GEOLOGY

Abnormal pressure: A subsurface condition in which the pore pressure of a geologic formation
exceeds or is less than the expected, or normal, formation pressure. When impermeable rocks
such as shales are compacted rapidly, their pore fluids cannot always escape and must then
support the total overlying rock column, leading to abnormally high formation pressures. Excess
pressure, called overpressure or geopressure, can cause a well to blowout or become
uncontrollable during drilling. Severe underpressure can cause the drillpipe to stick to the
underpressured formation.

Absolute age: The measurement of age in years. The determination of the absolute age of rocks,
minerals and fossils, in years before the present, is the basis for the field of geochronology. The
measurement of the decay of radioactive isotopes, especially uranium, strontium, rubidium,
argon and carbon, has allowed geologists to more precisely determine the age of rock formations.
Tree rings and seasonal sedimentary deposits called varves can be counted to determine
absolute age. Although the term implies otherwise, "absolute" ages typically have some amount
of potential error and are inexact. Relative age, in contrast, is the determination of whether a
given material is younger or older than other surrounding material on the basis of stratigraphic
and structural relationships, such as superposition, or by interpretation of fossil content.

Absolute permeability: The measurement of the permeability, or ability to flow or transmit fluids
through a rock, conducted when a single fluid, or phase, is present in the rock. The symbol most
commonly used for permeability is k, which is measured in units of darcies or millidarcies.

Absolute pressure: The measurement of pressure relative to the pressure in a vacuum, equal to
the sum of the pressure shown on a pressure gauge and atmospheric pressure.

Abyss / Abyssal: Pertaining to the depositional environment of the deepest area of the ocean
basins, the abyss. The depositional energy is low, the abyssal plain is flat and nearly horizontal,
and fine-grained sediments are deposited slowly by waning turbidity currents or from
suspension in the water. The water is thousands of meters deep (> 2000 m) [6520 ft], so the
water is cold and sunlight is minimal.

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Accomodation: Sequence stratigraphic term for the amount of space available for sediment
accumulation. Dominant influences on the amount of accommodation, or accommodation space,
include subsidence and eustasy.

Accumulation:
- The phase in the development of a petroleum system during which hydrocarbons migrate into
and remain trapped in a reservoir.
- An occurrence of trapped hydrocarbons, an oil field. (play)

Active margin: A boundary of colliding lithospheric plates. The present subduction zones of the
Pacific Rim, the older mountains of the Alps, and the Himalayas represent active margins.

Aeolian/eolian: Pertaining to the environment of deposition of sediments by wind, such as the

sand dunes in a desert. Because fine-grained sediments such as clays are removed easily from
wind-blown deposits, eolian sandstones are typically clean and well-sorted.

Aerated layer / weathered layer: The surface or near-surface, unconsolidated sedimentary layer
that has been subject to weathering and whose pores are air-filled instead of liquid-filled. An
aerated layer typically has a low seismic velocity.

Aggradation / aggradational: The accumulation of stratigraphic sequences by deposition that

stacks beds atop each other, building upwards during periods of balance between sediment
supply and accommodation.

Alidade: A telescopic surveying device used to construct surface topographic and geologic maps in
the field. The alidade is mounted on a plane table, which has a sheet of paper on which to draw
the map, and an object or location is sighted through the alidade. The edge of the alidade is
aligned in the azimuthal direction of the object or location. The vertical angle from which
elevation of the location can be calculated is measured using the calibrated arc of the alidade.

Allochthon: A rock mass formed somewhere other than its present location, which was
transported by fault movements, large-scale gravity sliding, or similar processes.

Allochthonous: Pertaining to materials, particularly rock masses, that formed somewhere other
than their present location, and were transported by fault movements, large-scale gravity sliding,
or similar processes. Autochthonous material, in contrast, formed in its present location.
Landslides can result in large masses of allochthonous rock, which typically can be distinguished
from autochthonous rocks on the basis of their difference in composition. Faults and folds can
also separate allochthons from autochthons.

Allogenic: Pertaining to minerals or rock fragments that formed in one location but were
transported to another location and deposited. Clastic sediments in a rock such as sandstone are
allogenic, or formed elsewhere.

Alluvial: Pertaining to the subaerial (as opposed to submarine) environment, action and products
of a stream or river on its floodplain, usually consisting of detrital clastic sediments, and distinct
from subaqueous deposition such as in lakes or oceans and lower energy fluvial deposition.
Sediments deposited in an alluvial environment can be subject to high depositional energy, such
as fast-moving flood waters, and may be poorly sorted or chaotic.

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Alluvium: Material deposited in an alluvial environment, typically detrital sediments that are
poorly sorted.

Anaerobic:
- The condition of an environment in which free oxygen is lacking or absent.
- A description of organisms that can survive in the absence of oxygen, particularly bacteria.

Angular unconformity: A surface that separates younger strata from eroded, dipping, older strata
and represents a gap in the geologic record.

Anhydrite: A member of the evaporite group of minerals and the soft rock comprising anhydrite
formed by precipitation of calcium sulfate from evaporation of seawater. Anhydrite can also form
through the dehydration of gypsum, another sulfate mineral found in evaporites. Anhydrite may
occur as a cap rock above salt domes.

Anisotropic / Anisotropy: Predictable variation of a property of a material with the direction in

which it is measured, which can occur at all scales. For a crystal of a mineral, variation in physical
properties observed in different directions is anisotropy. In rocks, variation in seismic velocity
measured parallel or perpendicular to bedding surfaces is a form of anisotropy.
Often found where platy minerals such as micas and clays align parallel to depositional
bedding as sediments are compacted, anisotropy is common in shales.

Anomaly / Anomalous: An entity or property that differs from what is typical or expected, or
which differs from that predicted by a theoretical model. May be the measurement of the
difference between an observed or measured value and the expected values of a physical
property. Anomalies can be of great interest in hydrocarbon and mineral exploration because
they often indicate hydrocarbon and mineral prospects and accumulations, such as geologic
structures like folds and faults. Geochemical anomalies at the surface of the Earth can also
indicate an accumulation of hydrocarbons at depth. Geophysical anomalies, such as amplitude
anomalies in seismic data and magnetic anomalies in the Earth's crust, can also be associated
with hydrocarbon accumulations.

Anoxic: The condition of an environment in which free oxygen is lacking or absent.

Anticlinal trap: A type of structural hydrocarbon trap whose closure is controlled by the presence
of an anticline.

Anticline / Anticlinal: An arch-shaped fold in rock in which rock layers are upwardly convex. The
oldest rock layers form the core of the fold, and outward from the core progressively younger
rocks occur. Anticlines form many excellent hydrocarbon traps, particularly in folds with
reservoir-quality rocks in their core and impermeable seals in the outer layers of the fold. A
syncline is the opposite type of fold, having downwardly convex layers with young rocks in the
core.

Antithetic fault: A minor, secondary fault, usually one of a set, whose sense of displacement is
opposite to its associated major and synthetic faults. Antithetic-synthetic fault sets are typical in
areas of normal faulting.

Apparent dip: The angle that a plane makes with the horizontal measured in any randomly
oriented section rather than perpendicular to strike.

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Appraisal: The phase of petroleum operations that immediately follows successful exploratory
drilling. During appraisal, delineation wells might be drilled to determine the size of the oil or gas
field and how to develop it most efficiently.

Aquifer:
- A body of rock whose fluid saturation, porosity and permeability permit production of
groundwater.
- A water bearing portion of a petroleum reservoir with a waterdrive.

Arenaceous: Describing sandy-textured rock or sediment. Arenaceous does not necessarily imply
silica-rich, but rather particles of sand size, 0.625 to 2 mm, according to the Udden-Wentworth
scale.

Argillaceous: Describing rocks or sediments containing particles that are silt- or clay-sized, less
than 0.625 mm in size. Most have a high clay-mineral content, and many contain a sufficient
percentage of organic material to be considered a source rock for hydrocarbon.

Asphalt: A solid or nearly solid form of bitumen that can melt upon heating and contains
impurities such as nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur. Asphalt forms naturally when the light
components or volatiles of petroleumhave been removed or evaporated.

Asthenoshpere: The relatively plastic layer of the upper mantle of the Earth on which the tectonic
plates of the lithosphere move. The asthenosphere is approximately 200 km [124 miles] thick
and, owing to its depth below the Earth's surface, warm (~ 1400 oC) [2640 oF] but not molten.
Here the mantle deforms by plastic flow in response to applied pressures above 100 MPa [14,500
psi]. This zone is considered coincidental, at least below oceanic crust, with the low-velocity zone
of the upper mantle.

Attitude: The orientation of a planar or linear feature in three-dimensional space. Planar features
that are not horizontal, such as tilted strata, are described by their strike, or the azimuth of the
intersection of the plane with a horizontal surface, and the dip, or the magnitude of its inclination
from a horizontal reference. The trend and plunge of linear features, such as the axis of a fold,
describe the azimuth of the line and its deviation from horizontal.

Aulacogen: In plate tectonics, a failed rift arm. At the junctions of tectonic plates, three
intersecting lithospheric plates typically are separated by "arms." Arms might be areas of
rifting, convergence or transform faults (similar to a strike-slip fault). The arm along which the
motion that spreads the plates apart ceases is termed the failed arm, or aulacogen. Spreading or
rifting along the other arms of the triple junction can form new oceanic basins, whereas the
aulacogen can become a sediment-filled graben.

Authigenic: Pertaining to minerals or materials that grow in place with a rock, rather than having
been transported and deposited. These include quartz, chlorite and other pore-filling minerals or
cements that grow during diagenesis. Evaporiteminerals are authigenic, or formed in situ.

Autochthonous / authochthon: Materials, especially rock masses, that formed in their present
location and have not been transported. Fault surfaces can separate indigenous rocks from
allochthonous rocks, although some allochthonous rocks are clearly delineated by their differing
composition.

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Axial surface: In folded rocks, the imaginary surface bisecting the limbs of the fold. The axial
surface is called the axial plane when the fold is symmetrical and the lines defined by the points
of maximum curvature of each folded layer, or hinge lines, are coplanar.

Barite: A dense sulfate mineral that can occur in a variety of rocks, including limestone and
sandstone, with a range of accessory minerals, such as quartz, chert, dolomite, calcite, siderite
and metal sulfides. Barite is commonly used to add weight to drilling fluid. Barite is of
significance to petrophysicists because excess barite can require a correction factor in some well
log measurements.

Base map: A map on which primary data and interpretations can be plotted. A base map typically
includes locations of lease or concession boundaries, wells, seismic survey points and other
cultural data such as buildings and roads, with a geographic reference such as latitude and
longitude or Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid information. Geologists use topographic
maps as base maps for construction of surface geologic maps. Geophysicists typically use shot
point maps, which show the orientations of seismic lines and the specific points at which seismic
data were acquired, to display interpretations of seismic data. In the field, geologists can use a
plane table and alidade to construct a base map.

Basement: The rock layer below which economic hydrocarbon reservoirs are not expected to be
found, sometimes called economic basement. Basement is usually older, deformed igneous or
metamorphic rocks, which seldom develops the porosity and permeability necessary to serve as a
hydrocarbon reservoir, and below which sedimentary rocks are not common. Basement rocks
typically have different density, acoustic velocity, and magnetic properties from overlying rocks.

Basin / sedimentary basin: A depression in the crust of the Earth, caused by plate tectonic
activity and subsidence, in which sediments accumulate. Sedimentary basins vary from bowl-
shaped to elongated troughs. Basins can be bounded by faults. Rift basins are commonly
symmetrical; basins along continental margins tend to be asymmetrical. If rich hydrocarbon
source rocks occur in combination with appropriate depth and duration of burial, then a
petroleum system can develop within the basin.
Most basins contain some amount of shale, thus providing opportunities for shale gas
exploration and production

Bathyal: Pertaining to the environment of deposition and the organisms of the ocean between
depths of 200 m [656 ft], the edge of the continental shelf, and 2000 m [6560 ft]. The bathyal
environment is intermediate between the neritic environment and the abyss.

Bed: A layer of sediment or sedimentary rock, or stratum. A bed is the smallest stratigraphic unit,
generally a centimeter or more in thickness. To be labeled a bed, the stratum must be
distinguishable from adjacent beds.

Bed thickness: The thickness of a layer or stratum of sedimentary rock measured perpendicular
to its lateral extent, presuming deposition on a horizontal surface. Because sediment deposition
can occur on inclined surfaces, apparent or measured bed thickness might differ from true bed
thickness. The thickness of a given bed often varies along its extent.

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Bedrock: Solid rock either exposed at the surface or situated below surface soil, unconsolidated
sediments and weathered rock.

Benioff zone / Wadati-Benioff zone: A zone of the upper mantle in which earthquakes occur
when a lithospheric plate is subducted, named in honor of seismologists Kiyoo Wadati and Hugo
Benioff. The dip of the Wadati-Benioff zone coincides with the dip of the subducting plate. The
Wadati-Benioff zone extends to a depth of about 700 km [435 miles] from the Earth's surface.

Benthic / Benthos: Pertaining to the environment and conditions of organisms living at the water
bottom, or benthos. Also called benthonic.

Bentonite: A material composed of clay minerals, predominantly montmorillonite with minor

amounts of other smectite group minerals, commonly used in drilling mud. Bentonite swells
considerably when exposed to water, making it ideal for protecting formations from invasion by
drilling fluids. Montmorillonite forms when basic rocks such as volcanic ash in marine basins are
altered.

Biostratigraphy / biostratigraphic: The application of plant and animal fossils to date and
correlate strata in order to elucidate Earth history, combining the principles of paleontology and
stratigraphy. In the petroleum industry, biostratigraphy often denotes the use of terrestrial
(pollen and spores) and marine (diatoms, foraminifera, nannofossils) microfossils to determine
the absolute or relative age and depositional environment of a particular formation, source rock
or reservoir of interest.

Bitumen: Naturally-occurring, inflammable organic matter formed from kerogen in the process of
petroleum generation that is soluble in carbon bisulfide. Bitumen includes hydrocarbons such as
asphalt and mineral wax. Typically solid or nearly so, brown or black, bitumen has a distinctive
petroliferous odor. Laboratory dissolution with organic solvents allows determination of the
amount of bitumen in samples, an assessment of source rock richness.

Bouma sequence: A characteristic sequence of sedimentary structures occurring in sedimentary

rocks deposited in areas of deep water sedimentation by turbidity currents, which form deposits
called turbidites. In theory, a complete Bouma sequence comprises sediments that fine upwards,
consisting of a lowermost layer of coarse, chaotic clastic sediments deposited under conditions of
high depositional energy overlain by successively finer grained and better stratified sediments
like sands and muds deposited under calmer conditions that are labeled as Units A though E. In
practice, however, the chaotic, high-energy nature of turbidite deposition can alter or remove
underlying sediments so that incomplete sequences of sediments typically remain preserved.

Calcite: The crystalline form of calcium carbonate and chief constituent of limestone and chalk.
Calcite reacts readily with dilute hydrochloric acid [HCl], so the presence of calcite can be tested
by simply placing a drop of acid on a rock specimen.

Caliche:
- A crust of coarse sediments or weathered soil rich in calcium carbonate. It forms when lime-rich
groundwater rises to the surface by capillary action and evaporates into a crumbly powder,
forming a tough, indurated sheet called calcrete. Caliche typically occurs in desert or semi-arid
areas. Of particular concern to geophysicists is the difficulty in acquiring good seismic data when
shooting through a layer of caliche.

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- A deposit of sodium nitrate that is mined and used for fertilizer in parts of South America.

