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Geophysical and Geochemical Surveys

Oil and gas exists thousands of feet below the
Earths surface and ocean floors.
Therefore, determining the location of
petroleum reservoirs is a very difficult task
and is, probably, the most challenging aspect
of the petroleum industry.

Exploration and production of oil

and gas
2nd Lecture

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Geologic surveying
This is the oldest and first used tool for
determining the possibility of finding
underground petroleum reservoirs.
It involves examination of the surface geology,
formation outcrops, and surface rock samples.

The collected information is used in

conjunction with geologic theories to
determine whether petroleum reservoirs
could be present
The rate of success of finding petroleum
reservoirs using geologic surveys alone has
been historically low.

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Surface Geochemical Exploration:

History and Application

Surface Geochemical Exploration:

History and Application
Assume all reservoirs leak (no perfect seal)
Macroseeps
Initial field discoveries
Microseeps
Large body of empirical evidence
Russia (research state supported)
USA (research supported by commercialization)
China (research state supported)

How does it work?

Seeping
hydrocarbons
move along
fractures to
the surface
causing
detectable soil
alteration
anomalies.

Surface Geochemical Exploration:

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Geophysical Surveys

Geophysical and Geochemical phenomena

associated with hydrocarbon seepage
alteration.

1.gravity survey,
2.magnetic survey,
3.seismic survey, and
4.remote sensing.

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The magnetic survey involves measurement of

the magnetic pull, which is affected by the type
and depth of the subsurface rocks.
The magnetic survey can be used to determine
the existence and depth of subsurface volcanic
formations, or basement rocks, which contain
high concentrations of magnetite.
Such information is utilized to identify the
presence of sedimentary formations above the
basement rocks.

The gravity survey is the least expensive

method and involves the use of a gravimeter,
which picks up a reflection of the density of
the subsurface rock.
For example, because salt is less dense than
rocks, it can detect the presence of salt
domes, which would indicate the presence of
an anticline structure.
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2. Play to Prospect Level

The seismic survey
Involves sending strong pressure (sound)
waves through the earth and receiving the
reflected waves off the various surfaces of the
subsurface rock layers.
This determines the locations of traps that are
suitable for petroleum accumulation.

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Exploration and Production

Seismic Surveys
Drill here!

Earth Science World Image Bank Image #h5inor

Earth Science World Image Bank Image #h5inpj

Seismic surveys are used to locate likely rock structures

underground in which oil and gas might be found
Shock waves are fired into the ground. These bounce off layers
of rock and reveal any structural domes that might contain oil
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Exploration

Exploration
Noise/Vibration

Dynamite
Vibration Truck
Air Gun
Marine Vessels

Disturbance to
human/wildlife/marine life
Low Impact/Transient
Methods to locate:
1)
Maps;
2)
Exploratory well cuttings; and
3)
Geophysical studies (gravity, magnetic, seismic reflectionsa trapping mechanism,
such as an anticline or faulted strata.
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Drilling Proposal - Exploratory Drilling

Remote sensing is a modern technique that
involves using infrared, heat-sensitive, color
photography to detect the presence of
underground mineral deposits, water, faults,
and other structural features.
The sensing device, normally on a satellite,
feeds the signals into special computers that
produces maps of the subsurface structures.

Three conditions must be present:

1)
source rock, rich in organic material;
2)
reservoir rock, such as porous and permeable limestone or dolomite; and
3)
a trapping mechanism, such as an anticline or faulted strata.
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Drilling Overview

Drilling Operation

1. Rig Types and Components

2. Drilling Method

Fundamentals
Dangers
Evaluation of sediments
Logging

3. Testing
Fast & Furious
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
ISSUE #37 | November 2005

Phoenix Geophysics

Drilling
Rig
Drilling
Rig

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Offshore Rig Types

Crown
Crown Block
Block

Mud
Mud Hose
Hose
Kelly
Kelly
Rotary
Rotary Table
Table
Mud
Mud Pump
Pump

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Traveling
Traveling Block
Block
Hook
Hook
Swivel
Swivel
Draw
Draw Works
Works

Casing
Casing

Drill Pipe

Drill
Drill Pipe
Pipe

Bit

Bit
Bit
What does
Weight on Bit mean?

24803

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BARGE: Towed, Sunk, Sits on Bottom

< 30 Feet of Water
Jacket: 1+ Wells, Small/Cantilevered Rig
Calm/Shallow
JACK-UP: Towed, Jacked-up,
15 to 650 Feet
SEMI-SUBMERSIBLE Anchored over Drill Site 4000 Feet
Dynamic Positioning 6500 Feet
Drill Ships:
Automatic Positioning
10000+ Feet

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Offshore Platforms
Drilling & Production

Drilling - Testing
1. Reasons
Evaluation of hydrocarbon accumulation (amount, type,
deliverability)
Evaluation of rock properties (flow, pressure)

DW Platforms - Kalimantan

2. Method
Offshore Platform - Thailand

Perforation of zones (based on log analysis)

Flow, chokes, and measuring rates

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Types of Well
Geologic classification types of reservoir and reservoir
drive mechanisms
Well Location, Spacing, and Production Rates
Another important function of reservoir engineering
is to determine the optimum locations of the wells to
be drilled and the production rate from each well for
the most effective depletion of the reservoir.
Another way to classify oil wells is by their purpose in
contributing to the development of a resource.

