GENERATION OF HYDROCARBON

1.1-Petroleum Source Material

1.1.1-Formation and Preservation of Organic Matter
In the nineteenth century, it was widely believed that petroleum had a magmatic origin and that it
migrated from great depths along subcrustal faults.
But the overwhelming evidence now suggests that the original source material of petroleum is
organic matter formed at the earth's surface.
The process begins with photosynthesis, in which plants, in the presence of sunlight, convert water
and carbon dioxide into glucose, water and oxygen:
6CO2 + 12H2O

C6H12O6 + 6H2O + 6O2

Photosynthesis is part of the larger-scale carbon cycle (Fig. 01). Ordinarily, most of the organic
matter produced by photosynthesis gets recycled back to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. This can occur
through plant and animal respiration, or through oxidation and bacterial decay when organisms die

1.1.2-Preservation and Organic Productivity

All organic matter in the ocean is originally formed through photosynthesis. The main producers
are phytoplankton, which are microscopic floating plants such as diatoms, dinoflagellates and the bluegreen algae. Bottom-dwelling algae are also major contributors in shallow water, shelf environments.
1.1.3-Preservation and Organic Destruction
Areas of high productivity are not necessarily those best suited for preservation. Destruction of
organic matter must also be prevented. Complete biological recycling of organic carbon is retarded by
anything that limits the supply of elemental oxygen.
This occurs most favorably in either one of two settings: rapid rate of deposition; and stratified,
oxygen-poor water bodies with anoxic bottoms
First, rapid deposition may be necessary to keep the organic material from being destroyed.
Preservation is also favored by density stratification, which produces oxygen-poor bottom waters.
Water stratification and oxygen depletion are well known in the modern Black Sea,

The Eocene-age lakes of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, in which the Green River oil shale
formation was deposited, have been interpreted as seasonally stratified water bodies which at a later stage
become permanently stratified (Fig 02)

In the present-day world's oceans, there is a zone of maximum oxygen depletion at a depth of about
200 meters, with oxygen more abundant in the shallow surface waters and again at deeper levels
(Figure 03)

1.1.4-Diagenesis of Organic Matter

There are three important stages in the burial and evolution of organic matter into hydrocarbons:
diagenesis;catagenesis; and metagenesis.
Diagenesis of Organic Matter
Diagenesis of organic matter begins as soon as sediment is buried. However, the point at which
diagenesis ends is subject to how the term is used. Some geologists use the term in a restricted sense to
include only processes that occur as sediment consolidates into sedimentary rock.
Others expand the realm of diagenesis to include all processes extending up to, and blending
imperceptibly into, regional metamorphism.
In this discussion, diagenesis is defined on the basis of organic matter, and it includes all changes
that occur up to the stage of petroleum generation.
Freshly deposited muds are unconsolidated and may contain more than 80% water in their pores.
These muds compact very quickly. Most of the porosity is lost in the first 500 meters of burial (Figure 04).
After that, compaction to form mudstones or shales continues much more slowly.

1.1.5-Kerogen Components
Under the microscope, kerogen appears as disseminated organic fragments. Some of this material is
structured. It is recognizable as plant tissue fragments, spores, algae, and other pieces with a definite
biological organization. These plant-derived structured fragments can be grouped into distinct biological
units called macerals. Macerals in kerogen are equivalent to minerals in rocks.
Three major maceral groups are important: vitrinite, exinite and inertinite.
Kerogen Components
Vitrinite is the dominant maceral type in many kerogens and is the major component of coal. It is
derived almost entirely from woody tissue of the higher land plants. Because it is derived from lignin and
is difficult to break down, vitrinite can appear in almost any depositional environment, marine or
nonmarine, and is generally the most abundant type of structured particle.
Exinite macerals are mainly derived from algae, spores, pollen, and leaf-cuticle waxes. High
percentages of exinite are not common, but if present, they usually imply lacustrine or shallow marine
environments.
Inertinite macerals come from various sources that have been extensively oxidized before
deposition. Charcoal, derived from woody plants, is the major recognizable type. Inertinite is usually a
minor component of kerogen, and is abundant only where much of the organic matter has been recycled.
In addition to the structured macerals, some of the components of kerogen are amorphous.
Amorphous particles have been so mechanically broken up and/or chemically altered by bacteria and
fungi that their original maceral types and cell structures have been obliterated -Amorphous particles are
not true macerals but alteration products, although the maceral term "amorphinite" has sometimes been
applied to these materials.
1.2-Hydrocarbons and Kerogen Type

