Formation of Petroleum

The process of petroleum formation involves several steps:

 Organic matter from organisms must be produced in great abundance.

 This organic matter must be buried rapidly before oxidation takes place.

 Slow chemical reactions transform the organic material into the hydrocarbons found in
petroleum.

The organic matter that eventually becomes petroleum is derived from photosynthetic
microscopic organisms, like plankton and bacteria, originally deposited along with clays in the
oceans. The resulting rocks are usually black shales that form the petroleum source rock. 
As the black shale is buried to depths of 2 to 4 km it is heated.  This heating breaks the organic
material down into waxy kerogen. Continued heating breaks down the kerogen with different
compounds forming in different temperatures ranges -

Oil and gas – 90° to 160°C.

Gas only – 160° to 250°C.
Graphite – >250°C.
 
If temperatures get higher than the petroleum forming window (90 to 150 °C ) then only
graphite forms, which is not a useful hydrocarbon.   Thus oil is not formed during
metamorphism and older rocks that have been heated will also lose their oil forming potential.

Most oil and gas is not found in the source rock.  Although black shales (oil shales) are found, it
is difficult to extract the oil from such rock.   Nature, however, does separate the oil and gas. As
a result of compaction of the sediments containing the petroleum, the oil and natural gas are
forced out and migrate into a reservoir rock.

Petroleum Reservoirs

Reservoir rock contains pore space between the mineral grains (this is called porosity). It is
within this pore space that fluids are stored. Sands and sandstones are the best reservoir rocks
because of the pore space left around the rounded sand grains. Highly fractured rock of also a
good reservoir rock, because the fractures provide lots of open space. Limestone, if it has often
been partially dissolved, also has high porosity.

Another essential property of reservoir rock is that it must have good

permeability. Permeability is the degree of interconnections between the pores. Low
permeability means that the fluids cannot easily get into or out of the pore spaces. Highly
cemented sandstones, unweatherd limestones, and unfractured rock have low permeability.

Since oil and natural gas have a density lower than that of water, the petroleum migrates
upward.   It would continue upward and seep out at the surface where it would oxidize, if it
were not for some kind of trap that keeps it in the Earth until it is extracted.
Oil Traps

An oil or gas reserve requires trapping in the reservoir. A trap is a geological configuration that
holds oil and gas.  It must be overlain by impermeable rock called a seal or caprock, which
prevents the petroleum from migrating to the surface. Exploration for petroleum reservoirs
requires geologists to find trap and seal configurations where petroleum may be found.

Oil traps can be divided into those that form as a result of geologic structures like folds and
faults, called structural traps, and those that form as a result of stratigraphic relationships
between rock units, called stratigraphic traps. If petroleum has migrated into a reservoir formed
by one of these traps, note that the petroleum, like groundwater, will occur in the pore spaces of
the rock. Natural gas will occur above the oil, which in turn will overly water in the pore spaces
of the reservoir. This occurs because the density of natural gas is lower than that of oil, which is
lower than that of water.

Structural Traps
 Anticlines - If a
permeable
reservoir rocks
like a sandstone or
limestone is
sandwiched
between
impermeable rock
layers like shales
or mudstones, and
the rocks are
folded into an
anticline,
petroleum can
migrate upward in
the permeable
reservoir rocks,
and will occur in
the hinge region of
the anticline. 

Since anticlines in the subsurface can often be found by observing the orientation of rocks on
the surface, anticlinal traps were among the first to be exploited by petroleum geologists.

Note that synclines will not form an oil trap (Why?).

  Fault Traps

If faulting can
juxtapose permeable
and impermeable
rocks so that the
permeable rocks
always have
impermeable rocks
above them, then an
oil trap can form.
Note that both
normal faults and
reverse faults can
form this type of oil 
trap.

Since faults are often exposed at the Earth's surface, the locations of such traps can often be
found from surface exploration.
 Salt Domes - 
During the
Jurassic Period,
the Gulf of
Mexico was a
restricted basin.
This resulted in
high evaporation
rates &
deposition of a
thick layer of salt
on the bottom of
the basin. The
salt was
eventually
covered with
clastic sediments.
But salt has a
lower density
than most
sediments and is
more ductile than
most sedimentary
rocks.
Because of its low density, the salt moved upward through the sedimentary rocks as salt
domes.  The intrusion of the salt deforms the sedimentary strata along its margins,
folding it upward to create oil traps. Because some salt domes get close to the surface,
 surface sediments overlying the salt dome are often domed upward, making the
locations of the subsurface salt and possible oil traps easy to locate.
Stratigraphic Traps

 Unconformities - An
angular unconformity
might form a suitable
oil trap if the layers
above the
unconformity are
impermeable rocks
and permeable rocks
layer are sandwiched
between  impermeable
layers in the inclined
strata below the
unconformity.

