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HYS 501 Natural resources, society

and environment

Prof. Nitin Khandelwal

Assistant Professor, Department of Hydrology
nitin.Khandelwal@hy.iitr.ac.in

Energy resources

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Energy and Resources

• Earth is in a dynamic state powered by energy

• Flux of sunlight through the atmosphere
• 1,360 W m-2
• Heat flux from the earth’s hot interior
• Averages 75 mW
• Much higher in tectonically active areas
• Along with solar energy, causes reactions that can concentrate minerals of interest and
other natural resources
• Consider heat from 36m x 36m area= if all captured, will light 100W bulb only.
• Not a lot of heat…right? Consider heterogeneity (active plates)
• This helps in ore formation (metal reservoirs)

Energy and Resources

• Petroleum
• Natural Gas
• Coal
• Alternative energy resources (Solar, Hydro, Wind, Geothermal)
• Nuclear energy

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Petroleum

Why is Carbon so Important in the Life Cycle?

Carbon has numerous ways of bonding with many other
elements, particularly oxygen and hydrogen

It forms “organic” and “inorganic” compounds. Organic

compounds are considered unstable in the biosphere because
they are in the reduced state. Inorganic compounds, principally
calcite and dolomite, are stable because they are in the oxydized
state.

Carbon is contained in most substances that are vital for the

development of life (“biomolecules”): Proteins, lipids, sacharides,
etc.

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Oil & Gas: formation

Formation of petroleum and natural gas

 Tiny marine
organisms die, sink, and
accumulate on the seafloor
 Their remains get buried deeper and
deeper by sediments, thereby experiencing
more and more heat and pressure.
 This transforms the organic matter into oil and gas,
that form within the source rock and accumulate in geological traps. www.need-media.smugmug.com

A Side Note on the Origin of Petroleum

Many researchers have proposed non-organic origins of petroleum.
Among these, the most popular is the inorganic origin theory.

Russian geochemists proposed that telluric currents deep in the Earth’s

crust combine water, graphite, iron and sulfur as a giant battery that
were “cooked” into hydrocarbons.

Another hypothesis was formulated by T. Gold. In his view, the

components of the early atmosphere are still stored in and slowly
degassed from the Earth’s mantle, mostly in the wake of earthquakes.

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A Side Note on the Origin of Petroleum ctd.

Theories of an inorganic origin mostly come from regions
where oil is found in igneous and metamorphic rocks, or where
no organic source rock is evident. One should not discard
these theories too lightly.

After all, carbon is common in many igneous rocks, and the

early atmosphere was reducing and probably rich in methane,
in addition to water vapor, ammonia, hydrogen and other
hydrocarbons.

It is possible that photochemical reactions could modify it to

form a heavy oil slick on the Earth’s surface that formed a
breeding ground for more complex compounds including
prebiotic forms.

Evolution of Atmosphere and

Life on Earth

Notice logarithmic scale

of age!

Source: Hunt, J.M. (1995) Petroleum Geochemistry

and Geology, 2nd edition. W.H. Freeman & Co

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A Side Note on the Origin of Petroleum ctd.

Meteorites have been found with up to 6% organic matter including
paraffins, aromatics, and heavy NSO compounds (later to be discussed).
Their isotope composition,
however, is different from
terrestrial compounds, and
they were probably formed
through irradiation of light
elements in a primeval dust
cloud.

We will assume in the following that

MOST petroleum is of biogenic,
terrestrial origin. Hoba meteorite, Namibia
Largest preserved on Earth

Biomolecules in Living Organisms

Lipids, mostly fats, oils and waxes, have the greatest potential to be hydrocarbon
sources. They are combinations of the fatty acids of the general formula CnH2nO2
with glycerol, C3H5(OH)3. An important example is glyceride C17H35COOCH3 formed
from the stearic acid.

Proteins are giant molecules that make up the solid constituents of animal
tissues and plant cells. They are rich in carbon but contain substantial
amounts of N, S and O.

Carbohydrates are based on sugars Cn(H2O)n and their polymers (cellulose,

starch, chitin). They are common in plant tissue.

Lignin is a polymer consisting of numerous aromatic rings. It is a major constituent

in land plants and converts to coal through desoxygenation.

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Abundances of Biomolecules
Lipids* Proteins Carbohydrates Lignin

Spruce Wood 4 1 66 29
Oak Leaves 5 6 52 37
Phytoplankton 11 23 66

Zooplankton 18 60 22
Invertebrates 10 70 20

Marine Sediments* 1 40 47 * Large variations possible

Phytoplankton typically is 10 times more abundant than zooplankton and 100-1000 times
more abundant than fish.

