Petroleum Engineering Fundamentals PETR2510

Petroleum Engineering
Fundamentals
PETR2510
Source rocks, generation,

migration and accumulation of
petroleum
(How oil&gas are formed)
Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 1
Conditions for HC accumulation

 In order to have a commercial deposit of gas
or oil, three geological conditions must have
been met
» There must be a source rock in the subsurface of
that area that generated the gas and oil at some
time in the geological past.
» There must be a separate, subsurface reservoir
rock to hold the gas or oil.
» There must be a trap on the reservoir rock to
concentrate the gas or oil into commercial
quantities.
1
Sedimentary rocks
 The uppermost crust of the Earth in oil- and
gas- producing areas is composed of
sedimentary rock layers. Sedimentary rocks
are the source and reservoir rocks, they are
composed of sediments:
» Particles such as sand grains that were formed by
the breakdown of pre-existing rocks and
transported, mud
» Seashells
» Salt that precipitated from water.
 Millions and billions years old. Sediments are
deposited when sea levels were changing to
cover and expose the land.
 What is needed to get a hydrocarbon accumulation

» Sedimentary basins
2

3
Geology
 In order to narrow down the search for

oil and gas we have to study the source
of changes in the earth that have
created the accumulations:
» Tectonics
» Transportation of sediments
» Sedimentary environments
4
Plate tectonics
 Earth’s crust - floating plates
Plate Tectonics
5
Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonics
 World Stress Map
6
Plate Tectonics
 The importance of the plate tectonics for

oil and gas deposition is that when the
“supercontinent” broke up a small rift
valley was formed into which all the
sediments flowed
 These are now the major areas of
exploration interest eg. North West
Shelf, West coast of Africa and Brazil
Sedimentary Environments
 Places where sediments accumulate

and sedimentary rocks form “basins”
 They can be grouped into:
» Terrestrial environments (non-marine)
» Marine environments
» Transitional environments (at the transition
between the marine and non-marine
environments)
7
Terrestrial Environments
 Rivers (fluvial environment)

 Alluvial fans
 Lakes (lacustrine environment)
 Swamps and deserts (aeolian
environment)
 Glacial environments
Rivers (fluvial Environment)
8
Alluvial Fan
Lakes
(Lacustrine Environment)
9
Swamps & Windblown Deserts
(Aeolian Environment)
Glacial Environments
10
Marine Environments
 This environment is split into sections

in order of reducing energy and
increasing depth:
1. Reefs
2. Continental shelf
3. Continental slope and
4. Continental rise
5. Abyssal plain
Sea Level Change

 When
considering the
marine
environment it
is important to
realise that sea
level is not
constant.
11
West Coast Effect
 When looking at a petroleum map of the

world it can be noticed that most
production areas are on the West of the
major continents
 This is thought to be due to the
upwelling of nutrients which drift
Eastwards due to the rotation of the
Earth
West Coast Effect
12
Review
 Tectonics have been important in the

creation of offshore basins
 Transportation systems are studied to
predict the likely destination of the
sediments
 Sedimentary environments are studied
in order to understand the deposition
and burial of the sediments
Generation
 The source of oil and gas is the organic matter (algae and
plankton) that is buried and preserved in the sedimentary rocks.
Some of the organic matter is broken down by decay
(oxidation). (On land oxygen comes from air and on the ocean
bottom oxygen is from water.)
 Some organic matter is preserved (could be rapidly buried
before it decayed or was deposited on the bottom of a sea
(seabed) with stagnant, oxygen-free waters) - kerogen. Due to
the gradual burial of the sediments + high compression + a
sharp rise in temperature over long time intervals kerogen is
transformed into HC by thermal cracking (brakeage of chemical
bonds).
 The kerogen (initially immature) is converted into oil at above 50
to 70ºC. At around 120-150ºC the oil is cracked in turn, yielding
first wet and then dry gas. The ‘oil window’ lies between this two
temperature levels. It is a zone in the Earth’s crust. It usually
corresponds to burial depths of 2.1-5.5 km.
13
» Organic material deposited in basin:
source rocks, kerogen
» burial & decomposition of kerogen into various hydrocarbons
Source Rocks
 Source rocks are rocks containing this organic matter
in sufficient quantities. A lack of oxygen is important
as it prevents the decomposition of the organic
remains.
 The most common organic rich sedimentary rock (the
source rock for most of the oil and gas, 90%) is black
shale. Black shale has 1-3% (up to 20%) organic
matter by weight. They have the right chemical
composition to generate HC.
 Green or gray shale has approx. 0.5% of organic
matter.
 In some areas (North Africa and the Middle East)
carbonates (limestones) are also source rocks.
14
Maturation
 The conversion of sedimentary organic matter into
petroleum is called maturation.
 Kerogen is an organic rich material which produces HC
on heating.
 Time is also a generation factor. Oil can be generated at
lower temperatures if the source rock is exposed to those
temperatures for a longer time. Higher temperatures
need shorter times to generate oil. (Chemical reactions
double in speed for each 5.5ºC.)
 Many sedimentary basins are unproductive. Even if an
unproductive basin has a source rock, it might never
have been buried into the oil window. Maturity is the
degree to which petroleum generation has occurred in a
source rock. A mature source rock has experienced the
temperature and time to generate petroleum in contrast
to immature source rock. In sedimentary rock basins 30-
70% of organic matter in the source rock generates oil
and gas.
How is oil/gas formed?

