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Migration Types and Concept

Hydrocarbons originate in fine-grained source rocks and migrate into more permeable reservoir rocks. There are three main mechanisms of primary hydrocarbon migration: diffusion, migration in aqueous solution, and migration as an oil or gas phase through microfractures in the source rock. Most migration occurs when hydrocarbons flow as a liquid or gas through microfractures, as diffusion rates are very low and solubility limits migration in aqueous solution. In high organic source rocks, hydrocarbons predominantly migrate as the oil phase over short distances until trapped in reservoir structures.

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212 views

Migration Types and Concept

Hydrocarbons originate in fine-grained source rocks and migrate into more permeable reservoir rocks. There are three main mechanisms of primary hydrocarbon migration: diffusion, migration in aqueous solution, and migration as an oil or gas phase through microfractures in the source rock. Most migration occurs when hydrocarbons flow as a liquid or gas through microfractures, as diffusion rates are very low and solubility limits migration in aqueous solution. In high organic source rocks, hydrocarbons predominantly migrate as the oil phase over short distances until trapped in reservoir structures.

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Mukhtarov Pg
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Hydrocarbons’ migration

One of the features of oil and gas formation is the fact that
petroleum originates in a fine grained source rock and then migrates
into more permeable, coarser grained, reservoir sediments. 
Knowledge of petroleum migration and entrapment processes
is obviously important to both the exploration and exploitation
stages of the industry.

Primary migration
As the organic source rock is lithified during diagenesis, water
(usually a low to moderate salinity brine) is expelled from the
sediment to form a connate fluid. 
In the early catagenic stages of hydrocarbon maturation, therefore,
oil and gas migrate in the presence of water. 

Primary migration mechanism


Dissolution mechanisms are likely to play a role in petroleum
flow, they cannot account for the huge oil accumulations observed in
the major oil producing regions of the world.
Two other mechanisms are considered to be more important
during the primary flow of hydrocarbons and these are oil phase
migration and diffusion. 

Primary migration mechanisms


Migration by Diffusion
Diffusion is the spreading of HC as a result of a concentration
gradient. This process leads to dispersal rather than accumulation.
Diffusion rates in porous media are very low. Methane, the HC with
the highest diffusion coefficient,  is estimated to take 80 Ma  to
diffuse a distance of 1 km. 
Migration in Aqueous Solution
Methane is widely distributed in the subsurface because of its
solubility in pore fluids and its high mobility as a gas phase. Methane
has a slubility of about 2500 mg/L at 100oC and 50 MPa for a salinity
of 150 g/L. Most other HCs have solubilities less than 50 mg/L in the
petroleum generation window. Solubilities decrease with
increasing pore fluid TDS, decreasing pressure and temperature, and
increasing HC saturation.

Primary migration mechanisms


Most migration of petroleum takes place by flow of a hydrocarbon
liquid or gaseous phase through microfractures in the source rock.
Matrix permeabilities for source rocks range from 1 to 10 -8  md or
10 -15  to 10 -23  m . 
These low values are unlikely to be sufficient for migration.
A few microfractures can increase permeability by many orders of
magnitude.

Hydrocarbons’ phase migration


In the case of low organic content source rocks generating mainly
gas hydrocarbon migration would occur by diffusion, in aqueous
solution, or directly as the gas phase. 
In high organic content, oil-prone, source rocks,
however, hydrocarbons will migrate predominantly as the oil phase. 

Entrapment of oil and gas


Primary migration of hydrocarbons typically occurs over
short distances (hundreds of meters or less) and is constrained by
the proximity of the first available aquifer to the source rock.
Secondary migration, by contrast, occurs over tens, and possibly
even hundreds, of kilometers and is only constrained by the presence
of a trap which prevents the petroleum from further flow and allows
it to accumulate. 

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