Oil & Gas: Geology

University of Edinburgh
Oil & Gas Systems
Engineering
 Structure of the Earth
The Earth is composed of a series of layers

These layers are divided into 5 different types:

Lithosphere - The Earths crust or surface which is hard and brittle.

Asthenosphere A hot layer of semi-plastic rock which forms a weak layer beneath
the lithosphere.

Mesospheric Mantle A very hot, viscous layer of molten rock. High density results
from the pressure at such depth.

Outer Core - A high temperature, low viscosity liquid metal mixture of nickel and iron.

Inner Core An identical mixture to the outer core, forming a solid sphere as a result
of large pressures. The temperature is approximately 5500C, the same as the surface
of the sun!

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Structure of the Earth

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 Tectonic Plates
The lithosphere is made up of moving land masses called tectonic
plates.
There are two types of plate, oceanic and continental.
There are 3 types of plate boundary that determine the motion of
the plate:
Divergent - A
Convergent - B
Transform - C

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Tectonic Plates

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 Mineralogy
A mineral is a naturally formed chemical substance with a specific
composition and crystal structure.

Minerals are composed of elements e.g. diamond is composed of

pure carbon.

Rocks are composed from an assortment of minerals mixed

together to create different crystal structures and properties.

Typical minerals in igneous rocks include feldspar and quartz.

Feldspar comes in three forms of tectosilicate minerals: K.Al.Si 3.O8,

Na.Al.Si3.O8 and Ca.Al2.Si2.O8.

Quartz is made from silicon dioxide, SiO2.

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Mineralogy

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 Rock Structure
The rock structure is determined from 5 main factors:

Particle size The size can give an indication of the rock maturity

Sorting The sorting is a measure of the uniformity of grain sizes

Composition This determines the origin of minerals from which

the rock is composed

Rounding Determines the shape of particles in the rock, e.g.

sharp or smooth

Sphericity - A spherical shape will lead to better sorting resulting

in smaller pore space
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 Rock Structure
These factors will determine whether a rock type will be suitable
for forming a reservoir. Sedimentary are the best due to spaces
between sediment layers providing spaces for hydrocarbons.

The rock structure is normally on a microscopic scale so a division

of petrology or lithology is used to study rock structures and
textures.

The rock structure of a reservoir must be constantly monitored to

give an indication as to what depth the reservoir will need to be
drilled to ensure the best production efficiency.

This process of monitoring the lithology is called mud logging. Drill

cuttings are studied to indicate the rock composition of a reservoir.
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 Rock Types
There are 3 main types of rock:

Igneous

Sedimentary

Metamorphic

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 Igneous Rocks
Igneous rocks are one of the three main types of rock

Igneous rocks are formed from magma or lava as it cools and

hardens.

They have limited or no porosity and permeability and are not

usually associated with oil and gas exploration.

There are usually a large mixture of minerals in igneous rock such

as feldspar, pyroxene, olivine and quartz.

The rate of cooling will determine the crystallisation and the

hardness or brittleness which is associated with this.

Well known types of igneous rock include granite, basalt and

obsidian. 11
Igneous Rocks

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 Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary rocks are layers of sediment that are deposited on
top of each other over time.

They are normally composed of fine shale, clay or mudstones. The

pressure caused by the increase in depth compresses the layers
into stone.

This provides lots of interconnected pores, ideal for trapping

organic material.

Sedimentary rocks are the focus of oil and gas exploration.

Typical examples of sedimentary rocks include limestone,

sandstone and chalk.

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Sedimentary Rocks

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 Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic rocks are formed by extreme temperatures and
pressures at great depths beneath the surface which cause
chemical and physical change in a rock

Metamorphic rock can be formed from igneous or sedimentary

rocks.

The temperature and pressure causes compaction and

compression in the grain of the rock causing layers to fold or
stretch. This occurs at temperature and pressures greater than
200 C and 1500 bar.

Typical example of metamorphic rock include slate, marble and

quartzite.

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Metamorphic Rocks

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 Geological Time
Geological time relates time and lithology (rock layers).

The aim is to create a time scale of events that occurred on Earth leading
to changes in the rock layers deposited on the surface.

An example of a particular event that created a major geological change

was the extinction of the dinosaurs between the Cretaceous and
Paleogene region.

The Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old which was determined
from radiometric dating taken from the oldest known mineral, zircon.

Absolute time is divided up into regions so that certain periods of

importance can be recognised such as the Late Cretaceous at 100 million
years and Paleocene at 66 million years. This region is when the majority
of oil reservoirs were formed and will be discussed later.

