- The origin, occurrence and

exploration of hydrocarbons -

Ms. Bhagya Wickramasooriya

1
 What is petroleum?

Greek : Petro ---------- Rock

Latin : Oleum --------- Oil

Petroleum - Oil found in Rocks

A mixture of hydrocarbons which is

present in suitable rock strata and
can be extracted and refined to
produce fuels

Petroleum - A general term for all

naturally occurring hydrocarbons
(hydrogen + carbon).
2
 What is petroleum?

Petrole+um - Not a single

chemical compound. It is a
mixture of hydrocarbon
molecules with some
quantities of S, O, N,
containing compounds and
some metals.

Even though the number of oil

and gas companies are limited
(<100), the revenues of oil and
gas companies are
considerably high
(List of largest companies by revenue)

3
 Solid Hydrocarbons: Asphalt
Liquid Hydrocarbons: Crude oil
Gas Hydrocarbons: Methane, butane,
propane, etc.

C # range from methane (CH4) to

asphaltenes
There are also a variety of gaseous
hydrocarbons, called natural gas, of which
the compound methane (CH4) is the most
common.
e.g. Straight-chain parafins
n = 1-4 gas
The simplest n = 5-16 liquid
hydrocarbon is Methane
(CH4) n > 16 solid 4
 Petroleum

 The term “Petroleum” includes both

oil, hydrocarbon gas and oil sand
(heavy/viscous form of petroleum).
 The density of liquid petroleum (oil)
is commonly less than that of water
and the oil is naturally buoyant.
 So-called heavy (high specific gravity)
oils and tars may be denser than
water.
 Some light (low specific gravity) oils
are less viscous than water, while
most oils are more viscous than water.

5
 Petroleum

 The density difference of liquid petroleum (oil)/gaseous

petroleum (gas) and water is the most important physical
property which is used separate oil and gas from the
sedimentary basins/petroleum deposits.
 Petroleum deposits are most commonly occurred in sedimentary
basins specially in marine environments. But there are some
exceptional cases. i.e. oil sand

Oil is not very soluble in water

(vice-versa) because of their
different molecular structure.

6
 Oil sand

 Oil sands, or more

technically bituminous sands,
are a type of unconventional
petroleum deposit.

 Oil sands are either loose sands

or partially consolidated
sandstone containing a naturally
occurring mixture of sand, clay,
and water, saturated with a
dense and
extremely viscous form
of petroleum technically referred
to as bitumen.

7
Tar sand near Redden Oklahoma

8
 A History of Petroleum
Ancient: • Egypt: oil to preserve mummies
• China: natural gas for fuel
• Babylonia: oil to seal walls and pave streets
• America: tar to seal canoes to prevent water infiltration

First Drilling: • America: using cable tool: in 1859 (Beginning of the

modern petroleum exploration)

First Product: • Kerosene for lamps (Gasoline an unwanted by-product)

Demand: • Industrial Revolution

- Internal Combustion Engine (1885)
- Global Economic Growth

9
 The Usefulness of Petroleum
The most obvious use for petroleum is as fuel. In general, it is used as
fuel for heating, transportation, cooking, and electricity generation.

10
 The Usefulness of Petroleum
…But petroleum-derived organic molecules are also used in an incredible
number of other products that include:

Solvents, used in paints,

lacquers, and printing inks,
and cleaners

Lubricating oils and greases

for machinery

Petroleum (or paraffin) wax

used in candy making,
candles, packaging,
matches, and polishes

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Petroleum jelly
(Vaseline), used in
medical products and
toiletries

Asphalt, used to pave

roads and airfields and to
make roofing materials
and floor coverings

Plastics and synthetic

rubber, used in
packaging, casings,
fabrics, bubble gum, etc.

…and many more !

12
 Some of the world’s most productive
sedimentary basins

• Saudi Arabia
• Kuwait
• Alaska – north slope
• Texas – Louisiana Gulf Coast
• Iraq and Iran
• Mexico
• Venezuela

13
 Petroleum Geology

 PETROLEUM GEOLOGY is the

application of geochemical (TOC) and
geophysical (Seismic data) principals to
study of the
• origin/ generation,
• migration,
• accumulation, and
• alteration of petroleum.

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Where does petroleum come from?

15
Where does petroleum come from?

16
  Earth Crust: Igneous rocks, Metamorphic rocks and
Sedimentary rocks
 How sedimentary rocks are formed in a sedimentary basin?

