11th May, 2010

Occurrence of Petroleum:

¥ Mud volcanoes, seepages A simplest unit of commercial occurrence is

the pool. It is defined as the body of oil or gas
Mode of occurrence: or both occurring in a separate reservoir and
under a single pressure system. A pool maybe
1. Surface occurrence
small underlying only a few acres or it may be
Seepages, outcrops, wells, woks extended over many square miles. Its content
may be entirely gas or it may entirely be oil or
2. Sub-surface occurrence a combination of both.
 Minor showing
 Live Field – same geological environment
 Combination of pools (lateral or
 Dead
vertical)
When several pools are related to a single
 Commercial deposits geological feature, either structural or
 Pool stratigraphic, the group of pools is termed as a
 Field field. Individual pools comprised in a field
 Province may occur at various depths one above another
or they may be distributed laterally throughout
the geological feature.
¥ When near the reservoir, minor
showing are seen in the drilling. But it is not Province – combination of pools and fields
necessary that if minor showing are present, a  Almost same geological environment
reservoir may not be present. A petroleum province is a region in which a
¥ Indicates the presence of commercial number of oil and gas pools & fields occur in a
deposits or source rock similar or related geological environment.

Pool – small reservoir / same geological field

 Small pressure system
 Either oil or gas or combined
 Production = 50MMcf

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Surface occurrence – the oil which occurs at 12th May, 2010
the surface
 Active or Live
- Continuous movement of oil onto Seepage
the surface

Gas Cracks
 Dead or Solid
- Oil and gas are not coming onto
the surface Oil

Water

Active or Live

 Seepage / Spring  Mud volcanoes

- Faults or some passage is created - Due to eruption of plastic plate
from the reservoir to the surface - Clays erupt
- Shale also has some permeability - Higher pressure breaks upper
(though low) layers and erupts onto the surface
- If reservoir is near surface, the oil - Temperature is low compared to
and gas comes onto the surface that of magma
- Reservoirs are discovered near to - Not necessary that any
the seepage hydrocarbons come with a mud
Water spring – source by which water comes volcano
onto the surface from the subsurface (natural - Hydrocarbons comes when it
occurring) e.g. geysers, springs etc. flows through hydrocarbon
- Oil is sometimes associated with seepage
this water and comes onto the -  = few feet to hundreds of km’s
surface h = few feet to hundreds of metres
- Occurs because of eroding of - Occurs in remote areas of
layers Balochistan
- Gas occurs mostly

Erosion

Aquifer

Spring Types:
i. Seepage spring – also called filteration spring; small movement of water through the
pore spaces
ii. Fracture spring – upward movement through faults, fracture or joint
iii. Tubular spring – due to movement of water, caving takes place. When this water
reaches the surface it is called tubular spring.

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 Dead or Solid 18th May, 2010

 Disigiminated (separated) occurrence  Dykes and Veins

- Heavy hydrocarbons (asphalts) are - Shape taken by the heavy
present in the pore spaces hydrocarbons when they move.
i. Inspissated occurrence This has NO relation with the
- Dry hydrocarbons from previous intrusive structures
pools
Due to erosion, the upper layer erodes Veins – horizontal
and the pool exposes to the surface Dykes – vertical
- Gases are released and the volatile
matter moves. The heavy
hydrocarbons remain behind.

ii. Mixture of sediments and oil

- At the time of deposition, the
fossils converted into heavier
hydrocarbons

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