Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Physical Geology
Chapter 5
5-1
that is concerned with the order and sequence of the rocks that make up the
Earths crust.
5-2
Three factors - altitude, latitude, and variations in density of nearby rocks - affect
the force of gravity at any point on the Earths surface. The third factor, variation
in rock density, is responsible for the major differences of the Earths features.
Because the force of gravity is greater on rocks of high density than on rocks of
low density, it is concluded that heavier rocks would normally tend to occur at a
lower elevation than adjacent lighter rocks. A principle generally accepted by
geologists and geophysicists is that the continents are composed of a lighter rock
than that which underlies the oceans. Careful examination of rocks taken from
continents and ocean basins indicates that this principle is well founded.
5.2 Isostasy
The fact that the lighter continental blocks stand higher than the heavy oceanic
segments suggests that the two units are in equilibrium. The term isostasy (from
the Greek isos equal and stasis standing) is used to define this condition of
balance. Such condition means that the pressure at some depth beneath large units
of the Earths crust must be substantially the same, and that any specific
differences which develop because of processes in operation at the surface, must
be adjusted by slow rock movement in the Earths plastic interior to maintain
balance. Hence, if a heavy load is placed on a certain area on the Earths surface a
gradual sinking of the area will follow. Conversely, if a heavy load is removed, the
area will rise. The isostatic movement of one area is necessarily offset by an
opposite isostatic movement of another area (Figure 5.2).
Isostatic movement has not been confined to forming the continents and ocean
basins. It has been active throughout the geologic past, creating shallow seas and
mountains. In North America, isostic downwarpings have caused many different
geologic seas to deposit sediments across the entire continental area except the
area of the Canadian Shield.
5-4
5.3 Minerals
Everyone realizes the importance of minerals in the nations industry and
economy. Iron ore minerals are required to keep the steel industry operating just
as barite and bentonite are required by the drilling mud industry. The future of
both of these industries will be determined by the amount of mineral reserves
available to them for preparing products. Geologists, through the science of
mineralogy, are constantly seeking deposits of vital minerals in order to keep
industrial reserves high.
Mineralogy is the study of minerals. It includes their chemical compositions,
crystal structure, physical properties, and occurrence.
A mineral is a naturally occurring substance which has a definite chemical
composition and internal structure with characteristic physical properties. Over
2,000 minerals have been recognized and described. The vast majority are rare.
Many of them have never been found in more than one location. Others are found
only as precious metals, gemstones, or valuable ores. Only about 20 are found
abundantly in the Earths crust. These are called the rock and soil forming
minerals because they comprise all but a small fraction of the Earths rocks and
soils.
Many minerals can be identified on the basis of a single physical property. As an
example, halite, or rock salt, is identified by taste. However, most minerals require
a combination of two or more physical properties for positive identification.
The more important physical properties for mineral identification are discussed
below.
5.3.1 Cleavage
Many minerals cleave or part along smooth planes. Some minerals such as mica,
have a perfect cleavage in one direction only, while other, such as galena, have
perfect cleavage in three directions. Terms such as perfect, uneven, hard, and easy,
are used to describe cleavage planes.
5.3.2 Fracture
Minerals which have no cleavage fracture or break irregularly. Fracture faces are
described as being conchoidal (like glass), rough, smooth, even, splinter, or
fibrous.
5-6
5.3.3 Form
Minerals tend to crystallize into definite, characteristically shaped crystals,
bounded by smooth planes called crystal faces. If crystal faces are present, their
shapes and interfacial angles are diagnostic.
5.3.4 Color
All specimens of some minerals, such as magnetite and galena, have a constant or
uniform color, but others, such as quartz and calcite, may vary in color because of
impurities.
5.3.5 Streak
The color of the powder of a mineral is determined by scratching the surface of
the mineral with a knife or file, or it it is not too hard, by rubbing it on an
unpolished porcelain surface. The streak of a mineral may be similar, or entirely
different from the color of the mineral itself.
5.3.6 Luster
The luster of a mineral refers to the way ordinary light is reflected from its
surface. Metallic luster is like that of polished metals; vitreous luster is like that of
glass; adamantine like that of diamonds. Other self-explanatory terms used to
describe luster are resinous, silky, pearly, dull, Earth, oily, and waxy.