 The source composition

or provenance
 Source area weathering
 Climate Lake Ocean
 Hydrodynamic sorting
 Tectonic setting
 Diagenesis
 Depositional environment

T P
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 How is Petroleum Created?

 Crude oil and natural gas are the product of compression and
heating of ancient organic materials over geological time.
 According to this theory, oil/gas are formed from the
preserved remains of prehistoric animals (zooplankton)
and plants (phytoplankton) which have settled to the ocean
bottom in large quantities under anoxic conditions (no
oxygen).

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 Zooplankton & Phytoplankton
• Prehistoric zooplankton
– krill, copepod, Isopods, radiolaria, foraminifera
• phytoplankton
– cyanobacteria, silica-encased diatoms, benthic algae,
dinoflagellates, green algae, and chalk-coated
coccolithophores
 Plant plankton Animal plankton

Today, most plankton can be found

where deep ocean currents rise to the
surface.

This upwelling water is rich in nutrients

Dinoflagellate bloom and causes the plankton to bloom.

Blooms of certain plankton called

dinoflagellates may give the water a red
tinge. 20
 How is Petroleum Created?
 Over geological time this organic matter mixed with mud, and buried
under heavy layers of sediment.
 As burial continues, the pressure and the temperature both increase,
and chemical changes begin to occur.

Sea bed

Laminations
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 How is Petroleum Created?
DIAGENESIS is all the chemical,
physical, and biological changes
during the conversion of sediments
into sedimentary rocks. It does not
Important to form
include process of weathering or
petroleum
other surface changes.
Example for physical changes
Metagenesis

Lithification
Compaction
Sources of hydrocarbons in geological Cementation
situations, with regard to the evolution
of organic matter.

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 How is Petroleum Created?

The large, complex organic

molecules are slowly broken down
into long chains of hydrocarbon
molecules.

Specifically, the organic molecules

change into a waxy material known
as KEROGEN, which is found in
Metagenesis

various oil shale around the world.

Sources of hydrocarbons in geological

situations, with regard to the evolution
of organic matter.

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 Source Material

Non-Biogenic Origins (Geological material not biological)

Kerogen Types
Type I – Algal (oil prone) sapropelic
Type II – Mixed
Type III – Woody (gas prone) humic

Marine algae and plankton (H/C) ratio 

Algae = Hydrogen rich = Oil-prone

Wood = Hydrogen poor = Gas-prone

(H/C) ratio 
Woody plants, lignin, and cellulose
24
Marine/lacustrine organics:
phytoplankton,
zooplankton; “sapropel”;
fats, resinous, waxy

Terrestrial organics:
vascular plants: “humic”;
cellulose, lignin,
carbohydrates

25
 Kerogen Types
Type 1 Type 2 Type 3

26
 How is Petroleum Created?

Organic molecules (e.g.

KEROGEN) are subjected to
breakdown from large complex
molecules to smaller under
conditions of increasing
temperature.

These shorter-chain molecules

dominated by hydrogen and carbon:
a process called “cracking” or
“pyrolysis”. This occurs largely
through the breaking of C-C bonds.

Organic molecules are subjected

to more heat, then it is further
Sources of hydrocarbons in geological changed into liquid and gaseous
situations, with regard to the evolution hydrocarbons in a process known
of organic matter. as CATAGENESIS.
27
The process of
making
hydrocarbon
involves several
steps – obviously
not all organic
matter becomes
oil and gas.

Specific
conditions with
respect to heating
and low oxygen
levels are
required.

28
 How is Petroleum Created?

The rate of hydrocarbon

generation from kerogen
increases exponentially with a
linear increase in temperature.

The major phase of oil

generation (commonly known
as oil window) is normally
limited to a 100-150 °C and
2.5-4.5 km in depth.