Average Composition of Biomolecules

C H O S N

Lipids 76 12 12
Proteins 53 7 22 1 17
Carbohydrates 44 6 50
Lignin 63 5 31.6 0.1 0.3

Petroleum 83-87 10-14 0.1-1.5 0.5-6 0.1-1.5

In weight percentages
Notice: Lipids are closest to petroleum composition, but they are richer in
oxygen and poorer in carbon.

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Why no petroleum from burial of land plants?

• Total mass of organic matter on earth is dominated by land plants and

their remains
• Produce coal instead of petroleum (Cellulose= extensive oxygen= hard to
break)
• Petroleum formation
• Breakdown of algae and zooplankton for which up to 40% of their body mass
is fatty acid
• Fatty acids have more H and less O2 relative to carbon than in CH2O found in
vascular land plants

Organic matter preservation

• Access to air (oxygen) rapidly - at geological scales - oxidizes

organic matter and converts it into CO2 and H2O.

• Preservation requires anoxic conditions (think about deep

ocean, swamps etc.)

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Total Organic Carbon (TOC)

If a rock contains significant amounts of organic carbon, it is a
possible source rock for petroleum or gas. The TOC content is
a measure of the source rock potential and is measured with
total pyrolysis.
The table below shows how TOC (in weight percent) relates to
the source rock quality.

TOC Quality

0.0-0.5 poor
0.5-1.0 fair
1.0-2.0 good
2.0-4.0 very good
>4.0 excellent

Source Rocks
Generally, finer-grained sediments contain more organic matter than
coarser-grained ones because of the restricted diffusion and thus the
lower amount of oxygen that can get in contact with OM. TOC can
reach 20% or more. Coals and oil shales are rich in OM and are
called source rocks.

A fine-grained carbonate rock of

Jurassic age containing abundant
organic matter.

Well Saddam-8, central Iraq.

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Organic Matter and Fossil Fuels (cont.)

• Quantity of OM is typically expressed as total organic carbon (TOC) in wt%

• Most OM that forms petroleum accumulates in shales, although it can also
form in limestone
• When algae and zooplankton in the top of the water column die, OM fluxes to
sediments below
• Finer grain rocks have higher TOC
• The darker the color of the shale or limestone, generally the greater its TOC
• Shale and limestone contain more TOC than sand (Reason= slower precipitation)
• Average shale TOC= 0.4%, petroleum source rock= 0.6%, Sandstone= 0.03%, black shale
>15%

Organic Matter and Fossil Fuels (cont.)

• OM in source rocks is composed of bitumen
and kerogen

• Soluble in acetone, and ethanol= Bitumen,

Insoluble fraction= Kerogen
Figure: Structural formula of
Anthracene, a polycyclic
• Bitumen is made up of tar-like organic aromatic hydrocarbon made
molecules containing large quantities of up of 3 bonded benzene
highly condensed benzene-like carbon rings rings, often found in
• Also a small quantity of short-chained carbon bitumen.
molecules in the bitumen fraction

Kerogen is an intermediate product formed during diagenesis and is the principal source of hydrocarbon generation.
It is a complex mixture of high-weight organic molecules with the general composition of (C12H12ON0.16)x

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Conversion of OM to HC

• The principal condition is that this conversion take place in an essentially oxygen-free
environment from the very beginning of the process. Anaerobic bacteria may help extract
sulfur to form H2S and N, in addition to the earlier formation of CO2 and H2O. This explains
the low sulfate content of many formation waters.

• On burial, kerogen is first formed. This is then gradually cracked to form smaller HC, with
formation of CO2 and H2O. At higher temperatures, methane is formed and HCs from C13 to
C30.

• Consequently, the carbon content of kerogen increases with increasing temperatures.

Simultaneously, fluid products high in hydrogen are formed and oxygen is eliminated.

Migration from Source to Reservoir

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Migration
• Sediment compaction due to overburden load: The proportion of oil expelled
from the source rock expressed as a percentage of the total oil generated, is
called the expulsion efficiency (Primary Migration).
• Once hydrocarbon crossed the source/reservoir bed contact and entered the
reservoir rock, quite different physical conditions prevail (Secondary Migration)
• Pressure exercises a major influence on this process.
o The hydrostatic pressure: Weight of the fluid column corresponding to the interconnected
network of water-filled pores from a given depth up to the sediment surface.
o The lithostatic pressure: It is the sum of the weight of the rock column, transmitted from the
surface to a given depth.
o The hydrodynamic pressure: It is caused by active pore water flow.

Primary migration
• Mature hydrocarbons first have to migrate out of the source rock. This is in
general a fine-grained rock that has a low permeability.
• During burial, this rock gets compacted and its interstitial fluid become over-
pressured with respect to surrounding rocks that have higher permeability and
from which fluids can migrate with greater ease upwards.
• Therefore, a fluid pressure gradient develops between the source rock and the
surrounding, more permeable rocks. This causes the fluids - the water and the
hydrocarbons – to migrate along the pressure gradient, usually upwards,
although a downward migration is possible.
• This process is called primary migration, and it generally takes place across the
stratification.

