Well Engineering Round II Diploma – Year 1 Module 1 – Earth Sciences

Topic 3 – Petroleum Systems

WELL ENGINEERING ROUND II DIPLOMA

Module 1 – Earth Sciences

TOPIC 3: PETROLEUM SYSTEMS

PREVIEW
The development of a viable petroleum system requires the presence of a thick sedimentary
sequence consisting of e.g. sandstone, claystone or limestone, and including organic‐rich lay‐
ers (source rocks) that are buried deep enough for that source rock to have become hot
enough to start generating oil or gas. Though in some parts of the world petroleum occurs in
crystalline basement rocks, such oil or gas accumulations are also sourced from sedimentary
source rocks. In practice any rock can form a petroleum reservoir provided it is porous, is
covered by a sealing layer such as shale or salt, and is connected to a source of hydrocarbons.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
On completion of this topic, you should be able to:
 Describe the key elements of a petroleum system including the terms sedimentary
sequence, source rock, hydrocarbon kitchen, migration, reservoir, seal, hydrocarbon trap,
and timing of trap formation.
 Understand the basic concepts and techniques used when producing a volumetric
estimate of an oil and gas field.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 1
2 Hydrocarbons ....................................................................................................................................................... 2
2.1 The Origin of Petroleum ......................................................................................................................... 2
2.2 The Generation of Petroleum ............................................................................................................... 3
2.3 The Generation of Natural Gas ............................................................................................................. 4
2.4 The Generation of Solid Petroleum and Oil Shale ........................................................................ 4
2.5 The Migration of Petroleum .................................................................................................................. 4
3 Source Rocks ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
4 Reservoir rocks .................................................................................................................................................... 7
5 The seal ................................................................................................................................................................... 9
6 The trap ................................................................................................................................................................ 10
7 Describing the Reservoir .............................................................................................................................. 11
7.1 Porosity ...................................................................................................................................................... 11
7.1.1 Factors Affecting Porosity ......................................................................................................... 11
7.1.2 Porosity in Carbonates ............................................................................................................... 12
7.1.3 Types of Porosity .......................................................................................................................... 13
7.1.4 Typical Values of Porosity ......................................................................................................... 14
7.2 Permeability ............................................................................................................................................. 14
7.2.1 Factors Affecting Permeability................................................................................................ 15
7.2.2 Typical Values of Permeability................................................................................................ 15
7.2.3 Permeability Anisotropy............................................................................................................ 16
7.3 Net Reservoir ........................................................................................................................................... 17
8 Volumetrics of oil and gas fields ................................................................................................................ 18

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Well Engineering Round II Diploma – Year 1 Module 1 – Earth Sciences
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1 INTRODUCTION
Petroleum – shorthand for hydrocarbon oils and gases as well as solid hydrocarbons such as as‐
phalt deposits – occurs in the pores of rock formations in the earth’s crust. For petroleum to form
and accumulate in economic quantities in the subsurface the following geological features must be
present:

1. Source rock, a fine grained shale or limestone, with a minimum of 0.5% petroleum producing
organic matter.

2. The source rock must be mature and sufficiently heated to generate petroleum from organic
matter (140‐250°F / 60‐120°C for oil and up to 350°F / 180°C for gas).

3. A migration path for the petroleum,

4. A porous reservoir rock,

5. A seal plus trap that stops the petroleum from escaping to the surface.
These are shown schematically in Figure 1 and the whole system is known as a hydrocarbon habi‐
tat.

3,300ft
(1000m)

6,550ft
(2000m)

9,850ft
Top of Maturity
(3000m)

Mature Source Rock in

‘Kitchen’ Area

Figure 1: Generation, migration and trapping of hydrocarbons. Olive green

with dashes represents source rock; yellow with stipples represents
porous and permeable reservoir rock; brown with dashes repre‐
sents sealing shale; red indicates hydrocarbon accumulation

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2 HYDROCARBONS
Petroleum is a general term given to naturally occurring substances which consist predominantly
of hydrocarbons. Petroleum is found in gaseous (natural gas), liquid (crude oil) and solid (asphalt)
states.
Table 1: Typical elemental compositions of petroleum in each state

Element Natural Gas Crude Oil Asphalt

(weight %) (weight %) (weight %)

Carbon 65 ‐ 80 82.2 – 87.1 74.4 – 80.2

Hydrogen 1‐25 11.7 ‐14.7 7.5
Oxygen ‐ 0.1 – 4.5 7.6
Nitrogen 1 ‐15 0.1 – 1.5 1.7
Sulphur trace ‐0.2 0.1 ‐5.5 3.0