The major phase of gas

The Oil Window
T below: Organics remain largely generation (commonly known
unaltered. as gas window) is normally
T above: Thermal cracking transforms ranged from 150-230°C.
the petroleum into natural gas. 29
 Thermogenic gas is
produced as oil is broken down
to very small molecules (the
smallest being methane).
Formed from the thermal
breakdown (cracking)
Composed of methane (CH4),
but may also contain higher
hydrocarbons such as ethane
(C2H6), propane (C3H8), and
butane (C4H10), as well as small
amounts of nitrogen, carbon
The Oil Window dioxide, and other gases.
T below: Organics remain largely unaltered.
T above: Thermal cracking transforms the
petroleum into natural gas.
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 Wet gas - contains heavier
hydrocarbons (150-230 °C)
Dry gas - little to no
heavier hydrocarbons, form
under the extreme
temperature conditions

Some gas is produced by

decomposition of organic
matter by microbes (biogenic
gas).
Form in the near surface
conditions (sedimentary basins,
marshes, wetlands, and
The Oil Window shallow marine environments)
T below: Organics remain largely unaltered.
T above: Thermal cracking transforms the
petroleum into natural gas.
31
32
 Basic elements of exploitable petroleum system
 The essential parameters of exploitable petroleum
system
 Source rock – organic matter rich sedimentary
layers
 its Maturity and – enough P and T
 Traps (Impermeable rock) and Reservoir Rock
(porous sedimentary rocks)

33
 Petroleum Systems

Elements Processes
Source Rock Generation
Migration Route Migration
Reservoir Rock Accumulation
Seal Rock Preservation
(Trap)

34
 Petroleum System

 Permeable and porous

reservoir rocks
mudstone/shale,
 Impermeable cap/seal rocks
cemented limestone
 Traps

Sandstone, Limestone, Sandstone, Carbonates

fractures, joints
 Primary migration
 Secondary migration Fast Oil window:
2.5 km 100-150 °C

Gas window:
4.5 km 150-230°C
 Maturity (T and P) Shale, clay
 Age of source rock  Fine-grained sediments
 Tmax, Ro and Biomarkers  Total organic carbon > 1 wt%
35
 Petroleum
Source Rocks

• Petroleum source rock can be simply defined as naturally

occurring fine-grained sediments that has generated and
released enough hydrocarbons to form a commercial
accumulation of oil and/or gas.

• Therefore, source rock contains sufficient organic matter to

produce petroleum when it is buried and heated.

• High concentrations of organic matter occur in areas of high

productivity and stagnant water.

• Environments of high productivity can include nutrient rich

coastal upwelling, swamps, shallow seas and lakes.
36
 Petroleum
Source Rocks
• Sedimentary rocks rich in organic matter.

• Total organic carbon (TOC) is fundamental proxy to

evaluate source rock.

• Studies of numerous global samples of the different ages

have led to the conclusion that generally 1 wt. % believed as
standard level for a good source rock.

• To preserve organic matter, the oxygen contents of the

bottom waters and interstitial waters of the sediment need to
be very low or zero (anoxic condition).

• Quality of source rock is dependent on the abundance of

organic matter and its preservation potential. 37
 Organic Matter
The abundance of organic matter is determined by:
1) the amount of light (), (Productivity ,
abundance )
2) water depth, (Depth , Productivity  ,
abundance )
3) latitude, () (Productivity  , abundance )
4) water temperature (), (Productivity ,
abundance )
5) water turbidity (), (Productivity , abundance
)
6) the abundance of nutrients preferred by plants
(e.g. phosphates and nitrates) (), (Productivity
, abundance ) 38
 Preservation Potential

 Preservation potential refers to the conditions that favour

the preservation of organic matter.

 Two most important conditions are:

1) Anaerobic conditions (low oxygen content)
• Anaerobic conditions can exist in swamp and
lagoon environments.

2) Rapid sedimentation by fine-grained material.

• Examples of fine-grained material include
clay/mud-size, silt-size, and sand-size particles.
• Fine sediments rapidly cover the deposited
organic maters and prevent oxidization
39
 Source Rocks
(Organic Matter)
• Different sorts of organic
matter yield different sorts of
petroleum.
• Organic matter rich in soft and
waxy tissues, such as that
found in algae, commonly
yields oil with associated gas
on maturation (heating), while
gas alone tends to be derived
from the maturation of woody
tissues.
• Even oil-prone source rocks
yield gas when elevated to high
temperatures during burial.

40
 Maturity

Transformation of organic matter

Increase heat and pressure with time
 The evaluation of maturity level of source rock has an important
implication for commercial HC exploration.

