[PDF] The Petroleum System From Source to Trap

The Petroleum System From Source to Trap by Leslie B. Magoon and Wallace G. Dow PDF Free Download

Foreword to The Petroleum System From Source to Trap PDF

For years, petroleum geologists, whether or not working for themselves, small or giant firms, or analysis, educational, or governmental establishments, have struggled to give you a extra dependable and logical approach to choose and describe the petroleum potential and attendant exploration dangers of undrilled prospects, performs, and basins.

The quantity you’re holding, The Petroleum System-From Source to Trap, lastly solves this downside. In a set of individually authored papers, together with case research and analogs, it describes the petroleum system strategy.

Whereas not a panacea, this thrilling, if not completely new, the strategy can considerably assist geologists consider and talk the petroleum potential and exploration dangers concerned in an space of investigation.

Maybe equally necessary, it could possibly present each the information and a logical foundation for constructive dialogue amongst petroleum geologists educated in that specific space.

As a petroleum geologist with over 40 years of expertise, I’ve seen this strategy efficiently employed.

It’s my hope that increasingly petroleum geologists all over the world won’t solely embrace and use the petroleum system strategy however will construct upon and enhance it.

Preface to The Petroleum System From Source to Trap eBook

The petroleum system idea was first developed in 1970 on the Amoco analysis laboratory in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In my first main geochemical examine, I described three “oil programs” within the Williston basin primarily based on analytical information generated by Jack Williams and the geochemical analysis group, headed by Jim Momper.

The goal was to cut back danger by predicting the most definitely locations the place oil could be discovered and the place it most definitely could be absent.

After graduating from Rutgers College in 1959 with a B.A. in geology, three years within the navy, and receiving an M.S. in geology from the College of North Dakota beneath Wilson Laird, I took a job with the Pan American Petroleum Company (now Amoco) of their Denver Division workplace.

I used to be an exploration geologist, alternating between challenge and well-site work within the northern Rocky Mountain space.

Jim Momper, a senior geologist I knew in Denver, had been transferred to the Tulsa geochemical analysis group and requested me to accumulate crude oils every time potential as a result of they wanted samples to analyze. 1 collected over 250 oil samples between 1966 and 1969, about half of which had been from the Williston Basin.

Due to my curiosity in geochemistry, Jim provided me a switch to the Tulsa Analysis Laboratory to assist him deliver geologic perception into the then-new science of petroleum geochemistry.

I accepted the problem and arrived in Tulsa with my household on a snowy New Yr’s Eve in 1969 with little thought of what the long run would deliver.

I’ve been concerned in geochemistry ever since. Jack Williams analyzed the oils I had collected utilizing strategies that had been far much less subtle than these in use right now.

The Williston basin oils had been clearly divided into three main genetic sorts with a number of subtypes and mixtures.

The oil compositional variations indicated that three separate supply rocks had been concerned. Cores from all obtainable organic-rich rocks within the basin had been solvent extracted, and the extracts had been analyzed with the identical strategies used on the oils.

Ordovician rock extracts positively correlated with the oil present in Ordovician and Silurian reservoirs rocks, Bakken shale extracts had been very related to the oils in Mississippian and Devonian reservoirs, and extracts from Tyler shales in contrast favorably to oils produced from Pennsylvanian Tyler reservoirs.

Extracts from different organic-rich rocks lacked similarity to any of the oils I had collected. These analytical outcomes and our interpretation demonstrated that oils from totally different supply rocks might be totally different and that oil-source rock correlations are geologically significant.

Within the early 1970s, it was usually recognized however largely ignored, that traps, reservoirs, seals, and supply rocks had been all required to make an oil accumulation.

Most geologists knew rather a lot about traps and reservoirs, little about seals, and nearly nothing about supply rocks.

A couple of supply rock papers had appeared within the 1960s by staff now accepted as pioneers within the field-Hunt, Philippi, Tissot, and Vassoyevich-which served as a basis for our work. We did the perfect we may in an period earlier than biomarkers, vitrinite reflectance, Rock-Eva! pyrolysis, capillary fuel chromatography, and many of the analytical strategies we take with no consideration right now.

Regardless of these difficulties, Jack’s oil-source rock correlations have survived the take a look at of time. My job was to discover methods to make this new geochemical info helpful to Amoco’s exploration effort within the Williston basin and finally to all petroleum provinces all over the world.