Over 1200 different hydrocarbons compounds have been identified in crude oil. The number of
carbon atoms in one molecule of each compound is used as the basis for subdividing the compo‐
nents of petroleum into seven main groups or fractions:‐
Table 2: Examples Petroleum fractions based on number of Carbon atoms in the molecule

Carbon At‐ Group or Fraction Examples

oms

C1‐C4 Gases Methane, Ethane, Propane, Butane

C4‐C7 Napthas Dry cleaning fluids, paint thinners.
C8‐C11 Gasoline Octane
C12 – C15 Kerosene Jetfuel
C16‐C25 Diesel fuel, Heavy heating oils Truck fuel, Central heating fuel,
C26‐C40 Lubricating oil Engine oil, gear box oil, grease.
Over C40 Waxes Paraffin wax, tar, bitumen

2.1 The Origin of Petroleum

Most compounds that are found in petroleum are of organic origin. To be preserved for conversion
into petroleum, the organic matter must be deposited and buried rapidly in an oxygen‐ and scav‐
enger‐free environment. These conditions are commonly found in continental shelf marine envi‐
ronments, where oxygen‐free bottom waters exist together with a relatively high rate of sedimen‐
tation of inorganic material, such as clay or sand particles. While much of the organic material in
marine sediments may be generated in situ, rivers may also transport land‐derived material into
shallow seas.
Land plants appeared 400 million years ago in the Devonian period, so the main source of organic

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material before this must have been marine. From the Precambrian until the Devonian, the largest
producer of organic matter was phytoplankton, microscopic marine algae which live in the upper
layers of the oceans and sink to the sea floor when they die. Here the water is oxygen‐free and the
algae are buried by deposition of mud. Muddy organic‐rich deposits of this type have the potential
to become source rocks for the generation of petroleum.
2.2 The Generation of Petroleum
On burial and exposure to heat and pressure, organic material degrades into an intermediate sub‐
stance known as kerogen, from which petroleum is subsequently formed. Three kinds of kerogen
have been identified. Differences in the elemental ratios of hydrogen:carbon (H:C) and oxy‐
gen:carbon (O:C) reflect the different source material for the kerogen types, each of which yields
different products when mature:
Table 3: Characteristics of three types of Kerogen

Type Ratios Origin Maturation Products

H:C O:C

I High Low Marine algae Light high quality oil (gasoline)

II High High Mix of marine matter Main source of crude oil, some gas
III Low High Land Mainly gas, some waxy oil

The maturation of kerogen into crude oil and natural gas is achieved mainly by an increase in tem‐
perature.
Therefore the formation of petroleum depends
Relative amount
on the depth of burial and the geothermal gra‐ generated
dient in the crust. Figure 2 shows the relative
proportions of crude oil and gas formed at in‐
creasing depth below the surface, for a region
Diagenesis

Biogenic
where the geothermal gradient is about 1.6°F/ Methane
100 feet (3.5°C/ 100m). Maximum crude oil
production is about 8900 ft (2700 m) and the Increasing Oil
depth of
peak for gas is at about 11,500ft (3500 m). burial and
temperature Wet Gas
Petroleum is probably generated from kerogen
in very small amounts at temperatures below
Catagenesis

122°F (50°C), with the peak production at

about 210°C (100°C). When the temperature
rises above 300°F (150°C), even for a short
time, longer chain hydrocarbon molecules will
begin to break down or "crack", yielding short‐ Dry Gas
er chain molecules.
The first gas to be produced contains some C4 to
Metagenesis

C10 compounds and is termed "wet gas", but as

the temperature increases these break down to
give C1 to C3 gaseous compounds and the prod‐
uct is then called "dry gas". Figure 2: Generation of Petroleum from Kerogen
Geothermal gradients vary from basin to basin.