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Geological Time

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 Geological Time
Geological time is split into individual units to indicate regions in
time.

Super Eons are the largest unit of time and are broken into Eons.

Eons span half a billion years.

Eras span several hundred million years

Periods span tens to hundreds of millions of years

Epochs span tens of millions of years

Ages span millions of years

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 Geological Time
Names are applied to these units of time to help identify specific
types of rock that have been laid down in a timeline that are of
interest.

An example can be seen to the right.

The most relevant region to the formation of oil and

gas reservoirs is between 543 million and 54.8 million
years.

This is the Paleozoic, Cambrian, A, right through to

Cenozoic, Tertiary, Paleogene, Late Paleocene.

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Geological Time

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 Reservoirs
Reservoirs are regions of porous rock filled with hydrocarbons that
are found buried under layers of sedimentary rock.

These hydrocarbons are formed from organic material that was

buried over millions of years and was converted into oil under
extreme temperature and pressure.

There are 5 steps common to the creation of a reservoir that fulfil

the requirements for oil and gas to be formed.

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 Hydrocarbon Formation
There are a number of steps required for hydrocarbons to be
formed.

Organic material will die and fall to the bottom of a lake or river.

Over time, layers of sand are sedimented on top and the organic
material is buried.

The organic material will decay in the absence of oxygen and form
a substance called kerogen.

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 Kerogen
Kerogen is formed from organic material that decays in the absence of
oxygen, along with high temperatures, to create crude oil, gas and bitumen.

As the rock layers are buried deeper below the surface, the temperatures and
pressures increase due to the weight of material being deposited on top.

The increase in temperature and pressure over a period of millions of years

leads to the kerogen being converted into hydrocarbons.

At 1 km below the surface the temperature is 50C and 250 bar.

The ideal range for finding hydrocarbons is between 2000-3000m below the
seabed. This is equivalent to about 50-60 million years worth of
sedimentation.

Hydrocarbons will not be found below 8000m as extreme temperatures will

destroy any hydrocarbons.

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Kerogen

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 Reservoir Formation: The 5
Steps
There are 5 steps common to the formation of reservoirs that
contribute to a viable accumulation of oil and gas:

1. Source Rock
2. Migration
3. Reservoir Rock
4. Cap Rock
5. Trap

. These 5 steps create the perfect environment for the creation

and storage of hydrocarbons until it is discovered.

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Reservoir Formation: The 5
Steps

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 Source Rock
The source rock is made up of a sedimentary porous material that
has trapped organic material amongst it.

Over time this organic material is buried under more sediment.

This organic material decays under anoxic conditions into a

substance called kerogen.

Over millions of years and coupled with conditions of high

temperatures and pressures, kerogen is converted into
hydrocarbons.

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Source Rock

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 Migration
Migration is the movement of the hydrocarbons out of the source
rock, into the reservoir or other porous region.

As kerogen converts to hydrocarbons, it expands and the increase

in pore pressure forces it out of the source rock.

There are two types of migration: primary and secondary.

Primary is when the hydrocarbons move from source to reservoir

rock.

Secondary is when the hydrocarbons seep out of reservoir and

into the cap rock or trap.

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Migration

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 Reservoir Rock
The reservoir rock is where the hydrocarbons migrate from the
source rock.

It is usually a porous, permeable sedimentary rock such as

sandstone that is deposited near the source rock.

It provides empty space for the hydrocarbons to flow into and

when trapped and sealed by geological movement, provides the
ideal place to accumulate large quantities of oil.

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Reservoir Rock

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 Cap Rock
Cap rock, also known as a seal, is a non porous or low permeability
material which has been laid down on top of the reservoir during
its formation.

It prevents flow out of the reservoir by creating what is known as a

capillary seal.

A capillary seal is formed when the capillary pressure across the

pore throat is greater than the buoyancy force of the
hydrocarbons.

There are 2 types of capillary seal:

Membrane Seals.
Hydraulic Seals.

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 Cap Rock
A membrane seal is usually a low permeable sedimentary
material.

The surface tension of the hydrocarbons is greater than the pore

size and doesnt pass through in a membrane seal.

There is a large pressure build up due to the buoyancy force from

the hydrocarbons. If the buoyancy force is greater than the pore
pressure in the cap rock then hydrocarbons will flow.

Once the buoyancy force drops below the pore pressure the flow
will stop.