The macerals and amorphous particles in kerogen affect its ability to generate hydrocarbons. Oilprone kerogens generally are made of more than 65% exinite and amorphous particles (Figure 05).
Kerogens with 65% to 35% of oil-prone components will expel mostly condensate and wet gas.
With less than 35% oil-prone constituents, the kerogen will yield dry gas if dominated by vitrinite and will
be non-reactive and barren if dominated by inertinite.

The oil-prone kerogens can be divided into two types.

Type I, or algal kerogen (Table 1), is rich in the algal components of exinite, and is formed in
either lacustrine or marine environments. Type I kerogen is derived mainly from lipids and tends to
produce crudes that are rich in saturated hydrocarbons.
Ke
rogen

Origin

Organic Constituents

Algae of marine,

Mostly algal components: of exinite

Type
I
Algal

lacustrine,boghead coal

(alginite); some amorphous material

environments

derived from algae

II

Decomposition in

Mixed

reducing environments,

Marine

mostly marine
Debris of continental

III
Coaly

vegetation (wood, spores, leaf

cuticle wax, resin, plant tissue
)

IV

Fossil charcoal and other

Amorphous particles derived mostly

from phytoplankton, zooplankton, and
higher organisms; also some macerals
from these groups
Mostly vitrinite;some exinite ( not
algal ) and amorphous decomposition
products
Mostly inertinite; some amorphous

Inert

oxidized material of
continental vegetation

decomposition products

Type II is a kerogen derived from mixed marine sources. Its particles are mostly amorphous and
result from the decomposition of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and some higher animals. Its chemical
nature is intermediate between Types I and III. Type II kerogens tend to produce naphthenic and aromaticrich oils, and they yield more gas than Type I.
Type III or coaly kerogen, is rich in vitrinite macerals, and therefore has a very low capacity
to form oil. It mainly generates dry gas. Any oils generated from Type III kerogens are mostly
paraffinic waxy crudes derived from its exinite and amorphous constituents.
There is a fourth kerogen type which is extremely rare. It is rich in inertinite macerals and produces
very low hydrocarbon yields. Inertinite is, as its name implies, inert and has practically no ability to
generate either oil or gas (Figure 05).
Sedimentary rocks commonly contain mixtures of the kerogen types. Many oil shales contain
dominantly Type I, the algal kerogens. Coals and some nearshore clastic source rocks, such as those found
in deltas, contain mainly Type III, coaly kerogen. In some cases, coal deposits can be direct contributors to
significant natural gas accumulations, as for example the Carboniferous coals of the North Sea. Many
marine source rocks have either Type I algal or Type II mixed marine kerogen, with Type II the more
common. For example, some of the excellent source rocks of Iran contain mostly Type I, algal kerogen,
while the Paleozoic source rocks of the North African Sahara have Type II, mixed marine kerogen.
In the stage of diagenesis, prior to the generation of oil and gas, each of the kerogen types has a
unique chemistry (Figure 06).
This is because kerogen composition is controlled by the types of macerals and the original
biopolymers from which it was formed. This chemical variability of immature kerogen types and the
changes that occur as petroleum is generated are usually presented as plots of the atomic hydrogen to
carbon ratio (H/C) against the oxygen to carbon ratio (O/C) . This graph is often called a Van Krevelen
diagram ( Figure 07, and Figure 08)

Of particular importance is the H/C ratio, which decreases rapidly as hydrogen-rich molecules are
cracked off as oil or gas.
Remember that the highest possible organic H/C ratio is 4, which is found in the hydrocarbon gas
methane. The O/C ratio helps define the kerogen origin, but most of the oxygen is lost in diagenesis as
CO2 and H2O and very little survives to affect the petroleum generation process.
Of the four kerogen types, the Type I algal kerogens have the highest atomic H/C ratios during
diagenesis, initially about 1.65. Type II, III and IV start out with progressively lower H/C ratios.