5.3.7 Hardness
The relative hardness of two different minerals can be determined by pushing a
pointed corner of one firmly across the flat surface of the other. If the mineral with
the point is harder, it will scratch or cut the other. The hardness of minerals is
usually recorded in terms of Mohs Scale of Hardness ranging from 1 to 10. The
numbers refer to the hardness of 10 minerals, arranged in order of increasing
hardness.
5-7
Table 5.1
Mineral Hardness
Hardness
Mineral
Hardness
Mineral
Orhtoclase
Gypsum
Quartz
Calcite
Topaz
Fluorite
Corundum
Apatite
10
Diamond (hardest)
When the minerals to make up this series are not available, it is convenient to
know that a pocket knife blade is about 5.5, a copper penny 3.5, and the thumbnail
about 2.5. Since most minerals have a hardness of less than 6, these tools are
usually adequate for determining the hardness of an unknown specimen.
Specific Gravity is stated as a number indicating the ratio of the weight of the
substance to that of an equal volume of water. Specific gravity can be determined
by several different instruments in the laboratory.
5-8
5.4 Rocks
One of the basic principles of geology is the Uniformetarian Principle. It may be
stated as follows:
The present is the key to the past, or applied more specifically to our
present subject: Rocks from long ago at the Earths surface may be
understood and explained in accordance with processes presently going
on.
It assumes that, in the geologic past, water collected in streams and carried loads
of sediments to the sea; that marine animals lived and died in the ancient seas, and
that their shells were buried in the deposits accumulated on the sea floor. It also
assumes that ancient volcanoes erupted and extruded lava flows, just as they do
today. These and other similar assumptions are accepted truths as there is no
reason to believe that the physical laws and natural processes of the geologic past
have changed. Therefore, if features in solid rocks can be recognized as identical
to those now being formed by volcanoes, streams, and beaches, it is reasonable to
conclude that they were formed by the same type processes which are presently
occurring.
The Uniformetarian Principle is the underlying theme for all geologic studies. To
evaluate any rock, which is defined as an aggregate of minerals, it is essential to
know its origin, occurrence, mineral and chemical composition, and the process or
processes by which it was formed. All this information can usually be obtained
through the interpretation of the significant features contained within the rocks
themselves.
There are three major classes of rocks: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary.
This classification is based on origin. Igneous rocks are formed by the cooling and
solidification of molten or liquid rock. Metamorphic rocks are formed by the
alteration, through heat and pressure, of existing rocks. Sedimentary rocks are
formed by the accumulation of sediments.
Each of these three classes is important in a fundamental study of geology because
each class has a different significance in the Earths history. Each class contains
minerals and ores which may not be found in the other two. In a study of
petroleum geology for instance, sedimentary rocks are given much more attention
than the other two because petroleum is found almost exclusively within them.
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5-10
Based on their shapes and sizes, plutonic rock bodies are classified as dikes, sills,
laccoliths, volcanic necks, stocks, or batholiths (Figure 5.3).
Figure 5.3
5-11
Dikes
Dikes are tabular bodies of igneous rocks that fill former fractures in the Earths
crust. They may cut across formations, or they may cut into masses of older
igneous rocks. They vary in width from less than 1 inch to many feet, and in
length from a few yards to many miles.
Sills
Sills, like dikes, are tabular intrusive masses. They differ from dikes in that they
lie parallel to the formations of the enclosing rocks. Some sills are small, covering
areas of only a few acres, but others are very large. Most are less than 100 feet
thick.
Laccoliths
Laccoliths are large lenticular masses of igneous rock similar in origin to sills.
They are formed when intruded masses lift up overlying beds into domelike
structures. Laccoliths may range from 1/2 to 4 miles in diameter.
Volcanic Necks
The igneous rock solidified in the conduits that once fed volcanoes often remain
as remnants after erosion has removed the rest of the volcano. These cylindrical
masses are termed necks or plugs. They may be several thousand feet in diameter.
Batholiths
Batholiths are the largest and originally the deepest intrusive bodies of igneous
rock known. They are believed to have been the feeder sources of liquid material
for the igneous masses formed at a higher level. Batholiths are so large that they
are never sufficiently exposed to permit measurement of all three dimensions.
Many are 50 to 100 miles wide and more than 1,000 miles long, and they extend
downward to great but unknown depths. Most batholiths occur as the cores of a
folded mountain system.