 Dead micro-organisms (algae, plankton) & marine life and plant life
 Need the dead organisms to accumulate with sediment (sand particles swept
into the a watery environment by tides, currents, rivers) on a basin floor
 Burial: Build up kms of sediment + organics
» Pressure (P) & temperature (T) cause decomposition from complex HC
molecules to simpler – cooking of the material. Initial material is kerogen:
decomposes to oils, gases.
» Has to be anaerobic (anoxic)
» Also need time t at T: organic material in a shale (finally)
» At depth, new molecules take up greater volume than original: Therefore

shale cracks: HC migration
» Need a porous rock sealed by shale which will trap the migrating HC
» Now have an oil/gas reservoir
» Now we have to find it!
15
» Cracking of source rock & expulsion (migration) of HC
» Trapment in a geological feature
Migration
 Generation of oil and gas in a shale source rock
causes a large increase in volume. This stresses the
source rock and fractures the shale (impermeable).
The HC escape upward through fractures. After the
pressure is released the fractures close, and the
shale becomes impermeable again.
 Petroleum rises (oil and gas are light in density
compared to water) through fractures and along
faults. It can also flow laterally. The vertical and
lateral flow of the petroleum from the rock source is
called migration.
16
Reservoir rock
 A reservoir rock is a rock that can both store and
transmit fluids.
 Porosity is the percent volume of the rock not
occupied by solids.
 Permeability is a measure of the ease with which a
fluid can flow trough a rock. For a reservoir to be
effective – the pores need to “communicate” to allow
migration. (‘Tight’ reservoir rock – some porosity but
too low a permeability.)
 The main reservoir rocks are made up of sandstone
and/or carbonates (99%). These are sedimentary
rocks. The main component of sandstone reservoirs
is quartz (SiO2) – sand grains.
Traps
 If there is no trap on the migration route, the oil and gas flow into
the surface as a oil and gas seep.
 If there is a trap along the migration route, the oil and gas will
accumulate in the trap. (Only from 0.3 to 36% is ever trapped. On
average only 10% is trapped. The rest either did not get out of the
source rock, was lost during migration or seeped into the Earth’s
surface.)
 In a trap, the reservoir rock must be overlain by a caprock or seal -
an impermeable rock layer that does not allow fluids to flow through
it. Without it, the oil and gas would leak onto the surface. Two
common caprocks are shales and salt layers.
 Forms of traps
» Structural traps are formed by a deformation in the rock layer
that contains the hydrocarbons. Domes, anticlines and folds (the
result of ductile crustal deformation), faults traps (the result of
brittle crustal deformation)
» Stratigraphic traps (impermeable strata seals the reservoir).
17

18
Density scale in
API’s (American
Petroleum Institute)
10API for water
Black shale
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ShaleUSGOV.jpg
19
Generation and migration of HC
Hyne (2001)
Petroleum trap
Hyne (2001)
20
Rock outcrops
Hyne (2001)
Anticlinal Trap
What is ‘wrong’ with this diagram?
Impermeable Barrier
21
Properties and characteristics
of Reservoirs & Rocks
Characteristics of reservoirs & rocks

 pressure and temperature at depth
» Pressure increases with depth
» Temperature increases with depth
 PRESSURE (vertical):
» the pressure on the fluid in the reservoir rock pores depends
on the overburden height and type:
Overburden is a weight of what is ‘above’ you
P ( z )  gz
when you are underground P
Pressure Gradient   g
2 extremes: z
If overburden is a column of water (totally supporting rock matrix)
Pressure gradient is 10MPa/km (hydrostatic pressure)
overburden is a column of rock
Pressure gradient is 27MPa/km (geostatic pressure)
22
 Pressure increases with depth
10 MPa/km 27 MPa/km
(hydrostatic limit) (geostatic limit)

 Temperature increases with depth
23
 pressure and temperature at depth
» Pressure increases with depth
» Temperature increases with depth
 TEMPERATURE:
» Average temperature gradient is 30C/km
» Ranges from 20 C/km to 80 C/km, depending on local heat
fluxes, and thermal conductivities of rocks
What’s the source of the heat?
Characteristics of North West Shelf
 Reservoir P ~ 35 MPa
 Reservoir T ~ 110°C
 Depth z ~ 3.5 km
  Pressure gradient of 10MPa/km

