Methods and Applications in Petroleum and Mineral Exploration and Engineering Geology

Methods and Applications in Petroleum and Mineral Exploration and Engineering Geology is an interdisciplinary book bridging the fields of earth sciences and engineering. It covers topics on natural resources exploration as well as the application of geological exploration methods and techniques to engineering problems. Each topic is presented through theoretical approaches that are illustrated by case studies from around the globe. Methods and Applications in Petroleum and Mineral Exploration and Engineering Geology is a key resource for both academics and professionals, offering both practical and applied knowledge in resources exploration and engineering geology.

• Features new exploration technologies including seismic, satellite images, basin studies, geochemical modeling and analysis
• Presents cases studies from different countries such as the Hoggar area (Algeria), Urals and Siberia (Russia), North of Chile (II and III regions), and North of Italy (Trentino Alto adige)
• Includes applications of the novel methods discussed

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Release date: Jun 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9780323856188

Book preview

Section 1

Petroleum exploration

Outline

1 Review chapter on petroleum exploration section

2 Microseeps as pathfinder and regional filtering tool in petroleum exploration

3 Correlation of stable carbon isotope, reflectance, and total organic carbon that help provide a new stratigraphic framework for defining Desmoinesian and Atokan sediments in the Denver and Cherokee basins in the Mid-continent United States

4 A review about recent seismic techniques in shale-gas exploration

5 Evaluation of the pilot waterflood at Arikaree Creek Field case study for enhancing oil recovery from a low temperature hydrothermal unconventional carbonate reservoir

6 Analysis of production and geology of unconventional Mississippian carbonate reservoirs in the Mid-continent of the United States

7 Study of nonlinear acoustic processes inside a cracked rock influenced by dynamical loading

8 Applications of shear waves in modern seismic technology: overview and examples

9 The low-velocity zone in the crystalline crust of the NW Black Sea shelf as a potential regional methane trap of the thermobaric type

10 Peculiarities of convection and oil maturation in 3D porous medium structure

11 Empirical mode decomposition-based approaches for predicting velocity well logs in a petroleum reservoir

12 New bidimensional empirical mode decomposition-based seismic attributes

13 Local regularity investigation of well logs from an Algerian tight reservoir

1

Review chapter on petroleum exploration section

Said Gaci,    Sonatrach-Algerian Petroleum Institute (IAP), Boumerdes, Algeria

Abstract

Nowadays, the decrease in the world oil/gas reserves is a major challenge for both energy producers and consumers. Therefore, thorough exploration and production strategies are highly requested to sustain the world energy production level. In this view, there is an increasing need to explore in new ways and to leverage new technologies, which is the focus of this section of the book. Different topics are illustrated by case studies from around the globe. Chapters 2 and 3 develop the benefit of geochemistry in petroleum exploration, while Chapters 4, 5 and 6 are devoted to unconventional reservoirs. Besides, new geophysical prospecting technologies are presented in Chapters 7 and 8. Finally, Chapters 9–13 showcase approaches and numerical methods used for investigating data to understand petroleum reservoirs.

Keywords

geochemistry; unconventional reservoirs; nonlinear acoustic processes; shear waves; low velocity zone; porous medium; natural convection; empirical mode decomposition; local regularity

Geochemistry

Chapter 2, Microseeps as pathfinder and regional filtering tool in petroleum exploration. Steven A. Tedesco

Chapter 3, Correlation of stable carbon isotope, reflectance, and total organic carbon that help provide a new stratigraphic framework for defining Desmoinesian and Atokan sediments in the Denver and Cherokee basins in the Mid-continent United States. Steven A. Tedesco

Unconventional reservoirs

Chapter 4, A review about recent geophysical techniques in shale gas exploration. Mohammed Farfour, Said Gaci, Mohammed El-Ghali, and Mohamed Mostafa

Chapter 5, Evaluation of the pilot waterflood at Arikaree Creek Field case study for enhancing oil recovery from a low temperature hydrothermal unconventional carbonate reservoir. Steven A. Tedesco