 
This type of trap is more difficult to locate because the unconformity may not be
exposed at the Earth's surface. Locating possible traps like this usually requires
subsurface exploration techniques, like drilling exploratory wells or using seismic waves
to see what the structure looks like.
 Lens Traps
Layers of sand often
form lens like bodies
that pinch out. If the
rocks surrounding
these lenses of sand are
impermeable and
deformation has
produced inclined
strata, oil and natural
gas can migrate into
the sand bodies and
will be trapped by the
impermeable rocks.


 
This kind of trap is also difficult to locate from the surface, and requires subsurface
exploration techniques.
 
 
Petroleum Distribution
As we have seen, in order to form a petroleum reserve, the development of 4 features is
necessary :

1. Formation of a source rock.

2. Formation of a migration pathway so that the petroleum can move upwards

3. Filling a suitable reservoir rock with petroleum.

4. Development of an oil trap to prevent the oil from migrating out of the reservoir.

Because these features must develop in the specified order, development of an oil reserve is
geologically rare.   As a result, petroleum reserves reserves are geographically limited. The
largest known reserves are currently in the Persian Gulf (see figure 14.15 in your text)..

Although the distribution of petroleum reserves is widespread, the ages of the petroleum and the
reservoirs is somewhat limited.  Since older rocks have had more time to erode or
metamorphose, most reservoirs of petroleum occur in younger rocks. Most petroleum is
produced from rocks of Cenozoic age, with less produced from rocks of Mesozoic and
Paleozoic age.

Petroleum Exploration and Production

The first petroleum reservoirs exploited by humans were found as a result of seeps on the
surface. The 1st oil well was drilled in Titusville, PA., in 1859. Oil wells eased petroleum
recovery and initiated an oil boom, and within years, 1,000s of oil wells had been drilled.  It was
soon realized that a systematic approach to oil exploration was essential to prevent drilling dry
holes.

First step is to make geologic maps of sedimentary rocks and structures.  Based on surface
mapping and drill holes, geologic cross sections are made and such cross-sections often reveal
structures and potential reservoir rocks that could then be drilled. 

Geophysical techniques were soon developed in order to see beneath the surface and find
reservoirs that could not be detected from the surface. The most useful technique is seismic
reflection profiling which can be done on both land in at sea. This technique involves generating
seismic waves from either small explosions on land or air guns in the water.   The seismic
waves reflect back to surface from different rock interfaces below the surface and these
reflected waves are then detected by receivers called geophones.   By moving the source and the
receivers along the surface, and tracing the pulse of each seismic wave, a cross section can be
constructed that reveals potential reservoir rocks.   These sections are correlated with drill holes
where the geology is known, to produce a detailed picture of the subsurface. (see figure 14.12 in
your text).

Once potential reservoir rocks are located, drilling from the surface attempts to tap into the
reservoirs.  A diamond rotary bit pulverizes rock to drill the hole. High-density drilling mud is
then pumped in to cool the drill bit and lift the rock cuttings. The heavy mud also helps to
prevent blowouts.As the bit advances, the open borehole deepens. Drill pipe is added by a drill
derrick, a tower that stands above the surface.  Some derricks are mounted on offshore
platforms and many of these platforms can drill many holes in many directions.

When a petroleum reservoir is encountered, drilling ceases and steel casing is inserted to line
the hole and prevent collapse.  After the casing has been emplaced, the well is pumped to
recover the oil and gas.

Primary recovery uses the reservoir pressure and pumping to extract the oil, but his is usually
inefficient; and enables recovery of only about 30% of the oil. Secondary recovery methods are
then used to extract as much of the rest as possible.  Secondary recover involves pumping in
fluids, like steam or CO2 to help push the oil out.  Sometimes hydrofracturing using high
pressure or explosives, can be used to artificially increase permeability and allow for more
efficient extraction.
 
Oil Shale and Tar Sands
 

 Oil shale is shale that contains abundant organic matter that has not decomposed
completely to produce petroleum. Oil can be extracted from oil shales, but they must be
heated to high enough temperatures to drive the oil out. Since this process requires a lot
of energy, exploitation of oil shales is not currently cost-effective, but may become so as
other sources of petroleum become depleted. Known deposits of oil shale are extensive.
 Tar Sands are sandstones that have thick accumulations of viscous oil in their pore
spaces. Extraction of this oil also requires heating the rock and is therefore energy
intensive and not currently cost effective.