Igneous activity is generally considered to be the origin of most metallic mineral
ores. Gold, silver, and copper are often found as native metals in veins of plutonic
rocks. Ores of other metals, such as lead, zinc, and nickel, are believed to have
been deposited by hot solutions from igneous rocks. Understandably, certain
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igneous rocks, especially plutonic rocks, are constantly being sought for their
mineral content.
5-13
water, the halogens, sulfur, carbon dioxide, iron, silica, etc. They carry many
metallic elements into rocks being metamorphosed. Rocks metamorphosed by
chemical activity are characterized by the presence of new minerals.
Clastic Material
The deposition of clastic materials produces clastic rocks such as shales,
sandstones, and conglomerates. The essential difference between these rocks is in
the size of the fragments of which they are composed.
A size scale of clastic materials is shown in the following table. These sizes are
the ones commonly accepted by geologists.
Table 5.2
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Diameter (mm)
Boulders
over 256
Cobbles
64 to 256
Pebbles
4 to 64
Table 5.2
Diameter (mm)
Granules
2 to 4
1/
16
Sand
to 2
Silt
/256 to 1/16
Clay
Below 1/256
Clastic fragments are sorted by the action of various transporting agents. Thus, if
the materials have about the same specific gravity, fragments of about the same
size will be deposited together. If the materials differ in specific gravity, large
fragments of light material will be mixed with small fragments of heavy material
in deposition.
The shapes of fragments may be described as angular, sub-angular, and rounded.
Rounded fragments usually result from wear during prolonged transportation.
Sharp, broken fragments generally have been deposited near their source. Thus,
the shape and size of clastic materials are important guides to geologists.
Chemical Materials
The most abundant soluble salts are calcium carbonate, silica, sodium chloride,
and compounds of magnesium, potassium, iron, and aluminum. These salts are of
varying solubilities in river water. Some of them are very soluble in sea water,
while others are not. The manner in which these compounds form sedimentary
rocks will be discussed later.
Organic Materials
The organic materials which form a small part of the sedimentary rocks are
derived from land and marine plants and animals. They contribute organic
material in the form of carbon. Under very special conditions, depositions of
carbonaceous materials become coal or petroleum. Swamps and lagoons along
shores are ideal sites for the deposition of carbonaceous material.
The hard skeletons of shells of marine animals are relatively insoluble in sea
water. They are composed largely of calcium carbonate and silicon dioxide. In
some areas, these materials have formed thick deposits of sedimentary rocks.
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5-16
Chemical weathering
Produces fragments of
minerals and rocks that are
removed mechanically and
deposited as the Clastic
Sedimentary Rocks.
Produces insoluble products that are Produces soluble products that are
Removed in solution by streams and deposited as the
Conglomerates
Breccias
Sandstone
Siltstone
Shale
Boulders
Cobbles
Pebbles
Granules
Sand
Silt
Clay
Limestone...CaCO3
Chalk
Dolomite... MgCO3
Chert..........Soluble
silica
Flint
Hematite ......... Iron
Limonite ......oxides
in order of deposition
Gypsum .CaSO42H2O
Anhydrite........ CaSO4
Salt (halite) ........NaCl
Potassium and
Magnesium minerals
Siliceous Diatomite
Carbonaceous
Coal
Petroleum
Natural Gas
The carbon is derived dominantly from CO2, hydrogen from water, other constituents, indirectly,
through weathering and alteration.
Figure 5.4
5-17
Conglomerates
A conglomerate may be made up of any kind of rock fragments held together by
some cementing material such as shale or clay. Its distinguishing characteristic is
rounded coarse fragments. Conglomerates are necessarily younger than the
fragments of which they are composed.
Sandstones
Sandstone is composed of fragments and grains from a size smaller than those of a
conglomerate down to grains of about the size of ordinary granulated table sugar.
The principal distinction between coarse sandstone and fine conglomerate is that
5-18
the sandstone is more apt to contains grains or fragments of rather uniform size,
without any unduly large pebbles. Sandstone can be described as fine, coarse, or
medium. It should be described as soft if it can be crumbled in the fingers, hard if
it breaks with difficulty with a hammer and medium-hard if it breaks under an
ordinary hammer blow.