Chapter 6, Analysis of production and geology of unconventional Mississippian carbonate reservoirs in the Mid-continent of the United States. Steven A. Tedesco

New technologies

Chapter 7, Study of nonlinear acoustic processes inside a cracked rock influenced by dynamical loading. Veniamin Dryagin

Chapter 8, Applications of shear waves in modern seismic technology: overview and examples. Mohammed Farfour and Said Gaci

Approaches and numerical methods

Chapter 9, The low-velocity zone in the crystalline crust of the NW Black Sea shelf as a potential regional methane trap of the thermobaric type. Valery Korchin and Oleg Rusakov

Chapter 10, Peculiarities of convection and oil maturation in 3D porous medium structure. Yurie Khachay and Mansur Mindubaev

Chapter 11, Empirical mode decomposition-based approaches for predicting velocity well logs in a petroleum reservoir. Said Gaci and Mohamed Farfour

Chapter 12, New bidimensional empirical mode decomposition-based seismic attributes. Said Gaci and Mahamed Farfour

Chapter 13, Local regularity investigation of well logs from an Algerian tight reservoir. Said Gaci and Orietta Nicolis

In Chapter 2, Microseeps as Pathfinder and Regional Filtering Tool in Petroleum Exploration, Tedesco discusses the aid of microseeps in petroleum exploration. As shown in previous research (Tedesco, 1995), the use of surface geochemistry can enhance the probability of success from 10% to 60%. Surface geochemistry offers valuable information regarding the presence or absence of hydrocarbons in the soil strata that have migrated from the subsurface. However, it is noteworthy to underline that the presence of a surface geochemical anomaly does not always forecast a productive discovery, but hydrocarbons are generally encountered. Surface geochemistry provides very helpful exploration information when combined with collected data inferred from subsurface and seismic methods.

Following on previous researches (Tedesco, 2010; Heckel, 2013) on Middle Pennsylvanian Marmaton, Cherokee, and Atoka Groups in the Mid-continent United States, Tedesco in Chapter 3, Correlation of Stable Carbon Isotope, Reflectance, and Total Organic Carbon That Help Provide a New Stratigraphic Framework for Defining Desmoinesian and Atokan Sediments in the Denver and Cherokee Basins in the Mid-continent United States, demonstrates that stable carbon isotope, total organic carbon, and degree of pyritization (DOP) data can be used to sketch a chronostratigraphic correlation and paleoenvironmental reconstruction for these sedimentary rocks. DOP results suggest that the Atoka and Middle Marmaton were deposited under oxic to suboxic conditions, while the upper Cherokee and lower Marmaton represent euxinic environments where they were sampled.

Shale gas has become an increasingly significant source of natural gas in the world. It is one of the most popular unconventional hydrocarbon types. In contrast with conventional resources, shale gas reservoirs are very extensive, with low values of porosity and permeability. In addition, they are associated with high anisotropy, which considerably impacts seismic signatures of gas-bearing shales. In this regard, sophisticated seismic prospecting techniques have been developed to take over this particular shale gas property. Chapter 4, A Review About Recent Geophysical Techniques in Shale Gas Exploration, reviews the latest techniques in acquisition, special data processing, interpretation techniques, and reservoir characterization workflows and presents a case study from the Barnett shale reservoir, located in South Texas, United States.

Chapter 5, Evaluation of the Pilot Waterflood at Arikaree Creek Field Case Study for Enhancing Oil Recovery From a Low Temperature Hydrothermal Unconventional Carbonate Reservoir, showcases a case history of reservoir management and planning of the Arikaree Field located in Denver Basin. The field produces from a low-temperature hydrothermal dolomite reservoir presenting a high variability in porosity, permeability, and continuity. Discovered in 2012, the field underwent conversion of some of the existing producers to injectors. The waterflood pattern failed because many factors that were known before flooding, such as no effective bottom seal, extensive fracturing and faulting throughout the reservoir, water chemistry issues, and compartmentalization of the reservoir, were not taken into account. This experiment showed the unsuitability of implementing a waterflood in low-temperature dolomite reservoirs that are highly fractured and compartmentalized.

