CHAPTER 3

OCCURRENCE OF
PETROLEUM
How hydrocarbons created?
• During burial of sediments:
Hydrocarbons are generated the after alteration/maturation/changing of organic
molecules contained within the sediments to mobile and immobile hydrocarbons
with increased pressure and temperature.

Products of altered organic material derived from microscopic plant & animal life

Carried in great volume by streams & rivers to lakes or the sea, where they are
deposited under deltaic, lacustrine & marine conditions

These environments produce their own microscopic plants & animals that deposited
together

Plant & animal remains contain abundant H & C, which fundamentals elements in
petroleum
PETROLEUM PLAY
• Perception (or model) of how a specific region of Earth’s subsurface
may be an appropriate target for exploration drilling.
• How:
1. Producible reservoir (the rock with its connected pore or fracture system)
2. Petroleum charge system (the SR for Hydrocarbon and its migration path to the subject
reservoir)
3. Regional top seal (the capping rock preventing migration out of the reservoir)
4. Trap (the geological features defining the physical limits to the reservoir rock in subsurface)
• Reservoir
 PETROLEUM SYSTEM ELEMENTS
• Source rock
–A rock with abundant hydrocarbon prone organic matter
• Reservoir rock
–A rock in which oil & gas accumulates (porosity, permeability)
• Seal Rock
–A rock through which oil & gas cannot move effectively (mudstone,
claystone)
• Migration Pathways
–Routes in rock through which oil & gas moves from source rock to trap
• Trap
–The structural & stratigraphic configuration that focuses oil & gas into an
accumulation
 What is SOURCE ROCK?
• Source rocks are rocks that have been or may be able to generate
petroleum (Tissot and Welte, 1984).
• Although host lithology may also be important (e.g., Wilkins and
George, 2002), recognition of a petroleum source rock depends on the
determination of its organic matter (organic matter quantity), which is
usually expressed as total organic carbon (TOC).
 Types of Source rock

• Several terminologies have been addressed by Peters and Cassa

(1994) to characterize the source rocks.

• Potential source rock: contains

organic matter to generate petroleum,
but has not yet generated (immature).
• Effective source rock: contains Potential
organic matter and generated Effective
Source rocks Source rocks
petroleum (mature).
• Active source rock: generating and Source
expelling petroleum at the critical
moment (oil window maturity)
rocks

Active
Source rocks
 How to evaluate Source rock?

• Three important criteria should be used for evaluation the

petroleum source rocks

Source rock Source rock

Quantity Quality
Source rock
Evaluation

Thermal
Maturity
Assessment
 Source rock evaluation (chemical methods)

• A comprehensive study on the source rock characteristics, including

organic richness (quantity), potential type of hydrocarbons (oil and/ or
gas) and thermal maturity by organic Geochemistry.
• Using whole rock samples as powder form

source rock Characteristics

USING

Geochemical Methods

Py-GC Rock-Eval Pyrolysis Bitumen Extraction TOC content

Ultimate analysis
 What is Organic matter?

• Organic matter maybe defined as materials that are capable of decay,

or the product of decay (humus) or both. Usually the matter will be the
remains of recently living organisms, or long buried decayed organic
matter.
• Polymers and plastics, maybe organic compounds, but are usually not
considered organic material, due to their poor ability to decompose.

Recently living organisms

Long buried decayed organic matter

 Organic matter in Rocks

• Almost all sedimentary rocks contain organic matter either:

- disseminated, as in shales
- discrete layers, as in coals Whole rock

Total organic matter

Organic-rich Mudstone

Coal
 Organic matter in Rocks

• Organic matter in rocks can be divided into categories:

- Bitumen (soluble)
- Kerogen (insoluble)

Whole rock

Kerogen
(insoluble)

Bitumen
(soluble)
 What is the kerogen?

• Kerogen is a mixture of organic compounds that make up a portion of

the organic matter in sedimentary rocks.

• It is insoluble in normal organic solvents because of the high molecular

weight of its component.

• As kerogen is a mixture of organic material, rather than a specific

chemical, it cannot be given a chemical formula.
Whole rock

Kerogen
(insoluble)
 Types of kerogen

• Kerogen breaks down to form heavy hydrocarbons (i.e. oils) (Type

I and Type II)
• Kerogen breaks down to form light hydrocarbons (i.e. gases)
(Type III)
• Inert kerogen forms graphite (Type IV).