As any of these kerogens are heated, they may reach the second stage in the evolution of organic
matter, the stage of catagenesis (Figure 08). Catagenesis is defined as the stage at which oil and natural
gas is generated from kerogen.
Since oil and gas molecules have very high H/C ratios, generation of petroleum will cause the H/C
of the residual kerogen to decrease. Ultimately, all kerogen types will converge along a common path
during the final stage in the evolution of organic matter, the stage of metagenesis.
During metagenesis, oil and gas generation directly from kerogen ceases, but considerable methane
gas can still be generated from the thermal alteration of previously generated crude. The kerogen residue
of this stage approaches the pure carbon state, that is, graphite.
Since it starts out with a lower H/C ratio (Figure 07 & Figure 08), Type II kerogen can generate
less hydrocarbons than Type I, even though both are oil-prone. Similarly, Type III is less significant in the
total quantity of hydrocarbons it can generate, and Type IV is almost barren.
1.3-Depth, Temperature and Time in Petroleum Formation
The generation of hydrocarbons can be related to burial depths of source rocks, since temperature
increases with increased depth. The actual generation depths for particular source rocks will depend on the
local geothermal gradient, as well as kerogen type and burial history. The depths given in Figure 09 are
average, maximum and minimum generation depths.
During diagenesis and at very shallow depths, only biogenic methane, or marsh gas, is generated by
the action of anaerobic bacteria.

At about a depth of 1 to 2 kilometers the catagenesis stage begins. The early stage of catagenesis,
down to a depth of about 3 kilometers, corresponds to the principle zone of oil formation. Source rocks
buried within this depth range are said to be within "the oil window" .
Late catagenesis typically begins at depths of about 3 kilometers to 3.5 kilometers. This is the
principle zone of gas formation, and both wet gas and methane are produced. But below depths of about 4
kilometers, the source rocks become overmature. At this point, metagenesis begins and only methane is
produced.

The correlation of petr. generation to depth is primarily a function of the increased Temp., and the
graph in Fig. 09 can also be constructed with Temp. as the ordinate axis (Figure 10).
Major oil generation does not occur until source rocks are heated above approximately 60C. These
low Temp. oils which form at shallower depths tend to be heavy and rich in NSO-compounds. With
increasing temperature and greater depth, the oils become lighter. Maximum oil generation occurs at
temperatures of about 100C. Above this temperature oil generation gradually declines and condensates
form.
The oil window closes, and the principal zone of gas generation begins, at temperatures of about
175C. Generation directly from kerogen stops at about 225C, but methane is still generated from the
cracking of previously formed oil at temperatures up to 315C, the point at which source rocks begin to
undergo regional metamorphism. At those elevated temperatures, however, porosity may be so reduced
that gas generated at this stage might not be economically recoverable.

An example of the maturation progression is found in the western Canada basin

Immature source rocks are present in the east within shallow Upper Cretaceous sediments (Fig. 11).
These yield dry gas with a high N2 content. Deeper burial has resulted in Cretaceous and Devonian rocks
rich in oil and wet gas. Evans and Staplin (1971) have estimated that the wet gas and liquid hydrocarbons
in the western Canada Basin were formed in the temperature range of 60 to 170C. Near the basin's
western margin, Paleozoic rocks are deeply buried and the dominant gases produced are methane and
hydrogen sulfide.

The
maturation progression in the western Canada basin
The laws of chemistry tell us that the rate of a reaction is the function of both temperature and time.
Fig.12 shows the present formation temperature plotted against the age of various source rocks.

