PETROLEUM

EXPLORATION
(EGE4222)
Noorzamzarina binti Sulaiman
PETROLEUM GEOCHEMISTRY

Petroleum geochemistry is concerned with

the geological evolution of the very
substances making up the sedimentary rocks:
formation of kerogen (fossilized sedimentary
organic matter), followed by its decomposition
into hydrocarbons; fluid migration;
hydrocarbon transformations within the
reservoirs; transformations of the mineral
suite of the reservoirs and their petrophysical
consequences.

The tools of geochemistry are measurement techniques,

as well as conceptual and numerical models constructed
in particular through the extrapolation of the laboratory
experiments.
 Geochemistry in Petroleum Exploration

• Understanding petroleum origin and

processes controlling fluids behavior to
improve exploration success and
production efficiency.

• Petroleum geochemistry improves

exploration efficiency by accounting for
many of the variables that control the
volumes of crude oil and natural gas
available for entrapment, including;
• source-rock distribution,
• richness and quality,
• thermal maturity, and
• the timing of generation-migration-
accumulation relative to trap
formation.

• It is most powerful when used with other

disciplines, such as seismic sequence Petroleum geochemistry improves forecasting efficiency
stratigraphy and reservoir characterization.
Geochemical Methods in PETROLEUM
EXPLORATION
APPLICATIONS OF GEOCHEMISTRY TO
PETROLEUM EXPLORATION
The contribution of organic geochemistry to petroleum exploration
includes three main aspects:
Source rock potential?

Thermal maturity?
01.
Kitchen area?
Source rock appraisal
Migration pathway?

02. Involves biomarkers

Analysis of hydrocarbon Depositional
occurrences environment?
Origin? Family group?

03.
The comparison between source Involves biomarker &
rock organic matter and oil/gas isotope
composition Source
Genetic relationship
source rock vs derived
hydrocarbon?
 01. SOURCE ROCK APPRAISAL
Screening methods includes:
• Once the complete stratigraphy sequence
TOC measurements
is available from well and outcrops,
representative geochemical information • Leco , Carmhograph, Rock- Eval

should be obtained. Rock- Eval pyrolysis

• Analytical tools should be simple enough • Evaluate the petroleum potential of a source rock at
to enable large numbers of samples to be present

analysed automatically at low cost. • Evaluate the type of organic matter

• The SR characteristic are currently • Evaluate thermal evolution of organic matter (Tmax
method)
measured by simple analyses which are
often called “ screening analyses”. Combined thermal extraction and pyrolysis gas
chromatography
• Samples: rock samples ( soluble
(bitumen) or insoluble OM (Kerogen). • Give detailed analyses of hydrocarbons already
present in a rock. And hydrocarbon remaining to be
generated ( obtained by the pyrolysis of the
The screening method should answer questions such as: kerogen.
i. Is a rock a potential or an affective source rock?
Head space gas analyses
ii. What type of organic matter does it contain (Lacustrine
algal type 1, marine type II, or terrestrial/deltaic type III)? • Characterise source rock within the oil/gas window;
iii. What is the remaining potential? this allow comparison of gas coming from source
iv. What is the stage of thermal evolution of the sample? rock with those present in the drilling mud or tested
from reservoir.

These methods should give results quickly enough to help in the decision making
such as the decision to stop drilling of well or even the exploration of a basin
 SOURCE ROCK APPRAISAL

Source Rock?

Effective Possible Potential

Already Many have Immature
generated generated type, need
and expelled and expelled more thermal
hydrocarbon hydrocarbons maturity to
Source generate and
potential has expel
not yet been hydrocarbons
evaluated

TOC% indicates the richness

of organic matter in the rock Peter & Cassa (1994)
 SOURCE ROCK APPRAISAL

Thermal maturity
Quality of Organic matter

• The Rock-Eval instrument provides

a fast determination of the type and
evolution stage of kerogen,
together with a direct evaluation of
hydrocarbon source potential.
• Kerogen Type I,II,III,IV (modified Van
Krevelen diagram)

• Maturity parameters are measured by screening

tools such as the Tmax of the Rock-Eval,
supplemented by optical measurements
(Vitrinite reflectance, thermal alteration index,
fluorescence) and stereoisomers.
Tmax
Represents the temperature at which the
maximum amount of hydrocarbons degraded
from kerogen are generated
Rock Eval Pyrolysis

Output
 MOLECULAR GEOCHEMISTRY IN
PETROLEUM EXPLORATION

• Biomarkers are a group of compounds,

primarily hydrocarbons, found in oils, rock
extracts, Recent sediment extracts, and soil
extracts.

• Biomarkers are structurally similar to, and

are diagenetic alteration products of,
specific natural products (compounds
produced by living organisms).

• Typically, biomarkers retain all or most of

the original carbon skeleton of the original
natural product, and this structural
similarity is what leads to the term
"molecular fossils".