The Two Types of Traps

Structural Traps
These traps hold oil and gas because the earth has been bent and deformed in some way. The trap may be a simple dome (or big bump), just a crease in the rocks, or

it may be a more complex fault trap like the one shown at the right. All pore spaces in the rocks are filled with fluid, either water, gas, or oil. Gas, being the lightest, moves to the top. Oil locates right beneath the gas, and water stays lower.

Once the oil and gas reach an impenetrable layer, a layer that is very dense or non-permeable, the movement stops. The impenetrable layer is called a cap rock.

Stratigraphic Traps Stratigraphic Traps

Stratigraphic traps are depositional in nature. This means they are formed in place, often by a body of porous sandstone or limestone becoming enclosed in shale. The

shale keeps the oil and gas from

for fluids (either oil or gas) to migrate through shales. In essence, this kind of stratigraphic trap is surrounded by cap rock.

Stratigraphic traps are depositional in nature. This means they are formed in place, often by a body of porous sandstone or limestone becoming enclosed in shale. The

shale keeps the oil and gas from escaping the trap, as it is generally very difficult for fluids (either oil or gas) to migrate through shales. In essence, this kind of stratigraphic trap is surrounded by cap rock.

After images in this folder

First, to harvest oil, we must find it even though it is deep underground where we cannot see. Geological and petroleum engineers drill holes in the Earth to get core samples of the underground layers. If oil is found in the core, then the chances are good that a lot more oil exists in the area surrounding the core. Engineers set up equipment to drill in the exact area that their tests show contain a lot of oil. Then, the oil is extracted, usually by the use of oil wells that pump the oil up to the surface. Extracting oil and using oil can be potentially harmful to the environment. Sometimes when the oil is brought to the surface it contains sediments that cannot be used for energy. If these sediments are not disposed of carefully, they can cause pollution. Once extracted, the oil is transported to where it will be refined and used. During transport, oil has the potentially to cause more pollution. For example, sometimes tankers full of oil run aground and cause oil spills or steadily leak into the ocean. Finally, refining and burning oil contributes to air pollution and that is in addition to vehicles burning refined oil products, such as gasoline, for energy. Despite the potential for pollution, oil provides essential energy for most of the U.S. Most of our nation's cars run on gasoline, which is made from oil, and many houses are heated by oil, not to mention the enormous amont of plastic products made from crude oil. Because of the anticipated decline in oil supplies and contributions to pollution, engineers are continually searching for more efficient ways to power automobiles and heat houses that use less oil.

Here are four traps. The anticline is a structural type of trap, as is the fault trap and the salt dome trap.

Four Types Of Structural and Stratigraphic Traps

The stratigraphic trap shown at the lower left is a cool one. It was formed when rock layers at the bottom were tilted, then eroded flat. Then more layers were formed horizontally on top of the tilted ones. The oil moved up through the tilted porous rock and was trapped underneath the horizontal, nonporous (cap) rocks.