» hydrostatic regime
 Temperature gradient of ~ 25 °C/km
»  normal hotness
24
Temperature gradients
examples!
Hot Dry Rock Reserves in the US

Clean geothermal energy
http://qvack.lanl.gov/HDR/barhdr.html
25
Concept http://qvack.lanl.gov/HOTDRYROCK.HTML
 World HDR energy resource

is 30 times of fossil energy
resource
 Accessible: < 10 km
 Site determination
» Location
» Depth/temperature
 Reservoir development
» Porous rock
» Hydraulic fracture
HDR in Australia
http://www.petrol.unsw.edu.au/research/resource.html
Resource: 7,500 years

of the current energy
consumption in
Australia
Over 80 % of the
resource is in the
Eromanga Basin (in the
north-eastern corner of
South Australia and the
south-western corner of
Queensland
School of Petroleum
Engineering
The University of
New South Wales
Sydney 2052
Australia
26
HDR
Process
Queensland
http://www.nrw.qld.gov.au/factsheets/pdf/mines/m7.pdf
Stresses are not hydrostatic!
Hydrostatic
(a) if overburden is a column of water (vertical
pressure)
(b) if they are the same in all directions (rock
mass is similar to a liquid)
27
Borehole breakouts 1
Dyskin (2007)
Dog earing
Borehole angle
breakouts 2
Dyskin (2007)
Maximum
principal
stress
Breakout
depth
28
Original (Virgin) Stress State
 Gravitational stress
Dyskin (2007)
 Tectonic stress
 Residual stress
Factors influencing the stress state

•Surface topography
•Erosion
•Non-Homogeneity
•Discontinuities
•influence the stress state
•serve as indicators of the existing stress state
•Time
•Presence of other mines and excavations
Gravitational Stress
Dyskin (2007) Weight of overburden
Heim’s hypothesis
v , h h v
v ~ h
h=K v
Shear stresses are neglected
Terzaghi: Rock mass is modelled as an 

isotropic elastic body with lateral constrain K , 0 K 1
( is Poisson’s ratio) 1 
Hydrostatic hypothesis p ~ h
( is the average rock unit weight)
=g – self-weight
29
Australia
Stress Map
Dyskin (2007)
http://www.asprg.adelaide.edu.au/asm/maps.html
Dyskin (2007) Dependence of depth
Brown and Windsor (1990)
30
Dependence
of depth - 2
Dyskin (2007)
Brown and Windsor (1990)
Rocks and Rock Masses

Intact rock Discontinuities
(no through-going fractures) (fractures)
 Dislocations
 Direct measuring of
 Microcracks
fundamental properties
(microfissures)
 Index testing as a
 Cracks (fissures)
comparative measure of
rock quality  Joints
 Bedding planes
 Faults
Important Factors
•Rock structure Rock Mass
•In situ stress
•Fluid flow in the rock mass
31
Rock Properties
 Specific gravity rock/ water = 2.1 - 7.6
 Porosity (0.1% - 40%)
 Permeability (low)
 Thermal properties (low thermal conductivity)
 Friction
 Strength
» Uniaxial (unconfined) compressive strength
» Tensile strength
» Parameters of strength (fracture) criteria for triaxal
compression
» Point load index
 Deformability
» Static moduli
» Dynamic moduli
 types of rock
» traps made up of porous rock (containing
hydrocarbon fluid) and sealed by non
porous/impermeable shales.
» Porous rock:
 Sandstones (90% of reservoirs)
 Carbonates
» porosity & permeability are the key rock
characteristics
» others are mechanical strength, degree of
consolidation, distribution of particle & pore sizes,
etc
32
 Characteristics of reservoirs & rocks

» porosity & permeability are the key rock
characteristics
 POROSITY  : Ratio of Void Volume to Gross Volume
 PERMEABILITY k: Ability to flow fluid
Specific gravity and porosity
Specific gravity
Wsample
 
Vsample
W-weight, V- volume
Porosity http://www.edumine.com/xtoolkit/tables/sgtables.htm
V pores

Vsample
33
Porosity
Bermuda limestone 43%

Sandstone 34%
POROSITY 
Porosity = (Void Volume/Gross Volume)
Typical Pore space diameter 1-20
(1 = 1x10-6 m Human Hair 100 )
Reservoir rock porosity values range from

