Practical Petroleum Geochemistry for Exploration and Production

Practical Petroleum Geochemistry for Exploration and Production provides readers with a single reference that addresses the principle concepts and applications of petroleum geochemistry used in finding, evaluating, and producing petroleum deposits. Today, there are few reference books available on how petroleum geochemistry is applied in exploration and production written specifically for geologists, geophysicists, and petroleum engineers.

This book fills that void and is based on training courses that the author has developed over his 37-year career in hydrocarbon exploration and production. Specific topical features include the origin of petroleum, deposition of source rock, hydrocarbon generation, and oil and gas migrations that lead to petroleum accumulations.

Also included are descriptions on how these concepts are applied to source rock evaluation, oil-to-oil, and oil-to-source rock correlations, and ways of interpreting natural gas data in exploration work. Finally, a thorough description on the ways petroleum geochemistry can assist in development and production work, including reservoir continuity, production allocation, and EOR monitoring is presented.

Authored by an expert in petroleum geochemistry, this book is the ideal reference for any geoscientist looking for exploration and production content based on extensive field-based research and expertise.

• Emphasizes the practical application of geochemistry in solving exploration and production problems
• Features more than 200 illustrations, tables, and diagrams to underscore key concepts
• Authored by an expert geochemist that has nearly 40 years of experience in field-based research, applications, and instruction
• Serves as a refresher reference for geochemistry specialists and non-specialists alike

Geologists, geophysicists, and petroleum engineers in the oil and gas industry

• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1. Introduction
  • Introduction
  • A Brief History of Petroleum Geochemistry
  • Definitions
  • Organic Chemistry Review
  • Stable Isotope Review
• Chapter 2. The Formation of Petroleum Accumulations
  • Introduction
  • Incorporating Organic Matter Into Sediments
  • Kerogen Formation
  • Source Rock Deposition
  • Maturation and Hydrocarbon Generation
  • Petroleum Migration
  • Origin of Nonhydrocarbon Gases
  • Coals as Oil-Prone Source Rocks
  • Summary
• Chapter 3. Source Rock Evaluation
  • Definitions and Fundamental Concepts
  • Sample Collection
  • Total Organic Carbon
  • Rock-Eval Pyrolysis
  • Solvent Extraction, S-A-R-A Analysis, and Extract Data
  • Gas Chromatography
  • Headspace Gas Analysis
  • Pyrolysis–Gas Chromatography
  • Kerogen Isolation
  • Elemental Analysis
  • Vitrinite Reflectance
  • Alternative Reflectance Method
  • Visual Kerogen Typing
  • Thermal Alteration Index
  • Kerogen Fluorescence
  • Conodont Alteration Index
  • Wireline Log Interpretations
  • Using Outcrop Samples
  • Strategies in Source Rock Evaluation
• Chapter 4. Interpreting Crude Oil and Natural Gas Data
  • Introduction
  • Bulk Properties of Crude Oil and Natural Gas
  • Phase Behavior
  • Crude Oil and Natural Gas Alteration
  • Oil-to-Oil and Oil-to-Source Rock Correlations
  • Crude Oil Inversion
  • Strategies and Obstacles in Oil Correlation and Oil Inversion Studies
  • Natural Gas Data
  • The Source of Natural Gas: Biogenic Versus Thermogenic
  • The Maturity of Thermogenic Natural Gas
  • Gas-to-Gas and Gas-to-Source Rock Correlations
  • Strategies and Obstacles in Interpreting Gas Data
• Chapter 5. Reservoir Geochemistry
  • Introduction
  • Pay Zone Detection
  • High-Molecular Weight Waxes
  • Asphaltenes
  • Reservoir Continuity
  • Production Allocation
  • Production Problems and Periodic Sampling
  • Monitoring Enhanced Oil Recovery
  • Reservoir Souring
  • Strategies in Reservoir Geochemistry
• Chapter 6. Surface Geochemistry
  • Introduction
  • Microseepage
  • Direct Indicators of Hydrocarbon Microseepage
  • Indirect Indicators of Hydrocarbon Microseepage
  • Microseepage Survey Design and Interpretation
  • Onshore Macroseepage
  • Offshore Macroseepage
  • Locating Potential Seafloor Seep Sites
  • Sampling Potential Seafloor Seep Sites
  • Analyzing Seafloor Sediments for Thermogenic Hydrocarbons
  • Sea Surface Slicks
• Chapter 7. Unconventional Resources
  • Introduction
  • Coalbed Methane
  • Shale Gas
  • Shale Oil
  • Hybrid Systems
• Chapter 8. Basin Modeling
  • Introduction
  • Burial History
  • Thermal History
  • Modeling Maturation, Hydrocarbon Generation, and Expulsion
  • Modeling Migration
  • Predicting Preservation
  • 1-D Model Results
  • Model Validation
  • Sensitivity Analysis
  • Volumetric Estimations
  • The Role of Basin Modeling in Unconventional Plays
• Chapter 9. Petroleum System Concepts and Tools
  • Introduction
  • Elements and Processes
  • Temporal Aspects
  • Spatial Aspects
  • Plays and Prospects
  • A Working Petroleum System
  • Risking
• Index