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Unit 4

Hydrocarbon Migration

Geological framework of migration and


accumulation. The concept of
hydrocarbon migration from source
beds to the carrier beds-carrier beds to
the reservoir-Free-path ways for
migration-short distance and long
distance migration- Evidence for
migration-Oil and gas seepages. The
concepts of buyancy, capillary
pressure and wettability in the process
of migration of hydrocarbons- Tilted oil
water contact-spill point.

Hydrocarbons generated and trapped beneath


the surface seep or leak to the near surface in
varying but detectable quantities. This is an
established phenomenon and these occur
because processes and mechanisms such as
diffusion, effusion and buoyancy allow
hydrocarbons to escape from reservoirs and
migrate to the surface where they may be
retained in the sediments and soils or diffuse
into atmosphere or water columns. Based on
these assumptions various techniques of surface
geochemical prospecting for hydrocarbons are
employed to identify the surface or near surface
occurrences of hydrocarbons or their alteration
products. Microseepage of hydrocarbons
has led to the discovery of many important
petroleum-producing areas in the world.

Oil seep

Migration of oil

Oil is less dense than water


Oil will move up by buoyancy
Oil needs a permeable bed to move
It will stop when it reaches an
impermeable bed

Petroleum System
1) Early Generation

Spill Point

Migration from
Kitchen

2) Late Generation

Spill Point

Seal Rock
Reservoir Rock (Mudstone)
(Sandstone)
Gas beginning
to displace oil

Displaced oil
accumulates
Gas displaces
all oil
From a U of OK course ppt file

Passage of an immiscible fluid through pore throats is limited by the


capillary resistance force or capillary pressure or displacement
pressure inherent in the interaction of fluid and pore throat:
= interfacial tension, a measure of the
immiscibilty of two liquids because
of the cohesion of like molecules in each.
If hydrocarbons were soluble in water,
this term would go to zero, and
resistance would go to zero. Relative to
water, gas > light oil > heavy oil.
decreases with increasing
temperature.

= wettability or wetting angle,


a rock-dependent term for the extent
to which water (or hydrocarbon in
some cases) is the fluid on the rock
surface. is commonly so small, and
thus cos so nearly
Water
1.0, that this term
is neglected.
Oil

2 cos
Resistance =
rt

Rock

rt = radius of pore throat


(the smaller the pore throat, the greater the resistance).

Shepherd 2009

Selley 1998

Downey (1984, AAPG Bulletin)

Seals and Reservoirs


II. Buoyancy and upward migration
Buoyancy is what drives upward migration of petroleum, and the limit
of upward migration is what defines the boundary between reservoir
and seal.
Upward migration of petroleum through water-filled pores of sedimentary
rocks is driven by the Buoyancy Force:
w = density of water (~1.01-1.10)

p = density of petroleum
(~0.7-0.8 for oil)

Buoyancy Force = h g (w-p)


h
h = vertical extent (height)
of the petroleum column
h = H = zo = Y in other presentations

~ 0.3 for oil (see above)


g = gravitational acceleration

Migration through
Fractures

Migration and Accumulation

Migration from source to


reservoir.

When potential source and reservoir


rocks are buried, they contain water in
their pore sace. The oil and gas ,
therefore, has to replace this water in
the migration process when it reaches
the reservoir.
Pressure and temperature during
burial increases leading to compaction
of the sedimentary rocks. The pore
space therefore decreases and with it
the volume available for fluids

Migration

Primary Migration
Secondary Migration
Remigration
Short and long distance migration
Vertical and lateral migration
Migration of hydrocarbons through
micro fractures, fault planes etc.

Evidence of Migration
The most compelling reason comes from
the way oil and gas accumulate. They are
typically found in porous and permeable
rocks that are arched upwards and that
are topped by impermeable layer (seal).
The second reason is the relationship
between the oil and gas source rock and
reservoir rock. The later is usually younger
and/ or structurally higher than the source
rock. Visual evidence of migration is
provided by oil and gas seepages found
in many pats of the world.

TRAPS (Accumulation Style)


Structural Traps- Folds, Faults
Stratigraphic Traps- Unconformities,
Pinch
outs, Channel-Levee deposits,
Channellobes Etc
Combination Traps
Unconventional Traps

In the petroleum industry, caprock is


any nonpermeable formation that
may trap oil, gas or water,
preventing it from migrating to the
surface. This caprock or trap can
create a reservoir of oil, gas or water
beneath it and is a primary target for
the petroleum industry.

