28/9/2014

Sincerelevantgeologicalandgeochemical
conditionsunderwhichtheseprocesses
proceedcanvaryfromplacetoplace,the
composition of petroleums aresubjectto
compositionofpetroleums
are subject to
greatvariations.

Globaloil&gasindustry
Oilandgasformation&reserves

OriginofHydrocarbonDeposits
Thegreatcompositionalcomplexityof
petroleums (thistermincludesbothoiland
gas)reflectsthecombinedeffectsofall
processes involved in the origin of petroleum
processesinvolvedintheoriginofpetroleum
accumulationsandtheirfateduringlong
periodsofgeologicaltime.

Asageneralrule,theoriginofpetroleumis
neverinthereservoiraccumulationfrom
whichitisproduced.
Instead,petroleums
Instead petroleums haveexperiencedalong
have experienced a long
seriesofprocessespriortoaccumulationin
thereservoir.

28/9/2014

SourceRocks
OrganicMatter

Blooms
serc.carleton.edu/images/microbelife/topics/red_tide_genera.v3.jpg

Sedimentaryrocksrichin
organicmatter

Today,mostplanktoncanbe
foundwheredeepocean
currentsrisetothesurface

0.5 2%byweight

Mostcommonly
microscopic marine
microscopicmarine
material,butitcanbeland
basedmaterial
Organicmaterialcannot
decaytoomuch

Thisupwellingwaterisrichin
p
g
nutrientsandcausesthe
planktontobloom
Bloomsofcertainplankton
calleddinoflagellates may
givethewateraredtinge

Ithastokeepitscarbon
MiriamGodfrey

Dinoflagellatebloom

Ontheseabed
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/Plankton.jpg

Whentheplanktondiesitrains
downonseabedtoforman
organicmush
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Nerr0328.jpg

Seabed

Ifthereareanyanimalsonthe
seabedthesewillfeedonthe
organicparticles
8

28/9/2014

Fig.5.Diagramto
illustratethemain
conditionsand
processesfor
kerogen formation
frombiological
precursor materials
precursormaterials
andkerogen
transformationinto
petroleumproducts
withincreasing
maturation

BlackShale
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/Plankton.jpg

However,ifthereislittleorno
oxygeninthewaterthenanimals
cantsurviveandtheorganic
mushaccumulates
Wheresedimentcontains
morethan5%organicmatter,
iteventuallyformsarock
knownasa BlackShale

9
EarthScienceWorldImageBank

11

Oil and gas result from the

breakdown of organic
molecules (e.g. kerogens)
under conditions of
increasing temperature,
from large complex
molecules to smaller,
shorter-chain molecules
dominated by hydrogen and
carbon: a process called
cracking or pyrolysis.
This occurs largely through
the breaking of C-C bonds.

Specifically,theorganicmoleculeschangeintoawaxymaterialknownas
kerogen
Withtimeandifthekerogenissubjectedtoincreasedpressureandheat,it
isfurtherchangedintoliquidandgaseoushydrocarbonsinaprocessknown
ascatagenesis

10

Oil window

Formation of petroleum (oil and gas)

HowisPetroleumCreated?

The Oil Window

T below: Organics remain largely unaltered.
T above: Thermal cracking transforms the
petoleum into natural gas and coke.

12

28/9/2014

Formation of petroleum (oil and gas)

Where we find Fossil Fuels

Some gas is produced by
decomposition of organic
matter by microbes (biogenic
gas)

RonBlakey,ArizonaFlagstaff

DuringmidMesozoictimes
around150millionyearsago,
conditionswerejustright
tobuilduphugethicknesses
ofBlackShalesourcerocks

Most oil is produced at

temperatures between about
60O and 120O C (the oil
window).
Thermogenic gas is produced as
oil is broken down to very small
molecules
(the smallest being methane)

AncientEarth
Theworldsmainoildepositsallformedinwarmshallowseas
whereplanktonbloomedbutbottomwatersweredeoxygenated
13

WhyisthereoilinTexas?