Cap rock / seal: A relatively impermeable rock, commonly shale, anhydrite or salt, that forms a
barrier or cap above and around reservoir rock such that fluids cannot migrate beyond the
reservoir. A seal is a critical component of a complete petroleum system. The permeability of a
seal capable of retaining fluids through geologic time is ~ 10-6 to 10-8 darcies.

Carbonate:
- A class of sedimentary rock whose chief mineral constituents (95% or more) are calcite and
aragonite (both CaCo3) and dolomite [CaMg(CO3)2], a mineral that can replace calcite during the
process of dolomitization. Limestone, dolostone or dolomite, and chalk are carbonate rocks.
Although carbonate rocks can be clastic in origin, they are more commonly formed through
processes of precipitation or the activity of organisms such as coral and algae. Carbonates form
in shallow and deep marine settings, evaporitic basins, lakes and windy deserts. Carbonate rocks
can serve as hydrocarbon reservoir rocks, particularly if their porosity has been enhanced
through dissolution. They rely on fractures for permeability.
- A group of minerals found mostly in limestone and dolostone that includes aragonite,
calcite and dolomite. Calcite is the most abundant and important of the carbonate minerals.

Cataclastic / Cataclasite: Pertaining to a type of metamorphic rock with shearing and granulation
of minerals caused by high mechanical stress during faulting or dynamic metamorphism,
typically during episodes of plate tectonic activity.

Catagenesis: The physical and chemical alteration of sediments and pore fluids at temperatures
and pressures higher than those of diagenesis. Catagenesis involves heating in the range of 50° to
150°C [122° to 302°F]. At these temperatures, chemical bonds break down in kerogen and clays
within shale, generating liquid hydrocarbons. At the high end of this temperature range,
secondary cracking of oil molecules can generate gas molecules.

Cement: The binding material in sedimentary rocks that precipitates between grains from pore
fluids. Calcite and quartz are common cement-forming minerals.

Cementation: The process of precipitation of cement between mineral or rock grains and forming
solid clastic sedimentary rock, one phase of lithification.

Chalk: A porous marine limestone composed of fine-grained remains of microorganisms with

calcite shells, coccolithophores, such as the White Cliffs of Dover (UK). The Austin Chalk of the US
Gulf coast is a prolific, fractured oil reservoir that spurred widespread horizontal drilling activity.

Channel: A linear, commonly concave-based depression through which water and sediment flow
and into which sediment can be deposited in distinctive, often elongated bodies. Channels can
occur in a variety of morphologies, e.g., straight, meandering or braided. In some areas, coarse
sediments can fill channels of streams or rivers that cut through finer grained sediments or rocks.
The close proximity of coarse-grained and fine-grained sediments can ultimately lead to the
formation of stratigraphic hydrocarbon traps.

Chert / Cherty: A sedimentary rock and a variety of quartz made of extremely fine-grained, or
cryptocrystalline, silica, also called chalcedony. The silica might be of organic origin, such as from
the internal structures of sponges called spicules, or inorganic origin, such as precipitation from

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 solution. The latter results in the formation of flint. Chert can form beds, but is more common as
nodules in carbonate rocks.

Chlorite: A platy, pale green mineral of the mica group of sheet silicates, also considered to be a
type of clay mineral, found in sedimentary and low-grade metamorphic rocks. Chlorite is a
common authigenic mineral lining the pores of sandstones. In some cases, the presence of
authigenic chlorite on sand grains can inhibit the growth of pore-filling cements during
diagenesis and preserve pore space for occupation by hydrocarbons.

Chronostratigraphic chart: A graphic display, with geologic time along the vertical axis and
distance along the horizontal axis, to demonstrate the relative ages and geographic extent of
strata or stratigraphic units in a given area, also known as a Wheeler diagram. In addition,
information from seismic data, well logs and rock samples, and biostratigraphic and
lithostratigraphic information can be shown within each chronostratigraphic unit. A
chronostratigraphic chart can concisely illustrate sequence stratigraphic interpretations.

Chronostratigraphy: The study of the ages of strata. The comparison, or correlation, of separated
strata can include study of their relative or absolute ages.

CI / contour interval: The value of the separation between two adjacent contours. A net pay
isopach map might have a contour interval of 10 feet [3 m], whereas a structure contour map
might have a contour interval of 1000 feet [300 m]. Contour intervals are chosen according to the
map scale and the amount and distribution of control points.

Clastic sediment: Sediment consisting of broken fragments derived from preexisting rocks and
transported elsewhere and redeposited before forming another rock. Examples of common
clastic sedimentary rocks include siliciclastic rocks such as conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone
and shale. Carbonate rocks can also be broken and reworked to form clastic sedimentary rocks.

Clathrate : gas hydrate

Clay : Fine-grained sediments less than 0.0039 mm in size.
A group of rock-forming, hydrous aluminum silicate minerals that are platy in structure and can
form by the alteration of silicate minerals like feldspar and amphibole. Common examples include
chlorite, illite, kaolinite, montmorillonite and smectite. Some clays, such as montmorillonite, have
the tendency to swell when exposed to water, creating a potential drilling hazard when clay-
bearing rock formations are exposed to water-base fluids during drilling, possibly reducing the
permeability of a good reservoir rock. Some clays are used in drilling fluids to form an
impermeable mudcake to isolate a formation from the invasion of drilling fluid.
The structural difference among clays (smectite, kaolinite, chlorite, illite) determines the
surface area exposed to reservoir fluids or stimulating fluids. Generally, higher surface area
indicates higher reactivity. However, not all the clay present in a rock is reactive. Clays can be
found in pore spaces, as part of the matrix or as grain-cementing material. Authigenic clays,
which grow in the pores from minerals in the connate water, can be pore-filling or pore-lining.
These clays have considerable surface area exposed in the pore and can be reactive, while detrital
clays that are part of the matrix are usually less reactive. Additionally, clays as cementing, or
grain-binding, materials may react with water or acid to disaggregate the formation if they are
not protected by quartz overgrowths.
The most common clays that create clay problems are kaolinite, smectite, illite and chlorite.
These minerals can be treated using hydrofluoric acid [HF].

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Clean: Pertaining to a sedimentary rock, such as sandstone or limestone, that contains only
minimal amounts of clay minerals. Clean reservoir rocks typically have better porosity and
permeability than dirty rocks whose pores are clogged with fine clay particles. Clean and dirty
are qualitative, descriptive terms.

Closure:
- The vertical distance from the apex of a structure to the lowest structural contour that contains
the structure. Measurements of both the areal closure and the distance from the apex to the
lowest closing contour are typically incorporated in calculations of the estimated hydrocarbon
content of a trap.
- The area, or areal closure, included in the lowest closing contour of a trap. Measurements of both
the areal closure and the distance from the apex to the lowest closing contour are typically
incorporated in calculations of the estimated hydrocarbon content of a trap.

Coal: A carbon-rich sedimentary rock that forms from the remains of plants deposited as peat in
swampy environments. Burial and increase in temperature bring about physical and chemical
changes called coalification. Because of the organic origin of coal, it cannot be classified as a
mineral. The main types of coal, anthracite, bituminous coal and lignite, can be distinguished by
their hardness and energy content, which are affected by their organic content as well as their
conditions of formation. Natural gas associated with coal, called coal gas or coalbed methane, can
be produced economically from coal beds in some areas. In some basins coals form source rocks.

Collision: An interaction of lithospheric plates that can result in the formation of mountain belts
and subduction zones. The collision of two plates of continental lithosphere, known as an A-type
collision, can produce high mountains as rocks are folded, faulted and uplifted to accommodate
the converging plates, as observed in the Alps and the Himalayas. B-type collisions, in which
oceanic lithospheric plates collide with continental lithospheric plates, typically produce a
subduction zone where the relatively denser oceanic plate descends below the relatively lighter
continental plate, as seen on the Pacific coast of South America.

Compaction: The physical process by which sediments are consolidated, resulting in the reduction
of pore space as grains are packed closer together. As layers of sediment accumulate, the ever
increasing overburden pressure during burial causes compaction of the sediments, loss of pore
fluids and formation of rock as grains are welded or cemented together.

Competent: Describes a bed that maintains its original thickness during deformation. Often
pertains to relatively brittle, solid strata that deform by faulting, fracturing or folding, rather than
flowing under stress. Incompetent beds are more ductile and tend to flow under stress, so their
bed thickness changes more readily during deformation.

Concentric fold / Parallel fold: The deformation of rock layers in which the thickness of each
layer, measured perpendicular to initial undeformed layering, is maintained after the rock layers
have been folded.

Condensate: A low-density, high-API gravity liquid hydrocarbon phase that generally occurs in
association with natural gas. Its presence as a liquid phase depends on temperature and pressure
conditions in the reservoir allowing condensation of liquid from vapor. The production of
condensate reservoirs can be complicated because of the pressure sensitivity of some

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 condensates: During production, there is a risk of the condensate changing from gas to liquid if
the reservoir pressure drops below the dew point during production. Reservoir pressure can be
maintained by fluid injection if gas production is preferable to liquid production. Gas produced in
association with condensate is called wet gas. The API gravity of condensate is typically 50
degrees to 120 degrees.

Condensed section: In sequence stratigraphy, a section of fine-grained sedimentary rocks that

accumulated slowly, thereby representing a considerable span of time by only a thin layer. In
condensed sections, fossils and organic, phosphatic and glauconitic material tend to be
concentrated compared with rapidly deposited sections that contain few fossils. Condensed
sections are most commonly deposited during transgressions. In such cases they are associated
with "maximum flooding surfaces" and form important sequence stratigraphic markers.

Conformable / conformity:
- Parallel strata that have undergone a similar geologic history, deposited in succession without
interruption.
- The nature of the contact between strata deposited in continuous succession

Conformity: A bedding surface separating younger from older strata, along which there is no
evidence of subaerial or submarine erosion or of nondeposition, and along which there is no
evidence of a significant hiatus. Unconformities (sequence boundaries) and flooding surfaces
(parasequence boundaries) pass laterally into correlative conformities, or correlative surfaces.

Connate water: Water trapped in the pores of a rock during formation of the rock. The chemistry
of connate water can change in composition throughout the history of the rock. Connate water
can be dense and saline compared with seawater. Formation water, or interstitial water, in
contrast, is simply water found in the pore spaces of a rock, and might not have been present
when the rock was formed. Connate water is also described as fossil water.

Consolidated / consolidation: Pertaining to sediments that have been compacted and cemented
to the degree that they become coherent, relatively solid rock. Typical consequences of
consolidation include an increase in density and acoustic velocity, and a decrease in porosity.

Contact: see fluid contact, lithologic contact.

Continental shelf: see shelf.

Contour: A line on a map that represents a constant value of the parameter being mapped. This
line includes points of equal value and separates points of higher value from points of lower
value. Contours are commonly drawn on maps to portray the structural configuration of the
Earth's surface or formations in the subsurface. For example, structure maps contain contours of
constant elevation with respect to a datum (such as sea level). Contours are also used to interpret
subsurface configurations of rock bodies in areas of limited control, such as drawing contours of
the thickness of a common rock unit in several widely separated wells to extrapolate its thickness
in a nearby undrilled location. The act of drawing contours.

Contour interval: CI

Contour map: A map displaying lines that include points of equal value and separate points of
higher value from points of lower value. Common types of contour maps include topographic

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 contour maps, which show the elevation of the Earth's surface; structure contour maps, which
show the elevation or depth of a formation; and gross or net sand or pay maps, which show
variations in the thickness of a stratigraphic unit, also called isopachs.

Convection: The density- and heat-driven cycling, transfer or circulation of energy through which
material initially warms up and becomes relatively less dense, then rises, cools and becomes
relatively denser, and finally sinks. As a consequence of convection, material can turn over
repeatedly in a convection cell. Within the Earth, radiogenic heating results in convection
appearing in the mantle and might drive plate tectonic motions. Convection also occurs in the
ocean waters and in the Earth's atmosphere.

Conventional reservoir: A reservoir in which buoyant forces keep hydrocarbons in place below a
sealing caprock. Reservoir and fluid characteristics of conventional reservoirs typically permit oil
or natural gas to flow readily into wellbores. The term is used to make a distinction from shale
and other unconventional reservoirs, in which gas might be distributed throughout the reservoir
at the basin scale, and in which buoyant forces or the influence of a water column on the location
of hydrocarbons within the reservoir are not significant.

Convergence: The movement of tectonic plates toward each other, generating compressional
forces and ultimately resulting in collision, and in some cases subduction, of tectonic plates. The
boundary where tectonic plates converge is called a convergent margin.

Convergent: convergence
Core: Innermost layer of the Earth. Studies of compressional and shear waves indicate that the
core makes up nearly 3500 km [2170 miles] of the Earth's radius of 6370 km [3950 miles]. Such
studies also demonstrate that because shear waves do not pass through the outer part of the core
(2250 km [1400 miles] thick), it is liquid (only solids can shear). The inner core is solid and 1220
km [750 miles] thick. The core's iron and nickel composition was inferred through studies of the
Earth's gravitational field and average density. The relatively low density of the outer layers of the
Earth suggests a dense inner layer.

Correlate / correlation: To seek a comparison or equivalence. Scientists attempt to compare or

match up well log signatures, chemical signatures, seismic signatures, fossils and rock samples
across wide areas to determine the equivalence, extent, thickness, quality, relative age or other
properties of stratigraphic units and rock bodies.

Correlation / correlate : A connection of points from well to well in which the data suggest that
the points were deposited at the same time (chronostratigraphic) or have similar and related
characteristics.

Craton: A stable area of continental crust that has not undergone much plate tectonic or orogenic
activity for a long period. A craton includes a crystalline basement of commonly Precambrian
rock called a shield, and a platform in which flat-lying or nearly flat-lying sediments or
sedimentary rock surround the shield. A commonly cited example of a craton is the Canadian
Shield.

Crest / Peak: The highest point of a wave, mountain or geologic structure.

Critical moment: The time of maximum depth of burial of a hydrocarbon source rock. The critical
moment is the time of highest probability of entrapment and preservation of hydrocarbons in a

~ 11 ~
 petroleum system-after traps form and hydrocarbons migrate into a reservoir and accumulate-
and mark the beginning of preservation in a viable petroleum system.

Crop out: outcrop

Cross section / Cross-sectional: A diagram of a vertical section through a volume, as opposed to

the surface, "bird's eye," or plan view of a map. Cross sections are useful for displaying the types
and orientations of subsurface structures and formations.

Crude oil: A general term for unrefined petroleum or liquid petroleum.

Crust: The thin, outermost shell of the Earth that is typically 5 km to 75 km thick [3 to 46 miles].
The continental crust comprises rocks similar in composition to granite and basalt (i.e., quartz,
feldspar, biotite, amphibole and pyroxene) whereas the composition of oceanic crust is basaltic
(pyroxene and feldspar). The crust overlies the more dense rock of the mantle, which consists of
rocks composed of minerals like pyroxene and olivine, and the iron and nickel core of the Earth.
The Mohorovicic discontinuity abruptly separates the crust from the mantle; the velocity of
compressional waves is significantly higher below the discontinuity. The crust, mantle and core of
the Earth are distinguished from the lithosphere and asthenosphere on the basis of their
composition and not their mechanical behavior.

Cubic packing: The arrangement in space of uniform spheres (atoms and molecules in mineral
crystals or grains in clastic sedimentary rocks) that results in a cubic material structure. Cubic
packing is mechanically unstable, but it is the most porous packing arrangement, with about 47%
porosity in the ideal situation. Most sediments are not uniform spheres of the same size, nor can
they be arranged in a cubic structure naturally, so most sediments have much less than 47%
porosity.

Dead oil: Oil at sufficiently low pressure that it contains no dissolved gas or a relatively thick oil or
residue that has lost its volatile components.