A Van Krevelen diagram is one example of

classifying kerogens, where they tend to form
groups when the ratios of hydrogen to
carbon and oxygen to carbon are compared.
Kerogen Types
Kerogen Types
Kerogen Types
Kerogen Types
 Transformation of organic matter
• Organic matters when buried are subjected to increased
temperature and pressure. It is worthy that not all the organic carbons
(OC) in sedimentary rock are converted to petroleum carbon.
• A portion of the total organic carbon (TOC) consists of kerogen.
• Organic matter is first transformed into kerogen, then petroleum
hydrocarbon.
 Stages of organic matter transformation
We have three stages of organic matter transformation:

- Diagenesis
- Catagenesis
- Metagenesis
 Stages of organic matter transformation

Diagenesis
• Shallow subsurface and begins
during initial deposition and burial.
• Depths from shallow to as 1000
meters.
• Temperatures ranging from near
normal to less than 600C.
• Biogene decay aided by bacteria’s
and non-biogene reaction are the
principal processes here producing
primarily CH4 (methane), CO2
(carbon-iv oxide), H2O (water).
Temperature plays an important role
in the process.
 Stages of organic matter transformation

Catagenesis
• The phase becomes dominant in
cheaper subsurface as burial (1000 –
6000m) heating (60 – 1750C) and
deposition continues.
• The transformation of kerogen into
petroleum is brought about by a rate
controlled, where the dominant
agents are temperature and
pressure.
• The temperature is of non-biological
origin. Heat is derived from burial
process and geothermal gradient that
exists within the earth’s crust.
 Stages of organic matter transformation

Catagenesis
• This thermal energy is a critical
factor, but it is not the only factor.
• The time factor is also critical
because it provides stable conditions
over long periods of time that allows
the kerogen sufficient cooking time –
exposure time of kerogen to
catagenesis.
• This catagenesis involves the
maturation of kerogen,
• Oil is first to be released from the
kerogen followed by wet gas.
 Stages of organic matter transformation

Metagenesis
• The phase begins at burial more than
6000 m.
• Heating (> 180oC) and deposition
continues.
• The transformation of oil and wet gas
into dry gas, where the dominant
agent is thermal cracking.
• The main production is dry gas.
How plant and animals (organic matter) remains
become Oil & Gas (Petroleum)?
How plant and animals (organic matter) remains
become Oil & Gas (Petroleum)?
Then burial & protection by clay & silt accompany it

Prevents decomposition of organic material & allows it to accumulate

Some research indicates terrestrial organic material generates coal & gas, marine
organic material forms oil

However +ve indications that coal-forming environment of upper Cretaceous-Eocene

fluvio-deltaic Group generates oil in Australian Gippsland basin

This accumulations can produce large volumes of petroleum if there is enough time for
alteration process to occurGood source rocks tend to contain between 5-20% organic
matters (generally marine or lacustrine mudrocks) although coal may contain above
90%. The different types of organic compounds result in different types of hydrocarbon
being generated – algal matter produces oils, plant matter produces gas.

Muddy source rocks require a sufficient amount of hydrocarbon generation to occur,

this increases the pore pressure resulting in micro-fracturing which allows migration of
the hydrocarbon from source rock to surrounding rocks (primary migration or
expulsion).
What is Biomarker?
• A biomarker, or biological marker, is in general a substance used as
an indicator of a biological state.
• Biomarkers are any of a suite of complex organic compounds
composed of carbon, hydrogen and other elements such as oxygen,
nitrogen and sulfur, which are found in crude oils, bitumens,
petroleum source rock and eventually show simplification in molecular
structure from the parent organic molecules found in all living
organisms.
What is Biomarker?
• Biomarkers are natural products that can be traced to a particular
biological origin.
• In our group, however, we use them to study ancient environments
and the evolution of life on earth.
• The most effective biomarkers are organic compounds with specific
biological sources, whose structures can be preserved through geologic
time.
How to study biomarkers?

Hydrocarbon fractions
(saturated + Aromatic)
(EOM) or Bitumen Extraction =
S1 pyrolysis

saturated Hydrocarbon
fractions
 How to study biomarkers?
Biomarker compounds are typically analyzed using gas
chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
(GC-MS).