15

Petroleumsourcerocks
Petroleumsourcebedsarefinegrained,clay
richsiliclastic rocks(mudstones,shales)or
darkcoloured carbonaterocks(limestones,
marlstones) which have generated and
marlstones),whichhavegeneratedand
effectivelyexpelledhydrocarbons.
Apetroleumsourceischaracterised bythree
essentialconditions:

14

16

28/9/2014

1. itmusthaveasufficientcontentoffinely
dispersedorganicmatterofbiologicalorigin;this
organicmattermustbeofaspecific
composition,i.e.hydrogenrich;
2. thesourcerockmustbeburiedatcertaindepths
and
3. subjectedtopropersubsurfacetemperaturesin
ordertoinitiatetheprocessofpetroleum
generationbythethermaldegradationof
kerogen.
17

19

Mostsourcerockswhichhaveeffectivelygenerated
andexpelledcommercialquantitiesofpetroleumhave
TOCconcentrationsintheorderof210%.
Organicmatterispredominantlycomposedoforganic
carbon,butalsocontainsminoramountsofhetero
elements(N,S,andO).
l
t (N S d O)
Agoodqualitypetroleumsourcerockofcarbonate
lithology isexemplifiedbytheTriassicageMeride
Limestone,whichisthesourceoftheoilpresentin
severalfieldsinthePovalleyareaofnorthernItaly.
Incarbonatesourcerocks,theorganicmattertendsto
bericherinhydrogen.

Basedonempiricalevidence,minimum
concentrationlevelsof1.5%and0.5%total
organiccarbon(TOC)insourcerocksof
siliclastic andcarbonatelithologies
respectivelyhavebeenestablished(Hunt,
1996).
Theorganiccarbonconcentrationisan
approximatemeasureoftheorganicmatter
contentofarock.
18

20

28/9/2014

Explorationactivities
ExplorationComesinTwoScales
1.Regional

Mostpetroleumsourcerocksdisplaydark
browntoblackcolours.
Thisisduetothepresenceoffinely
disseminated organic matter as well as finely
disseminatedorganicmatteraswellasfinely
dispersedpyritecrystals(FeS2).

BackgroundKnowledge
Developexplorationconcept
Petroleumtraptypes

2.PlaytoProspectLevel

2cmsectionseen
underamicroscope
21

Detailseismicdataacquisition
Developspecificprospects
Economicanalysis
Wellproposal
23

IdentificationofcommonRocksandMinerals
SourceofNorthSeaOil
Finding,ordiscovering,apetroleumreservoir
involvesthreemajoractivities:
1. geologicsurveying,
2 geochemicalsurveying,and
2.
h i l
i
d
3. exploratorydrillingactivities.

IanandTonyaWest

BlackShale

AncientEarth

TheKimmeridgeClayisaBlackShalewithupto50%organic
matter.ItisthemainsourcerockfortheNorthSeaOil&Gas
Province

22

24

28/9/2014

Definitions

Porosity thepercentageofvoidspaceina
material.
material
Permeability Thepropertyofaporousmaterial
topermitaliquidorgastopassthroughit.

Zeroporosityforigneousand
metamorphictyperocks
25

27

PermeabilityofShale

26

28

Source: SPE International

28/9/2014

ShaleOil&Gas,TightGas,andHeavyOil
Recovery

WellEvaluations
Estimationofoilandgasreservesina
discoveredreservoirisoneofthemost
importantfactorsinevaluatingthediscovery
anddecidingonitsviabilityforcommercial
development.

SourceRock

Porosity
Vb Bulkvolume
Sw watersaturation

6,000ft.
29

31

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

GeophysicalandGeochemicalSurveys
Oilandgasexiststhousandsoffeetbelowthe
Earthssurfaceandoceanfloors.
Therefore,determiningthelocationof
petroleum reservoirs is a very difficult task
petroleumreservoirsisaverydifficulttask
andis,probably,themostchallengingaspect
ofthepetroleumindustry.

30

32