PETROLEUM SYSTEMS QUESTIONS

1. Of all the environments in which large volumes of hydrocarbons are found, ice-like gas hydrates are thought to
contain some of the largest volumes of gas both onshore in permafrost and offshore on cold continental shelves,
but they cannot be tapped commercially today. Which of the following is the main cause of that?
a. the reservoirs are too deep,
b. they contain the wrong type of gas,
c. the concentration of the gas is too low,
d. it is difficult to melt the hydrate,
e. it is too expensive to drill the wells.
. !he top of the oil generation window can be found at depths ranging from "1###m to $###m but is generally
reached between ###-%###m below surface. Which of these is the main reason why this variation is found?
a. changes in tectonic uplift and &or downwarp,
b. changes in organic material,
c. changes in thermal conductivity,
d. changes in heat flow,
e. changes in structuration.
%. 'ost source rocks are fine grained( shales or micrites. )et coal, which is hosted in fine grained mud, is not a
ma*or source for gas or oil +ignore its ability to be a minor source of coal bed methane,. Which of the following is
the most important reason for this?
a. too much moisture,
b. too much wood,
c. too much oxygen,
d. too much sulphur,
e. too much mud.
-. !he world.s oil is mostly found in /retaceous and !ertiary strata. Which of these is the main cause of that?
a. temperature,
b. pressure,
c. timing,
d. sediment,
e. organic matter.
$. 0eservoirs of oil can be found at depths ranging between surface and more than 1 kilometres but generally
###-%###m below surface. 'ost reservoirs can be tapped with current technology yet most of the oil is left in the
reservoir after production with commonly only #-%#2 being produced. Which of the following is the main reason
why so much oil is left behind?
a. reservoir pressure is too low,
b. boreholes have a short lifespan,
c. water preferentially flows from the reservoir,
d. gas flows preferentially from the reservoir,
e. the ground shrinks too much.
3. !he oil industry taps conventional sources of oil worldwide to feed the world.s economy. )et the price of oil has
risen five-fold over the past 1# years and the world reportedly faces a crisis dubbed the 4end of oil5 amid fears that
we will soon run out of oil. )et the world barely taps tar sands which contain orders of magnitude more oil than
conventional oil sources. Which of the following is the main reason why that is the case?
a. too many engineers are needed,
b. too slow a production rate,
c. too expensive to transport to market,
d. too much energy needed produce the oil,
e. too much water needed to steam the oil.
6. !he main method of finding structures that might contain hydrocarbons is the reflection seismic method in
which sound waves are sent into the ground and the sound waves reflect from geological boundaries. 7mpedance
contrasts due to differences in velocity and density characterise geologic boundaries allowing for the construction
of a seismic section through the earth.s surface. 7t is not uncommon to find indications of gas reservoirs from their
contacts +bright spots, flat spots, but rare to find that for oil reservoirs. Which of the following is the main reason
for the inability of seismic data to reliably image oil in reservoirs?
a. bad seismic data,
b. gas is more common,
c. oil density and fluidity in the reservoir is similar to that of water,
d. gas is too diffuse in the reservoir,
e. water is too salty.
1. !he 8etroleum 9ystem concept is a way of interpreting geologic data to determine if an area or basin is likely to
contain oil or gas before it has been extensively drilled. !he concept relies on $ main factors that need to be in
place in order for oil or gas to be found. Which of the following is the correct set of criteria?
a. seismic interpretation, reservoir engineering, geochemistry, palaeontology and palaeobotany.
b. evaporites, mass flows, vulcanism, granite intrusion, lava domes.
c. structure, seal, charge, reservoir, preservation.
d. maturation, generation, migration, seepage, leakage.
e. time, source, charge, migration, gas flow.