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Source rocks that remain at very shallow depths will not normally generate petroleum. Exposure
to excessive heat by very deep burial favors the production of gas only.
2.3 The Generation of Natural Gas
It is possible to trace a crude oil back to its source by comparing its geochemical analysis with that
of hydrocarbon extracts from a particular source rock. Such an analysis is often not possible for a
gas accumulation, particularly when the gas consists almost entirely of methane. There are differ‐
ent kinds of natural gas, with different compositions and modes of formation.
Methane is produced by bacteria in the very early stages of accumulation and anaerobic decay ‐ it
occurs at low pressures and normally escapes into the atmosphere as "marsh gas", but it can be
trapped at shallow depths.
Coal is an important source of natural gas and it has been established that coal is able to generate
large enough volumes of methane for commercial accumulations to form. Coal is formed from ter‐
restrial organic matter and thus has a strong similarity to type III kerogen (Table 3), which tends
to yield gas rather than oil during maturation. It is thought that liquid hydrocarbons that are gen‐
erated in small amounts during coal formation are largely absorbed by the coal and prevented
from primary migration.
Table 3 and Figure 2 indicate that during the maturation of any kerogen, natural gas and crude oil
can form simultaneously. In the later stages of maturation the crude oil can be converted into wet
gas and finally, with increased temperature, into dry gas.
2.4 The Generation of Solid Petroleum and Oil Shale
Crude oil that has migrated through a reservoir can sometimes reach the surface, where the vola‐
tile components escape and the rock becomes impregnated with a hydrocarbon residue. Such a
rock is known as an oil sand or tar sand. The Athabasca oil sands of Alberta, Canada, are such a de‐
posit, containing 600 billion barrels of asphaltic hydrocarbons. The oil is too viscous to flow and
the rock has to be heated to extract the oil. The Athabasca oil sands are mined by open cast meth‐
ods.
Pitch lakes are large deposits of asphalt formed from oil that has seeped to the surface, accumulat‐
ed in large depressions and become solid. Examples include the Bermudez Lake in Eastern Vene‐
zuela, which has estimated reserves of 6.1 million tones.
Shales containing significant amounts of unaltered kerogen are called oil shales. "Synthetic" crude
oil can be produced by heating oil shales to about 930°F (500°C). If the kerogen forms less than
2.5% of the rock, its total calorific value is taken up heating the shale, which contributes to a typical
economic limit for synthetic oil production from oil shales in the USA of 5% kerogen. This yields
about 7.2 gallons (25 liters) of oil per ton (tonne) of rock.
Some of the largest deposits of oil shales are located in the American states of Utah, Wyoming and
Colorado. It has been estimated that the oil shales could yield about 18000 x 109 barrels of oil, but
because of the escalating costs, and a shortage of available water for processing, most of the pro‐
jects involved with the production of synthetic crude oil were temporarily abandoned in the early
1980s. However, it is still being distilled in the Baltic region of the USSR and by the Chinese in
Manchuria.
2.5 The Migration of Petroleum
Although the generation of petroleum in source rocks is fairly well understood, its migration into
other rocks is not. The source rocks are mainly organic‐rich shales, which are very fine grained and
impermeable.
So how can the generated petroleum move out of the source rocks? One current suggestion is that

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when kerogen is subjected to maturation temperatures, methane is formed which creates so much
internal pressure within the source rocks that micro fractures are formed which then permit the
primary migration of the hydrocarbons. Having escaped out of the source rocks, the petroleum ap‐
pears to move with greater freedom along joints, faults and bedding planes into a reservoir rock
such as sandstone.

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3 SOURCE ROCKS
Hydrocarbon source rocks are sediments containing large amounts of organic matter. Both marine
and non‐marine sedimentary sequences can contain source rocks. The key requirement for organ‐
ic‐rich deposits or source rocks to form is that the organic material (e.g. marine algae or land
plants) are deposited under reducing conditions and quickly buried by other sediments. These
then have the potential to generate hydrocarbons given the appropriate burial history and geo‐
thermal gradient. To become mature for oil or gas generation, source rocks need to be buried to a
depth of at least some two miles for a significant period of geological time and to be heated to a
temperature of some 160 – 300°F (70 ‐ 150°C). Though bacterial action can generate natural gas
from such source rocks, the main way petroleum is generated is through heat. This heating occurs
through the natural heat flow in the earth crust with temperatures increasing with depth at a rate
of some 73°F per mile (25°C/Km), In combination with pressure increases due to deep burial and
the availability of long periods of time these high temperatures convert the organic matter into liq‐
uid hydrocarbons and/or natural gas. The hydrocarbons can then move away or “migrate” from
the source and accumulate in favorable structures elsewhere in the sedimentary sequence (Figure
1).
A familiar type of source rock is a coal seam (Figure 3). Coal deposits are formed from peat

Figure 3: Coal seam overlain by beige‐colored sandstone. Coal layer is cut by closely spaced verti‐
cal fractures. Whitish feature in center of picture is a wedge of sandstone that became
folded due to compaction of the original peat. Coals are good source rocks for natural me‐
thane gas
swamps and are rich in the remains of land plants making them gas‐prone source rocks. Source
rocks that are rich in algal and/or bacterial matter are more oil prone. Oil‐prone source rocks
mainly form as organic‐rich shale deposits in poorly oxygenated seas or lakes. Shale deposits con‐
tain 90% of all organic matter found in sediments. The greatest volumes of marine source rocks
are of Jurassic – Cretaceous age. These formed when in many parts of the world oxygen‐poor con‐
ditions prevailed in shallow seas. These Jurassic‐Cretaceous source rocks have generated about
70% of the world’s liquid hydrocarbons with the bulk of this oil occurring in the Middle East. Lakes
can also give rise to very rich source rocks that are commonly called oil shales. The Green River oil
shale deposit in the western United States is a well‐known example of a non‐marine source rock.
Though they are presently still uneconomic to produce, these oil shales contain a huge hydrocar‐
bon resource that will one day be developed using novel technology.