Decollement: A fault surface parallel to a mechanically weak horizon or layer, or parallel to

bedding, that detaches or separates deformed rocks above from undeformed or differently
deformed rocks below. Decollements, or decollement surfaces, are typical of regions of thrust
faulting such as the Alps.

Deep-water play: Exploration activity located in offshore areas where water depths exceed
approximately 600 feet [200 m], the approximate water depth at the edge of the continental shelf.
While deep-water reservoir targets are geologically similar to reservoirs drilled both in shallower
present-day water depths as well as onshore, the logistics of producing hydrocarbons from
reservoirs located below such water depths presents a considerable technical challenge.

Delta / deltaic: An area of deposition or the deposit formed by a flowing sediment-laden current
as it enters an open or standing body of water, such as a river spilling into a gulf. As a river enters
a body of water, its velocity drops and its ability to carry sediment diminishes, leading to
deposition. The term has origins in Greek because the shape of deltas in map view can be similar
to the Greek letter delta. The shapes of deltas are subsequently modified by rivers, tides and
waves. There is a characteristic coarsening upward of sediments in a delta. The three main
classes of deltas are river-dominated (Mississippi River), wave-dominated (Nile River), and tide-

~ 12 ~
 dominated (Ganges River). Ancient deltas contain some of the largest and most productive
petroleum systems.

Density: Mass per unit of volume. Density is typically reported in g/cm 3 (for example, rocks) or
pounds per barrel (drilling mud) in the oil field.

Density current: turbidity current

Depocenter: The area of thickest deposition in a basin.

Deposit: Sediments that have accumulated, usually after being moved by wind, water or ice (n).
The action of moving sediments and laying them down (vt)

Depositional energy: The relative kinetic energy of the environment. A high-energy environment
might consist of a rapidly flowing stream that is capable of carrying coarse-grained sediments,
such as gravel and sand. Sedimentation in a low-energy environment, such as an abyssal plain,
usually involves very fine-grained clay or mud. Depositional energy is not simply velocity. For
example, although glaciers do not move quickly, they are capable of carrying large boulders.

Depositional environment: The area in which and physical conditions under which sediments
are deposited, including sediment source; depositional processes such as deposition by wind,
water or ice; and location and climate, such as desert, swamp or river.

Depositional system: The three-dimensional array of sediments or lithofacies that fills a basin.
Depositional systems vary according to the types of sediments available for deposition as well as
the depositional processes and environments in which they are deposited. The dominant
depositional systems are alluvial, fluvial, deltaic, marine, lacustrine and eolian systems.

Detrital / detritus: Pertaining to particles of rock derived from the mechanical breakdown of
preexisting rocks by weathering and erosion. Detrital fragments can be transported to recombine
and, through the process of lithification, become sedimentary rocks. Detrital is usually used
synonymously with clastic, although a few authors differentiate between weathering of particles,
which forms detrital sediments, and mechanical breakage, which produces clastic sediments.

Development: The phase of petroleum operations that occurs after exploration has proven
successful, and before full-scale production. The newly discovered oil or gas field is assessed
during an appraisal phase, a plan to fully and efficiently exploit it is created, and additional wells
are usually drilled.

Dextral: Pertaining to a strike-slip fault or right-lateral fault in which the block across the fault
moves to the right. If it moves left, the relative motion is described as sinistral. Clockwise rotation
or spiraling is also described as dextral.

Diagenesis:
- The physical, chemical or biological alteration of sediments into sedimentary rock at relatively
low temperatures and pressures that can result in changes to the rock's original mineralogy and
texture. After deposition, sediments are compacted as they are buried beneath successive layers
of sediment and cemented by minerals that precipitate from solution. Grains of sediment, rock
fragments and fossils can be replaced by other minerals during diagenesis. Porosity usually
decreases during diagenesis, except in rare cases such as dissolution of minerals and

~ 13 ~
 dolomitization. Diagenesis does not include weathering processes. Hydrocarbon generation
begins during diagenesis. There is not a clear, accepted distinction between diagenesis and
metamorphism, although metamorphism occurs at pressures and temperatures higher than
those of the outer crust, where diagenesis occurs (diagenetic).
- The initial stage of alteration of sediments and maturation of kerogen that occurs at temperatures
less than 50°C [122°F]. The type of hydrocarbon generated depends on the type of organic matter
in the kerogen, the amount of time that passes, and the ambient temperature and pressure.
During early diagenesis, microbial activity is a key contributor to the breakdown of organic
matter and generally results in production of biogenic gas. Longer exposure to higher
temperatures during diagenesis, catagenesis, and metagenesis generally results in transformation
of the kerogen into liquid hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon gases

Diagenetic porosity : A type of secondary porosity created during diagenesis, commonly through
dissolution or dolomitization or both. Diagenesis usually destroys porosity, so diagenetic porosity
is rare.

Diapir : A relatively mobile mass that intrudes into preexisting rocks. Diapirs commonly intrude
vertically through more dense rocks because of buoyancy forces associated with relatively low-
density rock types, such as salt, shale and hot magma, which form diapirs. The process is known
as diapirism. By pushing upward and piercing overlying rock layers, diapirs can form anticlines,
salt domes and other structures capable of trapping hydrocarbons. Igneous intrusions are
typically too hot to allow the preservation of preexisting hydrocarbons.

Diatom / diatomaceous : A microscopic, single-celled, freshwater or saltwater algae that has a

silica-rich cell wall called a frustule. Diatoms are so abundant that they can form thick layers of
sediment composed of the frustules of the organisms that died and sank to the bottom. Frustules
have been an important component of deep-sea deposits since Cretaceous time. Diatomite is the
sedimentary rock that forms from diatom frustules.

Diatomite : A soft, silica-rich sedimentary rock comprising diatom remains that forms most
commonly in lakes and deep marine areas. Diatomite can form an excellent reservoir rock. The
Belridge diatomite in the San Joaquin basin, California, USA, is a prolific oil-producing formation.

Differential compaction : A phenomenon that occurs after the deposition of some sediments such
that different parts of the sedimentary accumulation develop different degrees of porosity or
settle unevenly during burial beneath successive layers of sediment. This can result from location
on an uneven surface, such as near and over a reef structure, or near a growth fault, or from
different susceptibility to compaction. The porosity in a formation that has experienced
differential compaction can vary considerably from one area to another.

Dike / dyke : An intrusive rock that invades preexisting rocks, commonly in a tabular shape that
cuts vertically or nearly vertically across preexisting layers. Dikes form from igneous and
sedimentary rocks.

Dip : The magnitude of the inclination of a plane from horizontal. True, or maximum, dip is
measured perpendicular to strike. Apparent dip is measured in a direction other than
perpendicular to strike.

Dipping bed : A layer of rock or sediment that is not horizontal.

~ 14 ~
Dirty : Describing sedimentary rock that contains clay minerals. Even small amounts of clay
minerals in pores can drastically reduce porosity and permeability. Dirty and clean are
qualitative, descriptive terms to describe the relative amount of clay minerals in a rock.

Disconformity : A geologic surface that separates younger strata from older strata and represents
a time of nondeposition, possibly combined with erosion. Some disconformities are highly
irregular whereas others have no relief and can be difficult to distinguish within a series of
parallel strata.

Disharmonic : Pertaining to structures in which the shapes of adjacent layers differ or do not
conform to one another. Folds of rock layers that have different mechanical properties or
competence tend to be disharmonic, with a change in fold shape, symmetry or wavelength from
one layer to the next.

Displacement : The offset of segments or points that were once continuous or adjacent. Layers of
rock that have been moved by the action of faults show displacement on either side of the fault
surface.

Dolomite :
- A widely-distributed carbonate mineral and chief constituent of dolostone
- The name given to dolomitized limestone.

Dolomitization : The geochemical process in supratidal sabkha areas where magnesium [Mg] ions
from the evaporation of seawater replace calcium [Ca] ions in calcite, forming the mineral
dolomite. The volume of dolomite is less than that of calcite, so the replacement of calcite by
dolomite in a rock increases the pore space in the rock by 13% and forms an important reservoir
rock. Dolomitization can occur during deep burial diagenesis.

Dolostone : A rock composed chiefly (> 90%) of dolomite. The rock is sometimes called dolomite,
but dolostone is preferable to avoid ambiguity between the mineral and rock names.
Replacement dolomite that forms soon after deposition is typically fine-grained and preserves
original sedimentary structures. Recrystallization late in diagenesis produces coarser grained
dolomite, destroys sedimentary structures and results in higher porosity.

Dome: A type of anticline that is circular or elliptical rather than elongate. The upward migration
of salt diapirs can form domes, called salt domes.

Downdip : Located down the slope of a dipping plane or surface. In a dipping (not flat-lying)
hydrocarbon reservoir that contains gas, oil and water, the gas is updip, the gas-oil contact is
downdip from the gas, and the oil-water contact is still farther downdip.

Downlap : The termination of more steeply dipping overlying strata against a surface or
underlying strata that have lower apparent dips; a term used to describe a particular geometry of
reflections in seismic data in sequence stratigraphy.

Drape: A configuration of layers of rock that has the appearance of a fold, but might form simply
through sagging or differential compaction of layers around a preexisting structure (such as a
reef) or on an uneven surface

~ 15 ~
Dry gas: Natural gas that occurs in the absence of condensate or liquid hydrocarbons, or gas that
has had condensable hydrocarbons removed. Dry gas typically has a gas-to-oil ratio exceeding
100,000 scf/STB.

Dry rock: A subsurface rock that lacks contact with aquifers or meteoric water within the Earth.

Dyke: dike.

Earthquake: The sudden release of accumulated stress in the Earth by movement or shaking.
Earthquakes are caused by tectonic activity, volcanoes and human activity (such as explosions).
Earthquakes occur in the outer 720 km [445 miles] of the Earth, where rocks tend to break rather
than flow under stress. The magnitude of earthquakes is determined according to the logarithmic
Richter scale. An earthquake of magnitude 4.5 can cause damage, although humans can feel
earthquakes as weak as magnitude 2.0. The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 measured 8.25 on
the Richter scale, and the largest ever recorded were 8.9 magnitude earthquakes in Colombia and
Ecuador (1906) and Japan (1933), and 9.5 in Chile (1960).

Effective permeability: The ability to preferentially flow or transmit a particular fluid when other
immiscible fluids are present in the reservoir (e.g., effective permeability of gas in a gas-water
reservoir). The relative saturations of the fluids as well as the nature of the reservoir affect the
effective permeability. In contrast, absolute permeability is the measurement of the permeability
conducted when a single fluid or phase is present in the rock.

Effective porosity: The interconnected pore volume or void space in a rock that contributes to
fluid flow or permeability in a reservoir. Effective porosity excludes isolated pores and pore
volume occupied by water adsorbed on clay minerals or other grains. Total porosity is the total
void space in the rock whether or not it contributes to fluid flow. Effective porosity is typically
less than total porosity.

Elastic / elasticity: Pertaining to a material that can undergo stress, deform, and then recover and
return to its original shape after the stress ceases. Once stress exceeds the yield stress or elastic
limit of a material, permanent deformation occurs and the material will not return to its original
shape once the stress is removed. In some materials, including rocks, elastic behavior depends on
the temperature and the duration of the stress as well as its intensity.

Elastic deformation: The deformation that can be recovered when an applied stress has been
removed. When the elastic limit of a material has been exceeded, nonrecoverable, permanent
deformation occurs.

Elastic limit / yield point: The yield point, or the point at which a material can no longer deform
elastically. When the elastic limit is exceeded by an applied stress, permanent deformation
occurs.

En echelon: Describing parallel or subparallel, closely-spaced, overlapping or step-like minor

structural features in rock, such as faults and tension fractures, that are oblique to the overall
structural trend.

Eolian: Aeolian

Erosion / erode:

~ 16 ~
- The process of denudation of rocks, including physical, chemical and biological breakdown and
transportation (erode)
- The process by which material weathered from rocks is transported by wind, water, ice, or
abrasive solid particles, or by mass-wasting, as in rock falls and landslides.

Estuarine / estuary: A semi-enclosed coastal environment of deposition in which a river mouth

permits freshwater to contact and mix with seawater.

Eustasy / eustatic: Global sea level and its variations. Changes in sea level can result from
movement of tectonic plates altering the volume of ocean basins, or when changes in climate
affect the volume of water stored in glaciers and in polar icecaps. Eustasy affects positions of
shorelines and processes of sedimentation, so interpretation of eustasy is an important aspect of
sequence stratigraphy.

Evaporite / evaporitic: A class of sedimentary minerals and sedimentary rocks that form by
precipitation from evaporating aqueous fluid. Common evaporite minerals are halite, gypsum and
anhydrite, which can form as seawater evaporates, and the rocks limestone and dolostone.
Certain evaporite minerals, particularly halite, can form excellent cap rocks or seals for
hydrocarbon traps because they have minimal porosity and they tend to deform plastically (as
opposed to brittle fracturing that would facilitate leakage).

Exploration / exploratory: The initial phase in petroleum operations that includes generation of
a prospect or play or both, and drilling of an exploration well. Appraisal, development and
production phases follow successful exploration.

Exploration play: play

Facies: The overall characteristics of a rock unit that reflect its origin and differentiate the unit
from others around it. Mineralogy and sedimentary source, fossil content, sedimentary structures
and texture distinguish one facies from another.

Fairway: The trend along which a particular geological feature is likely, such as a sand fairway or a
hydrocarbon fairway. Prediction of conceptual fairways helps explorationists develop prospects.
Along a sand fairway, for example, sand was transported and, presumably, was deposited,
allowing an interpretation of the presence of reservoir rock in the fairway.

Fault: A break or planar surface in brittle rock across which there is observable displacement.
Depending on the relative direction of displacement between the rocks, or fault blocks, on either
side of the fault, its movement is described as normal, reverse or strike-slip. According to
terminology derived from the mining industry, the fault block above the fault surface is called the
hanging wall, while the fault block below the fault is the footwall. Given the geological complexity
of some faulted rocks and rocks that have undergone more than one episode of deformation, it
can be difficult to distinguish between the various types of faults. Also, areas deformed more than
once or that have undergone continual deformation might have fault surfaces that are rotated
from their original orientations, so interpretation is not straightforward. In a normal fault, the
hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall along the dip of the fault surface, which is steep,
from 45o to 90o. A growth fault is a type of normal fault that forms during sedimentation and
typically has thicker strata on the downthrown hanging wall than the footwall. A reverse fault
forms when the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall parallel to the dip of the fault

~ 17 ~
 surface. A thrust fault, sometimes called an overthrust, is a reverse fault in which the fault plane
has a shallow dip, typically much less than 45o.
Movement of normal and reverse faults can also be oblique as opposed to purely parallel to
the dip direction of the fault plane. The motion along a strike-slip fault, also known as a
transcurrent or wrench fault, is parallel to the strike of the fault surface, and the fault blocks
move sideways past each other. The fault surfaces of strike-slip faults are usually nearly vertical. A
strike-slip fault in which the block across the fault moves to the right is described as a dextral
strike-slip fault. If it moves left, the relative motion is described as sinistral. A transform fault is a
particular type of strike-slip fault that is a boundary of an oceanic tectonic plate. The actual
movement of a transform fault is opposite to its apparent displacement.
The presence of a fault can be detected by observing characteristics of rocks such as changes
in lithology from one fault block to the next, breaks and offsets between strata or seismic events,
and changes in formation pressure in wells that penetrate both sides of a fault. Some fault
surfaces contain relatively coarse rubble that can act as a conduit for migrating oil or gas,
whereas the surfaces of other faults are smeared with impermeable clays or broken grains that
can act as a fault seal.

Fault trap: A type of structural hydrocarbon trap in which closure is controlled by the presence of
at least one fault surface.