5 - 40%.
Pores are filled with oil, gas, and water in
varying proportions, depending on type of
reservoir fluid, depositional environment, etc.
For uniform shape particles, porosity can be
calculated. In this case, porosity is
independent of particle size.
34
POROSITY 
For uniform shape particles, porosity can be calculated. In this case, porosity is
independent of particle size.
But, when there is a range of particle sizes, porosity will be

dependent on particle size and the particle size distribution (as
seen in diagram below).
Particle
in produced HC
Porosity values for oil reservoir
 0-5% insignificant
 5-10% poor
 10-15% fair
 15-20% good
 >20% excellent
Hyne (2001)
35
Permeability
 The ability of a rock to receive, hold, or pass fluid
materials (oil, water, and gas) by nature of the
interconnections of its internal porosity
 Darcy’s Law (governing eqn)
 – permeability (m2~1012darcy)
Q – discharge or flow rate (m3/sec)
Pa, Pb - pressures (Pa)
A – area (m2)
 – dynamic viscosity (Pa sec)
Pressure increment P= Pb-Pa<0, P↑↑x (pressure drop)

Flow occurs from high pressure Pa to low pressure Pb
http://www.answers.com/topic/darcy-s-law?cat=technology
 – permeability (m2~1012darcy)
Q – discharge or flow rate (m3/sec)
Pa, Pb - pressures (Pa)
A – area (m2)
 – dynamic viscosity (Pa sec)
kA Pa  Pb
Q
 L
kA P
Q
 x
Pressure increment P= Pa-Pb>0, P↑↓x (pressure drop)

Flow occurs from high pressure Pa to low pressure Pb
http://www.answers.com/topic/darcy-s-law?cat=technology
36
PERMEABILITY k (review)
•Permeability is the ability of a porous rock to flow fluid.
•It depends on the continuity and connectivity of pore space
•Permeability & flow of fluid: direct analogy to (but physically

independent)
–electrical conductivity (1/R, R-resistance) and the flow of electric

current
–thermal conductivity and the flow of heat

Since governing equation (Darcy law, Fourier law, Ohm law) is the ‘same’
relationship between a gradient of one quantity and a flux of another
(complimentary or reciprocal ) quantity
Darcy’s Law (review)
Discharge or
Q  P Q A Q  (1/ x) Q  (1/)
AP
Q
x
A  P 
Qk  
  x 
37
PERMEABILITY k
Units
A  P 
Qk  
  x 
UNITS: the unit of permeability k is the Darcy (after Henry Darcy).

A rock has a permeability of 1 Darcy if a pressure gradient of
1 Atmcm-1 induces a flow rate of 1 cm3sec-1cm-2 (=1 cm/sec) of a
liquid of 1 cp viscosity:
NOTE THE AWKWARD MIX OF NON-STANDARD UNITS
Q 1
k
A P
x
 The Darcy is referenced to a mixture of unit systems. A medium with
a permeability of 1 darcy permits a flow of 1 cm/sec of a fluid with
viscosity 1 cP (1 mPa sec) under a pressure gradient of 1 atm/cm.
 The poise (1P ) is the unit of dynamic viscosity in the {cm, g, sec}
system of units (named after Jean Poiseuille).
 1 P = 1 g·cm−1·s−1
 The analogous unit in the SI system is the (Pa·s):
» 1 Pa·s = 1 kg·m−1·s−1 = 10 P
 The poise is often used with the prefix centi-. A centipoise is one
millipascal-second (mPa·s) in SI units. (1 cP = 10-2P = 10-3 Pa·s)
Centipoise is properly abbreviated cP, but the alternate
abbreviations cps are also commonly seen.
 Water has a viscosity of 0.0089 poise at 25 °C, or 1 centipoise at
20°C. The odd combination of units comes from Darcy's original
studies of water flow through columns of sand. Water has a viscosity
of 1.0019 cP at about room temperature.
 1atm (1atmosphere)=101325 Pa≈105 Pa
38
Fluid velocity
Q k  P 
  
A   x 
but
Q
 u (the fluid velocity), so
A
k  P 
u  
  x 
The Darcy is a large unit.

The permeabilities of many reservoirs are measured in
milliDarcy.
Range of permeability
http://www.answers.com/topic/permeability-fluid
Typically, the permeability of intact rock is very low
39
Permeability values for oil
reservoir
 1-10mD (milliDarcy) poor, 1mD=10-3D

 10-100mD good
 >100mD excellent
Hyne (2001)
Thermal properties
 Thermal conductivity (Fourier’s law)
 Thermal diffusivity
 Thermal expansion
» Coefficient of linear expansion
l –length of a sample, t - temperature
40
Thermal conductivity
Fourier’s law
Q T
 k
At
 x

Thermal flux Temperature
gradient
k – thermal conductivity (Wm-1K-1)