This graph has been constructed using data from many actual case studies. Formation temperatures
are lowest, less than 60C, for old Paleozoic source rocks, and increase to more than 150C for young
Cenozoic ones.
Figure 13 compares the depth and temperature of the beginning of the oil window for several
source rocks of different ages

Fig.12-The present formation temperature against the age of various source rocks

Fig.13-DEPTH AND TEMPERATURE @ THE BIGINNING OF THE PRINCIPAL ZONE OF

OIL FORMATION
1.4-Paleothermometry
1.4.1-Paleothermometry: Kerogen Analysis
Some paleothermometry methods are based on the physical and chemical properties of the kerogen
itself..
One method employs the Van Krevelen diagram (Fig.07)
The color of some of the kerogen macerals can also be used as a paleothermomete
Another method is based on the vitrinite reflectivity of the kerogen. This is measured by means of a
reflecting microscope equipped with a photo-multiplier
A linear increase in temperature causes the reflectivity of vitrinite to increase approximately
exponentially, and plots as a straight line on semi-log paper (Figure 14). Actually, the percent mean
reflectance, called Rm, or sometimes Ro, averaged from several measurements is reported, because
individual reflectance will vary somewhat with plant tissue type and with grain orientation under the
microscope.
Crude oil generation takes place for Rm values betw. 0.6% and 1.2%. Wet gas generation occurs
mostly for Rm betw. 1.2% and 2%, and the zone of dry gas generation lies betw. Rm values of 2% and 4%

1.4.2-Paleothermometry: Rock Properties Analysis

The minerals making up the source rock can also be used to determine paleotemperature. Some
clays contain a high content of structurally bound water. This is particularly true of the swelling clays such
as montmorillonite.
As this clay is buried at increasing temperatures, it gradually dehydrates, loses its mixed layers and
becomes more ordered. The systematic loss of expandable layers in swelling clays has been calibrated to

temperature, by means of various X-ray diffraction techniques. Eventually, mixed layered clay and
montmorillonite transform into other types of clay, mainly illite and chlorite. This takes place at about the
optimum temperature of the oil window (80-120C)
1.4.3 Paleothermometry: Comparison of Methods
It is important to remember that unlike kerogen diagenesis, which is only affected by temperature
and time, clay mineral diagenesis is affected by other factors, such as the chemistry of the pore waters.
Therefore, calibration of paleothermometers based on clay diagenesis may ultimately prove less precise
than kerogen-based methods.
Although these paleothermometers are very different, they can be correlated to each other, to coal
rank, and to the temperatures of oil and gas generation. A thorough correlation includes other maturation
indicators too numerous to discuss here, such as fluorescence of exinite and electron spin resonance.
Usually at least two different paleothermometry methods should be used to assess the maturity of a
particular source rock.
1.5-Oil Shale
Source rocks do not always reach the thermal maturity necessary to generate oil or gas, and so
remain filled with kerogen. When they contain appreciable amounts of kerogen, these fine-grained rocks
are often called oil shales. With these rocks, the oil is contained within the complex structure of the
kerogen itself. This oil can be produced only by heating the oil shale in an inert atmosphere up to
approximately 500C, a process known as pyrolysis.
Pyrolysis can be thought of as instant maturation. The actual definition of an oil shale is any finegrained sedimentary rock which yields oil during pyrolysis. However, the exact amount of organic
material needed before a fine-grained organic rich rock can be classified as an oil shale is an arbitrary one.
A cut-off value of 5% organic content by weight has been determined by economics.
Oil shales primarily contain Type I or Type II kerogen. They occur in many places around the
world, in rocks of many ages. They contain within them vast reserves. The world's oil shales have been
estimated to contain some 4 trillion barrels of oil, only about 2% of which is recoverable using presentday technology.
The world's largest and richest oil shale deposits include the Permian Irati shale of Brazil, the
Cambrian-age deposits of northern Europe and Asia, and the Eocene-age Green River formation of the
western United States. The Devonian shales of the eastern and central United States may also be classified
in certain areas as a true oil shale but has been primarily exploited for its natural gas content.
The Green River formation (Figure 15) alone contains an estimated 2 trillion barrels of oil.

