PETROLEUM GEOLOGY AND BASIC ROCK PROPERTIES

Petroleum is not found in underground lakes or rivers, but it

exists within the void space of certain rocks.
Requirements for Commercial Oil Accumulations
Certain requirements must be fulfilled for a commercial
petroleum deposit to be present. hese are
!. A source" material from which oil is formed
#. Porous and permeable beds $reservoir rocks% in which
the petroleum ma& migrate and accumulate after being
formed.
'. A trap" subsurface condition restricting further
movement of oil such that it ma& accumulate in
commercial quantities.
1
(ource of Petroleum
)ost geologists conclude that"
!. Petroleum originates from organic material, primaril&
vegetable, which has been altered b& heat, bacterial
action, pressure and other agents over long periods
of time.
#. Conditions favouring petroleum formation are found
onl& in sedimentar& rocks.
'. he principal sediments generall& considered as
probable source rocks are shales and limestones that
were originall& muds under saline water.
2
Porous and Permeable *eds $Reservoir Rocks%
After its formation, petroleum ma& migrate from the
source rock into porous and permeable beds where it
accumulates and continues its migration until finall&
trapped. he forces causing this migration are
!. Compaction of sediments as depth of burial increases.
#. +iastrophism" crustal movements causing pressure
differentials and consequent subsurface fluid
movements.
'. Capillar& forces causing oil to be expelled from fine
pores b& the preferential entr& of water.
,. -ravit& which promotes fluid segregation according to
densit& differences.
3
4
Porosit&
Porosit& is a measure of the void space within a rock
expressed as a fraction $or percentage% of the bulk volume
of rock
where . porosit&
/
b
. bulk volume of rock
/
s
. net volume occupied b& solid
/
p
. pore volume
Rock porosit& can be classified as
!. Absolute porosit&" total porosit& of the rock,
regardless of whether or not the individual voids are
connected, and
#. 0ffective porosit&" onl& that porosit& due to voids
which are interconnected.
1t is the effective porosit& which is of interest to the oil
industr&.
5
b
p
b
s b
V
V
V
V V

-eological porosit& has been classified in two t&pes"
!. Primar& porosit& $intergranular%" Porosit& formed at
the time sediment was deposited. he voids
contributing to this t&pe are the spaces between
individual grains of the sediment.
#. (econdar& porosit&" /oids formed after the
sediment was deposited. Porosit& of this t&pe is
subdivided into three classes based on the
mechanism of formation.
i. (olution porosit&" voids formed b& the solution
of the more soluble portions of the rock in
percolating surface and subsurface waters
containing carbonic and other organic acids.
/oids of this origin ma& range from small vugs
to cavernous openings.
ii. 2ractures, fissures and 3oints" voids of this
t&pe are common in man& sedimentar& rocks and
6
are formed b& structural failure of the rock
under loads caused b& various diastrophism such
as folding and faulting. his form of porosit& is
extremel& hard to evaluate quantitativel& due
to its irregularit&.
iii. +olomiti4ation" his is a process b& which
limestone $CaCO
'
% is transformed into dolomite
Ca )g$CO
'
%
#
.
#CaCO
'
5 )gCl
#
Ca)g$CO
'
%
#
5 CaCl
#
+olomite is normall& more porous than
limestone.
&pical Porosit& )agnitude
&pe of sedimentar& rocks porosit&
Clean, consolidated and reasonabl& uniform
sand
#67
Carboniferous rocks $limestone and dolomite% 8 9 :7
7
;uantitative <se of Porosit& +ata
=et us assume that porosit& has been measured and ma& be
used to determine the quantit& of fluid which ma& be stored
within the rock.
Consider a bulk volume of rock with a surface area of ! acre
and a thickness of ! foot. his constitutes the basic rock
volume measurement used in oil field calculations, an acre>
foot.
1t is a standard practice to express all liquid volumes in
terms of barrels $bbl%. Conversion factors used are"
! acre . ,',?86 ft
#
! acre>ft . ,',?86 ft
'
! bbl . ,# gal . ?.8! ft
'
! acre>ft .
bbl @@?: .
8! . ?
?86 , ,'
hen the pore space within a rock,
/
p
$bblAacre>ft% . @@?: x
where is the porosit& of the rock
8
Oil in Place . B .
o o
B
) 7758
B
7758
w o
( > $! (

where B . tank oil in place, bblAacre>ft

(
o
. 2raction of pore space occupied b&
oil $the oil saturation%
(
w
. he water saturation
*
o
. he formation volume factor for the
oil at the reservoir pressure,
res. bblA(*
he water within the pore is commonl& called the connate
water.
he pore space is assumed to be occupied b& oil and water
onl& and that no free gas is present. (o the equation above
must be applied to the reservoir at or above the bubble
point and is generall& used to compute the initial oil in place
$1O1P%.
2or the gas stored in a particular sand a similar expression
ma& be derived. he gas volume is commonl& expressed in
terms of (C2 or in )C2 $thousands of standard cubic feet%.
2rom the -as =aw
9
4
P/
.

