates.
o Halite is another Evaporite rock. Often a clear or white colour though
can be shades of other colours. Halite and other rocksalts are notorious
for their "plastic" nature and typically cause drilling / well problems
when they "flow" ( Salt tectonics ). Halite is also an impermeable rock
and often forms a very effective seal or caprock.
d. Granite Granite is a light-colored igneous rock with grains large enough to be visible with
the unaided eye. It forms from the slow crystallization of magma below Earths
surface.
Granite is very hard and one of the oldest material for construction was ignored
as reservoir
Granite reservoirs are prolific in Viet Nam, Libya, and Indonesia. Lesser known
granite reservoirs exist in Venezuela, United States, Russia, and elsewhere.
Indonesia is blessed with a combination sedimentary, metamorphic, and granite
reservoir with a single gas leg. Japan boasts a variety of volcanic reservoirs.
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e. Basalt A fine grained, sometimes glassy, igneous rock.
Commonly forms sheets (sills) of molten rock which cools to form hexagonal
column
One of extrusive igneous rock that often contain gas bubbles and include lavas
Due to compaction usually very little or no porosity
f. Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock
organic, not crystalline
Coal is composed primarily of carbon along with variable quantities of other
elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulphur, oxygen, and nitrogen
Throughout history, coal has been used as an energy resource, primarily burned
for the production of electricity and/or heat, and is also used for industrial
purposes, such as refining metals
Today as one of unconventional resource, called Coal Bed Methane (CBM)
o CBM did not migrate from the source rock into the reservoir rock
o Coal is the source rock and the reservoir rock
o The methane does not occur as free gas in the pore space of coal (only
1-2%)

3) What considerations would a Drilling Engineer make when planning to drill to an oil trap that is
bounded by a salt dome to one side? Discuss the possible complications with the two main options
for well path positioning (through the salt or around and in from the side)
Consideration
Information gathering; seismic analysis, pressure, temperature, properties of the salts etc
Pre-drill modelling
Real time monitoring and calibration
Manage problems zones above salts
Understanding salt creep is essential
Calculate borehole closure rate vs temperature
Choose best MW program for casing design
Appropriate technology as well to reduce open hole time
Predict and prepare to manage the exit of salt
Risk prediction, prevention, and mitigation as well as to identify best practices.
Casing shoe placement is critical, top & bottom
To either drill around (mostly applied) with consideration of:
o Rock fabric alterations and fracturing- Lost circulation (WBM or OBM?)
o Shale Sloughing & Stability- Geomechanical properties, Low fracture gradients, Breakout
o Shallow or deep salt?- Maturity of overlying rocks (smectite)
o Overpressure - uplift and/or encapsulation of sediments & Gas Clouds
Or drill through salt with:
Entry and Exit rubble zones, Gas clouds, Immature shale (gumbo)
Borehole Closure (salt creep)
Temperature Gradients
Clean or Dirty salt? (Cold or Hot)
Dissolution/Washouts/Leaching
MW control & Mud Type
Inclusions / Xenoliths (rafts) Overpressured & Reactive shales (gumbo)
Casing Placement (top & bottom)
Salt Flow (life of well)
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Exiting the salt
o prediction & preparation for location and angle of wellbore exit

Well path positioning complication
Drilling along side Drilling through
Unstable formations
Low/high pore pressure
Rubble zone
losses
severe washouts,
moving salts can lead to tabular placement
failure or restricted acces
high pressure blocks of dolomites etc)
stuck pipe
limited time exposure to open hole


4) When selecting casing points, what geological and/or geophysical information would an Engineer
require?
Pore pressure
Fracture gradient
Or LOT & FIT result
Lithology

5) Describe four methods for estimating or determining downhole pressures. At least one should be
relevant for each of the following cases;
a. Before drilling.
Information from offset wells;
o logs, bit records,
Analogy to known characteristics of the geologic basin
Seismic data
o The use of seismic as a method for detecting and quantifying abnormal pressure involves the
relationship between computed sound velocity and the degree of sediment compaction.
o Under normal compaction, density increases with depth. For this reason the interval velocity
also increases with depth, so travel time decreases

b. During drilling.
Penetration rate: D-exponent, Combs Method, Moores Method, Equivalent Depth Method etc
o Bits drill through overpressured rock faster than through normally pressured rock (if
everything else remains the same)
o When drilling clean shale this fact can be utilized to detect the presence of abnormal
pressure, and even to estimate the magnitude of the overpressure.
MWD & LWD
Kicks
Change in mud properties



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c. After drilling a well.
Resistivity/ conductivity:
A rock matrices have very low conductivity
Recorded resistivity depends on their porosity, the nature of the fluid contained in the pores and its
dissolved salt content.
Under normal compaction conditions, a unit increase in shale resistivity with depth corresponds to a
unit reduction in porosity under the effect of overburden stress.
Entry into an undercompacted zone is revealed by a fall in resistivity due o a relative increase in
porosity. Although it has opposite effect of the porosity increase, magnitude is and order of smaller.
Density
If a source of gamma ray is applied to the wall of a borehole, an interaction takes place between the
gamma rays and the material due to essentially to gamma/electron collisions.
The energy of the incident is photon is partly transmitted to the electron ejected from an atom.
The number of electrons in atoms are approximately proportional to their density, collision are
therefore more numerous, the denser the material.