Feldspar: A group of rock-forming silicate minerals that are essential constituents of igneous rocks
and are common in sandstones. Feldspar can weather to form clay minerals. Feldspar can occur in
all three major rock types and forms approximately 60% of the crust of the Earth.
[alkali feldspar (K,Na)AlSi3O8],[plagioclase feldspar NaAlSi3O8 - CaAl2Si2O8]

Felsic: Pertaining to minerals or igneous rocks composed of minerals such as quartz and feldspar
that are relatively light in color and density. The word comes from the terms feldspar and silica.
Granite is a felsic igneous rock.

Fence diagram: A graphical display of three-dimensional data and interpretations in two-

dimensional perspective view. Geologic cross sections can be displayed in a network to form a
fence diagram. Stratigraphic changes can be displayed clearly in fence diagrams.

Field:
- An accumulation, pool, or group of pools of hydrocarbons or other mineral resources in the
subsurface. A hydrocarbon field consists of a reservoir in a shape that will trap hydrocarbons and
that is covered by an impermeable, sealing rock. Typically, the term implies an economic size
- The surface area above a subsurface hydrocarbon accumulation

Flower structure: Folded structures associated with strike-slip faults. In areas where strike-slip
faults occur in converging crust, or transpression, rocks are faulted upward in a positive flower
structure. In areas of strike-slip faulting in diverging crust, or transtension, rocks drop down to
form a negative flower structure. Flower structures can form hydrocarbon traps. The term
"flower structure" reflects the resemblance of the structure to the petals of a flower in cross
section.

Fluid contact: The interface that separates fluids of different densities in a reservoir. Horizontal
contacts are usually assumed, although tilted contacts occur in some reservoirs. The contact
between fluids is usually gradual rather than sharp, forming a transition zone of mixed fluid. A

~ 18 ~
 mixed-fluid reservoir will stratify according to fluid density, with gas at the top, oil in the middle,
and water below. Production of fluids often perturbs the fluid contacts in a reservoir.

Fluvial: Pertaining to an environment of deposition by a river or running water. Fluvial deposits

tend to be well sorted, especially in comparison with alluvial deposits, because of the relatively
steady transport provided by rivers.

Fold: A wave-like geologic structure that forms when rocks deform by bending instead of breaking
under compressional stress. Anticlines are arch-shaped folds in which rock layers are upwardly
convex. The oldest rock layers form the core of the fold, and outward from the core progressively
younger rocks occur. A syncline is the opposite type of fold, having downwardly convex layers
with young rocks in the core. Folds typically occur in anticline-syncline pairs. The hinge is the
point of maximum curvature in a fold. The limbs occur on either side of the fold hinge. The
imaginary surface bisecting the limbs of the fold is called the axial surface. The axial surface is
called the axial plane in cases where the fold is symmetrical and the lines containing the points of
maximum curvature of the folded layers, or hinge lines, are coplanar. Concentric folding preserves
the thickness of each bed as measured perpendicular to original bedding. Similar folds have the
same wave shape, but bed thickness changes throughout each layer, with thicker hinges and
thinner limbs.

Formation:
- The fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy. A body of rock that is sufficiently distinctive and
continuous that it can be mapped. In stratigraphy, a formation is a body of strata of
predominantly one type or combination of types; multiple formations form groups, and
subdivisions of formations are members.
- A surface land form

Formation pressure: The pressure of fluids within the pores of a reservoir, normally hydrostatic
pressure, or the pressure exerted by a column of water from the formation's depth to sea level.

Formation water / interstitial water: Water that occurs naturally within the pores of rock. Water
from fluids introduced to a formation through drilling or other interference, such as mud and
seawater, does not constitute formation water. Formation water, or interstitial water, might not
have been the water present when the rock originally formed. In contrast, connate water is the
water trapped in the pores of a rock during its formation, and may be called fossil water.

Fossil: Preserved remnants of plants or animals, such as skeletons, shells, casts or molds, tracks or
borings, and feces.

Fracture: A crack or surface of breakage within rock not related to foliation or cleavage in
metamorphic rock along which there has been no movement. A fracture along which there has
been displacement is a fault. When walls of a fracture have moved only normal to each other, the
fracture is called a joint. Fractures can enhance permeability of rocks greatly by connecting pores
together, and for that reason, fractures are induced mechanically in some reservoirs in order to
boost hydrocarbon flow.
Fractures may also be referred to as natural fractures to distinguish them from fractures
induced as part of a reservoir stimulation or drilling operation. In some shale reservoirs, natural
fractures improve production by enhancing effective permeability. In other cases, natural
fractures can complicate reservoir stimulation

~ 19 ~
Fracture gradient: The pressure required to induce fractures in rock at a given depth.

Fracture premerability: That portion of a dual-porosity reservoirs permeability that is associated

with the secondary porosity created by open, natural fractures. In many of these reservoirs,
fracture permeability can be the major controlling factor of the flow of fluids.

Fracture porosity: A type of secondary porosity produced by the tectonic fracturing of rock.
Fractures themselves typically do not have much volume, but by joining preexisting pores, they
enhance permeability significantly. In exceedingly rare cases, nonreservoir rocks such as granite
can become reservoir rocks if sufficient fracturing occurs.

Free gas: The gaseous phase present in a reservoir or other contained area. Gas may be found
either dissolved in reservoir fluids or as free gas that tends to form a gas cap beneath the top seal
on the reservoir trap. Both free gas and dissolved gas play important roles in the reservoir-drive
mechanism.

Free water: Water that is mobile, available to flow, and not bound to surfaces of grains or minerals
in rock.

Fresh water: Water that is low in dissolved salt (< 2000 ppm).

Gas hydrate: hydrate

Gas in solution: Gas that is dissolved in a liquid, such as water or oil.

Gas sand: A porous sand layer or sand body charged with natural gas.

Gas-oil contact: A bounding surface in a reservoir above which predominantly gas occurs and
below which predominantly oil occurs. Gas and oil are miscible, so the contact between gas and
oil is transitional, forming a zone containing a mix of gas and oil.

Gas-prone: The quality of a source rock that makes it more likely to generate gas than oil. The
nature of the organic matter or kerogen in source rocks varies from coaly, plant-like material
commonly found in terrestrial source rocks to algal or other marine material that makes up
marine source rocks. Terrestrial source rocks are commonly gas-prone.

Gas-water contact: A bounding surface in a reservoir above which predominantly gas occurs and
below which predominantly water occurs. Gas and water are somewhat miscible, so the contact
between gas and water is not necessarily sharp and there is typically a transition zone between
100% gas and 100% water in reservoirs

Generation: The formation of hydrocarbons from a source rock as bitumen forms from kerogen
and accumulates as oil or gas. Generation depends on three main factors: the presence of organic
matter rich enough to yield hydrocarbons, adequate temperature, and sufficient time to bring the
source rock to maturity. Pressure and the presence of bacteria and catalysts also affect
generation. Generation is a critical phase in the development of a petroleum system.

Geochemistry: The study of the chemistry of the Earth and within solid bodies of the solar system,
including the distribution, circulation and abundance of elements (and their ions and isotopes),
molecules, minerals, rocks and fluids. For geochemists in the petroleum industry, source rock

~ 20 ~
 geochemistry is a major focus. Geochemical techniques can determine whether a given source
rock is rich enough in organic matter to generate hydrocarbons, whether the source rock has
generated hydrocarbons, and whether a particular oil sample was generated by a given source
rock.

Geochronology: The study of the relative or absolute age of rocks, minerals and fossils. Absolute
age is the measurement of age in years, but "absolute" ages typically have some amount of error
and are inexact. Relative age, in contrast, is the approximate age of rocks, fossils or minerals made
by determining the age of the material relative to other surrounding material.

Geologic map: A map showing the type and spatial distribution of rocks at the surface of the
Earth. Rock formations are color-coded and symbols for geological structures are annotated, so
age relationships are evident. Topographic contours and cultural features can also appear on
geologic maps.

Geologic time scale: A chronological chart of the stages and ages of events in the history of the
Earth, from its initial formation to present, that has been constructed on the basis of the rock
record. As is the typical natural position of rocks, the oldest event is at the bottom of the chart
and the youngest is at the top. Both absolute and relative ages of rocks and fossils supplement
interpretations from rocks. The vastness of geologic time and the slowness of geological
processes are difficult to capture in a simple chart.

Geologist: A scientist trained in the study of the Earth. In the petroleum industry, geologists
perform a wide variety of functions, but typically generate prospects and interpret data such as
maps, well logs, outcrops, cuttings, core samples and seismic data.

Geology / geologic / geological: The study of the Earth-its history, structure, composition, life
forms and the processes that continue to change it.

Geomagnetic polarity reversal / magnetic reversal sequence (MRS): The periodic switching of
the magnetic north and south poles of the Earth throughout time, probably as a result of
movement of fluid within the Earth's core. The onset and duration of the many episodes of
reversed polarity have been documented by examining the polarity of magnetic minerals within
rocks of different ages from around the world, particularly in basalts or igneous rocks of the
oceanic crust. Oceanic basalts record the Earth's magnetic field as they solidify from molten lava
symmetrically on each side of the midoceanic ridges. These data have been compiled to create a
time scale known as the geomagnetic polarity time scale (GPTS). In the oil field, borehole
recordings allow direct correlation to GPTS and well-to-well correlations.

Geomagnetic polarity time scale (GPTS): A record of the onset and duration of the multitude of
episodes of reversal of the Earth's magnetic polarity, or geomagnetic polarity reversals. The GPTS
was developed by thorough study of rocks from around the world, during which it was observed
that rocks from specific time periods contained magnetic minerals whose orientation was
opposite to that of the current magnetic field. By comparing the patterns of magnetic reversals
with those of rocks of known age, the approximate ages of rocks can be established. This is
particularly useful for basalts of the oceanic crust, which record the Earth's magnetic field as they
solidify from molten lava symmetrically about the midocean ridges. The time scale has been
accurately extended back to the Upper Jurassic, the age of oldest existing oceanic crust.

~ 21 ~
Geopressure: The pressure within the Earth, or formation pressure. The common oilfield usage,
however, is to indicate anomalous subsurface pore pressure that is higher or lower than the
normal, predicted hydrostatic pressure for a given depth, or the pressure exerted per unit area by
a column of fresh water from sea level to a given depth. Abnormally low pore pressure might
occur in areas where fluids have been drained, such as a depleted hydrocarbon reservoir.
Abnormally high pore pressure might occur in areas where burial of water-filled sediments by an
impermeable sediment such as clay was so rapid that fluids could not escape and the pore
pressure increased with deeper burial.

Geopressure gradient: The change in pore pressure per unit depth, typically in units of pounds
per square inch per foot (psi/ft) or kilopascals per meter (kPa/m). The geopressure gradient
might be described as high or low if it deviates from the normal hydrostatic pressure gradient of
0.433 psi/ft [9.8 kPa/m].

Geostatic pressure / lithostatic pressure: The pressure of the weight of overburden, or

overlying rock, on a formation.

Geothermal gradient / temperature gradient: The rate of increase in temperature per unit
depth in the Earth. Although the geothermal gradient varies from place to place, it averages 25 to
30 oC/km [15 oF/1000 ft].

Halite (NaCl): A soft, soluble evaporite mineral commonly known as salt or rock salt. Because salt
is less dense than many sedimentary rocks, it is relatively buoyant and can form salt domes,
pillars or curtains by flowing and breaking through or piercing overlying sediments, as seen in
the Gulf of Mexico and the Zagros fold belt. Halite can be critical in forming hydrocarbon traps
and seals because it tends to flow rather than fracture during deformation, thus preventing
hydrocarbons from leaking out of a trap even during and after some types of deformation.

Hard rock: A term applied to hard rocks, or igneous and metamorphic rocks that are distinguished
from sedimentary rocks because they are typically more difficult to disaggregate. Well cemented
sedimentary rocks are sometimes described as being hard, but are usually called soft rock. The
term can be used to differentiate between rocks of interest to the petroleum industry (soft rocks)
and rocks of interest to the mining industry (hard rocks).

Hardground: A horizon cemented by precipitation of calcite just below the sea floor. Local
concretions form first in a hardground and can be surrounded by burrows of organisms until the
cement is well developed.

Harmonic: Pertaining to structures in which the shapes of adjacent layers resemble or conform to
one another. Folds of rock layers that have similar mechanical properties or competence tend to
be harmonic, with little change in fold shape, symmetry or wavelength from one layer to the next.

Hiatal / hiatus: A cessation in deposition of sediments during which no strata form or an

erosional surface forms on the underlying strata; a gap in the rock record. This period might be
marked by development of a lithified sediment (hardground) or burrowed surface characteristic
of periods when sea level was relatively low. A disconformity can result from a hiatus.

Homogeneity / homogeneous: The quality of uniformity of a material. If irregularities are

distributed evenly in a mixture of material, the material is homogeneous.

~ 22 ~
Horizon: An informal term used to denote a surface in or of rock, or a distinctive layer of rock that
might be represented by a reflection in seismic data. The term is often used incorrectly to
describe a zone from which hydrocarbons are produced.

Hydrate / clathrate / gas hydrate :

- An unusual occurrence of hydrocarbon in which molecules of natural gas, typically methane, are
trapped in ice molecules. More generally, hydrates are compounds in which gas molecules are
trapped within a crystal structure. Hydrates form in cold climates, such as permafrost zones and
in deep water. To date, economic liberation of hydrocarbon gases from hydrates has not occurred,
but hydrates contain quantities of hydrocarbons that could be of great economic significance.
Hydrates can affect seismic data by creating a reflection or multiple.
- To cause the incorporation of water into the atomic structure of a mineral.

Hydration / hydrate: A chemical combination of water and another substance. Gypsum is a

hydrate mineral. Its anhydrous equivalent is anhydrite.

Horst: A relatively high-standing area formed by the movement of normal faults that dip away
from each other. Horsts occur between low-standing fault blocks called graben. Horsts can form
in areas of rifting or extension, where normal faults are the most abundant variety of fault.

Hydraulic head: The force per unit area exerted by a column of liquid at a height above a depth
(and pressure) of interest. Fluids flow down a hydraulic gradient, from points of higher to lower
hydraulic head. The term is sometimes used synonymously with hydrostatic head.

Hydrocarbon: A naturally occurring organic compound comprising hydrogen and carbon.

Hydrocarbons can be as simple as methane [CH4], but many are highly complex molecules, and
can occur as gases, liquids or solids. The molecules can have the shape of chains, branching
chains, rings or other structures. Petroleum is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons. The most
common hydrocarbons are natural gas, oil and coal.

Hydrocarbon kitchen / oil kitchen: An area of the subsurface where source rock has reached
appropriate conditions of pressure and temperature to generate hydrocarbons; also known as
source kitchen, oil kitchen or gas kitchen.

Hydrostatic head: The height of a column of freshwater that exerts pressure at a given depth.
Some authors use the term synonymously with hydrostatic pressure.

Hydrostatic pressure: The normal, predicted pressure for a given depth, or the pressure exerted
per unit area by a column of freshwater from sea level to a given depth. Abnormally low pressure
might occur in areas where fluids have been drained, such as a depleted hydrocarbon reservoir.
Abnormally high pressure might occur in areas where burial of water-filled sediments by an
impermeable sediment such as clay was so rapid that fluids could not escape and the pore
pressure increased with deeper burial.

Hydrothermal: Pertaining to hot fluids, particularly hot water, or the activity of hot water, or
precipitates thereof. Hydrothermal alteration can change the mineralogy of rock, producing
different minerals, including quartz, calcite and chlorite. Hydrothermal activity is commonly
associated with hot water that accompanies, or is heated by, magma.