Sandstones are usually deposited in water relatively close to a seashore. Such an
area along the shore is today, and has been in the past, the home of numerous
shellfish, such as clams, oysters, conch shells, scallops, sand dollars, and related
forms of life. These shells are composed of calcium carbonate or calcite. As
previously mentioned calcite is the principal natural cement and the presence of
numerous shells in the sandstone is a source of calcite which may in time, dissolve
and be redeposited again among the sand-grains cementing them together into a
solid rock. Complete fossil seashells are also common in sandstones.
Wind-Deposited Sandstones
Sandstones are also formed by the solidification of wind-blown sands on land. A
wind-blown sand deposit might be found underneath marine water deposited
sediments if an area such as the Sahara Desert should be suddenly submerged
beneath the sea. Wind-deposited sandstones are, on the whole, rare among oilfield
sediments and do not warrant much discussion. However, their present is
significant if they are found, as it indicates that the area was dry land and not
ocean at the time of deposition. This might be of great importance, since the
source of oil is almost universally marine organic material.
A well known wind-deposited sandstone formation is the Navajo sandstone of the
Navajo-Grand Canyon-Zion National Park area.
Siltstone
Siltstone is a rock composed of material whose small particles are larger than the
fine material of true shale and too small to be called sandstone. When broken in
the fingers, it is gritty rather than slippery, and often it is composed of a mixture of
fine sand grains and mud. For general purposes, a coarse siltstone could be
included under sandstone or a very fine siltstone might be included with shale.
Shale
Shale is the rock formed from compaction and solidification of the fine materials
of sedimentation which originally settled out in the water as mud. Consequently, it
is a deposit formed at greater distances from the shore than a conglomerate or a
sandstone, the material of which drops to the bottom as soon as the speed of the
5-19
depositing current is reduced where a river runs into the ocean. The tiny particles
which make up shale will remain suspended for a long time even in still water.
Fine material washed into an ocean by a river may be caught in some of the
slow-moving ocean currents and transported for many miles. Hence, deposits of
shale of decidedly uniform character may be deposited over thousands of square
miles of ocean bottom.
Often the deposition of shale is periodic, not continuous. This may be due to
several causes, and much remains yet to be learned on the subject. Seasonal
floods, for example, may be a cause. Rivers often carry large loads of erosion
products during floods, and are relatively clear and carry nothing for other periods
of the year. In such cases, a film or layer of mud would be deposited on the bottom
after each storm or flood, and in long geological time, many thousands of such
films or layers would pile up. Shale formed by the solidification of such a deposit
of many layers, would be banded or bedded rock, and a core or surface exposure
of it would show bedding or stratification. There would actually be visible fine
line or bands in the rock. According to local conditions which caused the bedding
or stratification, the beds or strata might be a fraction of an inch thick or several
feet.
All material that is fine is not necessarily of the same composition. The fine
materials which accumulates to form shale is naturally ground up (and perhaps
altered) material of the rocks of the land from which it was eroded. Since
numerous kinds of rocks exist at different localities, their erosion products are
different, even though ground up to the same size particles. For this reason, all the
shale in the world is not alike. The particles of which it was composed are alike,
but only in size. Therefore, there are many different kinds of shale.
As there is no particular advantage in using new names for the different varieties,
they are all generally called shale, without another qualifying word added to
indicate what kind. A shale containing an important amount of calcium carbonate
(line) is referred to as a calcareous shale or simply limey shale. Likewise, shale
containing a large amount of silica, such as much of the Monterey shale of
California, is called siliceous shale. Many local characteristics are also used, such
as as nodular shale, poke chip shale (when the cores split into smooth wafers
or plates resembling poker chips), paper shale, and others.
Limestones
Limestone is different from any of the above described sedimentary rocks,
because it is a chemically deposited sediment and not from mechanical settlings.
The relation of erosion to the formation of limestone is not the carrying fine
particles of calcite (CaCO3 - the mineral of which limestone is composed) but it is
to carry instead, calcium carbonate to the ocean in solution.
5-20
This calcium carbonate is in solution in sea water as is salt. Certain animals living
in the sea, principally corals, and small forms of life known as bacteria, are able to
extract calcium carbonate from the sea water and, by rather vaguely known like
processes, to resolidify or precipitate it as small, solid crystals of calcite. By this
process, deposits of limestone rock accumulate on sea floors where there is an
abundance of coral or peculiar bacterial life.
Certain plants such as algae can also extract calcium carbonate from sea water and
deposit it as limestone.