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Primary Migration Mechanisms

1. Migration by diffusion. Because of differing concentrations of the fluids in the
source rock and the surrounding rock there is a tendency to diffuse. A widely
accepted theory.

2. Migration by molecular solution in water. While aromatics are most soluble in

aqueous solutions, they are rare in oil accumulations, therefore discrediting the
general importance of this mechanism, although it may be locally important.

3. Migration along microfractures in the source rock. During compaction the fluid
pressures in the source rock may become so large that spontaneous
“hydrofracing” occurs. A useful if underestimated hypothesis.

4. Oil-phase migration. OM in the source rock provides a continuous oil-wet

migration path along which the hydrocarbons diffuse along pressure and
concentration gradient. This is a reasonable but unproved hypothesis, good for
high TOCs.

Secondary Migration

• The process in which hydrocarbons move along a porous and permeable

layer to its final accumulation is called secondary migration. It is much less
controversial than primary migration, and it is almost entirely governed by
buoyancy forces.

• These forces are proportional to the density difference between hydrocarbon

and water. For continuous (but physically separate) hydrocarbon and water
columns, the hydraulic potential, or the difference between the products of
density times height of the two phases governs the flow of fluids.

• The principal conduits for secondary migration are permeable sandstone

beds and unconformities.

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Migration Pathways
Source: Hunt, J.M. (1995) Petroleum Geochemistry and Geology, 2nd edition.
W.H. Freeman & Co

Direction of fluid migration on the flank of an anticline

into the highest possible place of the reservoir layer

Migration Pathways Source: Hunt, J.M. (1995) Petroleum Geochemistry and Geology, 2nd edition.
W.H. Freeman & Co

Direction of fluid migration into stratigraphic

- or better: combined - traps

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Seals (Cap-rock)
Secondary migration proceeds until an impermeable barrier is encountered that
prevents further flow. The most common seal is a shale layer. The most effective
seals are evaporites, notably salt and anhydrite, partly because of their inherently
low intrinsic permeability, and partly because their capacity for viscous flow
enables them to heal fractures and faults.

A dual salt-
anhydrite seal in
the Hassi R’Mel
gas field, Algeria

Source: North, F.K. (1985) Petroleum Geology, Allen & Unwin

Crude Oil Deposits

• Crude oil
• Migrates upward
through the water in
permeable strata, and
when a cap is reached, it
collects in the porosity
of the rock beneath the
cap
• Known as a reservoir

Figure: Types of petroleum reservoirs in the subsurface labeled by

their mechanism of trapping of their oil and natural gas.

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Age of Source Rocks

• Source rocks for petroleum are not evenly distributed through
the sedimentary rock column
• Six time intervals account for 91.5% of recoverable petroleum

Figure: Stratigraphic (age) distribution of

source rocks for petroleum.

Petroleum resources

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Peak Oil
• Peak oil production
• Implies:
• Demand will not stimulate any
additional supply
• Production enters a terminal
decline
• Great debate about when it
will occur

Adapted from Maugeri, Leonardo. 2009. Figure: Past usage and prediction of
Squeezing more oil out of the ground.
Scientific American, April 1 petroleum production into the future.

Consumption and Production of Petroleum

• The United States and China are the largest consumers

of processed petroleum

Table: Petroleum
consumption for the 10
largest consuming countries
in 2009.

Data from: BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2010

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Consumption and Production of Petroleum (cont.)

• Yearly consumption
• United States and Japan have
stabilized
• China is industrializing and
increasing consumption

Figure: Yearly consumption of petroleum as a function of time for

the USA, China, Japan, and India.

Data from: BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2012

Consumption and
Production of Petroleum
(cont.)
• Major petroleum producing
countries

Table: Top world petroleum-producing countries

and their stated proven reserves in 2009.
Data from: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
and Energy Information Administration (EIA)

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Consumption and Production of Petroleum (cont.)

• Unlikely mankind will ever use up all the crude oil on earth because it
will become too expensive to obtain the last remaining supply relative
to lower-cost energy alternatives

Figure: Petroleum production for

Saudi Arabia, the Russian
Federation and the U.S. as a
function of time.