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wildcat wells are those drilled outside of and

not in the vicinity of known oil or gas fields.
exploration wells are drilled purely for
exploratory (information gathering) purposes in
a new area.
appraisal wells are used to assess characteristics
(such as flow rate) of a proven hydrocarbon
accumulation.
production wells are drilled primarily for
producing oil or gas, once the producing
structure and characteristics are determined.
Abandoned well are wells permanently plugged
in the drilling phase for technical reasons.
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At a producing well site, active wells

may be further categorised as:
oil producers producing predominantly liquid
hydrocarbons, but mostly with some associated gas.
gas producers producing almost entirely gaseous
hydrocarbons.
water injectors injecting water into the formation to
maintain reservoir pressure, or simply to dispose of water
produced with the hydrocarbons because even after
treatment, it would be too oily and too saline to be
considered clean for dumping overboard offshore, let alone
into a fresh water resource in the case of onshore wells.
Water injection into the producing zone frequently has an
element of reservoir management; however, often
produced water disposal is into shallower zones safely
beneath any fresh water zones.

aquifer producers intentionally producing water for reinjection to manage pressure. If possible this water will
come from the reservoir itself. Using aquifer produced
water rather than water from other sources is to
preclude chemical incompatibility that might lead to
reservoir-plugging precipitates. These wells will
generally be needed only if produced water from the
oil or gas producers is insufficient for reservoir
management purposes.
gas injectors injecting gas into the reservoir often as a
means of disposal or sequestering for later production,
but also to maintain reservoir pressure.

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Trap nomenclature:
aquifer producers intentionally producing water for reinjection to manage pressure. If possible this water will
come from the reservoir itself.
Using aquifer produced water rather than water from
other sources is to preclude chemical incompatibility
that might lead to reservoir-plugging precipitates.
These wells will generally be needed only if produced
water from the oil or gas producers is insufficient for
reservoir management purposes.
gas injectors injecting gas into the reservoir often as a
means of disposal or sequestering for later production,
but also to maintain reservoir pressure.
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Crest (or culmination) is the highest point of

the trap
Spill point is the lowest point at which
hydrocarbons may be contained in the trap.
This lies on a horizontal contour, the spill
plane Closure of the trap is a vertical distance
crest to spill plane

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Petroleum System Elements & Processes

It is ALL
or nothing
Petroleum System
Elements
A trap may contain oil, gas, or both. The oil water
contact (commonly referred to as OWC) is the
deepest level of producible oil.
Similarly, the gas oil contact (GOC), is the lower limit
of producible gas.
Also it is important to gas overlies the oil as the gas
has a lower density and water will take the lowest
position (the highest density of the three liquids).

Gas
Cap
Oil

Entrapment

Water

Seal Rock
Reservoir
Rock

Migration
120 F
Source Rock

Generation
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Fig. 1. Main geological conditions and geochemical processes required

for the formation of petroleum accumulations in sedimentary basins:
1) petroleum generation in source rocks;
2) primary migration of petroleum;
3) secondary migration of petroleum;
4) accumulation of petroleum in a reservoir trap;
5) seepage of petroleum at the Earths surface as a consequence of a
fractured cap rock.

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350 F
24803
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Petroleum accumulation forms in sedimentary

basins and can be discovered by exploration, if
the following geological conditions are met:
Occurrence of source rocks which generate
petroleums under proper subsurface
temperature conditions.
Sediment compaction leading to expulsion of
petroleum from the source and into the
reservoir rocks (primary migration).

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Occurrence of reservoir rocks of sufficient

porosity and permeability allowing flow of
petroleum through the pore system
(secondary migration).
Structural configurations of sedimentary
strata whereby the reservoir rocks form
traps, i.e. closed containers in the subsurface
for the accumulation of petroleum.
Traps are sealed above by impermeable
sediment layers (cap rocks) in order to keep
petroleum accumulations in place.
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The question of the origin of petroleum has

been hotly debated for a long time.
A great many theories, hypotheses and
speculations have been proposed.
Decades ago, various ideas on a possible
inorganic origin of petroleum were brought
forward, e.g. that it results from the reaction
of iron carbide with water deep in the Earths
crust.

Correct timing with respect to the sequence by

which the processes of petroleum generation
/migration and trap formation have occurred
during the history of a sedimentary basin.
Favourable conditions for the preservation of
petroleum accumulation during extended periods
of geologic time, i.e. absence of destructive, such
as the fracturing of cap rocks leading to
dissipation of petroleum accumulations, or
severe heating resulting in the cracking of oil into
gas.
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The main evidence supporting these theories

was the occasional occurrence of hydrocarbon
fluid inclusions and solid bitumens in igneous
rocks as well as a few cases of oil and gas
fields hosted in fractured basement rocks (e.g.
granites, basalts, and metamorphic rocks).