GC & GC-MS
GC & GC-MS

GC Fingerprint

GC analysis does not allow detailed study of

minor or trace components : the Biomarkers
GC-MS

nC17
nC18
Pr GC-MS

Ph

nC24
Terpanes (m/z 191)

nC27

nC35
GC-MS

Steranes (m/z 217)

Biomarker Groups (Petroleum)
Some examples of biomarkers found in petroleum are isoprenoids (e.g., pristane and
phytane), steranes and triterpanes.
Biomarker Groups (Petroleum)

Normal alkanes and isoprenoids (e.g., pristane, phytane)

Biomarker Groups (Petroleum)

Triterpanes (ion m/z 191)

Biomarker Groups (Petroleum)

Steranes (ion m/z 217)

BIOMARKER APPLICATION
• Determining:
Source input
Depositional environment
Thermal maturity
 MATURATION AND EXPULSION
 When temperatures of the organic‐rich sedimentary rocks exceed 1200 C (250o F) the organic remains within the rocks
begin to be "cooked" and oil and natural gas are formed from the organic remains and expelled from the source rock.

 It takes millions of years for these source rocks to be buried deeply enough to attain these maturation temperatures
and additional millions of years to cook (or generate) sufficient volumes of oil and natural gas to form commercial
accumulations as the oil and gas are expelled from the source rock into adjacent reservoir rocks.

 If the organic materials within the source rock are mostly wood fragments, then the primary hydrocarbons generated
upon maturation are natural gas. If the organic materials are mostly algae or the soft parts of land plants, then both
oil and natural gas are formed.

 Gas can be generated in two ways in the natural systems; it can be generated directly from woody organic matter in the
source rocks or it can be derived by thermal breakdown of previously generated oils at high temperatures.

 Oil window: oil maturation begins at 120`F (50`C) peaks at 190`F (90`C) & ends at 350`F (175`C). Above and below Oil
Window, natural gas is generated. At higher temperatures above 500°F (260°C), the organic material is carbonized &
destroyed as a source material. So, if source beds become too deeply buried, no hydrocarbons will be produced.
 MIGRATION
• Primary
–When petroleum moves from source beds to reservoir rocks

•Secondary
–Moves within the reservoir after it has accumulated

• Tertiary: WHAT ARE THEY??

•Some small amounts of petroleum generate within reservoir rocks in which they
accumulate

•Bulk of it come from source beds external to the reservoir

• Diagenesis cause the expulsion of water from shale by compaction,
cause migration of water & petroleum into porous beds
• Movement of cementing solution through reservoir can similarly
displace oil & gas to other locations as initial pore space occupied by
mineral material
MIGRATION
PATHWAY
 FACTORS AFFECTING MIGRATION
•Kerogen thermally altered, bitumen content in source rock increases
thus migration begins
•Oil may migrate in response to generation of carbon dioxide from
kerogen
•Migration will occur if there is appropriate pressure gradient in
medium
•Petroleum must migrate from geographically large source areas to
smaller areas of accumulation with economically sufficient
concentrations
 ACCUMULATION
•HC accumulate & stratified according their fluid phases & amounts of
formation water
•Gas is lightest & accumulates above oil, overlies water
–Quality of gas dissolved in oil depends on P, T & HC characteristics
•HC accumulate in highest permeable portions of reservoir because
hydrodynamics
–Reason why highest area of anticline usually best place to drill
•Petroleum accumulations require long time to form, particularly in
reservoirs of low permeability.
•Mobility of fluids within reservoir is enhanced by increasing permeability
 RESERVOIR ROCK
It is a rock that contains connected pore spaces
used to reserve the fluid inside
To be commercially, productive it must have
sufficient thickness, a real extent, and pore space
and this pores must be interconnected
(Permeable)
Once oil and gas enter the reservoir rock, they are
relatively free to move.
Most reservoir rocks are initially saturated with
saline groundwater.
Saline ground water has a density of slightly more
than 1.0 g/cm3.
Because oil and gas are less dense than the ground
water (density oil = 0.82‐0.93 g/cm3 and density
gas = 0.12 g/cm3), they rise upward through the
water‐saturated pore spaces until they meet a
barrier of impermeable rock.
Types of porosity in sedimentary rocks
Porosity

