CHAPTER 8

TRAPPING MECHANISMS

The Petroleum System

Traps
A trap
In order to prevent the hydrocarbons rising
to the surface and escaping they must be
caught in a confined space, termed a trap.
i.e. the source, reservoir and seal must be
arranged in such a way that the petroleum
is trapped.

Traps
For a trap to be efficient and commercially
viable, a large variety of factors have to be
considered. These include:
The presence of a positive porous
permeable structure
The imperviousness of the seal
The absence of leaking faults
The migration of sufficient quantities of
HC

The Trap
Classified (broadly) into:
Structural Traps
Formed by tectonic deformation, diapirism,
gravitational and compactional processes,
e.g. folds and faults.
Stratigraphic Traps
Caused by depositional differences between
adjacent rock types, e.g. pinchout and
permeability traps
Hydrodynamic Traps
Caused by water flow

A simplified map and cross-section of the Zagros orogenic

belt (Iran) Compressive tectonic

Structural Traps
Structural traps are formed where the
space for petroleum is limited by a
structural feature
Anticlinal traps (or Convex Trap Reservoirs) are
formed by folding in the rocks.
Porosity extends in all directions beyond the
reservoir
Reservoir is surrounded by water (edge
water)

Convex Trap Reservoirs

Structural Traps
Tilted fault-block traps are formed where the
upward flow of the petroleum is prevented by
impermeability along the fault plane and by an
overlying cap or seal.
Reservoir is defined partly by edge water and
partly by a fault boundary.
Unconformity traps are generated where an
erosional break in the stratigraphic succession is
followed by impermeable strata.

Structural Traps

Unconformity Traps

Structural Traps
Piercement Trap Reservoirs
Formed by diapirs or volcanic necks
Reservoir defined by edge water and a
piercement contact.

Examples of Structural Traps : Iran

Stratigraphic Traps
Stratigraphic traps are traps created
by the limits of the reservoir rock
itself, without any structural control.
Pinchout Trap Reservoirs
Permeability Trap Reservoirs

Pinchout Trap Reservoirs

Formed by lenticular structures (e.g. reefs)
Periphery defined by edge water and the
pinchout of the reservoir bed

Here is an example of a reef trap. The diagram shows a

vertical slice (cross-section) through the reservoir and
overlying rocks.

Permeability Trap Reservoirs

Form due to changes in reservoir power
Reservoir partly defined by edge water
and partly by a permeability barrier

Permeability Trap Reservoirs

Stratigraphic traps are also formed in clastic rocks: here,
in a cross-section through a continental margin, two
sandstone beds form traps within muddy coastal
deposits.
River channels may form long, thin traps corresponding
to the former position of the river or delta distributary.
Beach sands may form sheet-like bodies along an ancient
shoreline etc.

Hydrodynamic and Combination Traps

Hydrodynamic traps occur where the downward
movement of water prevents the upward
movement of oil.
Such traps are rare.
Combination traps are formed by a combination
of two or more of the previously defined genetic
processes.

Hydrodynamic Traps

Combination Traps
This type of structural trap is
very common in fold-andthrust belts at the front of
mountain ranges like the
Rocky Mountains of Alberta,
where older rocks are pushed
sideways over younger rocks
(e.g., the yellow unit is here
pushed over the light-blue
unit).
Oil is pooled in anticlinal folds.
The traps may also be partly
faulted, as in the upper one
shown here.

Combination Traps

Combination Traps

Cross-section of the Ras Gharib field, West coast of Suez

graben, Egypt. Oil is found in faults and unconformity traps of
the Carboniferous Nubian sandstone.