Elements of Petroleum Geology (eBook)

Richard C. Selley, Stephen A. Sonnenberg (Autoren)

eBook Download: PDF | EPUB

2014 | 3. Auflage
526 Seiten
Elsevier Science (Verlag)
978-0-12-386032-3 (ISBN)

Infos

This Third Edition of Elements of Petroleum Geology is completely updated and revised to reflect the vast changes in the field since publication of the Second Edition. This book is a usefulprimer for geophysicists, geologists, and petroleum engineers in the oil industry who wish to expand their knowledge beyond their specialized area. It is also an excellent introductory text for a university course in petroleum geoscience. Elements of Petroleum Geology begins with an account of the physical and chemical properties of petroleum, reviewing methods of petroleum exploration and production. These methods include drilling, geophysical exploration techniques, wireline logging, and subsurface geological mapping. After describing the temperatures and pressures of the subsurface environment and the hydrodynamics of connate fluids, Selley examines the generation and migration of petroleum, reservoir rocks and trapping mechanisms, and the habit of petroleum in sedimentary basins. The book contains an account of the composition and formation of tar sands and oil shales, and concludes with a brief review of prospect risk analysis, reserve estimation, and other economic topics. - Updates the Second Edition completely - Reviews the concepts and methodology of petroleum exploration and production - Written by a preeminent petroleum geologist and sedimentologist with decades of petroleum exploration in remote corners of the world - Contains information pertinent to geophysicists, geologists, and petroleum reservoir engineers - Updated statistics throughout - Additional figures to illustrate key points and new developments - New information on drilling activity and production methods including crude oil, directional drilling, thermal techniques, and gas plays - Added coverage of 3D seismic interpretation - New section on pressure compartments - New section on hydrocarbon adsorption and absorption in source rocks - Coverage of The Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt of Venezuela - Updated chapter on unconventional petroleum

Richard C. Selley has spent most of his career at Imperial College, apart from several years working for oil companies in Libya, Greenland and the North Sea. He was a member of Conoco's exploration team that found the Lyell, Murchison and Hutton fields. Selley has provided consultancy and CPD services in Australia, Bahrain, Belize, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Holland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, Libya, New Zealand, Norway, the North Sea, Sao Tomé and Principé, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, the U.A.E., Uganda, the U.S.A., Vietnam and the former Yugoslavia. He holds an Hon DSc from Kingston University and is an Honorary Member of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain.

Inhalt

Front Cover 1
Petroleum Exploration: Past, Present, and Future 3
ELEMENTS OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY 4
Copyright 5
Contents 6
Preface to the Third Edition 8
Acknowledgments 10
Chapter 1 - Introduction 12
1.1 HISTORICAL REVIEW OF PETROLEUM EXPLORATION 12
1.2 THE CONTEXT OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY 18
References 22
Selected Bibliography 22
Chapter 2 - The Physical and Chemical Properties of Petroleum 24
2.1 NATURAL GASES 25
2.2 GAS HYDRATES 34
2.3 CRUDE OIL 38
References 48
Selected Bibliography 50
Chapter 3 - Methods of Exploration 52
3.1 WELL DRILLING AND COMPLETION 52
3.2 FORMATION EVALUATION 67
3.3 GEOPHYSICAL METHODS OF EXPLORATION 104
3.4 BOREHOLE GEOPHYSICS AND 4D SEISMIC 139
3.5 SUBSURFACE GEOLOGY 142
3.6 REMOTE SENSING 152
References 159
Selected Bibliography 163
Oil Well Drilling and Production 163
Formation Evaluation 163
Geophysics 163
Remote Sensing 163
Chapter 4 - The Subsurface Environment 164
4.1 SUBSURFACE WATERS 164
4.2 SUBSURFACE TEMPERATURES 171
4.3 SUBSURFACE PRESSURES 178
4.4 SUBSURFACE FLUID DYNAMICS 192
References 197
Selected Bibliography 200
Chemistry of Subsurface Fluids 200
Subsurface Temperatures 200
Subsurface Pressures 200
Subsurface Pressure Compartments 200
Subsurface Fluid Dynamics 200
Chapter 5 - Generation and Migration of Petroleum 202
5.1 ORIGIN OF PETROLEUM: ORGANIC OR INORGANIC 204
5.2 MODERN ORGANIC PROCESSES ON THE EARTH'S SURFACE 210
5.3 FORMATION OF KEROGEN 219
5.4 PETROLEUM MIGRATION 236
5.5 THE PETROLEUM SYSTEM 250
References 257
Selected Bibliography 264
Chapter 6 - The Reservoir 266
6.1 POROSITY 266
6.2 PERMEABILITY 276
6.3 CAPILLARY PRESSURE 280
6.4 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POROSITY, PERMEABILITY, AND TEXTURE 282
6.5 EFFECTS OF DIAGENESIS ON RESERVOIR QUALITY 287
6.6 RESERVOIR CONTINUITY 307
6.7 RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION 313
6.8 RESERVE CALCULATIONS 316
6.9 PRODUCTION METHODS 320
References 325
Selected Bibliography 331
Chapter 7 - Traps and Seals 332
7.1 INTRODUCTION 332
7.2 NOMENCLATURE OF A TRAP 332
7.3 DISTRIBUTION OF PETROLEUM WITHIN A TRAP 333
7.4 SEALS AND CAP ROCKS 336
7.5 CLASSIFICATION OF TRAPS 337
7.6 STRUCTURAL TRAPS 338
7.7 DIAPIRIC TRAPS 352
7.8 STRATIGRAPHIC TRAPS 356
7.9 HYDRODYNAMIC TRAPS 375
7.10 COMBINATION TRAPS 376
7.11 TRAPS: CONCLUSION 379
References 381
Selected Bibliography 386
Chapter 8 - Sedimentary Basins and Petroleum Systems 388
8.1 BASIC CONCEPTS AND TERMS 388
8.2 MECHANISMS OF BASIN FORMATION 391
8.3 CLASSIFICATION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS 396
8.4 CRATONIC BASINS 397
8.5 TROUGHS 409
8.6 THE RIFT-DRIFT SUITE OF BASINS 417
8.7 STRIKE-SLIP BASINS 427
8.8 SEDIMENTARY BASINS AND PETROLEUM SYSTEMS 429
References 432
Selected Bibliography 437
Chapter 9 - Nonconventional Petroleum Resources 438
9.1 INTRODUCTION 438
9.2 PLASTIC AND SOLID HYDROCARBONS 438
9.3 TAR SANDS 445
9.4 OIL SHALES 457
9.5 TIGHT OIL RESERVOIRS 465
9.6 COALBED METHANE 470
9.7 SHALE GAS 475
9.8 TIGHT GAS RESERVOIRS 487
References 489
Selected Bibliography 492
Solid hydrocarbons and oil seeps 492
Tar sands 492
Oil shales 492
Coal-bed methane: 493
Chapter 10 - Conclusions 494
10.1 PROSPECTS AND PROBABILITIES 494
10.2 RESERVES AND RESOURCES 497
References 508
Selected Bibliography 508
Index 510
Color Plates 520