/ P p
s
s s
where subscript, s, denotes standard conditions, 4
s
. !.6,
and is not shown. henC
s
s
p s
4P
P
D / . - . /
where - is the standard gas volume contained in /
p
at
conditions P, , 4.
*ut" /
p
. ,',?86$!>(w% ft
'
Aacre>ft

s
. ,86
6
5 86
6
. ?#6
6
2
P
s
. !,.@ psia
(ubstituting of these values in the equation gives"
- . ,',?86$!>(
w
%x
4
p
D
@ . !,
?#6
Or
ft > )C2Aacre
>
zT
P ) S 1 ( 1540
G
w

Reserve estimation
10
An& oil finding has to be interpretated in term of mone& or
in term of economic evaluation.
1nitial Oil in Place $1O1P% has alread& being defined in term
of bblAacre.ft. 1t can also be expressed as
Ehere A . area of reservoir in acre
h . height or thickness of reservoir in feet
. porosit& in fraction
(
o
. oil saturation in fraction
*
o
. Oil formation volume factor, res bblA(*
Onl& a portion of the 1O1P that can be recovered. his
portion is known as the oil reserve.
Oil reserve is dependent on the recover& factor $R2%.
Reserve . 1O1P x R2
11
bbl
factor volume formation oil
saturation oil porosit& reservoir of volume @@?:
1O1P

o
o
*
( Ah @@?:
1O1P

Permeabilit&
Permeabilit& is defined as a measure of a rockFs abilit& to
transmit fluids.
An empirical relationship was developed b& a 2rench
h&drologist Genr& +Farc& who studied the flow of water
through unconsolidated sand.
his law in its differential form is"
where v . apparent flow velocit&
. viscosit& of the flowing fluid
dPAd= . pressure gradient in the direction of
the flow
k . permeabilit& of the porous media
Consider the linear s&stem of the figure below
12
$!%
d=
dP k
v

q
1
P
1
dP
q
2
dL
L
he following assumptions are necessar& to the
development of the basic flow equations"
!. (tead& state flow conditions exists
#. he pore space of the rock is !667 saturated with
the flowing fluid. <nder this restriction, k is the
absolute permeabilit&.
'. he viscosit& of the flowing fluid is constant.
,. 1sothermal conditions prevail.
?. 2low is hori4ontal and linear.
8. 2low is laminar.

Eith these restrictions, let
where q . volumetric rate of flow of fluid
A . cross>sectional area perpendicular to
flow direction
Case !" =inear 1ncompressible 2luid 2low
(ubstitution of $#% into $!% gives
(eparation of variables and insertion of the limits depicted
b& the figure, gives
13
$#%
A
q
v
$'%
d=
dP k
A
q

or
<nit for the above relationship is
1f q . ! cm
'
As
A . ! cm
#
. ! centipoise
PA= . ! atmosphereAcm
then, k . ! darc&
A permeabilit& of one darc& is much higher than that
commonl& found in reservoir rocks. Consequentl&, a more
common unit is the millidarc&, where
! darc& . !666 millidarc&s
Case 11" =inear Compressible 2luid 2low
14



#
!
P
P
=
6
dP
k
d=
A
q
$,%
= H
% P P $ kA
. q
# !
$?%
P I A
qu=
. k
Consider the same linear s&stem$referring to the box
figure%, but the flowing fluid is now compressible.
Assuming that *o&leFs law is valid $4 . !%
P
!
q
!
. P
#
q
#
. constant
P.q . > # #
q P . P
d=
dP
D
H
kA



#
!
P
P
#
=
6
#
dP P
P
!
x
kA
d= q
2rom which
#
#
#
#
!
#
P
!
x
#
P P
x
=
kA
q

0xpressing the above equation in term of q

g
, the rate of gas
flow at the average pressure in the s&stem is
P
!
x
#
P P
x
=
kA
q
#
#
#
!
g

*ut
#
% P P %$ P P $
#
P P
and ,
#
P P
P
# ! # !
#
#
#
! # !
+

herefore
=
P kA
q
g

15
P
e
Ehich is exactl& the same as equation $,%.
An expression for the standard flow rate, qgas is obtained
from CharlesF =aw"
f
#
#
#
!
f
# #
s
gs s

!
% P P $
= #
kA

q P

q P

Ehere
s
. 86
6
2 $?#6
6
R%
P
s
. ! atm

f
. flowing temperature
hus,
s f
s
#
#
#
!
gs
P
!
x

x
= #
% P P $ kA
q

Case 111" Radial 1ncompressible 2luid 2low

2rom the diffrential form of equation $!% with notation and
sign convention as applied to radial flow in the figure.
dr
dp
x
k
A
q