In Chapter 6, Analysis of Production and Geology of Unconventional Mississippian Carbonate Reservoirs in the Mid-continent of the United States, a case study taken from unconventional Mississippian carbonate reservoirs, located in Oklahoma and Kansas, Mid-continent United States, is discussed. Production data and geology aspects related to these regional unconventional resources are analyzed. The unsatisfactory results obtained generally from drilled wells are explained by the underappreciation of some negative reservoir characteristics (such as under-pressure exploitation causing problems with fracture stimulation) and the high variability and discontinuity of the Mississippian reservoirs geology characterized by a system with a predominance of water compared to fluids (oil and gas); this factor makes it difficult to predict the stratigraphy and reservoirs properties of the Mississippian carbonates. The results in these reservoirs present an insightful case study illustrating the unavailability of ample data to determine the viability of resource plays before drilling wells.

Chapter 7, Study of Nonlinear Acoustic Processes Inside a Cracked Rock Influenced by Dynamical Loading, developed by V. Dryagin, addresses the results of a seismo-acoustic emission occurring in a porous geological medium under external influences. It also discusses acoustic emission arising in core samples from reservoirs of oil fields as well as in boreholes. The suggested research demonstrates that this emission is wide-scale in amplitude and frequency. In addition, the regularity of the emission processes exhibits discrete spectra of signals analogous to oscillations of nonlinear coupled oscillators. The spectra obtained show special characteristics for each type of rock. To conclude, the analysis of these emission processes can provide valuable information on the filtration-capacitive properties of productive reservoirs presenting a fractured porous type.

Chapter 8, Applications of Shear Waves in Modern Seismic Technology: Overview and Examples, presented by M. Farfour and S. Gaci, showcases the different applications of shear waves in understanding and characterizing hydrocarbon reservoirs across basins worldwide. First a historical overview on wave technology is given. Then basic notions on S-wave technology and its main applications for hydrocarbon reservoir characterization are discussed, and its latest worldwide applications are underlined to demonstrate the benefits of this technique. Recently, experiments showed that S-wave can be extracted from P-wave data recorded by conventional single component geophones, when S-wave recordings are not available.

Chapter 9, The Low-Velocity Zone in the Crystalline Crust of the NW Black Sea Shelf As a Potential Regional Methane Trap of the Thermobaric Type, discusses a potential regional methane trap of the thermobaric type, specifically the low-velocity zones (LVZs) in the crystalline crust of the NW Black Sea shelf. These anomalies have been identified by previous seismic studies conducted on this region in the crystalline crust at depths of 7–20 km (Baranova et al., 2011). They are associated with high porous rocks in the faults, which may contain hydrocarbons in upwelling deep fluids. However, their corresponding low seismic velocity values cannot be explained by their tectonic process and the concentration of hydrocarbons in these domains (Korchin, 2013). To better understand this issue, research was conducted to describe in general terms how the multidirectional effect of temperature and pressure can form these LVZs (Rusakov and Korchin, 2015). The contribution of Chapter 9 is to develop a complete thermobaric process for the formation of the LVZs in the crystalline crust on the NW Black Sea shelf at depths, appropriate for migration and localization of inorganic methane. This mechanism is constructed using information on seismic cross sections, geothermal models, and petrophysics of high pressures and temperatures.

The assessment of the prospectivity of oil and gas in a sedimentary basin is not based only on geological and geophysical studies but also integrates the thermal influences on the maturation of the organic matter (Galushkin, 2007). It is worth noting that the heterogeneity of permeability distribution of the reservoir rock and the convection structure result in temperature heterogeneity and different degrees of maturity for the oil source. Chapter 10, Peculiarities of Convection and Oil Maturation in 3D Porous Medium Structure, presents numerical simulations in two and three dimensions of free convection in order to analyze the effect of convection on the estimated volume of the parent rock that has undergone catalysis and the amount of oil formed. It is also demonstrated the key role of the convection in a porous medium, and the most effective operating conditions can be computed for each structure of the deposit.