2 - HYDROCARBON MIGRATION PROCESSES

2.1 - PRIMARY EVIDENCE FOR OIL MIGRATION
Accumulations in structural culminations
Gushers
Multiple reservoir horizons in single fields
Accumulations under insufficient cover
Evidence of former oil accumulations
Visual evidence of upward oil movement
2.2-MIGRATION DEFINITION
In coarse-grained sediments, most organic matter was either winnowed away by wave and currentaction, or destroyed in early diagenesis by deposit-feeders and bacterial oxidation. With the important
exception of the oil shales, hydrocarbons found mainly in coarse-grained rocks.
Migration is the the complex processes involved in moving oil and gas from its fine-grained source
rocks to coarse-grained, permeable reservoir rocks.
An important distinction, between primary and secondary migration, must be made, Fig.16 (the
initial stage (I) and advance stage with formation of a petroleum accumulation (II)):
- Primary migration is the first phase of the migration process; it involves expulsion of oil and gas
from source rock into a carrier bed.
- Secondary migration takes place within the porous reservoir rock, or from one reservoir rock to
another.

2.3-MIGRATION PROCESSES
In coarse-grained sediments, most organic matter was either winnowed away by wave and currentaction, or destroyed in early diagenesis by deposit-feeders and bacterial oxidation. With the important
exception of the oil shales, hydrocarbons found mainly in coarse-grained rocks.
2.3.1 - PRIMARY MIGRATION
A - MECHANISMS OF PRIMARY MIGRATION:
May truly be described as one of the last great mysteries of petroleum geology because of the small
pore size within compacted shale and the low solubility of hydrocarbon in water.
To day there are only three mechanism of primary migration that are serious consideration by most
petroleum geologists:
- Diffusion
- Oil phase expulsion
- Solution in gas
The first problem is the small pore size of the source rocks. Figure 17 shows that muds compact
very quickly in early diagenesis.
By the time shales have been buried to depths of 2 kilometers (about where oil generation takes
place) pore diameters are reduced to about 50 angstroms. Getting petroleum through such small openings
is not easy, no matter what mechanism is involved.
The compaction of the shale can cause pressure buildups, however, and this can produce a network
of microfractures with larger diameters than the pores. Although these micro fractures reseal upon the
release of pressure, their presence has been reproduced experimentally (Lewan et. al., 1979) and has also
been commonly revealed in lime muds by such techniques as cathode luminescence.
Methane generation below depths of 3 or 4 kilometers can also increase pressure and cause
microfracturing.

The second major problem of primary migration is the low solubility of hydrocarbons in water.
Most models for primary migration involve aqueous processes, since the pores of shales are filled with
water. If HC molecules could travel in true solution, we could easily deal with the problem of small pore
sizes. However, Figure 18 shows the low solubility in water of two major groups of hydrocarbons, the
paraffins or alkanes and the aromatics.

Similarly all hydrocarbons have low solubilities in water, and these solubilities decrease rapidly
with increasing molecular size, as in Figure 18 Hydrocarbon solubility does increase exponentially with
temperature but it is still fairly insignificant below a temperature of 200C. This is well above

temperatures of the oil window. True solution could mainly be important in migration of some of the
lighter aromatics, such as benzene, and the natural gas paraffins.
Even with such low solubilities, commercial quantities of petroleum might still be obtained if large
volumes of water could be squeezed out of the rock. In the early compaction of muds, however, pore
water loss has largely been completed by the depths and temperature of the oil window. Therefore, any
simple idea of oil and gas being squeezed out of the source rock, along with compaction water, is not
really viable.
However, there is another way to get oil and gas, along with water, out of shale. We may observe
that some water attaches to the clay molecules themselves, particularly if the clay is swelling clay like
montmorillonite. As a consequence, when montmorillonite-rich muds are buried.
There are two phases of water emission -an early phase when pore water is given off, and a second
quite distinct phase, when montmorillonite alters to illite Figure 19.
The second phase commonly begins when temperatures are about 80C to 120C, which is right in
the middle of the oil window. There does then appear to be an empirical relationship between clay
dehydrating and petroleum formation in many situations. However, some shales that are source rocks are
not made up of clays derived from montmorillonite, and these shales lack this second stage of water
emission.