16
q
r
e
P
w
q
q
r
w
q
*ut radial flow A . #rh
Ehere r . radius or distance from centre, cm
h . thickness of the bed, cm
(ubstitution of #rh for A and separation of variables gives

e
w
e
w
P
P
r
r
dP
hk #
r
dr
q
Ehich when integrated is
his is the basic expression for the stead& state radial flow
of a liquid. he units are the same as previousl& defined.
Case 1/" Radial Compressible 2luid 2low
he same manner as in case 11, the radial equations for
gases ma& be obtained.
*& *o&leFs =aw
17
h
Ehere subscripts refer to position at which q is specified"
well, external boundar&, etc.
Conversions to Practical <nits
he standard units which define the darc& are useful in
laborator& calculations. 2or computations pertaining to
field problems it is more convenient to convert to practical
units b& use of appropriate constant.
2or example, convert
( )
( )
w e
w e
r A r ln
P P hk #
q

to
( )
( )
w e
w e
r A r ln
P P Chk
q

where h . ft, k . darc&, P

e
, P
w
. psia, . cp, q . bblAda&
Conversion factors needed" ! bbl . !?J,666 cm
'

! ft . '6.,: cm
! atm . !,.@ psi
18
hen"
da& A s 866 , ' x #,
bbl A cm !?J,666
x bblAda& q
'
( )
( )
w e
w e
r A r ln
psi
atm
!,.@
!
x psi P P k
ft
cm
'6.,: x ft h #

1
]
1

,
_

or
% r A ln$r
% P hk$P
x
% @ . !, %$ 666 , !?J $
% ,: . '6 %$ # %$ '866 %$ #, $
q
w e
w e

% r ln$r
% P P $ hk 6@ . @
q
w e
w e

&pical permeabilit& magnitude

1n general, rocks having a permeabilit& of !66 md or greater
are considered fairl& permeable, while rocks with less than
?6 md are considered tight.
)an& productive limestone and dolomite matrices have
permeabilit& below ! md but due to the associated solution
cavities and fractures which contribute the bulk flow of the
flow capacit&.
Current stimulation techniques of acidi4ing and h&draulic
fracturing allow commercial production to be obtained from
reservoir rocks once considered too tight to be of interest.
19
he oil and gas reservoirs in )ala&sia are having
permeabilit& between ?6 to #666 millidarc&.
Petroleum Traps
1n order for petroleum to accumulate in commercial
quantities , it must, in its migration process, encounter a
subsurface rock condition which halts further migration and
causes the accumulation to take place.
Bumerous s&stems of trap classification exist, such as"
!. (tructural traps" those traps formed b&
deformation of the earthFs crust b& either
faulting or folding.
20
#. (tratigraphic traps" those traps formed b&
changes in litholog&, generall& a disappearance of
the containing bed or porosit& 4one.
21
'. Combination traps" traps having both structural
and stratigraphic features.
22
A feature of all traps is the impermeable cap rock which
forms the top of the trap.
Subsurfae Pressure
23
Oil is found in flank sands, upper beds
or te !apro!k
he elevated pressures encountered with depth are due to
one or both of the causes"
!. G&drostatic pressure imposed b& the weight of fluid
$predominantl& water% which fills the voids of the
rocks above andA or contiguous with the reservoir in
question.
#. Overburden pressure die to the weight of the rocks
and their fluid content existing above the reservoir.
1t is more common to find subsurface pressures var&ing as
a linear function of depth with a gradient close to the
h&drostatic gradient of fresh to moderatel& saline water.
+epartures from this behaviour, both higher or lower, are
considered abnormal.
he abnormall& high pressures are more important as a
source of serious drilling and production ha4ards.

)agnitude of subsurface Pressure
24
Pressure>depth relationships are commonl& spoken of in
terms of gradients. he h&drostatic gradient in fresh
water is 6.,'' psiAft of depth which is the quotient of 8#.,
lbAft
'
divided b& !,, in
#
Aft
#
.
(ince most subsurface waters are saline, it is common to
find the gradient to be more than 6.,'' psiAft.
(tudies from !66 high pressure wells in exas>=ouisiana
-ulf Coast showed a pressure gradient of !.6 psiAft.
his figure is commonl& used and ma& be obtained b& using
an average water saturated rock specific gravit& 6f #.'.
Gence the overburden gradient is
#.' x 6.,'' !.6 psiAft
Subsurfae Temperature
25
he earth is assumed to contain a molten core, it is logical
to assume that temperature should increase with depth.
his temperature>depth relationship is commonl& a linear
function of the form"

+
.
a
5 +
Ehere
+
. temperature of the reservoir at an& depth, +

a
. average surface temperature
. temperature gradient, degreesA!66 ft
+ . depth, hundreds of ft
A normal gradient seems to about !.8
6
2A!66 ft, although it
should be noted considerable variations occur in various
areas.
(everal devices for measuring subsurface temperature are
available and will be discussed under temperature logging.
26