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4 RESERVOIR ROCKS
Expulsion of petroleum out of deeply buried source rocks that have reached maturation tempera‐
tures in the hydrocarbon ‘kitchen’ is followed by migration into reservoir rocks where it accumu‐
lates in the pore spaces between the grains of the rock (Figure 4). Unless the spaces between the
grains, the porosity, are connected, hydrocarbons cannot migrate into the reservoir. The ability of a
rock to allow fluids to flow through it is called permeability.
During burial the porosity and permeability of the reservoir rock are modified as the grains be‐

Figure 4: Photomicrograph of a thin section of sandstone. Porosity is indicated by blue‐colored

resin. White grains are quartz and ‘dirty’ grains are feldspar or rock fragments. Zone of
brownish, fine‐grained material is enriched in clay‐sized material (‘cataclastic’ zone)
and/or pore‐filling cement. Large pores will give rise to good permeability and small
pores to poor permeability

come packed more tightly together and new minerals may be precipitated as a cement in the pore
spaces (Figure 4). Well‐sorted sedimentary rocks with a mature texture deposited in a high‐energy
environment generally have good primary porosity and permeability.
Depending on the environment of deposition a reservoir rock will be relatively homogeneous or
clearly layered. The different types of layering will result in porosity and permeability varying both
horizontally and vertically. Typically permeability is highest parallel to the depositional layering.
Such variations in reservoir quality give rise to reservoir heterogeneity (Figure 5).

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Figure 5: Outcrop sequence of relatively thinly bedded sandstones and shales at base overlain by
a more massive, thick sandstone, another well‐bedded package and a second, rather
massive sandstone. The thicker, more massive sandstones would typically have better
porosity and more uniform permeability than the thinly bedded intervals

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5 THE SEAL
Unless an impermeable rock unit or ‘seal’ caps the reservoir units (Figure 1), hydrocarbons will not
be retained in them but escape to the surface to form seepage (Figure 6). Shales and evaporites
may form effective barriers to hydrocarbon migration as do faults in some circumstances. Shales
and evaporite rocks such as rock salt, form seals for oil and gas accumulations as their pore sys‐
tems are so small that migrating hydrocarbons cannot displace the pore‐filling waters that are al‐
ways present in subsurface rocks. In other words, the capillary entry pressures of shales and evap‐
orites are too high for hydrocarbons to move through such rocks unless these sealing rocks are
fractured.

Figure 6: Surface oil seepage from porous and permeable sandstone Light hydrocarbons have
evaporated leaving only the heavy, tarry residue

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6 THE TRAP

Figure 7: Schematic representation of a trapping fold structure in three dimensions. Blue indicates water
underlying lighter oil (red) and gas (green). Fold structure is interpreted from seismic and well
penetrations

Even though a porous and permeable potential reservoir exists and is overlain by sealing rock
types, it will not trap hydrocarbons unless a three dimensional ‘container’ exists that is sealed on
the sides as well as on top (Figure 7) in order to stop the relatively light hydrocarbons escaping to
the surface. Structural traps are formed as a result of deformation of strata in the earth’s crust such
as folding, faulting or diapirism. Stratigraphic traps occur where there is a permeability barrier
caused by lateral and/or vertical variation in sedimentary rock types. Some large petroleum traps
have been formed by both structural and stratigraphic means and these are known as combination
traps.
The timing of the trap formation is also critical. If the trap has not yet formed at the time when hy‐
drocarbons are generated and migrating into the potential reservoir, the hydrocarbons will escape
to the surface and be lost.
When assessing the hydrocarbon prospectivity of an area the petroleum geologist will need to es‐
tablish that all the necessary elements of a valid petroleum system are present and confirm that
the geological history of the area being explored is favorable for the occurrence of commercial
quantities of hydrocarbons prior to making the technical recommendation to test prospectivity
with the drill bit.

