Hydrocarbon Traps and

Seals

Revision
What

are geological elements of petroleum

system?

What

are geological processes of petroleum

system?

How

organic matters is converted into

petroleum?

 Source Rock - A rock with abundant hydrocarbon-prone organic

matter
Reservoir Rock - A rock in which oil and gas accumulates:
- Porosity - space between rock grains in which oil accumulates
- Permeability - passage-ways between pores through
which oil and gas moves
Seal Rock - A rock through which oil and gas cannot move
effectively (such as mudstone and claystone)
Migration Route - Avenues in rock through which oil and gas
moves from source rock to trap
Trap - The structural and stratigraphic configuration that focuses
oil and gas into an accumulation

The processes

GOC
OWC

Top of oil window

Top of gas window

Generation

Expulsion

Migration

Accumulation

Preservation

Progressive Burial and Heating

Schematic Representation of the Mechanism

of Petroleum Generation and Destruction
Organic Debris
Diagenesis
Oil Reservoir
Kerogen

Initial Bitumen

Catagenesis Thermal Degradation

Oil and Gas
Cracking
Metagenesis
Carbon

(modified from Tissot and Welte, 1984)

Methane

Migration

i. Diagenesis is chemical, physical, or biological

change undergone by a sediment after its initial
deposition and during and after its lithification,
exclusive of surface alteration (weathering) and
metamorphism. These changes happen at relatively
low temperatures and pressures and result in
changes to the rock's original mineralogy and texture.
There is no sharp boundary between diagenesis and
metamorphism, but the latter occurs at higher
temperature and pressure than the former.
ii. Catagenesis
Catagenesis is the cracking process which results in
the conversion of organic kerogens into hydrocarbons

iii. Metagenesis is the last stage of maturation and

conversion of organic matter to hydrocarbons.
Metagenesis occurs at temperatures of 150 to
200C. At the end of metagenesis, methane, or
dry gas, is evolved along with nonhydrocarbon
gases such as CO2, N2, and H2S, as oil molecules
are cracked into smaller gas molecules.

What is Trap
A

trap is the place where oil and gas are barred

from further movement.(Levorsen, 1967)
.

Seals or Cap Rocks

For

a trap to have integrity, it must be overlain

by an effective seal.
Any rock that is impermeable can act as seal or
cap rock but commonly mudstone

Introduction: Oil Traps

Some rocks are permeable
and allow oil and gas to freely
pass through them

Impermeable

Other rocks are impermeable

and block the upward passage
of oil and gas
Where oil and gas rises up
and capped by impermeable
rocks it cant escape. This is
one type of an Oil Trap.
Permeable

 The permeable rocks than contain oil and gas

within the oil trap are known as the Reservoir
Rock.
Reservoir rocks have lots of interconnected
holes called pores. These allow them to absorb
the oil and gas like a sponge.

This is a highly magnified picture of

a sandy reservoir rock (water-filled
pores are shown in blue)

As oil migrates it fills up the pores

(oil-filled pores shown in black)

Earth Science World Image Bank Image #h5innl

Carbonate as Reservoir

How to find oil: Source rock, reservoir rock, traps

Hydrocarbon Traps
i. Structural traps
Structural traps are caused by structural features.
They are usually formed as a result of tectonics.
ii. Stratigraphic traps
Stratigraphic traps are usually caused by changes in
rock quality.
iii. Combination traps
Combination traps that combine more than one type of
trap are common in petroleum reservoirs.
Other

types of traps (such as hydrodynamic traps)

are usually less common.

Structural Hydrocarbon Traps

i. Fold

ii. Fault

iii. Salt Dome

iii. Salt Dome

Petroleum trapped in top of dome

Rocks above salt
dome are bowed up

Oil and gas

trapped on
sides of
impermeable
dome

Salt flows up as a weak mass

Fault Trap
Oil / Gas

Sand

Shale

In this normal fault trap, oil-bearing

sandstone is juxtaposed against
impervious shale.

Stratigraphic Hydrocarbon Traps

Stratigraphic hydrocarbon traps occur where
reservoir facies pinch into impervious rock such
as shale, or where they have been truncated by
erosion and capped by impervious layers above
an unconformity.

(modified from Bjorlykke, 1989)

Other Traps

Meteoric
Water

Asphalt Trap

In hydrodynamic
traps, the
hydrocarbon is
trapped by the action
of water movements.

Biodegraded
Tilted contacts are
Oil/Asphalt
Partly
Biodegraded Oil

Water

Hydrodynamic Trap

common in this case.

The water usually
comes from a source
such as rain falls or
rivers.
Hydrostatic
Head

Shale
Water

Oil
(modified from Bjorlykke, 1989)

Summary

Questions?