Textauszug

Chapter 2

The Physical and Chemical Properties of Petroleum

Abstract

Natural gas and crude oil are two of the chemically and physically diverse group of compounds called hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon molecules are classified based on their molecular structure as paraffins, napthenes, and aromatics. Hetercompounds also contain carbon and hydrogen but also other elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur.

Hydrocarbon gases consist mainly of hydrocarbons of the paraffin series (i.e., methane, ethane, propane, butane, and occasionally pentane).

Inert gases are a minor accessory in natural gas. Common inert gases are helium, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide.

Gas hydrates are compounds of frozen water that contain gas molecules. Hydrates are formed in shallow artic sediments and in deep ocean deposits.

Crude oils are mixtures of hydrocarbons that exist in liquid state in natural underground reservoirs and remain liquid at atmospheric pressure. They consist mainly of carbon and hydrogen with traces of vanadium, nickel, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen and are classified based on their percentage of paraffin, naphthene, and aromatic compounds.

Typical refined petroleum products of crude oils include gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, lubricating oil, and residuum.

Keywords

Aromatic; Carbon Dioxide; Classification of crude oils; Crude oil; Gas hydrates; Helium; Heterocompounds; Hydrogen Sulfide; Hydrogen; Naphthene; Natural gas; Nitrogen; Nonhydrocarbon gases; Paraffin; Refined petroleum products

Petroleum exploration is largely concerned with the search for oil and gas, two of the chemically and physically diverse group of compounds termed the hydrocarbons. Physically, hydrocarbons grade from gases, via liquids and plastic substances, to solids. The hydrocarbon gases include dry gas (methane) and the wet gases (ethane, propane, butane, etc.). Condensates are hydrocarbons that are gaseous in the subsurface, but condense to liquid when they are cooled at the surface. Liquid hydrocarbons are termed oil, crude oil, or just crude, to differentiate them from refined petroleum products. The plastic hydrocarbons include asphalt and related substances. Solid hydrocarbons include coal and kerogen. Gas hydrates are ice crystals with peculiarly structured atomic lattices, which contain molecules of methane and other gases. This chapter describes the physical and chemical properties of natural gas, oil, and the gas hydrates; it is a necessary prerequisite to Chapter 5, which deals with petroleum generation and migration. The plastic and solid hydrocarbons are discussed in Chapter 9, which covers the tar sands and oil shales.