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7 DESCRIBING THE RESERVOIR

So far we have seen the geological features that must be present to support a hydrocarbon system
but to start to determine if a reservoir may be viable, a description of the properties of the reser‐
voir rock is required to:
• Quantify the amount of fluid present in a reservoir.
• Understand how fluids will flow through the reservoir.
This is known as the Pore System of the reservoir and the three parameters that describe the
properties of the pore system are:
• Porosity ‐ fluid storage capacity of the rock
• Permeability ‐ flow of a single fluid
• Net Reservoir ‐ thickness of reservoir rock
7.1 Porosity
Rock consists of crystals or grains between which spaces, or pores, are left that are occupied by
fluids. The pore space is of interest as it is potentially hydrocarbon‐bearing. Porosity is therefore
the first parameter that needs to be quantified when calculating the volume of hydrocarbons in
place.
Porosity is defined as the ratio of the amount of pore space present in a volume of rock to the total
volume (pore space plus rock matrix) of that rock.
Porosity is thus a fraction in the range 0 (no pore space present) to 1 (no rock matrix present). Po‐
rosity is often expressed as a percentage. There is essentially nothing wrong with this practice as
long as it is remembered that in all calculations (e.g. of hydrocarbon in place) porosity values
should be entered as fractions (i.e. 0.5 not 50%)
7.1.1 Factors Affecting Porosity
The actual value of the porosity in a particular sample of rock is determined by a number of fac‐
tors. In reality, in sandstone, the grains will not be perfect spheres and they can be packed together
in different ways. If not all grains are of the same size, the small grains will fit in between the large
ones and cause a reduction of the porosity.

Cubic packing, uniform grain Rhombohedral packing, uniform Non‐uniform grain size:
size: Porosity 0.48 grain size: Porosity 0.25 Porosity 0.15 ‐0.20
Figure 8: Effect of packing and grain size on Porosity (loose sand, no cementation)
The porosity can also be reduced by compaction or by the presence of some other material in the
pore space, like calcite cement or clay minerals. Porosity is thus dependent on:
• Grain shape
• Grain packing
• Grain sorting
• Overburden & compaction
• Cementation
• Clay content

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Cementation reducing porosity in the Water saturation Sw, the fraction of

matrix by filling pore spaces around pore space occupied by water. This is
grains typically measured using an instrument
that measures the resistivity of the rock

Oil suspended in water with the pore

spaces of the matrix. Oil saturation So,
is the fraction of pore space occupied by
oil.

Figure 9: Example of cementation, water saturation fraction Sw and oil saturation SO frac‐
tion in a sandstone matrix

7.1.2 Porosity in Carbonates

In crystalline carbonates (limestone or dolomite) the rock structure also consists of a packing, in
this case of crystals. The size of the crystals is usually about 30% that of sand grains.
In carbonates dissolution can lead to porosity also being present inside crystals. This is known as
intraparticle porosity. Large dissolution features may also be present (e.g. vugs) and extensive dis‐
solution can even lead to the creation of caverns.

Formation Carbonates are more

brittle than sandstones
Cutting and will tend to give
way and break under
1/4 “ stress. This accounts for
Core the common occur‐
(6mm)
rence of fractures in
carbonate reservoirs.
No visible Some of the porosity
porosity types that can be
encountered in carbon‐
ates are vugs, channels
3 ft and caverns. Breccia
(900mm) fragments originating
from collapsing parts of
Channels Vugs
caverns may also be
4“ (102mm) present
Channels Vugs Caverns Breccia

Figure 10: Porosity types commonly found in Carbonates; because porosity is non‐uniform in
carbonate structures, small cutting samples may not be representative of overall for‐
mation porosity.

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7.1.3 Types of Porosity

The intergranular porosity of sandstones and the interparticle porosity in carbonates are often re‐
ferred to as primary porosity. The macroscopic porosity features often encountered in carbonates
are called secondary porosity. Together these two porosity types make up the total porosity of the
rock.

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7.1.4 Typical Values of Porosity

Actual porosity values can be as high as 0.45 (45%) in unconsolidated sands, and as low as
0.01(1%) in still prolific fractured carbonates.

Table 4: Common ranges of porosity values found in different formations.

Rock type Porosity Range

Recent sands (unconsolidated) 0.35 – 0.45 35 ‐45%
Sandstones 0.20 – 0.35 20 – 35%
Tight sandstones 0.15 – 0.20 15 – 20%
Limestones 0.05 – 0.20 5 – 20%
Dolomites 0.10 – 0.30 10 – 30%
Chalk 0.05 – 0.40 5 – 40%

Some non‐productive rocks also have high porosities. Examples are shales and clays; they can con‐
tain substantial amounts of water which is not movable, as they have a low permeability.
7.2 Permeability
The permeability is a measure of the ease with which a fluid can flow through a rock. In this section
absolute permeability will be discussed, which is a property of the rock itself and which is inde‐
pendent of the fluids that flow. Later, the effects of the fluid properties and the relative fluid satu‐
rations on the flow behavior will be discussed.
To make fluid flow through a porous rock sample, a pressure differential AP has to be applied
across it. The resulting flow rate through the sample depends on the sample dimensions, the fluid
viscosity and the internal pore geometry of the sample. The latter is described by the empirical
rock parameter, k, the permeability.