 Maturity usually increases with depth due to an increase in

temperature and age of source rock.
41
 The Petroleum Kitchen
Temperature-Pressure-Time
 Geothermal Gradient: Temperature increases in the upper crust
(geothermal gradient), average between 20oC to 30oC per km of
depth (Thermogenic hydrocarbons)

 The major phase of oil generation (commonly known as oil

window) is normally limited to a ca. 100-150 °C and ca. 2.5-4.5 km
in depth.

 The major phase of gas generation (commonly known as gas

window) is normally ranged from ca. 150-230°C.

 Gas – no practical limit to stable depth

 Cracking of oil to gas controlled by source

kerogen and temperature

 Deep basins mostly gas 42

The Origin of Petroleum

Organic-rich Thermally Matured Oil

Source Rock Organic Matter

43
 Migration & accumulation
Carrier beds

• Oil is less dense

than water and will
rise through the
fluid system of the
surrounding rock.
• Carrier beds are
rock layers that
allow fluids to pass
through them
– Ex: Sandstone
– Limestone
44
 Migration & accumulation
Migration and accumulation of
hydrocarbons are other essential
factors for exploitable petroleum
deposit.

The release of HC & their transport

through the capillaries & narrow
pores of a fine grained source rock
are defined as primary migration.

The movement of hydrocarbons

beyond the source rock, through the
more permeable and wider porous
Formation of oil and gas carrier and reservoir rocks, is called
accumulations.
secondary migration.
45
 Migration & accumulation
We want to extract the oil
But the majority of the petroleum source
rocks are fine-grained sedimentary rocks
of low permeability.
To become economical, two things need
to happen:
The gas and/or oil must migrate out of
the source rocks into more permeable
rocks, which is called the reservoir
rock.
And eventually, a large quantity must
become concentrated and confined into
a petroleum trap beneath an
impermeable layer called a cap rock.
46
 Permeability
PERMEABILITY is a measure of the degree to which fluid can be
transmitted.
The unit for permeability is darcy (D), although the permeability of
many reservoirs is measured in millidarcies (mD).
Typically,the permeability of reservoirs is 1OD or less. At the lower
end, gas may be produced from reservoirs of 0.1 mD, while oil
reservoirs need to be 10X or 100X more permeable.
Most reservoirs contain both oil and water in an intimate mixture.

A consequence of there being more than

one fluid in the pore system is that neither
water nor oil will flow as readily as if there
were only one phase. Such relative
permeability varies as a function of fluid
phase abundance.
47
 Porosity
 POROSITY or void fraction is the void space in the rock, reported either
as a fraction of one or as a percentage.

 A porous rock has the capacity to hold fluid. Reservoir rocks must be
porous. Most reservoirs contain <40% porosity.

48
 Reservoir Rocks
Hydrocarbons are ultimately accumulated through secondary
migration in permeable & porous RESERVOIR ROCKS.

 Oil and gas are contained in a reservoir. A reservoir must be

permeable to oil and gas, and contain sufficient interconnected pore
space to accommodate the petroleum.

The majority of hydrocarbons

accumulations are found in
clastic reservoir rocks, such as
sandstones.

Next important reservoir rocks

are carbonates.
49
 Trap/seal
Oiland gas are less dense than water. Therefore, oil and gas
tend to rise within the sedimentary succession once they
migrate from the source rock.
The petroleum fluids will continue to rise under buoyancy until
they reach a trap/seal.
 A geologicenvironment that allows for economically significant
amounts of oil and gas to accumulate underground is termed an
OIL/PETROLEUM TRAP.
 In the absence of seals,
petroleum continue to rise until
it reaches the Earth's surface.

 Therefore, surface chemical

processes including bacterial
activity destroy the petroleum.
50
 Trap/seal
Although taps/seals are critical for the development of
petroleum pools, none of taps/seals are perfect. All leak!

This natural phenomenon of petroleum seepage through seals

can provide a shortcut to discovering petroleum (If nothing
stops, hydrocarbon will reach surface).

The La Brea Tar Pits are a group

of tar pits in urban Los Angeles.

Natural asphalt has seeped up

from the ground in this area for
tens of thousands of years.

Animals were died and

preserved there.
The La Brea tar pits 51
 The La Brea tar pits
 Pools of water covers the sticky tar, and for thousands of years, animals
who tried to drink the water became trapped in the tar, creating a
treasure/valuable of fossils
 The predators who fed on the trapped prey, also became trapped.
 Since 1901, over one million bones of Pleistocene animals (2.58 million
to 11,700 years ago) have been removed by paleontologists, including
saber-toothed cat and giant sloth.