A hydraulic seal is similar to a membrane seal but does not flow if

the buoyancy force is greater than the pore pressure. If the
buoyancy force is too great then the cap rock will fracture.
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Cap Rock

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 Traps
A trap is formed from a change in the subsurface geology that cuts off the
reservoir from any formations that the hydrocarbons could escape or seep
into. There are 3 main types of traps:

Structural Traps.
Stratigraphic Traps.
Hydrodynamic Traps.

A combination trap has characteristics from each type.

Stratigraphic traps are caused by inconsistencies in porosity, thickness

and vertical and horizontal deposition of sedimentary rock.

Hydrodynamic traps are very uncommon. The oil and water contact in a
reservoir is at an angle and the buoyancy force prevents hydrocarbons
from moving past or through the water forming a trap.

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 Structural Traps
A structural trap is the main form of trap and arises from subsurface
movement or compaction.

There are 3 types of structural trap:

Anti-cline
Fault
Salt dome

Anti-clines are folds in the land caused by compaction or compression of

tectonic plates.

Faults are caused by tectonic plates rising and falling over each other.

Salt domes are regions of salt that are in a semi-liquid phase and force
upwards through rock layers due to heat. Salt is impermeable so
provides an ideal barrier for a trap.

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Structural Traps

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 Geophysics and Magnetics
Geophysics is the study of exploration for ore, hydrocarbons or
groundwater using techniques on the surface.

There are a number of techniques that can be used to search deep

below the surface:
Seismic
Gravity gradiometry
Electromagnetic
Ground penetrating radar
Borehole geophysics

Each technique is used for a specific exploration purposes as some

have advantages and disadvantages. Seismic is the most common
technique employed in exploration for oil and gas.

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 Exploration Techniques
Seismic is the main tool used in oil and gas exploration.

Reflection seismology is where energy is released, in the form of an

explosion. This produces waves that travel down and reflect off layers in
the rock under the seabed.

There are two forms of wave that are used to detect different features:
-Primary (P waves)
-Secondary (S waves)

Primary waves travel through any material and are the fastest wave at
330 m/s in air. They travel in a longitudinal axis.

Secondary waves are slower than P waves and travel at approximately

60% of the speed and can only travel through solids. They travel in a
traverse axis.

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 3D & 4D Seismic
3D & 4D seismic are techniques where seismic is performed over
time to track how a reservoir is being depleted.

Changes in pressure and composition can be recorded to monitor

how the reservoir responds to enhanced oil recovery and artificial
drive mechanisms such as water injection.

This is can be a lot more expensive since equipment must be

setup on the seabed for accuracy and must be installed
indefinitely to ensure consistent results.

The advantage is that a higher recovery is possible because

stagnant regions can be targeted for drilling which can increase
the overall yield of the reservoir. The profit from increased
recovery will outweigh the cost of installing 4D seismic equipment.

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 Case Study - Ghawar
Ghawar is the biggest oil and gas field ever discovered, located in Saudi
Arabia.

It is approximately 280km long by 30km wide and was discovered in 1948.

Owned and operated by Saudi Aramco, it produces 5 million barrels of oil

and 3 billion cubic feet of gas per day. It has an estimated 120 billion
barrels of oil initially in place of which 65 billion has been extracted so far.

It accounts for 65% of Saudi Arabias oil production and around 6.25% of
global production.

7 million barrels of sea water is injected per day to maintain this high
production rate. Ghawars production and estimated reserves have come
under scrutiny by various parties in the last couple of years facing
opposing opinion on how much more oil can be recovered.

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Case Study - Ghawar

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 Case Study - Ghawar
The 5 steps of reservoir formation that occurred to form Ghawar
are considered almost perfect to have formed such a massive
accumulation.

Ghawar is set across a block of faults laid down during the

Carboniferous period (320 million years).

The reservoir rock and source rock are from the same region in
time, Jurassic (200 million years) and are sedimentary limestone.

The seal is an tightly packed impermeable mineral called

anhydrite which is calcium sulphate.

Faulting in the basement layer has created a good trap which has
prevented seeping of hydrocarbons out of the reservoir.
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Case Study - Ghawar

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 Future Use
The future use of oil and gas reservoirs is unclear but some
companies see potential in using them for other processes.

CO2 sequestration is the main use that has been suggested by

companies in America, the North Sea and the Middle East.

CO2 sequestration is the storage of carbon dioxide. This will

reduce the carbon footprint of companies that employ this
technique. This will lowering the cost associated with buying
carbon credits introduced by the government to encourage
companies to lower carbon dioxide output.

CO2 injection into reservoirs also boosts recovery rates by

lowering the viscosity of crude oil. The injection of CO2 can be
used to prolong the production of oil by maintaining reservoir
pressure and displacing the oil at the same time.
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