There are
also two ways that the solubility of hydrocarbon in water can be enhanced: through the formation of
protopetroleum and through the formation of micelles.

The first of these models suggests that it is not petroleum hydrocarbons that move out of the source
rock, but more soluble NSO-containing percursors, such as acids and alcohol (Figure 20). These are often
called protopetroleum. However, the abundance of these compounds in immature source rocks, is low.
Furthermore, there are problems with getting the compounds back out of solution to form droplets in the
carrier beds.

A second way to enhance solubility is to create micelles, in which polar organic molecules orient
themselves with their water-seeking ends pointing outward into the pore fluid. Micelles can take either of
two basic forms. They can be small spherical structures that incorporate hydrocarbons on their surface
( Figure 21 (a) ) or larger, cylindrical structures that accommodate hydrocarbons both in their interiors and
on their surface ( Figure 21 (b) ). These micelle aggregates are basically colloidal-sized, acid soaps. The
principles by which soaps are used to enhance oil solubility and increase production should be familiar to
petroleum production engineers. However, micelles have been observed only in trace amounts naturally, in
reservoir petroleum and in connate water. Furthermore most hydrocarbon micelles would be larger than 60
angstroms, too large to pass through the small pores of the shale source beds.

DIFFUSION

Diffusion is the slow movement of material from an area high concentration or pressure to area of
low concentration pressure.
Diffusion has been shown to be active on at least a minor scale and over short distances.
Diffusion is probably most effective immature rock, where preexisting high hydrocarbon bleed out
rocks prior to the onset of significant generation and expulsion.
OIL PHASE EXPULSION
There appear to be three distinct ways in which oil phase expulsion can be occur:
- One occur most commonly as a result of microfracturing induced by overpressure during
hydrocarbon generation.
- A second way in which oil phase expulsion can occur is from very organic rich rock prior to
the onset of strong hydrocarbon generation. This early expulsion mechanism seems to be limited to rock
having very high organic contents of liquids.
- Finally, oil phase expulsion can take place when bitumen form continuous network that replaces
water as the wetting agent in the source rock.
SOURCES OF EXCESS PRESSURE IN SOURCE ROCKS
Driving force for expulsion is P.
Sources of excess pressure in source rocks:
- Rapid sedimentation.
- Aquathermal.
- Hydrocarbon generation.
- Mineral changes.
- Capillary pressure.
- Hydrocarbon bouyancy.
Normal pressure are evidence for good ability to expel fluids. Overpressure indicates problems in
expelling fluids.
There are also two nonaqueous models should considered.
The first model involves the explusion of high-pressured gas, which can carry oil molecules with it
in solution. This mechanism would mainly occur in deeply buried rocks below the oil window, and it
could be important only in condensate and very light oil migration.
The second model involves migration through a continuous 3-dimensional organic network.
Immature kerogen contains tiny dispersed droplets of petroleum. Under physical stresses, the bitumen
could migrate through the kerogen network and out to carrier beds, without ever entering the pore water.