~ 23 ~
Hydrothermal alteration: A change of preexisting rocks or minerals caused by the activity of hot
solutions, such as fluids accompanying or heated by magma. Quartz, serpentine and chlorite are
minerals commonly associated with hydrothermal alteration. Ore deposits, such as lead (as the
mineral galena), zinc (sphalerite), and copper (malachite), can occur in areas of hydrothermal
alteration.

Igneous: Pertaining to one of three main classes of rocks (igneous, metamorphic and
sedimentary). Igneous rocks crystallize from molten rock, or magma, with interlocking mineral
crystals. Igneous rocks that crystallize slowly, typically below the surface of the Earth, are
plutonic igneous rocks and have large crystals (large enough to see with the naked eye). Volcanic
igneous rocks crystallize quickly at the Earth's surface and have small crystals (usually too small
to see without magnification). Common examples include granite (plutonic) and rhyolite
(volcanic), diorite (plutonic) and andesite (volcanic), and gabbro (plutonic) and basalt (volcanic).
Igneous rocks typically comprise the minerals quartz, mica, feldspar, amphibole, pyroxene and
olivine.

Illite [K1-1.5Al4(Si7-6.5Al1-1.5O20)(OH)4]: A group of clay minerals formed during the alteration of

silicate minerals such as mica and feldspar and commonly found in marine shales.

Immature: Pertaining to a hydrocarbon source rock that has not fully entered optimal conditions
for generation.

Immiscible: Pertaining to a condition in which two fluids are incapable of forming molecularly
distributed mixtures or attaining homogeneity at that scale. The fluids separate into two phases
with an interface between them. For example, oil and water are immiscible.

Impermeable: Pertaining to a rock that is incapable of transmitting fluids because of low

permeability. Shale has a high porosity, but its pores are small and disconnected, so it is relatively
impermeable. Impermeable rocks are desirable sealing rocks or cap rocks for reservoirs because
hydrocarbons cannot pass through them readily.

In situ: In the original location or position, such as a large outcrop that has not been disturbed by
faults or landslides. Tests can be performed in situ in a reservoir to determine its pressure and
temperature.

Incompetent: Pertaining to strata that are relatively ductile and tend to flow under stress rather
than deform by brittle faulting or fracturing. The bed thickness of incompetent beds tends to
change during deformation.

Interstitial gas / pore gas: The gas stored in the pore space of a reservoir rock. Measurement of
interstitial gas and adsorbed gas, which is the gas accumulated on the surface of another solid
material, such as a grain of reservoir rock, allows calculation of gas in place in a reservoir.

Interstitial water: formation water

Inversion:
- The reversal of features, particularly structural features such as faults, by reactivation. For
example, a normal fault might move in a direction opposite to its initial movement.
- The atypical appearance of structural and topographic features, such as an anticline being
exposed in a valley instead of as a hill; also called inverted relief.

~ 24 ~
Isochore: A contour connecting points of equal true vertical thickness of strata, formations,
reservoirs or other rock units. A map that displays isochores is an isochore map. The terms
isopach and isopach map are incorrectly used interchangeably to describe isochores and isochore
maps. Isopachs and isochores are equivalent only if the rock layer is horizontal.

Isopach: A contour that connects points of equal thickness. Commonly, the isopachs, or contours
that make up an isopach map, display the stratigraphic thickness of a rock unit as opposed to the
true vertical thickness. Isopachs are true stratigraphic thicknesses; i.e., perpendicular to bedding
surfaces.

Isostasy / isostatic: The state of gravitational equilibrium between the lithosphere and the
asthenosphere of the Earth such that lithospheric plates "float" at a given elevation depending on
their thickness. The balance between the elevation of the lithospheric plates and the
asthenosphere is achieved by the flowage of the denser asthenosphere. Various hypotheses about
isostasy take into account density (Pratt hypothesis), thickness (Airy hypothesis), and pressure
variations to explain topographic variations among lithospheric plates. The current model
consists of several layers of different density.

Isotropic / Isotropy: A quality of directional uniformity in material such that physical properties
do not vary in different directions. In rocks, changes in physical properties in different directions,
such as the alignment of mineral grains or the seismic velocity measured parallel or
perpendicular to bedding surfaces, are forms of anisotropy.

Joint: A surface of breakage, cracking or separation within a rock along which there has been no
movement parallel to the defining plane. The usage by some authors can be more specific: When
walls of a fracture have moved only normal to each other, the fracture is called a joint.

Kaolinite [Al4Si4O10(OH)8]: A type of clay mineral from the kaolin group that forms through the
weathering of feldspar and mica group minerals. Unlike some clay minerals like montmorillonite,
kaolinite is not prone to shrinking or swelling with changes in water content.

Karst: A type of topography formed in areas of widespread carbonate rocks through dissolution.
Sink holes, caves and pock-marked surfaces are typical features of a karst topography.

Kerogen: The naturally occurring, solid, insoluble organic matter that occurs in source rocks and
can yield oil upon heating. Kerogen is the portion of naturally occurring organic matter that is
nonextractable using organic solvents. Typical organic constituents of kerogen are algae and
woody plant material. Kerogens have a high molecular weight relative to bitumen, or soluble
organic matter. Bitumen forms from kerogen during petroleum generation. Kerogens are
described as Type I, consisting of mainly algal and amorphous (but presumably algal) kerogen
and highly likely to generate oil; Type II, mixed terrestrial and marine source material that can
generate waxy oil; and Type III, woody terrestrial source material that typically generates gas.

Lacustrine: Pertaining to an environment of deposition in lakes, or an area having lakes. Because

deposition of sediment in lakes can occur slowly and in relatively calm conditions, organic-rich
source rocks can form in lacustrine environments.

~ 25 ~
Lamination: A fine layer (~ 1 mm thick) in strata, also called a lamina, common in fine-grained
sedimentary rocks such as shale, siltstone and fine sandstone. A sedimentary bed comprises
multiple laminations, or laminae.

Lease:
- An area of surface land on which exploration or production activity occurs.
- The act of acquiring acreage for exploration or production activity.
- The contract that conveys the rights to explore and produce from the owner of the mineral rights
(lessor) to a tenant (lessee), usually for a fee and with a specified duration. A lease usually
includes a provision for sharing production.

Limestone: A carbonate sedimentary rock predominantly composed of calcite of organic, chemical

or detrital origin. Minor amounts of dolomite, chert and clay are common in limestones. Chalk is a
form of fine-grained limestone.

Lithification: The process by which unconsolidated sediments become sedimentary rock.

Sediments typically are derived from preexisting rocks by weathering, transported and
redeposited, and then buried and compacted by overlying sediments. Cementation causes the
sediments to harden, or lithify, into rock.

Lithofacies: A mappable subdivision of a stratigraphic unit that can be distinguished by its facies
or lithology-the texture, mineralogy, grain size, and the depositional environment that produced
it.

Lithologic: lithology

Lithologic contact: The surface that separates rock bodies of different lithologies, or rock types. A
contact can be conformable or unconformable depending upon the types of rock, their relative
ages and their attitudes. A fault surface can also serve as a contact.

Lithology: The macroscopic nature of the mineral content, grain size, texture and color of rocks.

Lithosphere: The brittle outer layer of the Earth that includes the crust and uppermost mantle. It
is made up of six major and several minor tectonic plates that move around on the softer
asthenosphere. The lithosphere of the oceans tends to be thinner (in some oceanic areas, less
than 50 km [30 miles] thick) and more dense than that of the continents (more than 120 km [70
miles] thick in places like the Himalayas) because of isostasy. The movement of the plates of the
lithosphere results in convergence, or collisions, that can form mountain belts and subduction
zones, and divergence of the plates and the creation of new crust as material wells up from below
separating plates. The lithosphere and asthenosphere are distinguished from the crust, mantle
and core of the Earth on the basis of their mechanical behavior and not their composition.

Litostatic pressure: geostatic pressure

Lithostratigraphy / Lithostratigraphic: The study and correlation of strata to elucidate Earth

history on the basis of their lithology, or the nature of the well log response, mineral content,
grain size, texture and color of rocks.

Littoral: Pertaining to an environment of deposition affected by tides, the area between high tide
and low tide. Given the variation of tides and land forms from place to place, geologists describe

~ 26 ~
 littoral zones locally according to the fauna capable of surviving periodic exposure and
submersion.

Ma: Mega annum. The abbreviation for million years that is most commonly used in the geologic
literature.

Mafic: Pertaining to minerals or igneous rocks composed of minerals that are rich in iron and
magnesium, dense, and typically dark in color. The term comes from the words magnesium and
ferric. Common mafic minerals are olivine and pyroxene. Basalt is a mafic igneous rock.

Magma: The molten rock in the Earth that can either rise to the surface as lava and form extrusive
igneous rock or cool within the Earth to form plutonic igneous rock.

Magnetic reversal sequence: geomagnetic polarity reversal.

Mantle: The intermediate layer of the Earth beneath the crust that is about 2900 km thick [1820
miles] and overlies the core of the Earth. The mantle consists of dense igneous rocks like
pyroxenite and dunite, composed of the minerals pyroxene and olivine. The crust, mantle and
core of the Earth are distinguished from the lithosphere and asthenosphere on the basis of their
composition and not their mechanical behavior. The Mohorovicic discontinuity abruptly
separates the crust from the mantle, where the velocity of compressional waves is significantly
higher.

Marine : Pertaining to sediments or environments in seas or ocean waters, between the depth of
low tide and the ocean bottom.

Marsh: An environment from which water rarely drains that supports primarily grassy vegetation
and does not form peat.

Massif: A block of rock that forms a structural or topographic feature, such as a block of igneous of
metamorphic rock within an area of mountain building, or orogeny. A massif can be as large as a
mountain and is typically more rigid than the rocks that surround it.

Matrix: The finer grained, interstitial particles that lie between larger particles or in which larger
particles are embedded in sedimentary rocks such as sandstones and conglomerates.

Maturity: The state of a source rock with respect to its ability to generate oil or gas. As a source
rock begins to mature, it generates gas. As an oil-prone source rock matures, the generation of
heavy oils is succeeded by medium and light oils. Above a temperature of approximately 100 oC
[212 oF], only dry gas is generated, and incipient metamorphism is imminent. The maturity of a
source rock reflects the ambient pressure and temperature as well as the duration of conditions
favorable for hydrocarbon generation.

Metamorphic: One of three main classes of rock (igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary).
Metamorphic rocks form from the alteration of preexisting rocks by changes in ambient
temperature, pressure, volatile content, or all of these. Such changes can occur through the
activity of fluids in the Earth and movement of igneous bodies or regional tectonic activity. The
texture of metamorphic rocks can vary from almost homogeneous, or nonfoliated, to foliated
rocks with a strong planar fabric or foliation produced by alignment of minerals during
recrystallization or by reorientation. Common foliated metamorphic rocks include gneiss, schist

~ 27 ~
 and slate. Marble, or metamorphosed limestone, can be foliated or non-foliated. Hornfels is a
nonfoliated metamorphic rock. Graphite, chlorite, talc, mica, garnet and staurolite are distinctive
metamorphic minerals.

Metamorphism: The process by which the characteristics of rocks are altered or the rock is
recrystallized. Metamorphism of igneous, sedimentary, or preexisting metamorphic rock can
produce new metamorphic rock. Such alteration occurs as rocks respond to changes in
temperatures, pressures and fluids, commonly along the edges of colliding lithospheric plates.
The pressures and temperatures at which metamorphism occurs are higher than those of
diagenesis, but no clear boundary between the two has been established.

Methane: The lightest and most abundant of the hydrocarbon gases and the principal component
of natural gas. Methane is a colorless, odorless gas that is stable under a wide range of pressure
and temperature conditions in the absence of other compounds.

Mica [Muscovite mica K2Al4(Si6Al2O20(OH,F)4]: A group of sheet silicates characterized by a

platy appearance and basal cleavage most common in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Several
clay minerals, such as chlorite and glauconite, are closely related to the mica group.

Micrite: Dense, fine-grained carbonate mud or rocks composed of mud that forms by erosion of
larger carbonate grains, organic precipitation (such as from algae), or inorganic precipitation.
The grains in micrite are generally less than 4 microns in size.

Micropaleontology: The study of microfossils too small to be seen without the use of a
microscope. Marine microfossils such as foraminifera are important for stratigraphic correlation.

Midoceanic ridge: The mountainous, linear axis of ocean basins along which rifting occurs and
new oceanic crust forms as magma wells up and solidifies. The most prominent midoceanic
ridges are those of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The new crust is made of mafic igneous rock
called basalt, commonly referred to as midocean ridge basalt, or MORB, whose composition
reflects that of the deeper mantle of the Earth. The presence of the spreading plate boundaries of
the midoceanic ridges; their symmetrically spreading, successively older crust outward from the
ridge; and the lack of oceanic crust older than approximately 200 Ma support the theory of plate
tectonics and the recycling of oceanic crust through the process of subduction.

Migration / migrate: The movement of hydrocarbons from their source into reservoir rocks. The
movement of newly generated hydrocarbons out of their source rock is primary migration, also
called expulsion. The further movement of the hydrocarbons into reservoir rock in a hydrocarbon
trap or other area of accumulation is secondary migration. Migration typically occurs from a
structurally low area to a higher area because of the relative buoyancy of hydrocarbons in
comparison to the surrounding rock. Migration can be local or can occur along distances of
hundreds of kilometers in large sedimentary basins, and is critical to the formation of a viable
petroleum system.

Milankovitch cycles: The variation of the Earth's exposure to the sun's rays, or insolation, that
results from variations in the orbit of the Earth and the tilt of its axis, and that might affect
climate, sea level and sedimentation. Such variations are thought to occur in distinct time periods
on the order of thousands of years. Ice ages might be a consequence of Milankovitch cycles.

~ 28 ~
 Milutin Milankovitch (1879 to 1958) was a Yugoslavian mathematician and physicist who
specialized in studies of solar radiation and the orbit of the Earth.

Mineral: A crystalline substance that is naturally occurring, inorganic, and has a unique or limited
range of chemical compositions. Minerals are homogeneous, having a definite atomic structure.
Rocks are composed of minerals, except for rare exceptions like coal, which is a rock but not a
mineral because of its organic origin. Minerals are distinguished from one another by careful
observation or measurement of physical properties such as density, crystal form, cleavage
(tendency to break along specific surfaces because of atomic structure), fracture (appearance of
broken surfaces), hardness, luster and color. Magnetism, taste and smell are useful ways to
identify only a few minerals.

Miscible: Pertaining to a condition in which two or more fluids can mix in all proportions and form
a single homogeneous phase.

Moho: The boundary between the crust and the mantle of the Earth, which varies from
approximately 5 km [3 miles] under the midoceanic ridges to 75 km [46 miles] deep under the
continents. This boundary, commonly called "the Moho," was recognized in 1909 by Croatian
seismologist Andrija Mohorovicic on the basis of its abruptly higher compressional wave (P-
wave) velocity.

Mohorovicic discontinuity: Moho

Moldic porosity: A type of secondary porosity created through the dissolution of a preexisting
constituent of a rock, such as a shell, rock fragment or grain. The pore space preserves the shape,
or mold, of the dissolved material.

Montmorillonite [(1/2Ca,Na)0.7(Al,Mg,Fe)4(Si,Al)8O20(OH)47nH20]: A type of smectite clay mineral

that tends to swell when exposed to water. Montmorillonite forms through the alteration of
silicate minerals in alkaline conditions in basic igneous rocks, such as volcanic ash that can
accumulate in the oceans. Montmorillonite is a component of bentonite commonly used in
drilling fluids.

My: Abbreviation for million years. The preferred abbreviation is Ma.