Q/t – heat rate, [Q/t ]=W, W = J/sec
Q – heat, [Q]=J (joule) = N m
“-”shows that heat flows from warm areas to cold ones
Thermal diffusivity
(m2/sec)
 – density (kg/m3)
cp – specific heat capacity (JK-1kg-1)
41
http://www.jnc.go.jp/04/tisou/english/h12report/s01/pdf/03-05-01.pdf
http://www.jnc.go.jp/04/tisou/english/h12report/s01/pdf/03-05-01.pdf
42
Friction
 Coulomb-Amantons’ law
» Force-displacement
T T fr  C  N tan 
N
T, u Tfr
A u
C - cohesion,  - friction angle
» Stress-strain (force/area)
  fr  c   N tan 
N
 fr
A 
43
Point load index
P
Fracture plane
>0.7D
D
P
P
Is  For D= 50 mm  c  24 I s
D2
For other diameters (Bieniawski):  c  (14  0.175D) I s
D [mm]
c – uniaxial compressive strength
Friction
coefficients
  tan 
http://www.supercivilcd.
com/FRICTION.htm
44
Dynamic and Static Friction
 Friction parameters are rate dependent
 Static friction is usually higher than
dynamic d  tan  d    tan 
 Stick-Slip
u
Unconfined compressive
strength

,  c
Pre-peak Post-peak
Stiff Soft
machine machine

Stiff or servo-controlled loading
machine
45
Typical values of UCS
Unconfined compressive strength, UCS (MPa)
0 1 100 200 300
Shale
Sandstone
Soil Mechanics
Limestone
Granite
Dolerite
Basalt
Quartzite
Examples of mechanical
properties of rocks
46
Strength parameters
Strength anisotropy
(after Comprehensive
Rock Engineering, V.
1, J.A. Hudson, ed. )
47
Deformability
 Static deformation moduli
,  (2)
 E (3)
Pre-peak Post-peak
(4)
(1)
(5) 
Dynamic deformation moduli
 dynamic 
V Vs   2
2
E dynamic  2V s  (1   dynamic )
2 Edynamic
2 V 
p
,  0.85 2.78
Vs   1
2
p E static
Multiscale nature of rock mass
48
A GOOD RESERVOIR
What makes a good reservoir?
•Size
Determine the pore
–Areal Extent
volume and
–Thickness therefore the fluid
volume
•High 
Determines the rate of

•High k
fluid production
Saturation
 In the oil or gas reservoir, the oil and gas always
shares the pore space with water. The relative
amount of the oil/gas and water sharing the pores of
the reservoir vary from reservoir to reservoir and is
called saturation. It is expresses as percent and
always adds up to 100%. Saturation is why most oil
wells pump not only oil, but also water called oilfield
brine. Oilfield brine is very salty water that shared the
pores with the oil.
 The fluid that occupies the outside of the pore and is
in contact with the rock surface is called the wetting
fluid.
49
Water wet/oil wet rocks
 Sandstones usually have oil in the centre of the pore,
and water is on the outside of the pore in contact with
the sand grains. Because of this, most sandstones
are water wet (water coats the sand grains).
 In contrast, limestones and dolomites are usually oil
wet (oil coats the rock surface).
 The percentage oil recovery tends to be greater in
sandstone reservoirs than in limestone reservoirs.
This is because the fluid in the centre of the pore will
flow easier than the fluid on the outside of the pore
that is being held to the rock surface by surface
tension.
The oil, water and gas saturations
S w  VVwp SO  VVOp SG  VVGp

S w  SO  SG  1 (  100%)
Vp- pore volume, VW – water volume, VO- oil volume, VG- gas
volume. W, O, G are in pores only (not in a solid).
50
Pore Space contains H2O & hydrocarbons
 2 possibilities: oil wets
the pore or water wets
the pore
 Sw is the fraction of the
hydrocarbon filled pore
space that is filled with Oil Wet
water
 (1-Sw) is the fraction
filled with hydrocarbon
(SO+SG)
Water Wet
A GOOD RESERVOIR
What else makes a good reservoir?
•Size
–Areal Extent A, h &  determine the pore
–Thickness volume and ultimately the
•High  fluid volume
•High k k determines the rate of fluid production
Amount of pore space (porosity) that is filled with hydrocarbon
Sw is the fraction filled with water. want Sw small

(1-Sw) is the fraction filled with hydrocarbon
 Total hydrocarbon volume = A*h**(1-Sw)
51
 Total hydrocarbon volume = A*h**(1-Sw)
• Size, High , High k we have considered. What else?
•Examine these figures for Apache’s Simpson Development
Year Average Oil Year Average Gas Year Average Water
YEAR Production Production Production
stb/d scf/d *106 (bbl/d)

2001 2500 0.6 306
2002 8037 1.9 10172
2003 4820 1.0 19290
2004 2978 0.6 21780
2005 2144 0.5 23272
2006 1678 0.3 24299
2007 1357 0.3 25099
2008 1123 0.2 25675
2009 929 0.2 26127
2010 794 0.2 26476
units
 STB (stb) - stock tank barrel

