EXPULSION AND MIGRATION OF HYDROCARBON Evidence has shown that petroleum is formed from a source rock which is usually

rich in organic matter (materials) that has been altered by heat, bacterial actions, overburden pressure, and other agents over a long period of time. Conditions favouring petroleum formation are found only in sedimentary rocks, and the principal sediments generally considered as probable source rocks are shales and limestones. After its formation, petroleum may migrate from the source rock into a nearby reservoir rock which is usually more porous and permeably where it accumulates (primary migration), and continues its migration until finally trapped (secondary migration). The forces responsible for this migration are: a. Compaction of sediments as depth of burial increases. b. Diastrophism (i.e. crustal movements causing pressure differentials and consequent subsurface fluid movements). c. Gravity which promotes fluid segregation according to differences in density. d. Capillary forces causing oil to be expelled from fine pores by preferential entry of water. NOTE: Primary migration: this involves the movement of petroleum from a source rock to a reservoir rock. Secondary migration: this involves the movement of petroleum within the reservoir rock. Both influenced by some or all of the factors mention above.

RESERVOIR ROCKS The reservoir rock is a porous and permeable lithological unit or set of units that hold hydrocarbon reserves. Analysis of reservoirs at the simplest level requires an assessment of their porosity and permeability, this in turn indicate the main characteristics of reservoir rocks, which is that they must be porous and permeable. Porosity This is a measure of the volume of void space within a rock expressed as a percentage (fraction) of the bulk volume of the rock. Porosity represents the storage capacity of the geological material. The more tightly packed the grains the lower the porosity, although they are certain exceptions as can be seen in clay and shale which have high porosity but completely lack permeability. The general expression for porosity is;

Where = Porosity Vb = Bulk volume Vs = Net volume of solid (or volume of occupied by solid) Vp = Pore volume = The difference between bulk volume and solid volume

Geologically, porosity has been grouped into two types according the time of formation. a. Primary Porosity: It is also known as intergranular porosity, which forms at the time of sediments deposition. The voids contributing to this type of porosity are the spaces between individual grains of the sediments. The sedimentary rocks which typically exhibit primary porosity are the clastic also called fragmental or detridal rocks which are composed of erosional fragments from older beds. b. Secondary Porosity: Forms after the sediment deposition. The voids form after the sediment has been deposited. The magnitude, shape, size, and interconnection of the voids bear no relation to the form of the original sedimentary particles. Secondary porosity has been further subdivided into three: i. Solution porosity: These are voids formed by the solution of the more soluble portions of the rock in peculating surface and subsurface waters containing carbonic and other organic acids. It is called vugular porosity. ii. Fractures, Fissures and Joints: Voids of this type are common in many sedimentary rocks and are formed by structural failures of the rock under stress or load caused by various forms diastrophism such as folding and faulting. iii. Dolomitization: This is a process by which limestone (CaCO3) is transformed (alteration) into dolomite CaMg(CO3)2. The chemical reaction explaining this change is: 2CaCO3 + MgCl2 - CaMg(CO3)2 + CaCl2.

Permeability Permeability is defined as a measure of a rocks ability to transmit fluids. All rocks are permeable but not to the same degree. Permeability of rocks depends on the grain size of the rock. When the grain size is coarse such as in unconsolidated sand and gravel, porous sandstone and cavernous limestone rocks, then permeability is high. Rocks with small grain size are packed tightly together, not allowing spaces for fluid to get trough, such as in shales, claystones, crystalline limestones, and unfractured igneous and metamorphic rocks and therefore have very low permeability.

TRAPS Traps are geological structures and stratigraphic features capable of retaining hydrocarbons. There are basically entrapment mechanisms that prevent the lateral and vertical migration of hydrocarbon out of the reservoir rocks. The lack of them in any reservoir, results in seepages and dissipation of petroleum. Traps form when the buoyancy forces driving the upward migration of hydrocarbons through a permeable rock cannot overcome the capillary forces of a sealing medium. The timing of trap formation relative to hydrocarbon generation is crucial to ensuring a reservoir can form.[2] There are two major types of traps with a third being a combination of the two known as combination traps. The two types of traps are structural and stratigraphic traps. STUCTURAL TRAPS In petroleum geology, a structural trap is a type of geological trap that forms as a result of changes in the structure of the subsurface, due to tectonic, diapiric, gravitational and compositional processes.{1} These changes block the upward migration of hydrocarbon and can lead to the formation of a petroleum reservoir.{2} There are three forms of structural traps namely, Anticline, Fault and Salt dome traps.[3] Anticline traps: An anticline is an area of the surface where the strata have been pushed into forming a domed shape. If there is a layer of impermeable rock present in this dome shape, then hydro carbon can accumulate at the crest. This type of trap is by far the most significant to the hydrocarbon industry.

Fault Traps: This is formed by the movement of permeable and impermeable layers of rock along a fault line.[4] The reservoir rock faults such that it is now adjacent to the impermeable rock, preventing hydrocarbon from further migrating. In some cases, there can be an impermeable substance smeared along the fault line (such as clay) that also acts to prevent migration. This process can also be referred to as clay smear.

Salt Dome Traps: This type of traps occur when masses of salt are pushed up through clastic rocks due their greater buoyancy, eventually breaking through and rising towards the surface. This salt is impermeable and when it crosses a layer of permeable rock, in which hydrocarbon are migrating , it blocks the pathway in much the same way as a fault trap.[5]

STRATIGRAPHIC TRAPS Stratigraphic traps are formed as a result of lateral and vertical variations in the thickness, texture, porosity or lithology of the reservoir rock. They are said to form when the permeability changes within the reservoir rock. Example of this type of traps are unconformity traps, pinch-out traps, and reef traps. Unconformity Traps: These are stratigraphic traps formed by folding, uplift and erosion of porous strata, followed by the deposition of later beds which can act as a seal for hydrocarbon. Although this structures are common, but there are known to produce only about 4% of the worlds oil, perhaps because of losses that occur during uplift and erosion.[6] This traps are generally form due to break in the depositional sequence of rocks, for instance if the under laying bed were tilted, eroded and then

covered with flat lying impermeable bed, then petroleum may be trapped at the unconformity as shown below.

Pinch-out Traps: This is a stratigraphic trap where you experience a termination by thinning out or tapering out (pinching-out) of the reservoir rock against a non porous sealing rock such as shale. This creates a favourable geometry to trap hydrocarbons, particularly if the adjacent sealing rock is a source rock such as shale. The diagram below gives an illustration of this.

REFERENCES 1. http:/www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/Disply.cfm?Term=structural%20trap (Schlumberger: Oilfield Glossary) 2. Gluyas, J. & Swarbrick, R. (2004). Petroleum Geoscience. Pul. Blackwell Publishing 3. http:/www.Priweb.org/pgws/systems/traps/structural.html (Petroleum Research Institute) 4. http:/www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/Display.cmf?Term=fault%20traps (Schlumberger: Oilfield Glossary) 5. http:/www.priweb.org/ed/pgws/systems/traps/structural.html (Petroleum Research Institute) 6. Ailsa Allaby and Micheal Allaby. Unconformity traps. A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999.