I reasoned that if we knew the place the oils got here from and the way they migrated, we may higher predict the place they might be discovered sooner or later. Geochemistry may then be used to high-grade areas through which to consider exploration exercise, thereby lowering danger.

The first step was to map the stratigraphic and areal distribution of every oil sort. We had been lucky to begin with the Williston basin as a result of the three oil sorts are distinct right here and the accumulations of every sort are remoted by evaporite seals.

I recognized three source-reservoir packages that I known as “oil programs” and named them after their principal supply and reservoir rocks. Every oil system had an space of mature supply rock, migration pathways, reservoirs, traps, and seals.

The idea relied on the flexibility to separate oils into genetic sorts, correlate every sort of particular supply rock, estimate the amount of oil generated and expelled from the supply rock, and map the vertical and lateral migration pathways by which the oil moved.

This examine led us to conclude that the mixture of geology and geochemistry would change into a robust exploration instrument.

We didn’t understand it on the time, however our work had predicted many of the profitable Williston Basin oil performs of the 1970s and 1980s and that little or no oil could be present in areas that we thought of excessive danger.

After presenting our work inside Amoco, we had been granted permission to share our idea with the petroleum trade. Jim Momper and I organized a session on “New Concepts: Origin, Migration, and Entrapment of Oil” for the 1972 AAPG Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado.

Jack Williams offered a paper on “Characterization of oil sorts within the Williston basin” and I adopted with a paper on ‘The Utility of oil correlation and supply rock information to exploration within the Williston Basin.” These papers had been later printed within the July 1974 AAPG Bulletin.

Our strategy of mixing geochemical information into a whole geological framework fashioned the premise for the petroleum system idea.

Subsequent work by Perrodon, Meissner, and Ulmishek developed these concepts additional and set the stage for Les Magoon’s rigorous definition and utility of the petroleum system idea, starting in 1986.

Don Mathews, vice-president of the Superior Oil Firm, heard my Williston basin paper in Denver and provided me the chance to begin a geochemical group at their analysis heart in Houston.

Superior had simply acquired a brand new kerogen maturity approach known as “vitrinite reflectance” that was getting used on the time solely by Shell and Tenneco.

One in every of our largest geochemical limitations in these days was the shortage of a dependable approach to measure the thermal maturity of natural matter impartial of kerogen sort. I instantly acknowledged the potential of this new and largely undeveloped approach, and after appreciable soul looking, I reluctantly left Amoco within the fall of 1972 to start a brand new journey.

The petroleum system idea blends petroleum geology and geochemistry collectively in a approach that may considerably enhance exploration success. It’s a instrument that has developed through the previous 25 years and can proceed to be improved sooner or later.

This e book makes our present state of information obtainable to each firm concerned within the seek for oil and fuel, and we hope many will profit from the concepts it accommodates.

For the editors, this e book has a two-fold purpose-to describe the petroleum system and to present a mechanism for evaluating migration from the energetic supply rock to the entice. Wally and I developed the petroleum system for various causes.

After commencement, I went to work for Shell Oil Firm in Los Angeles as an exploration geologist with an emphasis on petroleum geochemistry.

Though I lacked earlier expertise, as a result of I had extra chemistry than most geologists I grew to become immersed in supply rock geochemistry to perform my task, which was to take part within the analysis of the offshore lease sale space within the Santa Barbara Channel.

Once I entered Shell, the corporate was taking the geochemical analysis work of Phillippi from the laboratory to the sector.

Since little printed literature was obtainable, I relied totally on firm paperwork and a small cadre of Shell geologists and geochemists who understood supply rock geochemistry, reminiscent of John T. Smith, Adrian Maaskant, Marian Downey, Archie Hood, and John Castano, all of whom willingly shared their information with me.

The supply rock examine of the Ventura primary Santa Barbara Channel space was accomplished in 1968, and I used to be transferred to Farmington, New Mexico, then on to Denver in 1971 the place I carried out related supply rock research to help new performs in each the southern and northern Rocky Mountain states.

As well as to getting effectively web site expertise, I additionally had the chance to develop a play and consider prospects that could possibly be drilled.

With firm coaching courses, my expertise with exploration instruments and strategies, reminiscent of paleontology, wireline logs, and geophysical information, grew shortly.

In 1972 whereas in Denver, I attended the AAPG session on “New Concepts: Origin, Migration, and Entrapment of Oil.” Wally Dow offered one in every of two papers on supply rock geochemistry of the Williston Basin.

Afterward, my colleagues at Shell, and I commented on how related our approaches and interpretations had been for understanding the distribution of hydrocarbons within the Williston Basin.