 STB/D (stb/d) - stock tank barrels per day
 scf/d – standard cubic foot per day
 bbl/d – barrel per day or bpd
 1bbl =0.159m3
 1bpd = 1.84×10-6m3/sec
 cf – cubic foot
 1cf = 0.02832m3
 cfd =cf/day = 3.277×10-7m3/sec
52
Apache’s Simpson Development
Year Year
Your Comments
Average Average Year Average
Oil Gas Water 1
YEAR Production Production Production
2
stb/d scf/d *106 (bbl/d) 3
2001 2500 0.6 306
4
2002 8037 1.9 10172
2003 4820 1.0 19290 5
2004 2978 0.6 21780
6
2005 2144 0.5 23272
2006 1678 0.3 24299 7
2007 1357 0.3 25099
8
2008 1123 0.2 25675
2009 929 0.2 26127 9
2010 794 0.2 26476
10

Apache’s Simpson Development
Your Comments
Year Year 1 Note the large water prodn in
Average Average Year Average later years what to do w water?
Oil Gas Water
YEAR Production Production Production How much cost?
2 Ratio of oil to water
stb/d scf/d *106 (bbl/d)
2001 2500 0.6 306
3 spike & decrease in gas prodn:
2002 8037 1.9 10172
what to do w gas?
2003 4820 1.0 19290 4 oil prodn peaks
2004 2978 0.6 21780
2005 2144 0.5 23272
5
2006 1678 0.3 24299 6
2007 1357 0.3 25099
2008 1123 0.2 25675 7
2009 929 0.2 26127 8
2010 794 0.2 26476
9
53
Reservoir drive mechanisms
The driving force for production
 Compressibility
 Pore compaction
54
Compressibility
 Reservoir fluids (O, W, G) and the rock mass are subjected to high pressures
and temperatures. Any reduction in pressure on the fluids or rock will result
in an increase in the volume due to compressibility. Isothermal (T=const)
compressibility is defined as
1 dV
C
V dP
When a volume of fluid dV is removed from the reservoir through production,
the resulting drop in pressure dP will be determined by the compressibility and
volume of the components of the reservoir (fluids +rock). Assuming that the
compressibility of the rock is negligible as compared to that of fluids (true for
most rocks, save under-compacted, loosely consolidated reservoir rocks)
dV  (CO  VO  CG  VG  CW  VW )dP
dV –underground withdrawal of fluids from the reservoir (combination of O,
W, G).
 Compressibilities of fluids depend upon T and

P of the reservoir:
 CO=10·10-6 π 20·10-6 psi-1
 CG=500·10-6 π 1500·10-6 psi-1
 CW=3·10-6 π 5·10-6 psi-1
 1 psi = 6.89·103 Pa
Gas has a much higher compressibility than oil and water, therefore
expands by a relatively large amount for a given pressure drop. As
underground fluids are withdrawn when production occurs, any
free gas present expands readily to replace the voidage, with only a
small drop in reservoir pressure.
If only oil and water were present in the reservoir, a much greater
reduction in reservoir pressure would occur for the same amount of
production.
55
Pore compaction
 Pore compaction is an additional contribution

to drive energy. Due to production the pore
fluid pressure reduces fl the grain to grain
stress increases fl the rock grains crush
closer together, reducing the remaining pore
volume ( ‘crushed rock’ has a bigger volume
than ‘uncrushed’ fl more pressure fl ) adding
to the drive energy.
 The effect is usually small (<3% of the energy
due to fluid expansion).
Primary production (recovery)

and secondary recovery
 The expansion of the reservoir fluids (a function of
their volume and compressibility), act as a source of
the drive energy which act to support primary
recovery (production) from the reservoir. Primary
production means using the natural energy stored in
the reservoir as a drive mechanism for production.
 Secondary recovery implies adding some energy to
the reservoir by injecting fluids such as water or gas,
to help to support the reservoir pressure as
production takes place.
56
What Drives Fluid to Surface?
Primary Recovery
Utilises the natural pressure of the

reservoir fluids
» Solution gas drive (or depletion drive)
» Gas cap drive
» Aquifer drive (water drive)
Solution Gas Drive
A high pressure system where dissolved

gas bubbles (white dots) in the oil provide
the pressure for production of the oil.
57
 Solution gas drive occurs in a reservoir which
contains no initial gas cap or underlying active aquifer
to support the pressure and therefore oil is produced
by the driving force due to the expansion of oil and
connate water, plus any compaction drive. The
contribution to drive energy from compaction and
connate water is small, so the oil compressibility
initially dominates the drive energy. Because the oil
compressibility itself is low, pressure drops rapidly as
production takes place, until the pressure reaches the
bubble point.
 Once the bubble point is reached, solution gas starts
to become liberated from the oil. Since the liberated
gas has a high compressibility, the rate of decline of
pressure per unit of production slows down.
Production profile for solution

gas drive reservoir
P – reservoir pressure, Pb – bubble point (pressure at which gas escapes the

solution, ie gas is liberated from the solution),
Pi - initial reservoir pressure, GOR – gas oil ratio,
Rs - produced gas oil ratio (gas in oil),
Rsi - initial produced gas oil ratio, RF – recovery factor
58
Location of wells for solution gas
drive
OWC – oil water contact