:. 'any of the wells drilled over the past 1## years with the express intention of finding commercial volumes of oil
were reportedly unsuccessful. )et it is not uncommon for to encounter old wells that were drilled through an oil
reservoir but it was not recognised. !oday many small company.s profit by rediscovering that oil through careful
study of the original drilling and log data. Which of the following is the main reason why it is possible to miss the
oil?
a. the volumes were thought too small,
b. the log data were not properly interpreted,
c. the well was drilled with too dense a mud,
d. the oil or gas migrated into the structure after the first well,
e. the gas or oil was the wrong type to be commercial.
1#. 'any gas fields have been found over the past 1## years of exploration but not developed. ;ow companies
are re-considering those wells because they host commercial volumes of gas. <part from price, which of the
following is the main reason why gas reservoirs that were then considered uncommercial are now considered
commercial?
a. the company did not have a pipeline ready,
b. the company had no gas sales contract,
c. the company found no associated oil,
d. the company was not allowed to produce the gas,
e. the company was looking for oil rather than gas.
11. !he =aroo >asin been selected by foreign and local companies as the focus area for <frican shale-gas
exploitation. Which of the following is the main reason for this?
+a, it is a large unknown basin with extensive >okkeveld shales and unknowns can be good,
+b, because >okkeveld shales have proven their ability to flow gas,
+c, because there is known oil in the area,
+d, because the Whitehill shale is known to have high carbon contents
+e, the Whitehill is heavily fractured?
1. ?arge volumes of gas without oil has been found off 'o@ambiAue and =enya whereas large volumes of oil
with minimal gas has been found in Bganda. Which of the following is the main reason for this?
+a, Bganda has a tropical climate,
+b, because onshore areas generally have oil deposits,
+c, because offshore areas generally have gas deposits,
+d, because gas-prone organic material has been concentrated in offshore areas and oil-prone in the graben,
+e, because all the gas has escaped from the Bganda deposits?
1%. Cas fracking has become a highly emotive phrase, both in the B9<, in Duropeand especially in the =aroo.
Which of the following is the main fear revealed by this concern?
+a, people don.t want the rocks damaged,
+b, people do not want gas to start flowing to the surface,
+c, livestock will be scared and in*ured by the drilling vibrations,
+d, vegetation will be destroyed by the oil companies,
+e, people are scared of water pollution?
1-. Eery little hydrocarbon has been found in the mined 9outh <frican coal despite their being a global-si@ed
resource containing billions of tonnes of organic matter and despite the seams bening found near the surface.
Which of the following is the main reason for that?
+a, the coals are immature.
+b, the coals have always been close to the surface.
+c, the coals were once rich in oil but it all leaked away.
+d, the coals have been burnt by igneous dykes and sills and the gas and oil destroyed.
+e, the coals have too little hydrogen.
1$. Earious maturation parameters are known and well understood, such as the wetness ratio of drilling gas +both
ditch gas, also called mud gas, and cuttings gas,, vitrinite reflectance and 0ock Dval pyrolysis !max as well as
several from Cas /hromatography analyses including 8ristane&n/16 +or phytane&n/11, and /87 +also known as
odd-even predominance,. <ll these parameters suffer from some uncertainty regarding the accuracy of their
values and hence the interpretation, yet one method is accepted as the most correct and the one against which all
other methods are compared even though it is not routinely studied. Which one of the following is this most
commonly accepted 4master5 method and why?
+a, drilling gas wetness,
+b, vitrinite reflectance,
+c, pyrolysis !max,
+d, pristane&n/16 or phytane&n/11,
+e, /87.
13. Cas and oil migrate through porous rock with ease, gas in fact migrates through tight shales with ease
sometimes forming seepages of migrated gas at surface above known gas fields. >ut most gas reservoirs also
contain Auantities of oil, sometimes in greater Auantities and sometimes in lesser Auantities. Which is the most
likely reason why traces +or perhaps greater volumes, of oil are often found in gas reservoirs?
+a, oil always migrates with gas,
+b, oil charge predates the gas charge,
+c, oil charge postdates the gas charge
+d, oil prone organic material in reservoir rocks generates the oil,
+e, oil is converted from gas in the reservoir.