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However, in most of these cases it could be

demonstrated that the petroleum materials were
ultimately generated in sedimentary rocks and had
been transported, e.g. by convective flow of
mineralising aqueous fluids, into the granites, or that
they had migrated from sedimentary strata over long
distances to accumulate in fractured basement rocks.
These cases of petroleums occurring in basement rocks
are extremely rare and not commercially important
when compared to the vast majority of hydrocarbon
reserves in sedimentary basins (Selley, 1998).

One of the main arguments concerns the

ubiquitous occurrence of biological marker
molecules in petroleums, such as porphyrines,
steranes and hopanes.
The highly specific carbon structures of these
molecules could not be synthesized by inorganic
reactions.
They are clearly and uniquely derived from
molecular structures synthesized by living
organisms.

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Petroleum Traps
A geologic environment that allows for economically
significant amounts of oil and gas to accumulate
underground is termed an oil/petroleum trap

Today, the evidence in favour of an organic origin of

petroleum is overwhelming.
One of the main arguments concerns the ubiquitous
occurrence of biological marker molecules in
petroleums, such as porphyrines, steranes and
hopanes.
The highly specific carbon structures of these
molecules could not be synthesized by inorganic
reactions.
They are clearly and uniquely derived from molecular
structures synthesized by living organisms.

Oil and gas is contained in a reservoir. A reservoir must

be permeable to oil and gas, and contain sufficient
interconnected pore space to accommodate the
petroleum. Common examples are poorly lithified
sandstones, carbonate reefs, diagenetic carbonates.

The roof of the trap must be made of material that is

impermeable to fluids. This is necessary to prevent the
upward escape of oil and gas which are much less dense
than the surrounding rock.

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Common traps include anticline fold traps, fault-bounded

traps (structural traps) as well as various stratigraphic
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traps.

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1. Dome-Shaped and Anticline

Reservoirs
These reservoirs are formed
by the folding of the rock
layers as shown in Figure 1.1.
The dome is circular in
outline, and the anticline is
long and narrow

Oil and/or gas moved or migrated upward

through the porous strata where it was
trapped by the sealing cap rock and the shape
of the structure.

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2. Faulted Reservoirs:

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3. Salt-Dome Reservoirs:
This type of reservoir structure, which
takes the shape of a dome, was
formed due to the upward movement
of large, impermeable salt dome that
deformed and lifted the overlying
layers of rock.
As shown in Figure 1.3, petroleum is
trapped between the cap rock and an
underlying impermeable rock layer, or
between two impermeable layers of
rock and the salt dome.

These reservoirs are

formed by shearing and
offsetting of the strata
(faulting), as shown in
Figure 1.2.

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4. Unconformities:

5. Lense-Type Reservoirs:

This type of reservoir

structure, shown in
Figure 1.4, was formed
as a result of an
unconformity where the
impermeable cap rock
was laid down across the
cut-off surfaces of the
lower beds.

In this type of reservoir, the

petroleum bearing porous
formation is sealed by the
surrounding, nonporous formation.
Irregular deposition of sediments
and shale at the time the
formation was laid down is the
probable cause for this abrupt
change in formation porosity.
An example of this type of
reservoirs is shown in Figure 1.5.

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Day 2 - Sources, Origin and Nature of

Petroleum

Stratigraphic trap

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Oil and gas field development

Production
Well fluids and surface production operations
Transportation

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Oil and gas field development

Largest Hydrocarbon Basins

by Ultimate Potential

5 of top 10
US Fields in
California
(>1 BBL)

Where do you look for oil?

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Well Development, Location, Spacing,

and Production Rates

A Strategic Natural Resource

Another important function of reservoir

engineering is to determine the optimum
locations of the wells to be drilled and the
production rate from each well for the most
effective depletion of the reservoir.

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National Geographic, 2002

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Circulation System

Well Fluids
Function of Drilling Fluid or Mud
Remove Cuttings from the Hole
Hole Cleaning
Prevent Flow of Formation Fluids
PRESSURE CONTROL
Clean Bottom of Hole (Below Bit)
Control Torque (Reduce Friction)
Retard Corrosion
Cool / Lubricate Bit
Hole Stability
Drive Mud Motor
Provide Hole: Logging & Completing

Why do we have this?

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Hydraulic Effects
Hydraulic Effects
Holding Down
Cuttings:

Hydraulic Effects
Lifting Cuttings:

(1) Hydrostatic
Pressure of
Mud Column

Bit
Hydraulics

(1) Formation
Pore Pressure
(2) High-velocity
Jet Action

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(2) Filter Cake

(3) Filtrate
Penetration

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What does the hole look like?

Surface Production Operations

MUD

FILTRATE

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GOSP J&P KSA $340m

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