• Porosity is the ratio of void space in a rock to the total volume of

rock, and reflects the fluid storage capacity of the reservoir.
• Porosity is expressed as a percentage on a log. When used in
calculations, however, it is important that porosity be expressed in
decimal form.
 Porosity
• Primary porosity: The porosity preserved from
deposition through lithification.
Amount of pore space present in the sediment at the time of
deposition, or formed during sedimentation. It is usually a
function of the amount of space between rock-forming
grains.
• Secondary porosity: created through alteration of
rock, commonly by processes such as dolomitization,
dissolution and fracturing.
Post depositional porosity. Such porosity results from
groundwater dissolution, recrystallization and fracturing.
• Total porosity: is the total void space and as such
includes isolated pores and the connected pores
• Effective porosity: The interconnected pore volume
or void space in a rock that contributes to fluid flow or
permeability in a reservoir.
Fracture porosity:
• results from the presence of openings
produced by the breaking or shattering of a
rock.
• All rock types are affected by fracturing and a
rocks composition will determine how brittle
the rock is and how much fracturing will
occur.
• The two basic types of fractures include
natural tectonically related fractures and
hydraulically induced fractures. Hydraulic
fracturing is a method of stimulating
production by inducing fractures and fissures
in the formation by injecting fluids into the
reservoir rock at pressures which exceed the
strength of the rock.
• Hydraulic fracturing can tremendously
increase the effective porosity and
permeability of a formation
Vuggy porosity:
• is a form of secondary porosity resulting from the dissolution of the
more soluble portions of rock or solution enlargement of pores or
fractures.
Control on porosity:

• In sandstone, porosity is largely controlled by sorting. Sorting is a

process by which the agents of transportation, especially running
water, naturally separate sedimentary particles that have some
particular characteristic (such as size, shape or specific gravity) from
associated but dissimilar particles.
• Other important controlling factors include grain packing,
compaction, and cementation.
Well Sorted Rock— Grains are
generally of the same size and
shape. If the grains are well
rounded and of similar size, then
they will not fit well together,
thereby leaving a large amount
of pore space between the
grains. Porosity in a well sorted
rock is generally high.
Poorly Sorted Rock— Rock that is
composed of a wide variety of grain
sizes and shapes. Porosity can be
reduced considerably because smaller or
irregularly shaped grains can be inserted
in between the larger grains, thereby
reducing the amount of pore space.
Grain Packing— Refers to the spacing or density patterns of grains in a
sedimentary rock and is a function mainly of grain size, grain shape,
and the degree of compaction of the sediment.
• Packing strongly affects the bulk
density of the rocks as well as their
porosity and permeability.
• The effects of packing on porosity
can be illustrated by considering the
change in porosity that takes place
when even-size spheres are
rearranged from open packing (cubic
packing) to tightest or closed packing
(rhombohedral packing).
• Cubic packing can yield a porosity of
47.6%. Rhombohedral packing
yields approximately 26.0%.
• Compaction — Over a long period of time sediments can accumulate
and create formations that are thousands of feet thick.
• The weight of the overlying
sediments squeezes the
particles together into the
tightest arrangement possible.
• The load pressure also squeezes out
the water that occupies the pore
spaces between the particles,
thus reducing the bulk volume of the
formation.
• Compaction is dependent not only on
overburden pressure but also on the different types of clastic
materials present in the formation. Compaction affects porosity and
permeability by reducing the amount of interconnected pore space.
• Cementation — Cementation is the crystallization or
precipitation of soluble minerals in
the pore spaces between
Clastic particles.
• The process of lithification
(the conversion of unconsolidated deposits
into solid rock) is completed by cementation.
• Common cementing agents include calcite (CaCO3), silica (SiO2), and
iron oxide (Fe2O3).
• Minerals in solution crystallize out of solution to coat
grains and may eventually fill the pore spaces completely. Porosity
and permeability can be reduced significantly due to cementation.
Permeability
• It is the ability of the rock to transmit fluids, to be permeable; a
formation must have interconnected porosity (Unit is Darcy)
• Absolute permeability: ability to flow or transmit fluids through a
rock, conducted when a single fluid, or phase, is present in the rock.
• Effective permeability: The ability to preferentially flow or transmit a
particular fluid when other immiscible fluids are present in the
reservoir. If a single fluid is present in a rock, its relative permeability is
1.0
• Relative permeability: is the ratio of effective permeability of a
particular fluid at a particular saturation to absolute permeability of
that fluid at total saturation.
Sandstone reservoir:
• Sandstone reservoirs are generally created by the
accumulation of large amounts of clastic sediments which is
characteristic of depositional environments such as river
channels, deltas, beaches, lakes and submarine fans.
• Sandstone reservoirs have a depositional porosity and
permeability controlled by grain size, sorting, and packing of
the particular sediments.
• Diagenetic changes may include precipitation of clay
minerals in the pore space, occlusion of pores by mineral
cements, or even creation of additional pores by dissolution
of some sediments.
Carbonate reservoir:
• Carbonate reservoirs are created in marine sedimentary
environments with little or no clastic material input and
generally in a location between 30° north and south of the
equator.
• Porosity types of carbonate reservoirs include vuggy (pores
larger than grains), intergranular (between grains),
intragranular or cellular (within grains), and chalky.
• Diagenetic changes such as dolomitization, fracturing,
dissolution, and recrystalization (rare) are extremely
important because they have the ability to create very
effective secondary porosity.
• Cementation, another type of diagenesis, generally reduces
porosity and permeability.
Variations in permeability and porosity:
POROSITY IS NOT DEPENDENT ON GRAIN
SIZE
WHILE