On the time, I used to be working just a little farther west within the Massive Snowy trough so I may relate to their interpretation within the Williston Basin.

In late 1973, I used to be transferred to Shell Pectin and moved to Houston. In 1974, I took a job with the USGS in Menlo Park, California, and had the chance to work on the Cook dinner Inlet space in Alaska. My first task was to consider the Federal OCS of Decrease Cook dinner Inlet in preparation for an offshore lease sale.

In 1977, I used to be assigned to work on the North Slope within the newly named Nationwide Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) on an analysis effort of the beforehand named Naval Petroleum Reserve no.

4 (NPR-4). With George Claypool, we carried out an in-depth supply rock and migration examine. Round 1981, my involvement within the Arctic Nationwide Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) started.

Throughout this time, I used to be concerned in each nationwide useful resource assessments and the third was being organized. I had the privilege of taking part in Leg 77 of the Deep Sea Drilling Challenge (DSDP) within the Caribbean in December 1982.

Right here, I used to be in a position to replicate and skim a terrific deal about petroleum geochemistry.

As a result of I used to be concerned within the nationwide useful resource assessments of undiscovered oil and fuel and since I noticed how troublesome it’s to incorporate geologic info into the evaluation course of, I felt it might be worthwhile to develop a scheme that might higher serve our functions.

As a result of our group was with out reflection seismic information that would map potential hydrocarbon traps, we would have liked a way to consider the whole nation systematically with out seismic information. As well as, our geologic workers was a lot smaller and fewer centered than within the trade.

Clearly, a unique strategy than the trade used was wanted to get science into the evaluation course of.

I started by reflecting on the best way evaluations had been carried out whereas I used to be with Shell and the best way petroleum geology and geochemistry had been being offered within the literature.

By means of many discussions with colleagues, it grew to become obvious that basin research had been a catch-all phrase for any sort of labor relating to sedimentary rocks and petroleum and that supply rock and migration research had been poorly outlined.

As well as, mass steadiness calculations appeared to be the perfect strategy to decide the higher restrict of petroleum obtainable to entice, nevertheless it was unclear which elements ought to be included within the mass steadiness equation.

With the issue outlined, I offered the answer in a number of methods In 1986, I circulated internally a brochure concerning the petroleum system and the way it could possibly be used to arrange the mass steadiness equation.

That very same 12 months, I offered a poster session on the Gordon Convention on Natural Geochemistry the place Wally Dow jogged my memory that he had already outlined such an “oil system” in 1972 in Denver and that he had printed it within the AAPG Bulletin in 1974.

From 1987 to 1991, I developed the petroleum system idea and offered these concepts as a poster session through the 1987 AAPG Annual assembly in Los Angeles, on the 28th Worldwide Geological Congress in Washington, D.C., throughout 1989, and within the 1990-1991 AAPG Distinguished Lecture tour.

Wally Dow and I teamed up to co-convene the profitable oral session (by the identical identify as this quantity) for the 1991 AAPG Annual assembly in Dallas. Over this similar time interval, I’ve edited three U.S. Geological Survey Bulletins on the petroleum system.

Throughout 1992 and 1993, Wally and I’ve visited many oil firms to acquaint their staffs with the petroleum system idea.

The assist and help of many individuals, these talked about above and others, are acknowledged. Ken Chook and George Claypool have at all times been open and direct of their solutions and criticisms through the improvement of the idea.

I thank Gary Hill and Don Gautier for approving the USGS petroleum system challenge in order that I may develop the idea.

The authors and co-authors of each chapter ensured the success of this e book by permitting the editors ample latitude to incorporate the petroleum system idea.

Zenon Valin is gratefully acknowledged for his assist in proofreading every chapter and with different duties as effectively. The editors admire the reviewers, Gerard Demaison, Miner Lengthy, John T. Smith, and Peter van de Kamp, who learn and made worthwhile solutions that improved the amount.

We thank all these geoscientists who spoke up and criticized the petroleum system idea and made it extra helpful.

Lastly, the petroleum system idea will evolve as extra case research are printed, which is able to undoubtedly require that the idea be frequently improved.

The Petroleum System: From Source to Trap PDF

Author(s): Leslie B. Magoon, Wallace G. Dow

Series: AAPG Memoirs 60

Publisher: American Association Of Petroleum Geologists, Year: 1994

ISBN: 0891813381

Download The Petroleum System From Source to Trap PDF Free.