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Freie Universität Berlin
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Today‘s Lecture Today‘s Lecture: The Petroleum System

• What is a system ?
• What are the elements of the petroleum system ?
•Why is it important ?
• Elements:
The Petroleum System •Source rock
• Reservoir
• Seal
• Trap
• Maturation and Migration
• Timing
• Product
•Example: Bolivian Subandean System
•Links and Literature

1
 What is a Petroleum System ? What is a Petroleum System ?

Product Actually a
very
Source Rock Reservoir interesting,
creative
and
In geology,
stimulating
the most
task
integrative
fields of all
Seal Timing
Own data (observational /
Maturation deductive), and data from nearly
Trap
and Migration all other sciences

Elements of the Petroleum System

Timing: Source rock - Seal

Reservoir – Trap/Seal Trap
- Migration

Product: Oil, Gas,

CO2

Source rock
n
ratio
Mig

Maturation Reservoir

Source Rock

2
 Source rocks Source rocks

Phyto- and Zooplankton

Organic-rich Petroleum,
shale Gas

Petroleum,
Diatomite
Gas

O2
Coal Gas

Plants

Properties of source rocks Sapropel – black anoxic shale

Fine-grained (usually shale):

Low grade of oxidation, low
permeability

Sedimentation in deep water:

lack of oxygen, no water
mixing

Laminated: low oxygen, no

bioturbation, no banthos

Low-oxygen depositional
environment: organic material
(Corg) does not become oxidized

3
 Coal The Late Devonian

Terrestrial
Material
(Cellulose) Domanik
Fm.
Exshaw
Shale

Woodford
Shale
http://www.laubag.de/Presse_Dienst/presse.htm

Low in protein; Yields gases and

low in H solids upon
Associated with terrestrial
heating – no Los Monos
depositional environments
liquids Fm.

Los Monos Formation, Late Jurassic shale: The Posidonia shale

Subandean Belt, Bolivia
Late Devonian

Thaumatosaurus, Holzmaden

http://www.naturkunde-bw.de/cgi-bin/stuttgart

Steinbruch Dotternhausen

4
 Migration

Primary migration: the process of leaving the source rock,

mostly across stratification, largely due to compaction.

Water, oil, CH4, CO2

Porosity (%)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Maturation and 1

Depth (km)
2

Migration
3
80-200°C
4

Water, oil, CH4, CO2

Migration
Secondary migration: collecting oil and gas in reservoir rocks,
largely along stratification, caused by buoyancy differences and
rock properties

Sa
nd
Se
Reservoir
sto al
ne
re
se
rv
oir
Se
al

0.3 g/cm3 0.9 g/cm3 1.1 g/cm3

gas petroleum brine

5
 Fundamental Reservoir Properties Reservoir

Porosity (φ; to store) Permeability (k; to flow)

high φ;
high φ;
high k
low k

Geologist’s
Reservoir
Engineer’s
Reservoir

low φ; low φ;
high k low k
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/coorong.htm

What kind of reservoirs ? Fractured reservoirs

6
 Levels of Reservoir Heterogeneity

φmax 0.1-
1m

φmin

Trap
Kmax ? Kmin ? 1-10
cm

1- 100
m
0.1-10
mm

0.1-10
km
1-100µ

Trap Stuctural Traps

Traps form where the ability of migrating

Anticline
hydrocarbons to move is somehow arrested or Normal fault
slowed down.

Stratigraphic Structural
traps traps

Diapir … above a thrust

ramp

7
 Structural Traps Structural Traps

Saudi Aramco Publication

Chabot Anticline in SE Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, US. Dag Nummedal

Structural Traps Structural Traps

AAPG Explorer ads, 2004, Gulf of Mexico

AAPG Explorer ads, 2004

8
 Structural Traps Structural Traps

Salz

Deepwater GOM, Green Canyon; AAPG Explorer ad, 2003

Structural Traps Stratigraphic Traps

Angular unconformity
Paleohigh,
e.g. reef or
mound

Lateral
pinchout
Deepwater GOM, Alaminos Canyon; Fulgro Multiclient Services, AAPG Explorer ad, 2003

9
Stratigraphic Traps Stratigraphic Traps

Saudi Aramco brochure

Jurassic lagoonal washover fans,
Moose Mountain, Front Reage,
Canada; May 2000

Capillary seals

• low permeability
• high capillary entry pressure

Seal Seal

Reservoir

1.1 g/cm3
0.9 g/cm3

0.3 g/cm3

10
 Timing: The Petroleum System Chart

Timing
Maturation /
Migration
Trap Formation

Seal

Reservoir

Source

Elements of the Petroleum System

Migration
before Trap
Timing: Source rock -
Reservoir – Trap/Seal
Seal
Trap Formation
- Migration

Product: Oil, Gas,

CO2

n n
ratio ratio
Mig Mig

Maturation Reservoir Maturation Reservoir

Source Rock Source Rock

11
 Deformation Trap
after Migration:
Seal failure,
Trap breaching Seal

Product
n
ratio
Mig

Maturation Reservoir

Source Rock

CO2
gas
Oil generation
generation
Water, oil, CH4, CO2 generation

Porosity (%)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

1
Example
Depth (km)

3
80-200°C
4

12
Chaco Basin: Geologic setting Hydrocarbon significance

Br
az
ilia
n Sh
ie Pipeline
ld Pipeline to Sao
to Arica Paulo

Chaco Basin
Subandean Belt Izozog
Arch

4089 MMBOE
Ultimate Recovery:
• 8% Oil
• 77% Gas
• 15% Cond

Source rock: Los Monos Fm., Late Devonian Traps: Thrust-related anticlines

7 700 000

7 600 000

400 000

Quaternary Triassic
Tertiary Carboniferous
modified after Linquiat (1998) Cretaceous Devonian

13
 Traps: Thrust-related anticlines Reservoir and Seal

0 0
Iquiri Fm., shelf, Dev.-
Two-way travel time (TWT) Carb.

1.0 1.0

2.0 2.0

3.0 3.0

4.0 4.0
Reservoir: Fluvial, shoreline, turbidite
sandstone

W 8km E
Source: -4 km thick
Top Guandacay Top Tariquia Top Yecua
Fault marine shales
Top Petaca Top Cretaceous Unconformity

Timing: The Chaco System Timing: The Chaco System

Depth
(km)

Rifting Andean
Maturation /
Migration
Rift Anticl/Th Trap Formation
1
Los Monos
etc.
C Seal 2
C K T Reservoir 80°C 110°C 3
Los Monos Los Monos
Source 4 Fm.
etc.

140°C 5

14
 Timing: The Chaco System
Summary: What is a Petroleum System ?

Product
Depth
(km)
Source Rock Reservoir

2
Los Monos Seal Timing
110°C Fm.
3
Erosion
4

5 Migration Trap
170°C 6

Elements of the Petroleum System

Seal
• Quality Trap
• Thickness • Geometry
• Composition • Age

Reservoir
• Where from ?
• Lithology, Mineralogy
• Size of drainage
• Porosity, permeability
area ?
• Internal heterogeneity
• Efficiency ?
• Water saturation
• When ? Migration • Hydrocarbon characteristics
• Where? • Thickness, geometry,
• How fast? facies, extent
• T history? • Faulting / fracturing
Maturation

• Quantity
Source Rock • Quality
• Temperature history

15