Practical Petroleum Geochemistry for Exploration and Production

Harry Dembicki

• Publisher: Elsevier
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9780128033517
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Chemical & Biochemical Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Practical Petroleum Geochemistry for Exploration and Production provides readers with a single reference that addresses the principle concepts and applications of petroleum geochemistry used in finding, evaluating, and producing petroleum deposits. Today, there are few reference books available on how petroleum geochemistry is applied in exploration and production written specifically for geologists, geophysicists, and petroleum engineers.

This book fills that void and is based on training courses that the author has developed over his 37-year career in hydrocarbon exploration and production. Specific topical features include the origin of petroleum, deposition of source rock, hydrocarbon generation, and oil and gas migrations that lead to petroleum accumulations.

Also included are descriptions on how these concepts are applied to source rock evaluation, oil-to-oil, and oil-to-source rock correlations, and ways of interpreting natural gas data in exploration work. Finally, a thorough description on the ways petroleum geochemistry can assist in development and production work, including reservoir continuity, production allocation, and EOR monitoring is presented.

Authored by an expert in petroleum geochemistry, this book is the ideal reference for any geoscientist looking for exploration and production content based on extensive field-based research and expertise.

• Emphasizes the practical application of geochemistry in solving exploration and production problems
• Features more than 200 illustrations, tables, and diagrams to underscore key concepts
• Authored by an expert geochemist that has nearly 40 years of experience in field-based research, applications, and instruction
• Serves as a refresher reference for geochemistry specialists and non-specialists alike

Chapter 1

Introduction

Abstract

This chapter begins with a description of the intent of this volume and its audience. This is followed by a brief history of the science to show how petroleum geochemistry has developed into the role it plays today in petroleum exploration and production. This is followed by some fundamental definitions, a review of some pertinent aspects of organic chemistry, and a discussion of stable isotopes to set the stage for the remainder of the book.

Keywords

Aromatic hydrocarbons; Bitumen; Condensate; Covalent bonds; Crude oil natural gas; History of petroleum geochemistry; Hydrocarbons; Kerogen; N-S-O compounds; Petroleum; Saturate hydrocarbons; Stable isotopes; δNotation

Outline

Introduction

A Brief History of Petroleum Geochemistry

Definitions

Petroleum

Geochemistry

Petroleum System

Sedimentary Organic Matter

Other Sedimentary Organic Deposits

Organic Chemistry Review

Covalent Bonds

Hydrocarbons

Aromatic Hydrocarbons

N-S-O Compounds

Asphaltenes

Reactions

Stable Isotope Review

References

Introduction

In the realm of petroleum exploration and production, the geosciences have long been referred to as G & G, geology and geophysics. However, petroleum geochemistry has long been a major contributor to finding oil and gas and deserves to be recognized as the third “G” along with geology and geophysics. It is the intent of this volume to demonstrate the importance of petroleum geochemistry by explaining how it can be applied to a variety of exploration and production problems, in both conventional and unconventional plays, and the role of petroleum geochemistry in basin modeling and petroleum systems analysis. By the end, it is hoped that the reader will think about petroleum geosciences as G, G, & G.

But before delving into the theoretical underpinnings and applications of petroleum geochemistry in subsequent chapters, this chapter will begin with a brief history of the science to provide a perspective for how it came to be what it is today. This will be followed by some fundamental definitions so the discussion can begin with some common language. The chapter will then conclude with a review of some important aspects of organic chemistry and relevant concepts in stable isotopes.

Before starting, a few sentences are needed to manage expectations. This is not a petroleum geochemistry book intended for petroleum geochemists. It is also not an exhaustive review of all the concepts and techniques of the subjects covered or all the subtle nuisances of data interpretations. Nor is it a “cookbook” with “recipes” that geologists and geophysists can use to do their own interpretations. Although many readers will be capable of doing some simple interpretations for themselves, the opportunity to make serious errors will still exist. It is instead a reference book for non-specialist geoscientists to gain a better understanding of the value and potential applications of petroleum geochemistry to their exploration and production projects. After reading this book, geologists and geophysists will be better equipped to read and understand geochemistry reports, ask probing questions of their geochemists, and apply the finding from the geochemistry reports to their exploration and/or production projects. With that in mind, let us begin.

A Brief History of Petroleum Geochemistry

Petroleum geochemistry is a relatively young science, tracing its roots back to the 1934 discovery of chlorophyll-like structures in crude oil by Albert Treibs (1934). While many petroleum geologists as early as the late 19th century believed oil was derived from organic matter in sediments, Treibs’ findings were an undeniable proof of the organic origin of crude oil (Durand, 2003). By the 1950s, major oil companies had begun research programs to learn more about oil and gas, especially how it forms and moves about in the subsurface. An indication of the importance given to petroleum geochemistry by the petroleum industry is the 1958 patent issued for a method for prospecting for petroleum using source rocks granted to Hunt and Meinert (1958).

By the early 1960s, professional societies and research conferences on organic geochemistry were established, and the first book was published that was devoted solely to this science (Breger, 1963). It was also in the 1960s that advances in analytical tools, such as the development of gas chromatography and improvements in mass spectrometry, began providing more detailed data on the distribution and structure of the organic compounds in sediments and crude oils. These new data lead to the development of the concept of biological maker compounds, or biomarker (Eglinton and Calvin, 1967), chemical fossils which would become important tools for oil–source rock correlations and oil–oil correlations.

In the late 1960s through early 1970s, major advances in understanding of the hydrocarbon generation process were made leading to the oil window concept. The need to understand the thermal maturity of sediments and the composition of the kerogen were also recognized. And migration theories were given serious attention. By the mid-1970s, the Rock-Eval instrument was developed and available (Espitalie et al., 1977). This standardized pyrolysis method for source-rock characterization and evaluation would become an industry standard in petroleum geochemistry that is still used today. The late 1970s also saw the publication of Petroleum Formation and Occurrence by Tissot and Welte (1978) and Petroleum Geochemistry and Geology by Hunt (1979), the first textbooks on petroleum geochemistry.

The 1980s brought the expansion of pyrolysis techniques, the proliferation of biomarker applications, and a better understanding of petroleum migration. It was also when basin modeling became a mainstream application. Prior work on basin modeling used over simplified time–temperature relationships, such as Connan (1974), or relied on complex calculations that required large mainframe computers. Then, Waples (1980) provided a simple method of estimating maturity based on the work of Lopatin (1971). It allowed geologists to make models using graph paper and a handheld calculator. With the concurrent introduction of personal computers, basin modeling was adapted to this new tool and quickly became a standard method for petroleum geochemistry and exploration.

Figure 1.1 An assessment of approaches to exploration, by Sluijk and Parker (1986), comparing random drilling, exploration based on trap size from geophysics, and the use of geophysics in conjunction with petroleum geochemistry.

Another significant development in the 1980s was the publication of a paper by Sluijk and Parker (1986) that addressed the value of petroleum geochemistry in exploration. As shown in Fig. 1.1, they considered three cases: random drilling, exploration based on trap size only from geophysical data, and exploration using geophysics in conjunction with petro...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1. Introduction
• Chapter 2. The Formation of Petroleum Accumulations
• Chapter 3. Source Rock Evaluation
• Chapter 4. Interpreting Crude Oil and Natural Gas Data
• Chapter 5. Reservoir Geochemistry
• Chapter 6. Surface Geochemistry
• Chapter 7. Unconventional Resources
• Chapter 8. Basin Modeling
• Chapter 9. Petroleum System Concepts and Tools
• Index