MYBP: Abbreviation for millions of years before present. The preferred abbreviation is Ma

Natural fracture: fracture

Natural gas: A naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbon gases that is highly compressible and
expansible. Methane [CH4] is the chief constituent of most natural gas (constituting as much as
85% of some natural gases), with lesser amounts of ethane [C 2H6], propane [C3H8], butane [C4H10]
and pentane [C5H12]. Impurities can also be present in large proportions, including carbon
dioxide, helium, nitrogen and hydrogen sulfide.

Neritic: Describing the environment and conditions of the marine zone between low tide and the
edge of the continental shelf, a depth of roughly 200 m [656 ft]. A neritic environment supports
marine organisms, also described as neritic, that are capable of surviving in shallow water with
moderate exposure to sunlight.

~ 29 ~
Nonconformity: A geological surface that separates younger overlying sedimentary strata from
eroded igneous or metamorphic rocks and represents a large gap in the geologic record.

Normal fault: A type of fault in which the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall, and
the fault surface dips steeply, commonly from 50o to 90o. Groups of normal faults can produce
horst and graben topography, or a series of relatively high- and low-standing fault blocks, as seen
in areas where the crust is rifting or being pulled apart by plate tectonic activity. A growth fault is
a type of normal fault that forms during sedimentation and typically has thicker strata on the
downthrown hanging wall than the footwall.

Normal pressure: The pore pressure of rocks that is considered normal in areas in which the
change in pressure per unit of depth is equivalent to hydrostatic pressure. The normal
hydrostatic pressure gradient for freshwater is 0.433 pounds per square inch per foot (psi/ft), or
9.792 kilopascals per meter (kPa/m), and 0.465 psi/ft for water with
100,000 ppm total dissolved solids (a typical Gulf Coast water), or 10.516 kPa/m.

Offset / offset well: The horizontal displacement between points on either side of a fault, which
can range from millimeters to kilometers. Perhaps the most readily visible examples of offset are
features such as fences or roads that have been displaced by strike-slip faults, such as the San
Andreas fault of California, USA.

Oil field / oilfield:

- An accumulation, pool or group of pools of oil in the subsurface. An oil field consists of a reservoir
in a shape that will trap hydrocarbons and that is covered by an impermeable or sealing rock.
Typically, industry professionals use the term with an implied assumption of economic size
- The surface area above a subsurface oil accumulation is called an oil field.

Oil kitchen: hydrocarbon kitchen

Oil pool / accumulation / field / oil field: A subsurface oil accumulation. An oil field can consist
of one or more oil pools or distinct reservoirs within a single large trap. The term "pool" can
create the erroneous impression that oil fields are immense caverns filled with oil, instead of rock
filled with small oil-filled pores.

Oil sand: A porous sand layer or sand body filled with oil.

Oil-prone: The quality of a source rock that makes it more likely to generate oil than gas. The
nature of the organic matter (kerogen) in source rocks varies from coaly, plant-like material
commonly found in terrestrial source rocks to algal or other marine material that makes up
marine source rocks. Marine source rocks are commonly oil-prone.

Oil-water contact: A bounding surface in a reservoir above which predominantly oil occurs and
below which predominantly water occurs. Although oil and water are immiscible, the contact
between oil and water is commonly a transition zone and there is usually irreducible water
adsorbed by the grains in the rock and immovable oil that cannot be produced. The oil-water
contact is not always a flat horizontal surface, but instead might be tilted or irregular.

Onlap: The termination of shallowly dipping, younger strata against more steeply dipping, older
strata, or the termination of low-angle reflections in seismic data against steeper reflections.

~ 30 ~
 Onlap is a particular pattern of reflections in seismic data that, according to principles of
sequence stratigraphy, occurs during periods of transgression.

Orogeny / orogenic: A major episode of plate tectonic activity in which lithospheric plates collide
and produce mountain belts, in some cases including the formation of subduction zones and
igneous activity. Thrust faults and folds are typical geological structures seen in areas of orogeny.

Outcrop / crop out: A body of rock exposed at the surface of the Earth. Construction of highways
and other man-made facilities and resultant removal of soil and rock has created spectacular
outcrops in some regions.

Overburden :
- Rock overlying an area or point of interest in the subsurface.
- The weight of overlying rock.

Overmature / post-mature: Pertaining to a hydrocarbon source rock that has generated as much
hydrocarbon as possible and is becoming thermally altered.

Overpressure: Subsurface pressure that is abnormally high, exceeding hydrostatic pressure at a

given depth. The term geopressure is commonly, and incorrectly, used synonymously. Abnormally
high pore pressure can occur in areas where burial of fluid-filled sediments is so rapid that pore
fluids cannot escape, so the pressure of the pore fluids increases as overburden increases. Drilling
into overpressured strata can be hazardous because overpressured fluids escape rapidly, so
careful preparation is made in areas of known overpressure.

Overthrust: A thrust fault having a relatively large lateral displacement.

Paleontology: The study of fossilized, or preserved, remnants of plant and animal life. Changes in
the Earth through time can be documented by observing changes in the fossils in successive
strata and the environments in which they formed or were preserved. Fossils can also be
compared with their extant relatives to assess evolutionary changes. Correlations of strata can be
aided by studying their fossil content, a discipline called biostratigraphy.

Paludal: Pertaining to a depositional environment or organisms from a marsh. It also refers to the
type of environment in which palustrine sediments can accumulate.

Palustrine: Describing material deposited in or growing in a marsh.

Palynology: The study of fossilized remnants of microscopic entities having organic walls, such as
pollen, spores and cysts from algae. Changes in the Earth through time can be documented by
studying the distribution of spores and pollen. Well log and other correlations are enhanced by
incorporating palynology. Palynology also has utility in forensics.

Parallel fold: concentric fold

Parasequence: Relatively conformable depositional units bounded by surfaces of marine flooding,

surfaces that separate older strata from younger and show an increase in water depth in
successively younger strata. Parasequences are usually too thin to discern on seismic data, but
when added together, they form sets called parasequence sets that are visible on seismic data.

~ 31 ~
Passive margin: The margin of a continent and ocean that does not coincide with the boundary of
a lithospheric plate and along which collision is not occurring. Passive margins are characterized
by rifted, rotated fault blocks of thick sediment, such as the present-day Gulf of Mexico and
Atlantic margins of North America.

Pay: A reservoir or portion of a reservoir that contains economically producible hydrocarbons. The
term derives from the fact that it is capable of "paying" an income. Pay is also called pay sand or
pay zone. The overall interval in which pay sections occur is the gross pay; the smaller portions of
the gross pay that meet local criteria for pay (such as minimum porosity, permeability and
hydrocarbon saturation) are net pay.

Permeability / permeable: The ability, or measurement of a rock's ability, to transmit fluids,

typically measured in darcies or millidarcies. The term was basically defined by Henry Darcy, who
showed that the common mathematics of heat transfer could be modified to adequately describe
fluid flow in porous media. Formations that transmit fluids readily, such as sandstones, are
described as permeable and tend to have many large, well-connected pores. Impermeable
formations, such as shales and siltstones, tend to be finer grained or of a mixed grain size, with
smaller, fewer, or less interconnected pores. Absolute permeability is the measurement of the
permeability conducted when a single fluid, or phase, is present in the rock. Effective
permeability is the ability to preferentially flow or transmit a particular fluid through a rock
when other immiscible fluids are present in the reservoir (for example, effective permeability of
gas in a gas-water reservoir). The relative saturations of the fluids as well as the nature of the
reservoir affect the effective permeability. Relative permeability is the ratio of effective
permeability of a particular fluid at a particular saturation to absolute permeability of that fluid
at total saturation. If a single fluid is present in a rock, its relative permeability is 1.0. Calculation
of relative permeability allows for comparison of the different abilities of fluids to flow in the
presence of each other, since the presence of more than one fluid generally inhibits flow.

Petrographic / petrography: The examination of rocks in thin section. Rock samples can be glued
to a glass slide and the rock ground to 0.03-mm thickness in order to observe mineralogy and
texture using a microscope. (A petrographic microscope is a transmitted-light polarizing
microscope.) Samples of sedimentary rock can be impregnated with blue epoxy to highlight
porosity.

Petroleum: A complex mixture of naturally occurring hydrocarbon compounds found in rock.

Petroleum can range from solid to gas, but the term is generally used to refer to liquid crude oil.
Impurities such as sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen are common in petroleum. There is considerable
variation in color, gravity, odor, sulfur content and viscosity in petroleum from different areas.

Petroleum system: Geologic components and processes necessary to generate and store
hydrocarbons, including a mature source rock, migration pathway, reservoir rock, trap and seal.
Appropriate relative timing of formation of these elements and the processes of generation,
migration and accumulation are necessary for hydrocarbons to accumulate and be preserved. The
components and critical timing relationships of a petroleum system can be displayed in a chart
that shows geologic time along the horizontal axis and the petroleum system elements along the
vertical axis. Exploration plays and prospects are typically developed in basins or regions in
which a complete petroleum system has some likelihood of existing.

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Petrologic / petrology : The study of macroscopic features of rocks, such as their occurrence,
origin and history, and structure (usually by examining outcrops in the field) and their texture
and composition (by studying smaller samples more closely).

Pinch out : To taper to a zero edge.

Pinch-out :
- A type of stratigraphic trap. The termination by thinning or tapering out ("pinching out") of a
reservoir against a nonporous sealing rock creates a favorable geometry to trap hydrocarbons,
particularly if the adjacent sealing rock is a source rock such as a shale.
- A reduction in bed thickness resulting from onlapping stratigraphic sequences.

Plane table: A flat drawing board mounted on a tripod used in combination with an alidade to
construct topographic or geologic maps in the field. A sheet of paper or mylar covering the plane
table is annotated during map construction.

Plankton: Minute organisms that float or drift passively near the surface of oceans and seas. Plant-
like plankton, or phytoplankton, include diatoms. Zooplankton are animals that have a limited
ability to move themselves. The changes in plankton over time are useful for estimation of
relative ages of rocks that contain the fossilized remains of plankton.

Plastic : Pertaining to a material that can deform permanently without rupturing.

Plate tectonics / tectonics: The unifying geologic theory developed to explain observations that
interactions of the brittle plates of the lithosphere with each other and with the softer underlying
asthenosphere result in large-scale changes in the Earth. The theory of plate tectonics initially
stemmed from observations of the shapes of the continents, particularly South America and
Africa, which fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle and have similar rocks and fossils despite
being separated by a modern ocean. As lithospheric plates heat up or cool down depending on
their position, or their tectonic environment, relative to each other and to warmer areas deeper
within the Earth, they become relatively more or less dense than the asthenosphere and thus
tend to rise as molten magma or sink in cold, brittle slabs or slide past each other. Mountain belts
can form during plate collisions or an orogeny; diverging plates or rifts can create new
midoceanic ridges; plates that slide past one another create transform fault zones (such as the
San Andreas fault); and zones of subduction occur where one lithospheric plate moves beneath
another. Plate tectonic theory can explain such phenomena as earthquakes, volcanic or other
igneous activity, midoceanic ridges and the relative youth of the oceanic crust, and the formation
of sedimentary basins on the basis of their relationships to lithospheric plate boundaries.
Convection of the mantle is postulated to be the driving mechanism for the movement of
lithospheric plates. Measurements of the continents using the Global Positioning System confirm
the relative motions of plates. Age determinations of the oceanic crust confirm that such crust is
much younger than that of the continents and has been recycled by the process of subduction and
regenerated at midoceanic ridges.

Plateau: A topographic feature consisting of a large flat area at a relatively high elevation with
steep sides.

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Plastic deformation: Permanent mechanical or physical alteration that does not include rupture.
Plastic deformation of rocks typically occurs at high temperatures and pressures, conditions
under which rocks become relatively viscous.

Platform: A relatively flat, nearly level area of sedimentary rocks in a continent that overlies or
abuts the basement rocks of a craton.

Play / exploration play:

- An area in which hydrocarbon accumulations or prospects of a given type occur.
- For example the shale gas plays in North America include the Barnett, Eagle Ford, Fayetteville,
Haynesville, Marcellus, and Woodford, among many others. Outside North America, shale gas
potential is being pursued in many parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America
- A conceptual model for a style of hydrocarbon accumulation used by explorationists to develop
prospects in a basin, region or trend and used by development personnel to continue exploiting a
given trend. A play (or a group of interrelated plays) generally occurs in a single petroleum
system.
- To pursue hydrocarbon accumulations of a given type.

Plunge : The angle between a linear feature and a horizontal line in a vertical plane containing
both lines.

Point bar : An arcuate deposit of sediment, usually sand, that occurs along the convex inner edges
of the meanders of channels and builds outward as the stream channel migrates.

Pore : A discrete void within a rock, which can contain air, water, hydrocarbons or other fluids. In a
body of rock, the percentage of pore space is the porosity.

Pore gas: interstitial gas

Pore pressure / formation pressure / reservoir pressure: The pressure of fluids within the
pores of a reservoir, usually hydrostatic pressure, or the pressure exerted by a column of water
from the formation's depth to sea level. When impermeable rocks such as shales form as
sediments are compacted, their pore fluids cannot always escape and must then support the total
overlying rock column, leading to anomalously high formation pressures.

Porosity / porous: The percentage of pore volume or void space, or that volume within rock that
can contain fluids. Porosity can be a relic of deposition (primary porosity, such as space between
grains that were not compacted together completely) or can develop through alteration of the
rock (secondary porosity, such as when feldspar grains or fossils are preferentially dissolved from
sandstones).
Porosity can be generated by the development of fractures, in which case it is called fracture
porosity. Effective porosity is the interconnected pore volume in a rock that contributes to fluid
flow in a reservoir. It excludes isolated pores. Total porosity is the total void space in the rock
whether or not it contributes to fluid flow. Thus, effective porosity is typically less than total
porosity.
Shale gas reservoirs tend to have relatively high porosity, but the alignment of platy grains
such as clays makes their permeability very low.

Post-mature: overmature

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Preservation: The phase of a petroleum system after hydrocarbons accumulate in a trap and are
subject to degradation, remigration, tectonism or other unfavorable or destructive processes.

Pressure gradient: The change in pressure per unit of depth, typically in units of psi/ft or kPa/m.
Pressure increases predictably with depth in areas of normal pressure. The normal hydrostatic
pressure gradient for freshwater is 0.433 psi/ft, or 9.792 kPa/m, and 0.465 psi/ft for water with
100,000 ppm total dissolved solids (a typical Gulf Coast water), or 10.516 kPa/m. Deviations from
normal pressure are described as high or low pressure.

Primary migration: The expulsion of newly generated hydrocarbons from a source rock. The
further movement of the hydrocarbons into reservoir rock in a hydrocarbon trap or other area of
accumulation is secondary migration.

Primary porosity: The porosity preserved from deposition through lithification.

Production : The phase that occurs after successful exploration and development and during
which hydrocarbons are drained from an oil or gas field.

Progradation: The accumulation of sequences by deposition in which beds are deposited

successively basinward because sediment supply exceeds accommodation. Thus, the position of
the shoreline migrates into the basin during episodes of progradation, a process called
regression.

Prospect: An area of exploration in which hydrocarbons have been predicted to exist in economic
quantity. A prospect is commonly an anomaly, such as a geologic structure or a seismic amplitude
anomaly, that is recommended by explorationists for drilling a well. Justification for drilling a
prospect is made by assembling evidence for an active petroleum system, or reasonable
probability of encountering reservoir-quality rock, a trap of sufficient size, adequate sealing rock,
and appropriate conditions for generation and migration of hydrocarbons to fill the trap. A single
drilling location is also called a prospect, but the term is more properly used in the context of
exploration. A group of prospects of a similar nature constitutes a play.