Data from: BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2012

Measurement Units
Quantities of oil are expressed in barrels:

1 barrel = 159 liters

1 cubic meter = 6.37 barrels

1 metric ton = 6.8 to 7.6 barrels (dep. on gravity)

Gas is expressed in millions of cubic feet:

1 barrel = 159 liters
1 MMcf ≈ 3·104 m3

Energy-wise, gas can be expressed in oil equivalents:

1 boe ≈ 6000 to 6500 cf

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Larger Numbers
32.4 Gbo Annual World Oil Consumption 2012 (proj)
4-8 Gbo Annual Oil Discovery Rates in 1990s-2000s

1175 Gbo Total World Oil Consumption 1860-2012

850 Gbo Conventional World Oil Reserves (P50)1

1372 Gbo Conventional World Oil Reserves (P50)2
2311 Gbo Conventional World Oil Reserves (P50)3

1900 Gbo World Reserves of Heavy Oil, Tar

Sands, and Oil Shales
1 Campbell & Laherrère, 1998 1 Gbo = 1 billion barrels of oil
2 BP Statistical Review 2007, includes 164 Gbo of oil sands in Canada
3 USGS, 2000, includes 688 Gbo reserve growth and 732 Gbo undiscovered reserves

Oil Companies (International) 2011

Company Prod Res* R/P Revenues Net Staff

Exxon/Mobil 3.9 Mboe/d 24.9 Gboe 17.5 y $486 b $41.1 b 83,600

BP 3.4 Mboe/d 17.8 Gboe 14.3 y $386 b $25.7 b 79,700

RD/Shell 3.1 Mboe/d 11.9 Gboe 10.5 y $470 b $31.2 b 90,000

Chevron 2.8 Mboe/d 10.5 Gboe 10.3 y $254 b $26.9 b 62,000

Total 2.4 Mboe/d 10.4 Gboe 11.9 y $217 b $12.3 b 96,100

* Proved

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Oil Companies (National + Seminational)

Company Production Reserves R/ P
Saudi Arabian Oil Co, 11.0 Mboe/d 303.0 Gboe 75.5 y
China Nat. Petrol. Co. 4.1 Mbo/d 14.7 Gbo 9.8 y
Petroleos Mexicanos 2.5 Mboe/d 12.9 Gboe** 14.1 y
National Iranian Oil Co. 4.0 Mboe/d 300.0 Gboe 205.5 y
Iraq National Oil Co. 2.7 Mboe/d 134.0 Gboe 136.0 y
Petroleos de Venezuela 2.6 Mboe/d 129.0 Gboe* 135.9 y
Kuwait Petroleum Co. 3.7 Mboe/d 111.0 Gboe 82.2 y
Libya National Oil Co. 2.1 Mboe/d 50.0 Gboe 65.2 y
Abu Dhabi Nat. Oil Co. 2.6 Mboe/d 126.0 Gboe 132.8 y
Nigerian Nat. Petrol. Co. 2.3 Mboe/d 68.0 Gboe 81.0 y
Sonatrach 1.3 Mboe/d 39.0 Gboe 82.2 y
Petrobras 2.2 Mbo/d 15.1 Gbo 18.8 y
6 largest Russian Oil Co. 9.8 Mbo/d 79.5 Gbo 22.3 y

* Plus 267 Gbo of heavy oil reserves Claimed reserves

** Other sources cite >100 Gbo BP Statistical Review 2011 and other sources

Source: BP Statistical Review 2007

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Source: BP Statistical Review 2007

Oil Production
by Region 2011

Source: BP Statistical Review 2012

Oil Consumption
by Region 2011

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Source: BP Statistical Review 2012

Oil Consumption per Capita

Source: BP Statistical Review 2012

R/P by Area and for World

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Reserves/Production
Oil Gas Coal
Saudi Arabia 262.3 Gbo Russia 1680 Tcf USA 270.7 billion tons
Canada 179.2 Gbo Iran 974 Tcf Russia 173.1 billion tons
Iran 136.3 Gbo Qatar 911 Tcf China 126.2 billion tons
Iraq 115.0 Gbo Saudi Arabia 240 Tcf India 101.9 billion tons
Kuwait 101.5 Gbo United Arab Emirates 214 Tcf Australia 87.2 billion tons
United Arab Emirates 97.8 Gb o USA 204 Tcf All others <40.0 billion tons
Venezuela 80.0 Gbo Nigeria 182 Tcf
Russia 60.0 Gbo Venezuela 152 Tcf Total 1000.9 billion tons
All others < 42 Gbo All others <100 Tcf

Total 1317.4 Gbo Total 6183 Tcf

R/P = 45.4 y R/P = 74.5 y R/P = 185.4 y

R/P is a static measure with little predictive value,

but it is a simple metric with a message

Summary: Why it matters

• We depend on energy: In the industrial world every person
uses the energy corresponding to about 200 human
powers 24 hours per day
• Fossil energy constitutes ±85% of our energy consumption
• Fossil fuels have a high caloric value per volume
• Fossil fuels are finite
• The burning of fossil fuels has undesirable climatic
consequences
• But: Energy companies are important for the economy

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Different components of a petroleum system

permeable trap seal

rocks
permeable rocks
reservoir

source rock

Exploration Prospects Discovery Production Improved

oil recovery
The long way from the field to your car

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