Dr. Abdullah S. Ebrahim

Basic Petroleum Technology

Objective

To give a non-technical and overall view of the petroleum industry.

To familiarize the audience with the basic concepts of the petroleum technologies.

To present general information that will help the audience to understand the complex world of oil and gas.

Course Outline

Definition of the petroleum Industries

Upstream Petroleum Industry

Downstream Petroleum Industry

Definition of the Petroleum Industry

The petroleum industry may be defined as:

The industry that deals with: The exploration of petroleum Reaching the petroleum reserves Producing the petroleum fluid to the surface Treating the petroleum fluid at the surface Transporting the petroleum fluid to the refinery and

export facilities Refining crude oil Producing raw material through petrochemical plants

Petroleum Industry

Upstream Petroleum

Geology Geophysics Drilling Reservoir

Management Production and

Production Operation

Downstream Petroleum

Crude Oil Transportation

Petroleum Refining Petrochemical Plants

Basic Concepts of Geology

The earth is 4.5 billion years old.

The earth consists of:

A solid inner core An outer liquid core Mantle Rocky crust

Basic Concepts of Geology

Plate Tectonics Geologists believe that

the crusts is an assemblage of huge plates that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle

Plates or (pieces of earth crust) move, slide past one another

Plates collide with or pull away from each other

Basic Petroleum Geology

Crustal Plates Oceanic Crust

Lies under the oceans

Thin (8-11 KM) Heavy rock

Continental Crust Thick (16-48 KM) Relatively lighter

Basic Petroleum Geology

Example of moving plates

Plates moving a way from each other Middle of the Atlantic

Ocean As a result, The

Americas plates are moving west and forcing the Pacific Plate down into the mantle

Thus, Earthquake and volcanoes occur

Basic Petroleum Geology

Example of moving plates

Continental Plates colliding with each other The Himalayan

mountains formed when India smashed into Asia

Basic Petroleum Geology Geologic Structures

Folds are defined as rock

strata that have crumpled and buckled into wave like structures

Folds Types Anticlines Syncline Dome

Folds

Basic Petroleum Geology Geologic Structures

Dome Is a short anticline

with its crest plunging downward in all directions

Basin Is a syncline that

dips downward toward a common center

Basic Petroleum Geology Geologic Structures

Faults Is a break in the

rock layer that results in movement of the split rock layers with reference to each other

Faults

Faults Type Normal and

Reverse Faults

Over thrust and Lateral Faults

Growth Faults

Basic Petroleum Geology Geologic Structures

Basic Petroleum Geology

Types of Rock Igneous Rocks

Are the rocks that form when the magma cools Sedimentary Rocks

Are the rocks that form in horizontal layers from sediments

Metamorphic Rocks Are either sedimentary or igneous rocks buried deep

in the earth, subjected to high pressure and temperature that alters its composition and appearance

The Rock Cycle

Petroleum Generation

Organic Theory Oil is formed from the

remains of plants and animals

Small animals died and were deposited on sea floor

As time goes by, more layers of sediments deposited on top of the animals

Due to the high pressure and temperature, the animals were transformed into oil and gas

The Chemistry of Hydrocarbon

Hydrocarbons Are chains of

carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms attached to them

Light hydrocarbon Methane Gas

Heavy Hydrocarbon Asphaltene and

Waxes

Important Rock Properties

Porosity Is the percentage of

void (empty) spaces within the rocks

Permeability Is the ability of the

rock to transmit fluid through it

Migration of Petroleum

Hydrocarbon Migration Is the movement (migration) of hydrocarbons

from the source rock to a different place via a carrier rock

Source Rock Is the rock in which hydrocarbon was

generated Carrier Rock

Are the permeable rock layers or formations that allows the hydrocarbon to move

through it

Petroleum Accumulation

Hydrocarbon continues to migrate unless something (A TRAP) stops it.

Trap Is an arrangement of rock layers that

prevent the hydrocarbons from migrating and results in hydrocarbon accumulation

• Traps come in different sizes, shapes and types

Traps Types

Structural Traps Occur when the

reservoir formation deforms

Stratigraphic Traps

Are those where porosity or permeability has changed within a formation

Traps Types

Structural Traps

Anticline

Fault

Structural Traps

Salt Dome

Stratigraphic Trap

Unconformity

Sand Lenses

Reservoir Fluids

Fluid is any substance that can flow.Reservoir rock usually contains three fluids: Oil, Gas, and Salt Water.These fluids can be mixed together or layered.

Reservoir Fluid (Water)

Sedimentary rocks originally were saturated with water.

Hydrocarbons displaced some of the water from the pores.

The water that remained in the pores with the oil is called connate water.

Reservoirs have additional free water that accumulates along with hydrocarbon.

Reservoir Fluid (Water)

Free water helps in driving the oil out of the reservoir.

Bottom Water Edge Water

Wetting water usually coats the grains of the reservoir rock.

Reservoir Fluid (Oil)

Oil is lighter than water.

Oil rarely wets the sand grains.

Reservoir Fluid (Natural Gas)

Solution Gas Gas is dissolved in oil at

high pressure and relatively low temperature

Free Gas (Gas Cap) Free gas accumulates

on top of the oil Oil is fully saturated

with dissolved gas

Reservoir Pressure

Normal Pressure If reservoir is connected

to the surface

Abnormal Pressure If the reservoir is not

connected to the surface

Artesian effect (oil and gas are trapped) but water is connected to the surface

Petroleum Exploration

Surface Methods

Oil Seeps Oil can be seen at

the surface

Gas Seeps Evidence of gas is

found at the surface (Eternal Fires of Persia)

More obvious in the water

Surface Method

Surface Geology Anticlines or domes can be seen at the surface

Aerial Photograph Shows fault pattern in the photographed area Disadvantages

Expensive Requires taking several photos from different angles

Remote Sensing (Satellite) Shows the surface structure pattern of an area

Geophysical Surveys

Igneous Rock

Sedimentary Rock Thickness

Surface

Depth

Geophysical Surveys

Gravity Determines the

subsurface structure shape

For example Anticlines, Domes and Salt Domes

Geophysical Surveys

A seismic survey is usually the last exploration step before drilling the well.

It is the most expensive exploration method.

Seismic surveys account for 90% of the budget spent in petroleum exploration.

It provides precise details on the formations beneath the earth surface.

Seismic Survey

The steps for conducting a seismic survey are as follows:

• Create seismic waves from an energy source• The waves strike the rock layers. Part of it will

be reflected while the other part will travel to other layers

• Sensors called “Geophones” pick up the reflected waves and send them through cables to a recorder

• The recorder amplifies the waves to produce a seismogram

• Seismograms generate the seismic section

Seismic Survey

Seismic Survey

Seismic Sections represent a two-dimensional view of the subsurface.

Seismic Survey

Three-Dimensional seismic provides a complete (Cube) picture of an area below the surface.A plane can be sliced in any direction.Four-Dimensional seismic is a repeated 4-D seismic through time.

It determines the change in the fluid level with respect to time

Geological Structure Modeling

Geological Structure Modeling

Geological Structure Modeling

Geological Structure Modeling