52
53
 Trap/seal
 Reservoir rocks should cover with dense and relatively
impermeable cap rocks for developing exploitable petroleum
deposit.

 Trap can be stratigraphic, structural and/ or combined.

 Stratigraphic traps
 result from variations in the sedimentary rock layers, where
changes in lithology or depositional environments create
barriers to fluid flow, trapping hydrocarbons.
 tend to be fine-grained or crystalline, low-permeability rocks.
 Typical examples include mudstone/shale, cemented
limestones, cherts, anhydrite and salt (halite).
 Ex: Pinchout Traps, Lateral Continuity Traps, Reef Traps,
Barriers and Seals

Stratigraphic traps (depositional characteristic)

54
 Trap/seal
 Stratigraphic traps

Pinchout Traps
Pinchout traps occur when a porous and
permeable reservoir rock thins out and
eventually ends against an impermeable
layer, such as shale or mudstone.

Lateral Continuity Traps/ Unconformity traps

Lateral continuity traps occur when a
reservoir rock unit is laterally restricted or
truncated by erosion or non-deposition,
creating a discontinuity in the reservoir.
Hydrocarbons migrate laterally until they
encounter an impermeable barrier, such
as a shale or mudstone, where they
accumulate. 55
 Trap/seal
 Stratigraphic traps

Reef Traps
Reef traps form when porous and permeable
reservoir rocks (reef limestones) are
encased by impermeable rocks. These
structures act as barriers to fluid flow,
trapping hydrocarbons within the porous
reservoir rock.

56
 Trap/seal
 Structural traps
 Structural traps result from deformation of the Earth's crust,
typically involving folding, faulting, or both.
 These traps form when hydrocarbons migrate from a source
rock and become trapped against impermeable barriers due
to the structural configuration of the rocks.
 Structural traps are critical targets for petroleum exploration
and production because they offer favorable conditions for
the accumulation of economically viable hydrocarbon
reserves.
 Ex: Anticline Traps, Fault Traps, Salt Dome Traps

Structural traps (Tectonic events)

57
 Trap/seal
 Structural traps

Anticline Traps

• Anticlines are upward-arched folds in the Earth's crust. In anticline

traps, porous and permeable reservoir rocks, such as sandstone or
limestone, are overlain and sealed by impermeable cap rocks, such
as shale or mudstone.
• Due to the upward folding of the strata, the hydrocarbons
accumulate at the crest of the anticline, forming a trap.

58
 Trap/seal
 Structural traps
Fault Traps
• Fault traps form when movement along a fault
displaces and juxtaposes reservoir and
sealing rocks.
• A fault is a fracture in the Earth's crust along
which movement has occurred, resulting in
offset layers of rock.
• Hydrocarbons migrate through porous
reservoir rocks until they encounter the fault
plane.
• Movement along the fault can create a vertical
offset, causing impermeable sealing rocks to
be juxtaposed against porous reservoir rocks.
• The fault plane itself can act as a seal if it is
composed of impermeable material. The
trapped hydrocarbons accumulate in the
reservoir rock between the fault plane and the
impermeable sealing rocks.
59
 Trap/seal
 Structural traps
Salt Dome Traps
• Salt domes are formed by the upward movement of salt deposits through
overlying sedimentary layers.
• As salt is less dense than surrounding rocks, it can migrate vertically over
geologic time scales.
• Salt domes can pierce through layers of sedimentary rocks, creating structural
traps where impermeable salt acts as a cap rock, sealing hydrocarbons beneath
it.
• Hydrocarbons migrate from source rocks and become trapped against the
impermeable salt cap.
• The porous reservoir rocks are typically found adjacent to or around the salt
dome, where they are sealed by the impermeable salt layer.

60
 Some types of petroleum traps.

Oil and gas accumulates in a restricted area and the top of the
permeable reservoir rock unit is sealed by an impermeable cap rock. 61
A monocline is a step-like fold in rock
strata consisting of a zone of steeper dip
within an otherwise horizontal or gently
dipping sequence.

62
63
 The mapping and
remapping of trap
geometry is a fundamental
part of petroleum
geoscience at the
exploration, assessment,
and even production
phases of petroleum
exploration.
64
65
66
 The simplest trapping configurations
are domes (four-way dip-closed
anticlines) and fault blocks.
67
 The timing of petroleum migration
• When exploring for petroleum it is important to consider the
timing of petroleum migration relative to the time of
deposition of the reservoir/seal combinations and the
creation of structure within the basin.