PERMEABILITY IS DEPENDENT ON GRAIN

SIZE
 SEAL

• An impermeable rock that acts as a barrier to further migration of

hydrocarbon liquids (shale, mudstone, anhydrite, salt)
• Any rock may act as a seal as long as it is impermeable
• Buoyant, migrating fluids remain trapped in the reservoir by the cap
rock unless deformation or erosion breaches the seal. Salt and shale
commonly have excellent sealing properties.
 TRAP

• Any combination of physical factors that promotes accumulation &

retention of petroleum in 1 location
• Can be structural, stratigraphic or combination of the 2
• Structural traps (folds and faults)
• Stratigraphictraps (due to changes in rock type or pinch outs,
unconformities or other sedimentary features suchas reefs and
buildups)
 STRUCTURAL TRAPS
•Deformation of rocks creates structural traps by folding or faulting
–ANTICLINE
•Simple fold that traps petroleum in crest
•Can be symmetrical or asymmetrical

–FAULT TRAPS
•Fault traps are formed by movement of rock along a fault line. In some cases, the
reservoir rock has moved opposite a layer of impermeable rock. The impermeable rock
thus prevents the oil from escaping. In other cases, the fault itself can be a very effective
trap.
 Diapiric Trap
–SALT RELATED TRAPS
•Salt is a peculiar substance. If you put enough heat and pressure on it, the salt
will slowly flow, much like a glacier that slowly but continually moves downhill.

•Unlike glaciers, salt which is buried kilometers below the surface of the Earth can
move upward until it breaks through to the Earth's surface, where it is then
dissolved by ground- and rain-water.

•To get all the way to the Earth's surface, salt has to push aside and break through
many layers of rock in its path. This is what ultimately will create the oil trap.
Salt Dome
 STRATIGRAPHIC TRAPS
•accumulates oil due to changes of rock character rather than faulting
or folding of the rock.
•sandstones make a good reservoir because of the many pore spaces
contained within.
•On the other hand, shale, made up of clay particles, does NOT make a
good reservoir, because it does not contain large pore spaces.
• Therefore, if oil migrates into the sandstone, it will flow along this
rock layer until it hits the low-porosity shale
 • The reef or carbonate build-up
Reef Traps trap has a rigid stoney framework
containing high primary porosity.
• Reefs grow as discrete domal or
elongated barrier features, and
have long been recognized as one
of the most important types of
stratigraphic traps.
• Reefs are often later transgressed
by organic-rich marine shales
(which may act as source rocks) or
the reefs may be covered by
evaporites. Oil or gas may be
trapped stratigraphically within
the reef, with the shales or
evaporites providing excellent
seals.
Lenticular/channel Traps

• A porous area surrounded by non-porous strata. They may be formed

from ancient buried river sand bars, beaches, etc.
Pinchout Traps
• Pinch-out or lateral graded trap — A trap created by lateral
differential deposition when the environmental deposition changes
up-dip.
• This occurs where the porous limestone reservoir loses its porosity
and becomes impermeable limestone, or the porous sandstone
reservoir simply thins and pinches out. Overlying impermeable rocks
act as seals.
Unconformity Traps
• A stratigraphic trap formed by folding, uplift, and erosion of porous
strata, followed by the deposition of later beds which can act as a seal
for oil, gas, or water.
Combination Traps
• Combination traps result from two or more of the basic trapping
mechanisms.(structural, stratigraphic, and hydrodynamic )
 SPILL POINT

•The structurally lowest point in a hydrocarbon trap that can retain

hydrocarbons.

• Once a trap has been filled to its spill point, further storage or
retention of hydrocarbons will not occur for lack of reservoir space
within that trap.

• The hydrocarbons spill or leak out, and they continue to migrate until
they are trapped elsewhere.