Aim to drill so that to form a (secondary) gas cap
Recovery factor (RF)

 The amount of oil or gas in the subsurface
reservoir is called oil in place (OIP) or gas in
place (GIP).
 Recovery factor (RF) is the percentage of OIP
or GIP that the reservoir will produce.
 The RF for oil reservoir depends on
» the viscosity of the oil
» the permeability of the reservoir
» the reservoir drive
59
Secondary gas cap
 Once the liberated gas has overcome a critical gas saturation in
the pores, below which it is immobile in the reservoir, it can
either migrate to the crest of the reservoir (desirable) under the
influence of the buoyancy forces, or move towards the
producing well under the influence of the hydrodynamic forces
caused by the low pressure created at the producing well (O+G
are produced together in this case, have to separate G).
 In order to make use of the high compressibility of gas, it is
preferable (!) that the gas forms a secondary gas cap and
contributes to the drive energy.
 This can be achieved by locating the producing wells away from
the crest of the field
» Wells must be located downdip in a steep field!
» In a field with a low dip the wells must be perforated as low as
possible (into oil) to keep away from the secondary gas cap!
 In the solution gas drive, once the production starts the

reservoir pressure P drops very quickly, especially above
the bubble point Pb. The producing wells rapidly lose the
potential to flow to the surface, the plateau period is
short, the decline is rapid (oil rate).
 The producing gas oil ratio GOR starts at Rsi, decreases
until the critical gas saturation is reached, then increases
rapidly as the liberated gas is produced into the wells
(either directly as it is liberated or pulled into the
producing wells from the secondary gas cap). The
secondary gas cap expands with time (as more gas is
liberated) and moves closer to the producing wells.
 The water cut is small in solution gas drive reservoirs,
assuming that there is little pressure support provided by
the underlying aquifer:
water production ( stb)
water cut   100%
O  W production ( stb)
60
 Recovery factor RF is 5-30%. Abandonment
conditions are caused by high producing GORs and
lack of reservoir pressure to sustain production.
 The rather low recovery factor may be boosted by
secondary recovery techniques – particular water
injection, or gas injection, with the aim of maintaining
reservoir pressure and prolonging both plateau and
decline periods.
 The decision to implement these techniques (only
one of which is selected) is both technical and
economical.
» Technical considerations are the external supply
of gas, and the feasibility of injecting the fluids
into the reservoir.
» Next slide shows how this can be done.
Secondary recovery (gas or water

injection)
61
Gas Cap Drive
Low pressure gas produces the oil. If the

water level stays constant the well will
eventually produce gas.
 The initial condition for gas cap drive is an

initial gas cap. The high compressibility of the
gas provides drive energy for production. The
larger the gas cap, the more energy is
available!
 The well positioning follows the same
reasoning as for solution gas drive. The
objective is to locate producing wells and
their perforators as far away from the gas cap
(which will expand with time) as possible, but
not so close to the OWC to allow water
production via coning.
62
Production profile (gas cap drive)
Location of wells (gas cap drive)
63
 The production profile (compared to the solution gas drive) shows a
much slower decline in reservoir pressure, due to the energy
provided by the highly compressible gas cap. This results in a more
prolonged plateau (oil rate), and a slower decline.
 The producing GOR increases as the expanding gas cap
approaches the producing wells and gas is coned or cusped into the
producers.
 Negligible aquifer movement is assumed, and water cut remains low
(in the order of 10% at the end of the field life).
 RF are 20-60% (depend on the field dip and the size of the gas
cap).
» A small gas cap would be 10% of the oil volume
» A large gas cap would be of 50% of the oil volume
 Abandonment conditions are caused by very high producing GORs,
or lack of reservoir pressure to maintain production.
 Abandonment conditions may be postponed by producing further
away from the gas cap. Natural gas cap drive may be
supplemented by re-injection of produced gas, with the possible
addition of make-up gas from the external source. The gas injection
well must be located in the crest of the structure, injecting straight
into the existing gas cap.
Aquifer (water) Drive
Water ingress is producing the oil. As the

level of the water rises due to reduction in
oil volume the well will begin to produce
more water.
64
 Aquifer – a layer of rock or soil able to hold or
transmit much water (aqui (aqua) ‘water’ + -fer (ferre)
‘bearing’ Latin)
 Natural water drive occurs when the underlying
aquifer is both large (greater than ten times the oil
volume) and the water is able to flow into the oil
column, ie it has a communication path and sufficient
permeability.
 If these conditions are satisfied, then once production
from the oil creates a pressure drop the aquifer
responds by expanding, and water moves into the oil
column to replace the voidage created by production.
Since the water compressibility is low, the volume of
water must be large to make this process effective
(hence we need the large connected aquifer for this!)
Production profile (water drive)
65
Location of wells for water drive
 The aquifer response (or impact of the water injection