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7.2.1 Factors Affecting Permeability

Experiments using capillary tube models of the pore space in rocks easily show that the flow rate is
higher in wide capillaries than in several narrow ones having the same total flow area. Permeabil‐
ity is dependent on the radius of the capillaries or pore throats. An increase in the radius of the ca‐
pillaries will also lead to an increase in the porosity, suggesting that permeability is dependent on
the same factors as porosity (i.e. pore throat size, grain size variation), but to a differing degree.

Easy fluid flow path

Rock matrix
Fluid
path Pore space

Intermediate fluid flow path

Rock matrix
Fluid
path Pore space

Tortuous fluid flow path

Fluid
path Rock matrix

Pore space

Figure 11: Fluid flow in various formations with same porosi‐

ty but different grain size structure and packing

7.2.2 Typical Values of Permeability

Although porosity and permeability are related, there are also some important differences be‐
tween the two properties. Typical relations between porosity and permeability for a number of
rock types are outlined in Figure 12. The logarithmic scale for the permeability axis indicates that
permeability is much more strongly dependent on pore (throat) radius than is the porosity.
Typical permeability values range from 0.1 mD to several Darcies. Figure 12 indicates that low po‐
rosity material containing few large pores (e.g. reefs) can have higher permeability than high po‐
rosity material containing many small pores (e.g. chalks).
Sometimes rock possesses a dual porosity system, for example a low porosity and permeability
carbonate that is fractured. The fractures themselves (secondary porosity) contribute only very
little to the total porosity, but provide an excellent flow path (very high permeability) for reservoir
fluids. In such a system the low permeability matrix can produce into the fracture system, which
then allows rapid flow of the fluid to the wellbore, thus resulting in a prolific producer of hydro‐
carbons.

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1000 Key

Reef
limestone
Sucrosic

Permeability (mD)
100 dolomite
Chalky
limestone
Course well
10 grained well
cemented
sandstone

Fine grained
unconsolidated
1 sandstone
0 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35

Porosity
Figure 12: Typical relationship between porosity and permeability.

7.2.3 Permeability Anisotropy

In most rocks the permeability depends to some extent on the direction of fluid flow. The permea‐
bility is usually lowest in the direction perpendicular to the bedding planes due to the following
effects:‐
• Most rock grains are elongated along one axis, however slightly, and will tend to settle with
their long axis approximately horizontal.
• The overburden pressure compacting a sediment acts vertically, and will also tend to make
the grains lie with their longest axis horizontal.
• Layers of less permeable sediments, e.g. muds, will be deposited horizontally, and will tend
to hinder flow perpendicular to their final orientation in the reservoir.
On a reservoir scale, the average permeability observed in a particular direction depends less on
the microscopic rock properties (as might be measured on core plugs) and more on sedimentary
features, for example grading or cross bedding on a small scale, or palaeo‐coastline cut‐offs on a
large scale. For this reason it is very difficult to directly measure permeabilities appropriate to the
behavior we want to describe. Average permeabilities must be inferred by observing the behavior
of flowing wells.
In a clean,
It is usual to distinguish between the horizontal (ky) permeability well‐developed
and vertical (kz) permeabilities in a reservoir, the dif‐ Kz
Kz/Ky may be as
ference being expressed as the ratio between the verti‐ high as 70% ‐80%
cal and horizontal permeabilities (kz/ky). In a clean,
well‐developed sand the vertical permeability may be
as high as 70‐80% of the horizontal permeability.
Horizontal
However, a figure of 10% or less is more typical in permeability
many reservoirs due to the presence of small amounts Ky
of widely distributed shale.
Reservoir sand
Variations in permeability in different directions in the
horizontal plane have also been observed, but are rare‐
ly accounted for in reservoir models. Figure 13: Vertical and horizontal ratios of
permeability

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7.3 Net Reservoir

"Net reservoir" thickness is an important descriptive parameter of the reservoir, as it quantifies
the vertical dimension when calculating the volume of hydrocarbons in place.
Net reservoir is defined as the total thickness of rock in a reservoir that contains movable hydro‐
carbons. Shale intervals, with effectively zero porosity, would thus be excluded from 'net reser‐
voir'. Net reservoir is also frequently defined using minimum, or 'cut‐off', values for porosity, per‐
meability, and hydrocarbon saturation. However, these should be used with care, as they may lead
to under‐valuation of a prospect by the exclusion of low quality reservoir units. These units do not
contribute to reservoir behavior in the short term, but may do significantly in the long term.
For this reason, it is recommended that the volume of hydrocarbons initially in place should al‐
ways be calculated with no cut‐offs. Any contribution to reservoir performance from low quality
intervals should be incorporated via a reduced recovery factor.
Net reservoir may also be defined using a Net to Gross Ratio (N/G), which is the ratio of the net
reservoir thickness to the gross formation or interval thickness.
Practical Considerations
Information about net reservoir, like information about porosity and permeability, can only be ob‐
tained from wells. This means that only "spot readings" are available and the volume of data de‐
pends on the number of wells. Usually the physical characteristics of the reservoir are not constant
over the field, requiring interpolation between wells and extrapolation outside areas of well con‐
trol to be done. The geological model of the field plays an important role in this process ‐ assump‐
tions about the lateral continuity of sand bodies must be based on such a model (Figure 14).

