Fall 2010

Petroleum English

Weibo Sui, PhD

Fall 2010

Lecture 5
Petroleum Geology
 What is Petroleum Geology?

• Petroleum geology is a term used to refer to the specific set of geological

disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons
hydrocarbons.. It is principally
concerned with the evaluation of seven key elements in sedimentary
basins:

– Source （“生” – 石油的产生、

石油的产生、源岩）
源岩）

– Reservoir （“储” – 石油的储集、

石油的储集、储层）
储层）

– Seal （“盖” – 盖层、

盖层、遮挡）
遮挡）

– Trap （圈闭）
圈闭）

– Timing （时序性）
时序性）

– Maturation （石油的成熟过程）
石油的成熟过程）

– Migration
Migration（（石油的运移）
石油的运移）
Major Subdisciplines of Petroleum Geology

• Stratigraphy 地层地质学

• Palaeogeography 古地理学

• Sedimentology 沉积岩石学

• Geochemistry 地球化学
 Outline

• Origin of Petroleum

• Oil and Gas Migration

• Common Petroleum Traps

• Oil and Gas Segregation

• Exploration
 Origin of Petroleum
INORGANIC? ORGANIC?

• Debated for many years… now most scientists agree on ORGANIC

origin theory.

• Petroleum forms from the decay and transformation of dead

organisms buried in sedimentary basins.
 Sedimentology
• The earth’s crust
– Igneous rock 火成岩

– Metamorphic rock 变质岩

– Sedimentary rock 沉积岩

• Sandstone 砂岩

• Shale 页岩

• Carbonates (limestone and dolomite)

碳酸岩（
碳酸岩（石灰岩，
石灰岩，白云岩）
白云岩）
Where Oil and Gas Come from

Reefs Plants Microorganisms

Accumulation of Buried and preserved in Buried and heated to

organic material oxygen-poor conditions right temperature.

kerogen
How Oil and Gas Migrates
Other Ways Petroleum Is Trapped
How Folded Layers Trap Oil and Gas
 Type of Petroleum Traps

• Structural traps: hold oil and gas because the earth has been
bent and deformed in some way.
 Type of Petroleum Traps

• Structural traps
 Type of Petroleum Traps

• Stratigraphic traps: Stratigraphic traps are depositional in

nature. This means they are formed in place, usually by a
sandstone ending up enclosed in shale.
Type of Petroleum Traps
 Oil and Gas Segregation

• When petroleum migrates into a trap, it displaces salt water left by

the ancient seas. Due to the density difference, oil and gas
continue to migrate up, leaving the salt water in the lower section
of the reservoir.
What will happen?

http://www.geomore.com/Oil%20and%20Gas%20Traps.htm
HOW DO SCIENTISTS FIND
OIL AND GAS?

Exploration
 Seismic Waves

P waves
(Compressional waves)

S waves
(Shear waves)

Seismic waves
propagation
Seismic Working Principle
Seismic Maps and Cubes