wells) may maintain the reservoir pressure close to
the initial pressure, providing a long plateau and slow
decline of oil production.
 The producing GOR remain approximately the
solution GOR if the reservoir pressure is maintained
above the bubble point.
 The outstanding feature of the production profile is
the large increase in water cut over the life of the
field, which is usually is the main reason for
abandonment. Water cut may exceed 90% in the final
part of the field life. As water cut increases oil
production declines (a constant gross liquids, O+W,
production is maintained).
 RF is 30-70%, depends on the strength of the natural
aquifer, or the efficiency of the injected water. The
high RF is an incentive for water injection into
reservoirs which lack natural water drive.
66
 Water drive may be imposed by water
injection into the reservoir, preferably by
injecting into the water column.
 Once water injection is adopted, the effect of
natural aquifer is usually neglected. (If it were
possible to predict the natural aquifer
response at the development planning stage,
the decision to install water injection facilities
would be made easier).
 A common solution is to initially produce the
reservoir using natural depletion, and to
install water injection facilities in the event of
little aquifer support.
Combination drive
 It is possible that more than one of

these drive mechanisms occur
simultaneously. The most common
combination is gas cap drive and
natural aquifer drive.
 Historic production data is used to
estimate the contribution from each
drive mechanism.
67
Gas reservoirs
 Gas reservoirs are produces by expansion of the gas
contained in the reservoir.
 The high compressibility of the gas relative to the
water in the reservoir (either connate water or
underlying aquifer) make the gas expansion the
dominant drive mechanism.
 Major challenge in gas field development is to ensure
a long sustainable plateau (about 10 years) to
achieve good sales price for the gas (customers
usually want a reliable supply of gas at an agreed
rate over many years).
 Typically RF is 50-80%.
Differences between O and G

field development
 The economics of transporting gas

 The market for gas
» contract between the producer and a customer; oil price is
approx. the same across the globe, gas prices vary by a
factor of two or more from region to region
 Product specifications
» Fraction of other gases N2 (reduces the calorific value of the
gas because it is inert), CO2 (causes corrosion in the
presence of water), H2S (toxic + corrosive properties).
 The efficiency of turning gas into energy
» Predicted calorific value and burning characteristics (lean
gas when less energy is released vs. rich gas which ‘flames
out’ the gas burners).
68
Transportation considerations
 Per unit of energy generated, the transportation of
gas is significantly more expensive than transporting
oil (due to volumes required to produce the same
energy). Approx. 6000 scf of gas ≈ 1 barrel (5.6 scf)
of oil.
 The compression costs of transporting gas at
sufficient pressure to make transportation more
economic are high.
 Hence, unless there are sufficiently large quantities of
gas in the reservoir, development may be
uneconomic.
 For an offshore field, recoverable volumes of less
than 0.5 trillion (=1018 here) scf are uneconomic to
develop. This equates to an oil field with recoverable
reserves of approx. 80 MMstb (1012).
 Gas is economic to develop only if it can be

used locally (if local demand exists).
 Otherwise, if sufficient quantity exists to make
transportation of gas or liquified gas
attractive.
» Appr. 10Tcf of recoverable gas justify building of a
liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant. The investment
required for an LNG plant is $10 billion (eg, the
LNG plant in Malaysia which liquefies gas and
transports it by refrigerated tanker to Japan).
69

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Source rocks, generation,

Conditions for HC accumulation

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 2

 What is needed to get a hydrocarbon accumulation

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 4

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 5

 What is needed to get a hydrocarbon accumulation

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 6

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 7

 In order to narrow down the search for

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 8

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 9

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 10

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 11

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 12

 The importance of the plate tectonics for

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 13

 Places where sediments accumulate

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 14

 Rivers (fluvial environment)

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 15

Rivers (fluvial Environment)

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 16

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 17

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 18

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 19

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 20

 This environment is split into sections

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 21

Sea Level Change

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 22

 When looking at a petroleum map of the

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 23

West Coast Effect

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 24

 Tectonics have been important in the

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 26

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 27

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 28

How is oil/gas formed?

» At depth, new molecules take up greater volume than original: Therefore

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 30

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 31

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 32

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 33

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 34

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 35

 What is needed to get a hydrocarbon accumulation

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 36

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 37

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 38

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 39

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 40

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 41

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 43

Characteristics of reservoirs & rocks

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 45

Characteristics of reservoirs & rocks

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 46

What’s the source of the heat?

Dr Elena Pasternak Slide 47