Hydrocarbon migration

Spill point

The structurally lowest point in a


hydrocarbon trap that can retain
hydrocarbons. Once a trap has been
filled to its spill point, further storage or
retention of hydrocarbons will not occur
for lack of reservoir space within that
trap. The hydrocarbons spill or leak out,
and they continue to migrate until they
are trapped elsewhere.

Structural Traps A Roll-Over


Faulted Anticline Fault
Faulted Anticline Fault
Anticline
Leaks

Leak at Fault
Controls HC Level

Seals

Synclinal Leak Point


Controls HC Level

Leak Point

Leak Point

A
L12 Data Analysis

Courtesy of ExxonMobil

Structural Traps A Simple


Anticline
If HC charge is great
Synclinal Spill Point

Low

Synclinal Spill Point


Controls HC Level

Low

HCs migrate to anticline


Traps progressively fills down
When HCs reaching the trap is greater, the trap is
filled to a leak point
Here there is a synclinal leak point on the east side
of the trap
L12 Data Analysis

Courtesy of ExxonMobil

Spill point Map

Distance of petroleum migration


The lateral distance to which petroleum
can migrate has always been debated.
It is difficult parameter to measure.
Traditionally, it is done by physically
measuring the distance between the
petroleum accumulation and the
nearest mature source rock.
When oil is trapped by sand lenses
surrounding by shale, the migration
distance must have short.

Distance of petroleum migration


When oil occurs in traps with no
obvious adjacent source rock extensive
lateral migration must have occurred.
Correlation between source rock
reservoir oil can be carried out by
fingerprinting use gas chromatograph.
The recorded far distance of oil
migration is held by the west Canada
basin, where a migration distance of
more than 1000 km been calculated.

Tilt of Oil-Water Contact

Distance of petroleum migration


A new geochemical method for
caculating migration distance has
been developed by Later et.al 1996.
This is based on the regional
variation of nonalkylated
benzocorpezoles.
The method is apparently effective
irrespective of monitoring of oil.

Capillary pressure- Capillary pressure results from molecular


attraction of liquids and solid surfaces. The phenomenon results in
movement of liquids up capillary tubes. It also controls the
convexity of two fluids.
(1) Oil wet systems, the oil surface is concave relative to the water,
i.e. the oil is attracted to the solid surfaces
(2) water wet systems, the water surface is concave relative to the
oil.

Wettability

Wettability is describes the relative adhesion of two fluids to a


solid surface. It is a measure of the tendency of one of the fluids
to spread over the surface of the solid phase in preference to the
other fluid.
Wettability is controlled by the particularly minerals exposed to
the fluids, chemical constituents in the fluids and the saturation
history of the samples.
There are different degrees of wettability:

How does primary migration occur?


Major questions still as to how the HC migrate out primary
migration occurs.
The problem is that most source rocks are fine grained, and thus
generally have low permeability. The porosity of the source rocks
is generally low by the time that they are buried into the oil
generating window, which implies two things:
(1) there is little additional compaction driven migration of water
from the pore space
(2) What little permeability present originally is now gone.

Migration
Many observations indicate that HC found in reservoir beds
(porous and permeable) did nt originate there:
(1) HC form at depth through increased T and P. Must have moved
away after formation.
(2) HC found in secondary porosity- HC must have flowed in after
the porosity formed.
(3) HC typically found in the highest portion of laterally continuous
porous and permeable beds- implies upward and lateral migration
(4) Oil, gas and water are stratified according to their densities.
Implies they are free to move laterally and vertically.

STRUCTURAL HYDROCARBON TRAP

This structural trap is formed by an anticline and aFrom


normal
fault.
Schlumberger
Oilfiel

DOMAL TRAP

Are hydrocarbons in this field oil or gas?


What is the volume of hydrocarbons
In this trap?
What are the reserves?

Closure. In map view (top),


closure is the area within the
deepest structural contour that
forms a trapping geometry, in
this case 1300 ft [390 m]. In
cross section A-A', closure is the
vertical distance from the top of
the structure to the lowest
closing contour, in this case
about 350 ft [105 m]. The point
beyond which hydrocarbons
could leak from or migrate
beyond the trap is the spill point.

From Schlumberger Oilfield

Common Questions
1.Explain hydrocarbon migration from
source rock to reservoir rock.
2.Wite short notes on (A) oil seepage
(B)Spill point ( C)Tilted oil water
contact.
3.Explain the concept of buoyancy,
capillary pressure and wettability in
the process of hydrocarbon
migration.

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