NATS 1750 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Petroleum Reservoir, Salt Dome, Kerogen
30 Dec 2019
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Lecture 11: fossil fuels and mineral resources [chapter 11; riches in rock] Oil is a syrupy liquid composed of hydrocarbon molecules. Hydrocarbon reserve = significant quantities of extractable oil and gas. The process of hydrocarbon formation begins when organic debris settles with clay. As these materials are buried by additional sediment, heat, and pressure transform them into organic shale, in which the organic matter becomes kerogen. At even higher temperatures, kerogen transforms into oil and gas, which can seep upward. Because it is buoyant relative to groundwater, the oil migrates into the overlying reservoir rock. The oil accumulates beneath sea rock in a trap. Anticline trap : oil and gas rise to the crest of the fold. Fault trap : oil and gas collect in tilted strata adjacent to the fault. Stratigraphic trap : oil and gas collect where the reservoir-rock layer pinches out.