Pyrolysis: A type of geochemical analysis in which a rock sample is subject to controlled heating in
an inert gas to or past the point of generating hydrocarbons in order to assess its quality as a
source rock, the abundance of organic material in it, its thermal maturity, and the quality of
hydrocarbons it might generate or have generated. Pyrolysis breaks large hydrocarbon molecules
into smaller molecules.
This process is used to determine the quality of shale as a source rock and is instrumental in
evaluating shale gas plays.

Quartz [SiO2]: An abundant rock-forming mineral composed of silicon and oxygen, also called
silica. Quartz sand grains are a major constituent of sandstone and other clastic sedimentary
rocks.

Reef / reefal : A mound, ridge, or buildup of sediment or sedimentary rock, most commonly
produced by organisms that secrete shells such as corals. Reefs are typically taller than the
sediment that surrounds them, resistant to weathering and wave action, and preserved within
sediment of a different composition. Carbonate reefs form in a limited range of temperatures,
water depths, salinities and wave activities, so their occurrence can be used to interpret past
environmental conditions. Because the rocks that surround reefs can differ in composition and

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 permeability, porous reefs can form stratigraphic traps for hydrocarbons. Porosity of reefal
limestones depends on post-depositional diagenetic changes.

Regression / regressive: The migration of shoreline into a basin during progradation due to a fall
in relative sea level. Deposition during a regression can juxtapose shallow-water sediments atop
deep-water sediments.

Relative age: The approximate age determination of rocks, fossils or minerals made by comparing
whether the material is younger or older than other surrounding material. Relative age is
estimated according to stratigraphic and structural relationships, such as superposition, and by
fossil content, since the relative ages and successions of fossils have been established by
paleontologists. The measurement of the decay of radioactive isotopes, especially uranium,
rubidium, argon and carbon, has allowed geologists to more precisely determine the age in years
of rock formations, known as the absolute age. Tree rings and seasonal sedimentary deposits
called varves can be counted to determine absolute age. Although the term implies otherwise,
"absolute" ages typically have some amount of potential error and are inexact.

Relative permeability: A dimensionless term devised to adapt the Darcy equation to multiphase
flow conditions. Relative permeability is the ratio of effective permeability of a particular fluid at
a particular saturation to absolute permeability of that fluid at total saturation. If a single fluid is
present in a rock, its relative permeability is 1.0. Calculation of relative permeability allows
comparison of the different abilities of fluids to flow in the presence of each other, since the
presence of more than one fluid generally inhibits flow.

Reservoir : A subsurface body of rock having sufficient porosity and permeability to store and
transmit fluids. Sedimentary rocks are the most common reservoir rocks because they have more
porosity than most igneous and metamorphic rocks and form under temperature conditions at
which hydrocarbons can be preserved. A reservoir is a critical component of a complete
petroleum system.

Reservoir pressure/ formation pressure / hydrostatic pressure / pore pressure : The

pressure of fluids within the pores of a reservoir, usually hydrostatic pressure, or the pressure
exerted by a column of water from the formation's depth to sea level. Because reservoir pressure
changes as fluids are produced from a reservoir, the pressure should be described as measured at
a specific time, such as initial reservoir pressure.

Retrogradation: The accumulation of sequences by deposition in which beds are deposited

successively landward because sediment supply is limited and cannot fill the available
accommodation. Thus, the position of the shoreline migrates backward onto land, a process
called transgression, during episodes of retrogradation.

Reverse fault: A type of fault formed when the hanging wall fault block moves up along a fault
surface relative to the footwall. Such movement can occur in areas where the Earth's crust is
compressed. A thrust fault, sometimes called an overthrust if the displacement is particularly
great, is a reverse fault in which the fault plane has a shallow dip, typically much less than 45o.

Rheology / rheologic / rheological: Generally, the study of how matter deforms and flows,
including its elasticity, plasticity and viscosity. In geology, rheology is particularly important in
studies of moving ice, water, salt and magma, as well as in studies of deforming rocks.

~ 36 ~
Rhombohedral packing: The most compact arrangement in space of uniform spheres (atoms and
molecules in mineral crystals, or grains in sedimentary rocks) that results in a structure having
no more than 26% porosity. Rhombohedral packing is more stable mechanically than cubic
packing. Cubic packing is the most porous packing arrangement, with about 47% porosity in the
ideal situation. Most sediments, however, are not uniform spheres of the same size, nor can they
be arranged in a cubic structure naturally, so most sediments have much less than 47% porosity
of ideal cubic packing and commonly less than the 26% porosity of ideal rhombohedral packing.

Rift :
- Region in which the Earth's crust is pulling apart and creating normal faults and down-dropped
areas or subsidence.
- To pull apart the Earth's crust.

Rock: An aggregate of minerals or organic matter (in the case of coal, which is not composed of
minerals because of its organic origin), or volcanic glass (obsidian, which forms a rock but is not
considered a mineral because of its amorphous, noncrystalline nature). Rocks can contain a single
mineral, such as rock salt (halite) and certain limestones (calcite), or many minerals, such as
granite (quartz, feldspar, mica and other minerals). There are three main types of rocks.
Sedimentary rocks like sandstone and limestone form at the Earth's surface through deposition of
sediments derived from weathered rocks, biogenic activity or precipitation from solution.
Igneous rocks originate deeper within the Earth, where the temperature is high enough to melt
rocks, to form magma that can crystallize within the Earth or at the surface by volcanic activity.
Metamorphic rocks form from other preexisting rocks during episodes of deformation of the
Earth at temperatures and pressures high enough to alter minerals but inadequate to melt them.
Such changes can occur by the activity of fluids in the Earth and movement of igneous bodies or
regional tectonic activity. Rocks are recycled from one type to another by the constant changes in
the Earth.

S.g.: specific gravity

Sabkha: An environment of coastal sedimentation characterized by arid or semiarid conditions

above the level of high tide and by the absence of vegetation. Evaporites, eolian deposits and
tidal-flood deposits are common in sabkhas.

Salt: Halite (NaCl).

Salt dome: A mushroom-shaped or plug-shaped diapir made of salt, commonly having an

overlying cap rock. Salt domes form as a consequence of the relative buoyancy of salt when
buried beneath other types of sediment. The salt flows upward to form salt domes, sheets, pillars
and other structures. Hydrocarbons are commonly found around salt domes because of the
abundance and variety of traps created by salt movement and the association with evaporite
minerals that can provide excellent sealing capabilities.

Sand: A detrital grain between 0.0625 mm and 2 mm in diameter. Sand is larger than silt but
smaller than a granule according to the Udden-Wentworth scale. Sand is also a term used for
quartz grains or for sandstone.

Sandstone: A clastic sedimentary rock whose grains are predominantly sand-sized. The term is
commonly used to imply consolidated sand or a rock made of predominantly quartz sand,

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 although sandstones often contain feldspar, rock fragments, mica and numerous additional
mineral grains held together with silica or another type of cement. The relatively high porosity
and permeability of sandstones make them good reservoir rocks.

Saturation: The relative amount of water, oil and gas in the pores of a rock, usually as a percentage
of volume.

Scout:
- A petroleum industry worker who tracks competitive exploration and production activity, either
for a company or on a free-lance basis. Scouts can facilitate trading of technical data such as well
logs among companies before such data enter the public domain unless the operations or data
are held "tight."
- To inspect an area or to monitor activity.

Scout ticket: A brief report about a well from the time it is permitted through drilling and
completion. A scout ticket typically includes the location, total depth, logs run, production status
and formation tops.

Seal: cap rock

Secondary migration: The movement of generated hydrocarbons into a reservoir after their
expulsion, or primary migration, from a source rock.

Secondary porosity: The porosity created through alteration of rock, commonly by processes
such as dolomitization, dissolution and fracturing.

Sediment: The unconsolidated grains of minerals, organic matter or preexisting rocks, that can be
transported by water, ice or wind, and deposited. The processes by which sediment forms and is
transported occur at or near the surface of the Earth and at relatively low pressures and
temperatures. Sedimentary rocks form from the accumulation and lithification of sediment.
Sediments are classified according to size by the Udden-Wentworth scale.

Sedimentary: One of the three main classes of rock (igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary).
Sedimentary rocks are formed at the Earth's surface through deposition of sediments derived
from weathered rocks, biogenic activity or precipitation from solution. Clastic sedimentary rocks
such as conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones and shales form as older rocks weather and erode,
and their particles accumulate and lithify, or harden, as they are compacted and cemented.
Biogenic sedimentary rocks form as a result of activity by organisms, including coral reefs that
become limestone. Precipitates, such as the evaporite minerals halite (salt) and gypsum can form
vast thicknesses of rock as seawater evaporates. Sedimentary rocks can include a wide variety of
minerals, but quartz, feldspar, calcite, dolomite and evaporite group and clay group minerals are
most common because of their greater stability at the Earth's surface than many minerals that
comprise igneous and metamorphic rocks. Sedimentary rocks, unlike most igneous and
metamorphic rocks, can contain fossils because they form at temperatures and pressures that do
not obliterate fossil remnants.

Sedimentary basin: basin

Sedimentation: The process of creation, transportation and deposition of sediments.

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Sequence: A group of relatively conformable strata that represents a cycle of deposition and is
bounded by unconformities or correlative conformities. Sequences are the fundamental unit of
interpretation in sequence stratigraphy. Sequences comprise systems tracts.

Sequence boundary: A surface that separates older sequences from younger ones, commonly an
unconformity (indicating subaerial exposure), but in limited cases a correlative conformable
surface. A sequence boundary is an erosional surface that separates cycles of deposition.

Sequence stratigraphy / seismic stratigraphy: A field of study in which basin-filling

sedimentary deposits, called sequences, are interpreted in a framework of eustasy, sedimentation
and subsidence through time in order to correlate strata and predict the stratigraphy of relatively
unknown areas. Sequences tend to show cyclicity of changes in relative sea level and widespread
unconformities, processes of sedimentation and sources of sediments, climate and tectonic
activity over time. Sequence stratigraphic study promotes thorough understanding of the
evolution of basins, but also allows for interpretations of potential source rocks and reservoir
rocks in both frontier areas (having seismic data but little well data) and in more mature
hydrocarbon provinces. Prediction of reservoir continuity is currently a key question in mature
hydrocarbon provinces where sequence stratigraphy is being applied.
The field originated during the 1960s with the study of the stratigraphy of the continental
USA, where numerous unconformities could be correlated widely, and led to the proposal that
major unconformities might mark synchronous global-scale events. Through sequence
stratigraphy, widely-separated sediments that occur between correlatable unconformities could
be compared with each other. Studies of outcrops and seismic lines bore out these concepts,
which initially were called "Seismic Stratigraphy" and first published widely in 1977. Further
study of seismic lines led to the interpretation of the geometry or architecture of seismic events
as representing particular styles of sedimentation and depositional environments, and the
integration of such interpretations with well log and core data. Because of the simultaneous,
competitive nature of the research, numerous oil companies and academic groups use the
terminology of sequence stratigraphy differently, and new terms are added continually.

Shale / shaly: A fine-grained, fissile, detrital sedimentary rock formed by consolidation of clay-
and silt-sized particles into thin, relatively impermeable layers. It is the most abundant
sedimentary rock. Shale can include relatively large amounts of organic material compared with
other rock types and thus has potential to become a rich hydrocarbon source rock, even though a
typical shale contains just 1% organic matter. Its typical fine grain size and lack of permeability, a
consequence of the alignment of its platy or flaky grains, allow shale to form a good cap rock for
hydrocarbon traps.
Gas shows from shales during drilling have led some shales to be targeted as potential gas
reservoirs. Various clay types and volumes influence the quality of the reservoir from a
petrophysical and geomechanical perspective. The quality of shale reservoirs depends on their
thickness and extent, organic content, thermal maturity, depth and pressure, fluid saturations,
and permeability, among other factors.

Shear strain: The amount of deformation by shearing, in which parallel lines slide past each other
in differing amounts. The measurement is expressed as the tangent of the change in angle
between lines that were initially perpendicular.

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Shelf / continental shelf: Continental shelf, or the area at the edges of a continent from the
shoreline to a depth of 200 m [660 ft], where the continental slope begins. The shelf is commonly
a wide, flat area with a slight seaward slope. The term is sometimes used as a for platform.

Silica [SiO2]: A chemically resistant dioxide of silicon that occurs in crystalline (quartz),
amorphous (opal) and cryptocrystalline (chert) forms.

Silicate mineral: A group of rock-forming minerals in which SiO 4 tetrahedra combine with
cations. Silicate minerals are the most abundant type of mineral. Olivine, pyroxene, amphibole,
mica, quartz and feldspar are types of silicate minerals.

Siliciclastic sediment: Silica-based, noncarbonaceous sediments that are broken from preexisting
rocks, transported elsewhere, and redeposited before forming another rock. Examples of
common siliciclastic sedimentary rocks include conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and shale.
Carbonate rocks can also be broken and reworked to form other types of clastic sedimentary
rocks.

Similar fold: A type of fold in which the thickness of the layers remains constant when measured
parallel to the axial surface and the layers have the same wave shape, but the thickness along
each layer varies. The folded layers tend to be thicker in the hinge of the fold and thinner along
the limbs of the fold.

Sinistral: Pertaining to a strike-slip or left-lateral fault in which the block across the fault moves to
the left; also called a sinistral strike-slip fault. If it moves to the right, the relative motion is
described as dextral. Counterclockwise rotation or spiraling is also described as sinistral.

Smectite [(1/2Ca,Na)0.7(Al,Mg,Fe)4(Si,Al)8O20(OH)47nH2O)] : A group of clay minerals that

includes montmorillonite. This type of mineral tends to swell when exposed to water. Bentonite
includes minerals of the smectite group.

Soft rock: A general term for sedimentary rocks, although it can imply a distinction between rocks
of interest to the petroleum industry and rocks of interest to the mining industry.

Sorting: The range of sedimentary grain sizes that occurs in sediment or sedimentary rock. The
term also refers to the process by which sediments of similar size are naturally segregated during
transport and deposition according to the velocity and transporting medium. Well-sorted
sediments are of similar size (such as desert sand), while poorly-sorted sediments have a wide
range of grain sizes (as in a glacial till). A well-sorted sandstone tends to have greater porosity
than a poorly sorted sandstone because of the lack of grains small enough to fill its pores.
Conglomerates tend to be poorly sorted rocks, with particles ranging from boulder size to clay
size.

Sour: Contaminated with sulfur or sulfur compounds, especially hydrogen sulfide. Crude oil and
gas that are sour typically have an odor of rotten eggs if the concentration of sulfur is low. At high
concentrations, sulfur is odorless and deadly.

Source rock: A rock rich in organic matter which, if heated sufficiently, will generate oil or gas.
Typical source rocks, usually shales or limestones, contain about 1% organic matter and at least
0.5% total organic carbon (TOC), although a rich source rock might have as much as 10% organic
matter. Rocks of marine origin tend to be oil-prone, whereas terrestrial source rocks (such as

~ 40 ~
 coal) tend to be gas-prone. Preservation of organic matter without degradation is critical to
creating a good source rock, and necessary for a complete petroleum system. Under the right
conditions, source rocks may also be reservoir rocks, as in the case of shale gas reservoirs.

Specific gravity (s.g.): The dimensionless ratio of the weight of a material to that of the same
volume of water. Most common minerals have specific gravities between 2 and 7.

Spill point: The structurally lowest point in a hydrocarbon trap that can retain hydrocarbons. Once
a trap has been filled to its spill point, further storage or retention of hydrocarbons will not occur
for lack of reservoir space within that trap. The hydrocarbons spill or leak out, and they continue
to migrate until they are trapped elsewhere.

Strain: The permanent deformation evident in rocks and other solid bodies that have experienced
a sufficiently high applied stress. A change in shape, such as folding, faulting, fracturing, or
change, generally a reduction, in volume are common examples of strain seen in rocks. Strain can
be described in terms of normal and shear components, and is the ratio of the change in length or
volume to the initial length or volume.