In Chapter 11, Empirical Mode Decomposition-Based Approaches for Predicting Velocity Well Logs in a Petroleum Reservoir, S. Gaci and M. Farfour present empirical mode decomposition-based techniques for predicting velocity well logs in a petroleum reservoir. The basic idea is to forecast S-wave velocity (Vs) logs from P-wave velocity (Vp) logs using a supervised learning model, specifically multiple-layer perceptron artificial neural network whose output is the predicted Vs values at the different depths, while the inputs are logs derived from different decomposition techniques: empirical mode decomposition (EMD), ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), and complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition (CEEMD) combined with the Hölderian regularity-based fine-to-coarse reconstruction (HR-FCR) algorithm (Gaci, 2017). Obtained results demonstrate that the combination of CEEMD and HR-FCR algorithm provides the most efficient technique for predicting Vs logs from Vp logs.

In previous research in seismic interpretation (Gaci, 2018), the EMD-based methods have been used successfully to derive seismic attributes. In this regard, Chapter 12, New Bidimensional Empirical Mode Decomposition-Based Seismic Attributes, suggests seismic time-frequency analysis based on the bidimensional empirical mode decomposition (2D-EMD). The 2D-EMD method decomposes a bidimensional signal into intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) (or modes) (Nunes et al., 2003). Application on Algerian seismic datasets illustrates that meaningful attributes, explicitly instantaneous Hilbert spectral amplitude attributes, extracted from the calculated IMFs, help identify subtle hydrocarbon traps that cannot be detected by the conventional attributes.

In Chapter 13, Local Regularity Investigation of Well Logs From an Algerian Tight Reservoir, S. Gaci and O. Nicolis introduce multifractals to analyze the scaling properties of well logs recorded within an Algerian tight reservoir. This study consists of investigating the local singular behavior of data by using multifractional and fractal techniques. The results demonstrate that the suggested technique might bring additional information to understand the reservoir.

References

Baranova et al., 2011 Baranova E, Yegorova T, Omelchenko V. Discovery of a waveguide in the basement of the NW Black Sea shelf from the results of the reinterpretation of the DSS material along profiles 25 and 26. Geophys J. 2011;6:15–28 (in Russian).

Gaci, 2017 Gaci S. A novel model to estimate S-wave velocity integrating Hölderian regularity, empirical mode decomposition, and multilayer perceptron neural networks, Chapter 12. In: Gaci S, Hachay O, eds. Oil and Gas Exploration: Methods and Application. American Geophysical Union 2017;181–200.

Gaci, 2018 Gaci S. Time-Frequency Attributes Based on Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition Leading Edge 2018.

Galushkin, 2007 Galushkin, Y., 2007. Modeling of sedimentary basin and estimation their Oil and gas potential. Moscow: Nauchniy Mir. p. 456. (in Russian).

Heckel, 2013 Heckel PH. Pennsylvanian stratigraphy of Northern Midcontinent Shelf and biostratigraphic correlation of cyclothems. Stratigraphy. 2013;10(1–2):3–39.

Korchin, 2013 Korchin V. Thermobarics of Crustal Low Velocity Zones (a New Scientific Hypothesis) LAP Lambert Academic Publishing 2013;280 (in Russian).

Nunes et al., 2003 Nunes JC, Bouaoune Y, Delechelle E, Niang O, Bunel P. Image analysis by bidimensional empirical mode decomposition. Image Vis Comput. 2003;21(12):1019–1026 2003.

Rusakov and Korchin, 2015 Rusakov, O., Korchin, V., 2015. Origin and localization of abiogenic methane in the crystalline crust of the northwestern Black Sea. In: Materials of the 4th All—Russian Conference on Deep Origin of Oil Kudryavtsev’s Reading, CGE, CD (in Russian).