This process may be important in black, organic-rich shales and some carbonates, where the kerogen is
commonly dispersed as irregular clots and laminae.
For example, this mechanism has been invoked to account for thick bitumen-filled dikes that are
associated with the varved kerogen networks of the Green River oil shale (Jones, 1980). But in an average
shale with only 1% total organic carbon, it is difficult to see how such a network could develop.
It's likely that there is no single model that entirely accounts for migration of oil and gas out of the
source rock. Primary migration probably involves several processes acting together and in sequence. It is
likely that different mechanisms dominate under different geological conditions and at different stages of
maturation. Protopetroleum expulsion may be a major mechanism in late diagenesis and early catagenesis.
This may be followed by microfracturing, explusion of micelles and droplets, and formation of organic
networks at burial conditions of the oil window. Finally, deeper burial and higher temperatures lead to
high-pressured gas expulsion and true solution of light hydrocarbon molecules. Whatever mechanism is
invoked, there is general agreement that primary migration occurs shortly after the petroleum is generated.
SOLUTION IN GAS
The third mechanism, expulsion of oil dissolved in gas, requires that there be a separate gas phase.
Such a phase could only exist where the amount of gas far exceeded the amount of liquid
hydrocarbon.
Therefore, it would be expected only in the late stage of catagenesis or in source rock capable of
generating mainly gas.
B-DISTANCE AND DIRECTION IN PRIMARY MIGRATION
In most cases the distances of primary migration are short (probably between 10cm and 100m).
Primary migration ends whenever a permeable pathway is reached.
Because the source rock is overpressure expulsion can be lateral, upward, or downward depending
upon the carrier bed characteristics of the surrounding rocks. Thus a source rock lying between to sands
will expel hydrocarbon into both carrier beds.
2.3.2 SECONDARY MIGRATION
Secondary migration is much better understood than primary migration. In secondary migration,
petroleum occurs mainly as discrete oil droplets that migrate through a porous, permeable, water-wet
conduit. Because pore diameters are large, even relatively large oil droplets can be accommodated.
A-FACTORS CONTROLLING SECONDARY MIGRATION:
Bouyance
Capillary pressure
Hydrodynamic flow

Bouyance
With buoyancy, oil droplets move upward through the carrier beds with a force dependent mainly
on the density difference between the petroleum and the formation water.
The process will continue until the droplet reaches a pore space that is smaller than its diameter.
Capillary pressure
Further motion can occur only by deforming the droplet and squeezing it through the pore space.
The force required to do this is called capillary pressure. Capillary pressure becomes higher as pore
diameter decreases, until capillary pressure becomes so high that buoyancy forces cannot overcome it, and
entrapment of the oil droplet takes place.
Hydrodynamic flow
Secondary migration will also be affected when the flow of subsurface waters creates
hydrodynamic gradients.
Upward hydrodynamic gradients assist flow by buoyancy (Figure 21)
Downward gradients oppose flow by buoyancy and can create hydrodynamic barriers to migration
(Figure 22).
In some cases, these hydrodynamic barriers, either themselves or in combination with other factors,
may produce traps.

UPWARD HYDRODYNAMIC GRADIENTS ASSIST FLOW BUOYANCE

DOWNWARD GRADIENTS OPPOSE FLOW BUOYANCE AND CAN CREATE

HYDRODYNAMIC BARRIERS TO MIGRATION
B-DISTANCE AND DIRECTION IN SECONDARY MIGRATION
Secondary migration generally occurs along the layering of the carrier beds, and therefore lateral
migration can take place over a wide range of distances. Short range migration is common where the
reservoir is in close proximity to its source beds, for example in reefs on the flank of a deep, muddy basin
or in shoestring sandstone bodies enclosed by their source shales.
Movement within a confined carrier bed will be updip perpendicular to structural contours
whenever possible.
Migration may have to proceed at an oblique angle to structural contours where the faulting for
facies changes create impassable barrier.
Within a massive sandstone secondary migration will occur both laterally and vertically.
Relatively small oil fields often have a local source and short migration distances. However, giant
oil fields such as Hassi Messaoud, with probable reserves of 25 billion bbls (Balducchi and Pommier,
1970), generally require a very large drainage area and a large volume of source rock. To produce the huge
Alberta tar sand deposits may have required secondary migration distances of up to 100 kilometers.

Almost all lateral migrations also have a vertical component, usually upward. The dip of the carrier
bed usually determines the extent of vertical movement, unless active faults and fracture systems provide
a way for the oil to cut across layers. In some areas of severe faulting, for example the rift system of the
Gulf of Suez, vertical oil migration is probably dominant.
In searching for oil, it is also important to remember that the way the strata dip today can
sometimes be misleading. The important thing is the dip of the carrier beds during the time of oil
generation and migration. What is up-dip today may have been down-dip then.
The nearest subcrop of Silurian shale is 40km away. The oil in Reservoir must have migrated long
dist. Along the unconformity surface after the Mesozoic burial.

GEOLOGIC CROSS
SECTION IN THE HASSI MESSAUD FIELD