Well B

Well A Well C
40ft

Net
100ft

Sand 1 Gross
Shale
50ft

Net
100ft

Gross Sand 2
Shale Net 100ft
30ft
50ft

Gross
Net

Net Res = 40ft + 50 ft

Gross Res = 100 ft
Net Res = 50 ft N/G = 90/100 = 0.9 Net Res = 30 ft
Gross Res = 100 ft Gross Res = 100 ft
N/G = 50/100 = 0.5 N/G = 30/100 = 0.3
Average Res N/G = ??

Figure 14: Net reservoir determination. Wells in the same reservoir can have very different N/G
ratios

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Well Engineering Round II Diploma – Year 1 Module 1 – Earth Sciences
Topic 3 – Petroleum Systems

8 VOLUMETRICS OF OIL AND GAS FIELDS

In the evaluation of a prospective basin, the exploration geologist first makes an assessment of the
effectiveness of the petroleum system. This includes making an estimate of the total amount of hy‐
drocarbons that have been generated by the source rock and how much of that oil and gas is likely
to have been trapped. This constitutes the likely resource base of the basin. Wells must then be
drilled to prove the presence of producible hydrocarbons so that the resources can be converted to
reserves.
When deciding to drill an exploration, appraisal or development well, a volumetric estimate of the
hydrocarbons that are expected to be present is made. This estimate of oil or gas expected to be
encountered by the drill bit forms the basis for the economic analysis of the merits of spending x
million dollars on drilling a well.
Subsurface oil and gas volumes are normally reported as ‘STOIIP’ and ‘GIIP’. These are volumes of
oil or gas as if they occurred at surface conditions, 15psi and 65°F (1 bar and 18°C). STOIIP stands
for ‘Stock Tank Oil Initially In Place’ and GIIP for ‘Gas Initially In Place’.
STOIIP or GIIP are calculated using the following equations:

STOIIP = A  h  N     1  S W   1
G BO

GIIP=A  h  N     1  S W   E
G
Where:
A = area of hydrocarbon bearing reservoir (in square feet or square metres)
h = height of reservoir sequence (in feet or metres)
N/G = net to gross ratio (fraction of total thickness of reservoir sequence)
ø = porosity (fraction of net reservoir volume)
Sw = water saturation
Bo = Oil formation volume factor (Note: the reciprocal of Bo is called the
shrinkage factor)
E = Gas expansion factor
Oil shrinks when brought to the surface as dissolved gas escapes due to the pressure drop. Bo is
normally in the range 1.0 for very heavy oil (API 10°– 15°) to 1.6 for very light oil (API 45°) and
depends on the formation gas/oil ratio.
Gas expands when brought to the surface. E depends on the reservoir pressure and gas composition
and is highly depth and temperature dependent. Values on the order of E =190 for a gas reservoir at
a depth of 6,500 ft (2,000 m) sub‐sea and E=235 for a gas reservoir at 9,800 ft (3,000 m) would be
reasonable.
Having calculated the GRV (also called ‘Bulk Volume’); this is multiplied by the proportion of the
GRV that is actually of reservoir quality (i.e. that proportion that is capable of storing hydrocar‐
bons). This is the net/gross ratio, N/G, as determined from wireline logs by the petro physicist – by
definition 0 ≤ N/G ≤ 1. The result is the Net Rock Volume (NRV). The latter is then multiplied by the
average porosity, ø. Porosity values are calculated by the petro physicist from wireline logs and the
geologist calculates or estimates the average porosity for the reservoir. Porosity values are report‐
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Well Engineering Round II Diploma – Year 1 Module 1 – Earth Sciences
Topic 3 – Petroleum Systems

ed as either percentages of total volume (e.g. 25% of bulk volume) or as a fraction of total volume
(e.g. 0.25).