Tedesco, 1995 Tedesco SA. Surface Geochemistry in Petroleum Exploration New York: Chapman and Hall; 1995;206 ISBN 978-1-4615-2660-.

Tedesco, 2010 Tedesco, S.A., 2010. The petroleum potential of the Pennsylvanian age Atoka and Cherokee age carbonaceous shales in the Denver basin. AAPG Search and Discovery #90106 – AAPG Rocky Mountain Section, Durango, CO 13–16 June 2010.

Further reading

Burner and Smosna, 2011 Burner, K., Smosna, R., 2011. A Comparative Study of the Mississippian Barnett Shale, Fort Worth Basin, and Devonian Marcellus Shale, Appalachian Basin. U.S. Department of Energy. DOE/NETL-2011/1478.

Chopra and Castagna, 2014 Chopra, S., Castagna, J.P., 2014. AVO. Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

Dryagin et al., 2014 Dryagin, V., Ivanov D., Nigmatullin D., Shumilov A., 2014. Seismoacoustic emission of a productive formation in the technology of detection and extraction of hydrocarbons. Geophysics (4), 54–59. (in Russian).

Ensley, 1984 Ensley RA. Comparison of P- and S-wave seismic data: a new method for detecting gas reservoirs. Geophysics. 1984;49:1420–1431.

Far and Hardage, 2014 Far, M., Hardage, B., 2014. Interpretation of fractures and stress anisotropy in Marcellus Shale using multicomponent seismic data. 2, 4, SE105–SE115.

Gaci et al., 2010 Gaci, S., Zaourar, N., Hamoudi, M., Holschneider, M., (2010) Local regularity analysis of strata heterogeneities from sonic logs. Nonlin. Process. Geophys., 17, pp. 455–466. Available from: www.nonlin-processes-geophys.net/17/455/2010/doi:10.5194/npg-17-455-2010.

Mazullo and Wilhite, 2015 Mazullo, S.J., Wilhite, B., 2015. New insights into lithostratigraphic architecture of subsurface lower to middle Mississippian Petroliferous Strata in Southern Kansas and Northern Oklahoma, AAPG, Search and Discovery Article 51198.

Ouenes, 2012 Ouenes, A., 2012. Seismically driven characterization of unconventional shale plays. 37, 18–24.

Price and Grammer, 2015 Price, B., Grammer, M., 2015. Sequence stratigraphic control on distribution and porosity evolution in cherts in the mississippian of the mid-continent, AAPG, Search and Discovery Article 51123.

Suriamin and Pranter, 2017 Suriamin, F., Pranter, M.J., 2017. Stratigraphic and facies control on porosity and pore types of Mississippian limestone and chert reservoirs. AAPG, Search and Discovery Article #11058, 30 September–3 October, Oklahoma City, OK.

Tedesco, 2012 Tedesco, S.A., 2012. The Pennsylvanian Desmoinesian mudstone and carbonates reservoirs in Southern Denver Basin, Amer. Assoc. Petro. Geologists, Search and Discovery Article #90156©2012 AAPG Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, 9–12 September 2012, Grand Junction, CO.

Tedesco, 2014 Tedesco, S.A., 2014. Integrated approach using subsurface geology, aeromagnetics, surface geochemistry and 3-D seismic in discovering new conventional reservoirs. AAPG, search and discovery article #41494. In: AAPG International Conference & Exhibition, 14–17 September, Istanbul, Turkey.

Tedesco, 2015 Tedesco, S.A., 2015. Seismic interpretation of the Arikaree Creek Field, Denver Basin, Lincoln County, Colorado, potential new play type in the Denver Basin, AAPG, search and discovery article #10790. In: Mid-Continent Section Meeting in Tulsa, 4–6 October, OK.