Strata: plural name of stratum

Stratigraphic trap: A variety of sealed geologic container capable of retaining hydrocarbons,

formed by changes in rock type or pinch-outs, unconformities, or sedimentary features such as
reefs. Structural traps, in contrast, consist of geologic structures in deformed strata such as faults
and folds whose geometries permit retention of hydrocarbons.

Stratigraphy: The study of the history, composition, relative ages and distribution of strata, and
the interpretation of strata to elucidate Earth history. The comparison, or correlation, of
separated strata can include study of their lithology, fossil content, and relative or absolute age, or
lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and chronostratigraphy.

Stratum: Layers of sedimentary rock that form beds.

Stress: The force applied to a body that can result in deformation, or strain, usually described in
terms of magnitude per unit of area, or intensity.

Strike: The azimuth of the intersection of a plane, such as a dipping bed, with a horizontal surface.

Strike-slip fault: A type of fault whose surface is typically vertical or nearly so. The motion along a
strike-slip fault is parallel to the strike of the fault surface, and the fault blocks move sideways
past each other. A strike-slip fault in which the block across the fault moves to the right is
described as a dextral strike-slip fault. If it moves left, the relative motion is described as sinistral.
Local deformation near bends in strike-slip faults can produce pull-apart basins and grabens.
Flower structures are another by-product of strike-slip faults. A wrench fault is a type of strike-
slip fault in which the fault surface is nearly vertical.

Structural trap: A variety of sealed geologic structure capable of retaining hydrocarbons, such as a
fault or a fold. Stratigraphic traps form where changes in rock type can retain hydrocarbons.

~ 41 ~
Structure / structural: A geological feature produced by deformation of the Earth's crust, such as
a fold or a fault; a feature within a rock, such as a fracture or bedding surface; or, more generally,
the spatial arrangement of rocks.

Structure map: A type of subsurface map whose contours represent the elevation of a particular
formation, reservoir or geologic marker in space, such that folds, faults and other geologic
structures are clearly displayed. Its appearance is similar to that of a topographic map, but a
topographic map displays elevations of the Earth's surface and a structure map displays the
elevation of a particular rock layer, generally beneath the surface.

Stylolite: Wave-like or tooth-like, serrated, interlocking surfaces most commonly seen in

carbonate and quartz-rich rocks that contain concentrated insoluble residue such as clay
minerals and iron oxides. Stylolites are thought to form by pressure solution, a dissolution
process that reduces pore space under pressure during diagenesis.

Subduction: A plate tectonic process in which one lithospheric plate descends beneath another
into the asthenosphere during a collision at a convergent plate margin. Because of the relatively
higher density of oceanic lithosphere, it will typically descend beneath the lighter continental
lithosphere during a collision. In a collision of plates of continental lithosphere, the density of the
two plates is so similar that neither tends to be subducted and mountains form. As a subducted
plate descends into the asthenosphere, Earthquakes can occur, especially in the Wadati-Benioff
zone, but, if the plate descends deeply into the mantle, it will eventually be heated to the point of
melting. Volcanoes can form above a descending plate.

Subsalt: An exploration and production play type in which prospects exist below salt layers. Until
relatively recently, many explorationists did not seek prospects below salt because seismic data
had been of poor quality below salt (i.e., it was not possible to map traps accurately) or because
they believed that reservoir-quality rock or hydrocarbons did not exist below salt layers.
Advances in seismic processing and compelling drilling results from exploration wells
encouraged companies to generate and drill prospects below salt layers, salt sheets and other
previously disregarded potential traps. The offshore Gulf of Mexico contains numerous subsalt-
producing fields, and similar areas are being explored internationally.

Subsidence: The relative sinking of the Earth's surface. Plate tectonic activity (particularly
extension of the crust, which promotes thinning and sinking), sediment loading and removal of
fluid from reservoirs are processes by which the crust can be depressed. Subsidence can produce
areas in which sediments accumulate and, ultimately, form sedimentary basins.

Superposition: The stratigraphic principle that, in the case of undeformed, flat-lying strata,
younger layers are deposited atop older ones, such that the top layer is youngest and underlying
layers increase in age with depth. Nicolaus Steno articulated the law of superposition of strata in
the 17th century.

Swamp: A wetland depositional environment in which water is present either permanently or

intermittently and in which trees and large woody plants can grow but peat does not form.
Swamps can contain considerable quantities of organic matter.

Sweet: Pertaining to crude oil or natural gas lacking appreciable amounts of sulfur or sulfur
compounds.

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Syncline: Basin- or trough-shaped fold in rock in which rock layers are downwardly convex. The
youngest rock layers form the core of the fold and outward from the core progressively older
rocks occur. Synclines typically do not trap hydrocarbons because fluids tend to leak up the limbs
of the fold. An anticline is the opposite type of fold, having upwardly-convex layers with old rocks
in the core.

Synthetic fault: A type of minor fault whose sense of displacement is similar to its associated
major fault. Antithetic-synthetic fault sets are typical in areas of normal faulting.

Systems tract: Subdivisions of sequences that consist of discrete depositional units that differ in
geometry from other systems tracts and have distinct boundaries on seismic data. Different
systems tracts are considered to represent different phases of eustatic changes. A lowstand
systems tract develops during times of relatively low sea level; a highstand systems tract at times
of high sea level; and a transgressive systems tract at times of changing sea level.

Tectonic environment: Location relative to the boundary of a tectonic plate, particularly a

boundary along which plate tectonic activity is occurring or has occurred.

Tectonics: plate tectonics.

Tectonism: plate tectonic activity.

Temperature gradient: see geothermal gradient

Terrestrial: Pertaining to sediments or depositional environments on land or above the level of

high tide.

Thermal gradient: see geothermal gradient

Thrust fault: A type of reverse fault in which the fault plane has a very shallow dip, typically much
less than 45o. The hanging wall fault block moves up the fault surface relative to the footwall. In
cases of considerablelateral movement, the fault is described as an overthrust fault. Thrust faults
can occur in areas of compression of the Earth's crust.

Tight:
- Describing a relatively impermeable reservoir rock from which hydrocarbon production is
difficult. Reservoirs can be tight because of smaller grains or matrix between larger grains, or
they might be tight because they consist predominantly of silt- or clay-sized grains, as is the case
for shale reservoirs.
Stimulation of tight formations can result in increased production from formations that
previously would have been abandoned or produced uneconomically..
- Secrecy or confidentiality of information. Operators typically try to prevent disclosure of results
from exploration wells and will hold any such information "tight". A tight hole is a well whose
status and data are not widely disseminated by the operator. (tight hole)

Total organic carbon (TOC): The concentration of organic material in source rocks as
represented by the weight percent of organic carbon. A value of approximately 0.5% total organic
carbon by weight percent is considered the minimum for an effective source rock, although values
of 2% are considered the minimum for shale gas reservoirs; values exceeding 10% exist, although
some geoscientists assert that high total organic carbon values indicate the possibility

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 of kerogen filling pore space rather than other forms of hydrocarbons. Total organic carbon is
measured from 1-g samples of pulverized rock that are combusted and converted to CO or CO2. If
a sample appears to contain sufficient total organic carbon to generate hydrocarbons, it may be
subjected to pyrolysis

Topographic map: A contour map that displays the elevation of the Earth's surface. A topographic
map is commonly used as the base map for surface geological mapping.

Transform fault: A particular type of strike-slip fault that is a boundary of an oceanic tectonic
plate. The actual movement of a transform fault is opposite to its apparent displacement because
of the interplay of spreading and faulting between tectonic plates.

Transgression / transgressive: The migration of shoreline out of a basin and onto land during
retrogradation. A transgression can result in sediments characteristic of shallow water being
overlain by deeper water sediments.

Transpression: The simultaneous occurrence of strike-slip faulting and compression, or

convergence, of the Earth's crust. In areas of transpression, rocks can be faulted upward to form a
positive flower structure. Areas of strike-slip faulting in rifting or diverging crust are experiencing
transtension, in which rocks can drop down to form a negative flower structure.

Transtension: The simultaneous occurrence of strike-slip faulting and extension, rifting, or

divergence of the Earth's crust. In areas of transtension, rocks can be faulted downward to form a
negative flower structure. Areas of strike-slip faulting in converging crust are experiencing
transpression, in which rocks can be faulted upwards to form a positive flower structure.

Trap: A configuration of rocks suitable for containing hydrocarbons and sealed by a relatively
impermeable formation through which hydrocarbons will not migrate. Traps are described as
structural traps (in deformed strata such as folds and faults) or stratigraphic traps (in areas
where rock types change, such as unconformities, pinch-outs and reefs). A trap is an essential
component of a petroleum system.

Trend:
- The azimuth or orientation of a linear feature, such as the axis of a fold, normally expressed as a
compass bearing.
- Used synonymously with the term play to describe an area in which hydrocarbons occur, such as
the Wilcox trend of the Gulf Coast.

True stratigraphic thickness: The thickness of a bed or rock body after correcting for the dip of
the bed or body and the deviation of the well that penetrates it. The values of true stratigraphic
thickness in an area can be plotted and contours drawn to create an isopach map.

True vertical thickness: The thickness of a bed or rock body measured vertically at a point. The
values of true vertical thickness in an area can be plotted and contours drawn to create an
isochore map.

Tuff / tuffaceaous: Lithified volcanic ash.

Turbidite: Sedimentary deposits formed by turbidity currents in deep water at the base of the
continental slope and on the abyssal plain. Turbidites commonly show predictable changes in

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 bedding from coarse layers at the bottom to finer laminations at the top, known as Bouma
sequences, that result from different settling velocities of the particle sizes present. The high
energy associated with turbidite deposition can result in destruction of earlier deposited layers
by subsequent turbidity currents.

Turbidity current: An influx of rapidly moving, sediment-laden water down a slope into a larger
body of water; also called a density current because the suspended sediment results in the
current having a higher density than the clearer water into which it flows. Such currents can
occur in lakes and oceans, in some cases as by-products of earthquakes or mass movements such
as slumps. The sedimentary deposits that form as the current loses energy are called turbidites
and can be preserved as Bouma sequences. Turbidity currents are characteristic of trench slopes
of convergent plate margins and continental slopes of passive margins.

Udden-Wentworth scale: A grade scale for classifying the diameters of sediments. Particles larger
than 64 mm in diameter are classified as cobbles. Smaller particles are pebbles, granules, sand
and silt. Those smaller than 0.0039 mm are clay. Several other grain size scales are in use, but the
Udden-Wentworth scale (commonly called the Wentworth scale) is the one that is most
frequently used in geology.

Unconformity: A geological surface separating older from younger rocks and representing a gap
in the geologic record. Such a surface might result from a hiatus in deposition of sediments,
possibly in combination with erosion, or deformation such as faulting. An angular unconformity
separates younger strata from eroded, dipping older strata. A disconformity represents a time of
nondeposition, possibly combined with erosion, and can be difficult to distinguish within a series
of parallel strata. A nonconformity separates overlying strata from eroded, older igneous or
metamorphic rocks. The study and interpretation of unconformities locally, regionally and
globally is the basis of sequence stratigraphy.

Unconformity trap: A type of hydrocarbon trap whose closure is controlled by the presence of an
unconformity. There is disagreement about whether unconformity traps are structural or
stratigraphic traps.

Underpressure: Pore pressure less than normal or hydrostatic pressure. Underpressure, or a zone
of underpressure, is common in areas or formations that have had hydrocarbon production.

Uniformitarianism: The geological principle formulated by James Hutton in 1795 and publicized
by Charles Lyell in 1830 that geological processes occurring today have occurred similarly in the
past, often articulated as, "The present is the key to the past.".

Universal Transverse Mercator grid (UTM): A worldwide grid system of

rectangular map coordinates that uses metric (SI) units. A location is specified on the basis of its
location within one of 60 zones worldwide of 6 o of longitude and 8o of latitude each that are
subdivided into subzones that are 100,000 m [330,000 ft] on each side. Locations consist of a
series of numbers and letters that can be accurate to within an area of one square meter. The
headquarters of the Geological Society of America are at 13TDQ8743172 (Merrill, 1986).
Information about the UTM grid, including grid ticks on quadrangle maps, can be found on most
maps produced by the US Geological Survey. Latitude and longitude coordinates, or geographic
coordinates, are another means of locating a point at the Earth's surface, but the accuracy,

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 computer compatibility and uniqueness of UTM have resulted in its finding acceptance within the
scientific community.

Updip: Located up the slope of a dipping plane or surface. In a dipping (not flat-lying) hydrocarbon
reservoir that contains gas, oil and water, the gas is updip, the gas-oil contact is downdip from the
gas, and the oil-water contact is still farther downdip.

Varve: A rhythmic sequence of sediments deposited in annual cycles in glacial lakes. Light-colored,
coarse summer grains are deposited by rapid melting of the glacier. The summer layers grade
upward to layers of finer, dark winter grains of clay minerals or organic material that are
deposited slowly from suspension in quiet water while streams and lakes are icebound. Varves
are useful to the study of geochronology because they can be counted to determine the absolute
age of some Pleistocene rocks of glacial origin.

Vesicle / vesicular: Bubble-shaped cavities in volcanic rock formed by expansion of gas dissolved
in the precursor magma.

Vesicular porosity: A type of porosity resulting from the presence of vesicles, or gas bubbles, in
igneous rock.

Virgin pressure: The original, undisturbed pressure of a reservoir prior to fluid production.

Vitrinite: A type of woody kerogen that is relatively uniform in composition. Since vitrinite
changes predictably and consistently upon heating, its reflectance is a useful measurement of
source rock maturity. Strictly speaking, the plant material that forms vitrinite did not occur prior
to Ordovician time. Also, because vitrinite originated in wood, its occurrence in marine rocks
might be limited by the depositional processes that act in a given depositional environment.

Vitrinite reflectance: A measurement of the maturity of organic matter with respect to whether it
has generated hydrocarbons or could be an effective source rock.

Volcano / volcanic: A surface feature of the Earth that allows magma, ash and gas to erupt. The
vent can be a fissure or a conical structure.

Vug / vuggy / vugular: A cavity, void or large pore in a rock that is commonly lined with mineral
precipitates.

Vugular porosity: Pore space consisting of cavities or vugs. Vugular porosity can occur in rocks
prone to dissolution, such as limestone, in which case it is secondary porosity.

Wadati-Benioff zone: Benioff zone

Weathered layer: A near-surface, possibly unconsolidated layer of low seismic velocity. The base
of the weathered layer commonly coincides with the water table and a sharp increase in seismic
velocity. The weathered layer typically has air-filled pores.

Weathering: The physical, chemical and biological processes that decompose rock at and below
the surface of the Earth through low pressures and temperatures and the presence of air and
water. Weathering includes processes such as dissolution, chemical weathering, disintegration
and hydration.

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Wet gas: Natural gas that contains less methane (typically less than 85% methane) and more
ethane and other more complex hydrocarbons.

Wrench fault: A type of strike-slip fault in which the fault surface is vertical, and the fault blocks
move sideways past each other. Given the geological complexity of some deformed rocks,
including rocks that have experienced more than one episode of deformation, it can be difficult to
distinguish a wrench fault from a strike-slip fault. Also, areas can be deformed more than once or
experience ongoing structuring such that fault surfaces can be rotated from their original
orientations.

Yield Point (YP): A parameter of the Bingham plastic model.

Zone / zonal: An interval or unit of rock differentiated from surrounding rocks on the basis of its
fossil content or other features, such as faults or fractures. For example, a fracture zone contains
numerous fractures. A biostratigraphic zone contains a particular fossil or fossils.

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