The earth's atmosphere is composed of natural gas. In the oil industry, however, natural gas is defined as “a mixture of hydrocarbons and varying quantities of nonhydrocarbons that exist either in the gaseous phase or in solution with crude oil in natural underground reservoirs.” The foregoing is the definition adopted by the American Petroleum Institute (API), the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). The same authorities subclassify natural gas into dissolved, associated, and nonassociated gas. Dissolved gas is in solution in crude oil in the reservoir. Associated gas, commonly known as gas cap gas, overlies and is in contact with crude oil in the reservoir. Nonassociated gas is in reservoirs that do not contain significant quantities of crude oil. Natural gas liquids, or NGLs, are the portions of the reservoir gas that are liquefied at the surface in lease operations, field facilities, or gas processing plants. NGLs include, but are not limited to, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, natural gasoline, and condensate. Basically, natural gases encountered in the subsurface can be classified into two groups: those of organic origin and those of inorganic origin (Table 2.1).

Gases are classified as dry or wet according to the amount of liquid vapor that they contain. A dry gas may be arbitrarily defined as one with less than 0.1 gal/1000 ft3 of condensate; chemically, dry gas is largely methane. A wet gas is one with more than 0.3 gal/1000 ft3 of condensate; chemically, these gases contain ethane, butane, and propane. Gases are also described as sweet or sour, based on the absence or presence, respectively, of hydrogen sulfide.

 

TABLE 2.1

Natural Gases and Their Dominant Modes of Formation

2.1. Natural Gases

2.1.1. Hydrocarbon Gases

The major constituents of natural gas are the hydrocarbons of the paraffin series (Table 2.2). The heavier members of the series decline in abundance with increasing molecular weight. Methane is the most abundant; ethane, butane, and propane are quite common, and paraffins with a molecular weight greater than pentane are the least common. Methane (CH4) is also known as marsh gas if found at the surface or fire damp if present down a coal mine. Traces of methane are commonly recorded as shale gas or background gas during the drilling of all but the driest of dry wells. Methane is a colorless, flammable gas, which is produced (along with other fluids) by the destructive distillation of coal. As such, it was commonly used for domestic purposes in Europe until replaced by natural gas, itself largely composed of methane. Methane is the first member of the paraffin series. It is chemically nonreactive, sparingly soluble in water, and lighter than air (0.554 relative density).

Methane forms in three ways. It may be derived from the mantle, it may form from the thermal maturation of buried organic matter, and it may form by the bacterial degradation of organic matter at shallow depths. Geochemical and isotope analysis can differentiate the source of methane in a reservoir. Mantle-derived methane is differentiated from biogenically sourced methane from the carbon 12:13 ratio. Methane occurs as a by-product of bacterial decay of organic matter at normal temperatures and pressures. This biogenic methane has considerable potential as a source of energy. It has been calculated that some 20% of the natural gas produced today is of biogenic origin (Rice and Claypool, 1981). In the nineteenth century, eminent Victorians debated the possibility of lighting the streets of London with methane from the sewers. Today's avant-garde agriculturalists acquire much of the energy needed for their farms by collecting the gas generated by the maturation of manure. Methane generated by waste fills (garbage) is now pumped into the domestic gas grid in many countries. Biogenic methane is commonly formed in the shallow subsurface by the bacterial decay of organic-rich sediments. As the burial depth and temperature increase, however, this process diminishes and the bacterial action is extinguished. The methane encountered in deep reservoirs is produced by thermal maturation of organic matter. This process is discussed in detail later in Chapter 5.

TABLE 2.2

Significant Data of the Paraffin Series

Methane

CH4

16.04

−162

24.4

Ethane

C2H6

30.07

−89

60.4

Propane

C3H8

44.09

−42

62.4

Isobutane

C4H10

58.12

−12

48.9

n-Butane

C4H10

58.12

−1

61.4

Isopentane

C5H12

72.15

30

47.8

n-Pentane

C5H12

72.15

36

38.5

n-Hexane

C6H14

86.17

69

9.5

The other major hydrocarbons that occur in natural gas are ethane, propane, butane, and occasionally pentane. Their chemical formulas and molecular structure are shown in Fig. 2.1. Their occurrence in various gas reservoirs is given in Table 2.3. Unlike methane these heavier members of the paraffin series do not form biogenically. They are only produced by the thermal maturation of organic matter. If their presence is recorded by a gas detector during the drilling of a well, it often indicates proximity to a significant petroleum accumulation or source rock.

2.1.2. Nonhydrocarbon Gases

2.1.2.1. Inert Gases

Helium is a common minor accessory in many natural gases, and traces of argon and radon have also been found in the subsurface. Helium occurs in the atmosphere at 5 ppm and has also been recorded in mines, hot springs, and fumaroles. It has been found in oil field gases in amounts of up to 8% (Dobbin, 1935). In North America helium-enriched natural gases occur in the Four Corners area and Texas panhandle of the United States and in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada (Lee, 1963; Hitchon, 1963). In Canada the major concentrations occur along areas of crustal tension, such as the Peace River and Sweetwater arches, and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Other regions containing helium-enriched...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 8.11.2014
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geologie
• Themenwelt: Technik ► Bergbau
• Themenwelt: Technik ► Elektrotechnik / Energietechnik
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft
• ISBN-10: 0-12-386032-6 / 0123860326
• ISBN-13: 978-0-12-386032-3 / 9780123860323