A A
5575ft / 1700m
5250ft / 1600m
4920ft / 1500m
4590ft / 1400m
4265ft / 1300m
3935ft / 1200m

A’ A’
GOC 4035ft / 1230m
OWC 5085ft / 1550m OWC 5085ft / 1550m

TOP RESERVOIR MAP BASE RESERVOIR MAP

DEPTH
FT / M

TOP RESERVOIR 3935 / 1200 GOC 4035ft / 1230m

GOC
4265 / 1300

4590 / 1400
OWC
BASE RESERVOIR 4920 / 1500
OWC 5085ft / 1550m
5250 / 1600

SCHEMATIC CROSS SECTION A ‐ A’ 5575 / 1700

5905 / 1800

AREA
Figure 15: Area‐depth method to calculate the gross rock volume of a hydrocarbon reservoir.
The top and base reservoir maps are planimetered and the results plotted on an area–
depth cross‐plot. The areas contained between the graphs for the top and base reser‐
voir maps and the OWC (Oil Water Contact) and GOC (Gas Oil Contact) levels repre‐
sent the hydrocarbon‐bearing Gross Rock Volume (GRV). Modern computer‐based
mapping techniques are based on a similar principle

In the volumetrics calculation GRV x N/G x ø gives the Gross Pore Volume (GPV – also called Bulk
Pore Volume or BPV). This Gross Pore Volume is the volume that is actually available for storing
hydrocarbons. The GPV is then multiplied by the petrophysically evaluated hydrocarbon satura‐
tion as a fraction of porosity (Sh=1‐ Sw), averaged to represent the areal and vertical variations in
reservoir quality.
This calculation gives the reservoir volume of oil or gas, normally in cubic feet or cubic metres.
This reservoir volume then needs to be divided by Bo (the oil formation volume factor) or multi‐
plied by E (the gas expansion factor) to obtain the STOIIP or GIIP figure respectively. Bo and E are
determined from PVT samples.
A drawback of the area‐depth technique to calculate hydrocarbon volumetrics is that average val‐
ues of N/G, porosity and saturations are used. This approach disregards the effect of areal and ver‐
tical variations on the true average value of these parameters in a reservoir. Computer mapping

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Well Engineering Round II Diploma – Year 1 Module 1 – Earth Sciences
Topic 3 – Petroleum Systems

programmes such as Z‐Map or CPS‐3 in principle avoid this drawback as they calculate volumetrics
by subdividing the area of interest into grid cells. For each cell an appropriate value of N/G, porosi‐
ty and saturation can be calculated if the spatial variations in these reservoir parameters are well
understood.
In practice, all the input parameters for volumetrics calculations have significant uncertainty rang‐
es. This means that reporting a single STOIIP or GIIP figure is misleading. To overcome this prob‐
lem, the range of uncertainty for each of the input parameters is estimated and the volumetrics cal‐
culation repeated a number of times with different probabilistic combinations of input parameters.
Computer techniques make it possible to quickly calculate the outcome of hundreds or thousands
of permutations. The results are then plotted on a probability plot (Figure 16) and the P85/P50/P15
values read off. It is these volumetric figures that are normally reported. The P85 is the ‘proven’
STOIIP, the P50 figure is the ‘expectation’ STOIIP and the P15 figure is the ‘possible’ STOIIP.
A useful (metric) rule‐of‐thumb for making a quick‐look estimate of volumes likely to be present in
a reservoir is as follows: A reservoir layer with an area of 1 km and a thickness of 1 metre will con‐
tain about 1 million barrels of oil if the porosity is 25%, oil saturation is 70% and Bo is 1.1.

100
90
CUMULATIVE PROBABILITY %

80
P 85

70 2 neighbouring points may refer to

very different subsurface circumstances
60
50 P 50
40
30
20
P 15
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

STOIIP MMBBL

Figure 16: STOIIP expectation curve

P85 = ±50 million barrels (85 % probability that at least 50 million barrels are present)
P50 = ±95 million barrels (50 % probability that at least 95 million barrels are present)
P15 = ±140 million barrels (15 % probability that at least 140 million barrels are
present)

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Well Engineering Round II Diploma – Year 1 Module 1 – Earth Sciences
Topic 3 – Petroleum Systems

LEARNING SUMMARY
Having completed this topic, you should now be able to:
 Describe the key elements of a petroleum system including the terms sedimentary sequence,
source rock, hydrocarbon kitchen, migration, reservoir, seal, hydrocarbon trap, and timing of
trap formation.
 Understand the basic concepts and techniques used when producing a volumetric estimate of
an oil and gas field.

TOPIC REVIEW QUESTIONS

Your coach will direct you to be involved in an online dialogue about the review questions. Please
complete these questions and submit your answers for marking and feedback.
Questions
1) List the key elements required for a viable petroleum system (4marks)

2) Define the terms “Source Rock” and “Reservoir Rocks” (6 marks)

3) Describe two types of “Trap”. (4 marks)

4) What does the acronym STOIIP refer to? Produce an equation. (3 marks)

5) Describe how calculation of hydrocarbon volumetrics using computer

programmes differ for the area‐depth technique (3 marks)

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