Vilchinskaya and Nikolaevsky, 1984 Vilchinskaya, N., Nikolaevsky, V., 1984. Acoustic emission and spectrum of seismic signals. Izvestiya of the Academy of Sciences, USSR. Ser. Physics of the Earth. No 5. pp. 91–100. (in Russian).

Watney, 2015 Watney, W.L., 2015. A maturing Mississippian lime play in the mid-continent – a perspective on what we know and need to know. AAPG, search and discovery article 80445.

Wendt et al., 2009 Wendt et al., 2009. Wavelet leader multifractal analysis for texture classification. Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Image Proc. (ICIP), pp. 3829–3832.

2

Microseeps as pathfinder and regional filtering tool in petroleum exploration

Steven A. Tedesco,    Atoka Inc., Centennial, CO, United States

Abstract

Microseeps are the nonvisual forms of macroseeps that are detected by use of radiometric, chemical, and magnetic methods in the soil substrate. These methods are typically referred to as surface geochemical surveys that are typically limited to the upper 20 feet (6 m) of the soil or bedrock section. Offshore surface geochemistry has been used by detecting hydrocarbon microseeps in the water column or analyzing cores from the upper 3 to 10 ft (1–3 m) of the sea floor substrate. Surface geochemistry can be an integral part in finding petroleum reservoirs when used in conjunction with subsurface and seismic data. Surface geochemical methods are based on the concept that vertically migrating hydrocarbons move from a reservoir to the surface along micropores, microfractures, and microunconformities. These fluids migrate as the result of simple physics of a liquid or gas under pressure moving towards an area of ever decreasing pressure. The petroleum fluids and gases eventually enter the soil substrate and react with existing oxides, carbonates, metals, plants, bacteria, water, and clays. The migrating hydrocarbons cause changes in Eh, pH, deposition of or removal or deposition of radioactive, halogen, and carbonate minerals. Petroleum compounds such as methane and ethane will escape into the atmosphere, and heavier ones may stay in the oil substrate unit and be degraded by bacteria. Both the mining and environmental industries use surface geochemical methods to detect buried ore deposits or areas of contamination. The mining industry is using soil gas methods to define ore deposits affiliated with organic material whether organic shales, bitumen, or live petroleum. The environmental industry uses various forms of soil gas methods as well as analyzing for halogenated hydrocarbons, specifically iodine, to delineate and define contaminated areas. One of the pressing questions for an explorationist is whether a target defined by subsurface geology or 3D or 2D seismic contains hydrocarbons. The only direct method of determining the presence or absence of hydrocarbons prior to drilling is detecting the presence of macro or microseeps.

Keywords

Petroleum; exploration; surface geochemistry; iodine; soil gas; microseeps; macroseeps

2.1 Introduction

The history of oil is the history of civilization. Macroseeps have been part of a variety of cultures and societies for a few thousand years (Fig. 2.1). The use of oil from visible seeps has provided local forms of energy for lighting, sealing agents for waterproofing, and medical applications. They can be active in terms of bubbling of gases or movable oil such, as the La Brea tar pits in California, or as immobile and residues.

Figure 2.1 Naturally occurring oil seep near McKittrick, California, United States ( Wikipedia, 2020).

The mechanism for each seep and source is dependent upon local tectonic, migration, and petroleum-accumulation history. Eighty percent of the largest fields in the world are believed to have associated macroseeps. The mechanism for macroseeps is ongoing fluid migration from the petroleum accumulation along open faults and fractures until reaching an outlet at the surface. The driving mechanism of fluid migration is due to fluids and gases going toward the area of least pressure.

Microseeps are detectable only by using laboratory or mobile detectors that report in the parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb) range. The sensitivity of the detectors is critical to the ability to determine the presence or absence of microseepage. The detection of hydrocarbons in micro levels is exasperated because lighter hydrocarbons, which are the most mobile, can be subject to rapid variations of concentrations at sample sites. The primary medium for detecting these hydrocarbons is in the soil strata on land and sediments on the sea