• If migration of petroleum occurs before deposition of a

suitable reservoir/seal combination, then the petroleum will
not be trapped.

• In order to determine whether the reservoir and seal/trap

are available to arrest migrating petroleum, it is necessary
to reconstruct the geologic history of the area under
investigation.

68
 The timing of petroleum migration

 The amount of time it takes to create petroleum is not

precisely known.
 However, petroleum is not found in rock that is younger
than 1 or 2 million years old.
 So, this is a slow process which takes million of years.
 This means that we are using up oil much faster than it
can be replaced by nature.
 We have essentially a finite supply of oil, then it will be
gone.

69
 Recovery of Oil and Gas
When the cap rock is penetrated by
drilling, the oil and natural gas,
under pressure, migrate from the
pore spaces of the reservoir rock
to the drill hole.

Note: world’s first commercial oil well

was drilled in 1858 at Oil Springs,
Ontario (near Sarnia).

Before methods were developed to

control the upward flow of oil in
wells (e.g. blowout preventers),
dangerous gushers took place
when pressure was suddenly
released from oil traps.
70
Geographic distribution of oil and gas

Major occurrences of oil

and gas on continents
mark formerly low-lying
regions (basins) that
were covered by seas
(remember that oil and
gas is derived from
remains of micro
organisms).

71
Note: world’s first
commercial oil
well was drilled in
1858 at Oil
Springs, Ontario.

72
Note: world’s first
commercial oil
well was drilled in
1858 at Oil
Springs, Ontario.

73
Review: Where does petroleum come from?

1. Source rocks are rich in organic matter.

2. Transform the organic material with heat and pressure

to into petroleum is called Maturation.

3. Carrier beds allow the generated petroleum to move.

4. Traps keep the petroleum below ground.

5. Adequate reservoir beds from which the petroleum

can be extracted

6. Proper timing of events 1-5.

74
 Industry ‘Technological’ Milestones
Anticlinal Theory
Petroleum Accumulates in Structural 1883: Anticlinal theory
Closure (where to drill)

Gas
Oil
Water

75
 Industry ‘Technological’ Milestones

1883: Anticlinal theory (where to drill)

1914: Seismograph invented (remote sensing)

76
77
2D Seismic Line
Gulf of Mexico (offshore)

78
 Industry ‘Technological’ Milestones

1883: Anticlinal theory (where to drill)

1914: Seismograph invented (remote sensing)

1920s: Introduction of rotary drilling (well control, environment)

79
80
 Cushing Field Blowout
(circa 1914)

The outcome of a successful

cable-tool well.

81
Large Land Drilling Rig

Texas

82
Rotary Drilling Rig Schematic

83
Tri-Cone Rotary Bit Coring Bit

84
 Industry ‘Technological’ Milestones

1883: Anticlinal theory (where to drill)

1914: Seismograph invented (remote sensing)

1920s: Introduction of rotary drilling (well control, environment)

Start of water flooding (improved recovery)

85
86
 Industry ‘Technological’ Milestones

1883: Anticlinal theory (where to drill)

1914: Seismograph invented (remote sensing)

1920s: Introduction of rotary drilling (well control, environment)

Start of water flooding (improved recovery)

1924: First electrical well logging (formation evaluation)

87
88
 Industry ‘Technological’ Milestones

1883: Anticlinal theory (where to drill)

1914: Seismograph invented (remote sensing)

1920s: Introduction of rotary drilling (well control, environment)

Start of water flooding (improved recovery)

1924: First electrical well logging (formation evaluation)

1930s: Offshore drilling (access to prospective areas)

89
Jack-Up Drilling Rig (Texas Federal Waters ~150’ water depth)

90
 Industry ‘Technological’ Milestones

1883: Anticlinal theory (where to drill)

1914: Seismograph invented (remote sensing)

1920s: Introduction of rotary drilling (well control, environment)

Start of water flooding (improved recovery)

1924: First electrical well logging (formation evaluation)

1930s: Offshore drilling (access to prospective areas)

1960s: Digital computers (data manipulation)

1970s: Directional drilling

1980s: 3D seismic (enhanced imaging)

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