The life forms which are able to deposit limestone live in warm tropical or
sub-tropical waters, such as the Coral Sea north of the Great Barrier Reef, which
extends for more than a thousand miles along the northeast coast of Australia.
These animals require, in addition to warm temperatures, clear waters, fairly free
from stifling turbidity. Such conditions existed in past geological time in the
limestone area from the Gulf of Mexico far north to Canada. If the small,
oil-containing forms of life are also present and accumulate with the limestone, a
pertroliferous or oil-bearing limestone will be deposited. Such rocks have
produced oil fields in many parts of the world.
Dolomite
If a large part of the calcium in a limestone is replaced by magnesium, the rock is
dolomite. Dolomitization is a common process in limestones of all ages, and it is
often accomplished during the process of sedimentation. In fact, many so called
limestones are dolomites.
Chalk
Chalk is a special type of limestone composed of small shells, or fragments,
cemented together. Forminifera shells constitute a large part of the material, but
the presence of shells or other organisms is common. Chalk usually is soft,
porous, and white or grey, and some of it is massive in appearance. The chalk
cliffs of Dover, England, are an example. Some of the chalks of the Southwest,
particularly those of Texas, grade into denser beds that are as well consolidated as
ordinary limestone.
Marl
The porous masses of shells and shell fragments that accumulate on the bottoms
of may freshwater lakes form marls. The term marl is used also to designate
calcarious shales in which clay and finely divided particles of calcium carbonate
are mixed.
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Coquina
This term usually is applied to the more recent deposits of cemented shell
accumulations.
Reefs
Fossilized corals and associated marine life form another type of limestone known
as coral reefs. These limestones possess the skeletal features of the organism of
which they are formed. Reefs are formed in tropical waters along the shore of land
masses and around islands. They were probably formed in all of the ancient inland
seas of North America. Reefs are more technically known as bioherns.
Chert
Chert is a hard, compact, dense, siliceous material that occurs as distinct layers, or
as pebbles, in the beds of other rocks. Either colloidal silica was deposited with
the other sediments, or after deposition, silica-bearing waters partially replaced
the associated sediments.
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatoms are minute plants that live in great numbers in the sea and in freshwater
lakes. When they die, their siliceous skeletons accumulate to form diatomaceous
Earth. At many places diatomaceous Earth is interbedded with shales.
Coal
Coal is formed by the compacting and partial decomposition of vegetable
accumulations. The alteration of vegetation into peat, lignite, and various other
grades of coal is a long process. The grade of coal is dependent upon the kind of
material deposits and the amount of alteration that has taken place.
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Table 5.3
Percent
77.758
10.878
4.737
3.600
2.465
0.345
0.217
Total
100.000
When sea water is evaporated to dryness, the salts come and are deposited. The
least soluble salts are deposited first. Calcium carbonate and iron oxide, if present
in the water, are the first to be deposited. Gypsum follows, and often with it some
anyhdrite is deposited. After gypsum, sodium chloride, or common table salt, is
deposited. The bitter salts consisting of sulfates and chlorides of potassium and
magnesium are deposited last. These are so soluble that they are not always
deposited with salt and gypsum. The rocks formed in this manner are called
evaporites. Thick deposits of evaporites were probably formed in evaporating
bodies of sea water which intermittently received influxes of fresh sea water.
Associated with salt and gypsum in many places are red beds, composed mainly
of red sandstones and shales. These are red because they contain small amounts of
iron oxide. It is believed that they have been formed under arid conditions.
Cross-bedding
Sediments that show parallel bedding at an angle to the planes of general
stratification are cross-bedded. Wherever steep slopes are produced by the rapid
deposition of sediments (as at the front of a delta or on offshore bars, barriers, etc.)
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Graded Bedding
When a mixture of particle grains is brought to the site of deposition, the coarser
and heavier grains settle more rapidly than others. It follows then that the bed of
sediment finally accumulated shows a segregation of the grains as determined by
their relative rates of setting. Thus the bottom portion of a bed may consist of
coarse or heavy particles, whereas the upper portion is made up of relatively fine
or light particles. Such an arrangement is called graded bedding. The presence of
graded bedding in rocks indicate seasonal deposition within a relatively still body
of water.
Figure 5.5
5-24
Sketch of an Unconformity
Figure 5.6
A complete reversal of this occurs when the sea is regressing. Sediments carried
to the sea by rivers and streams are deposited progressively farther from the
original shore line. As the sea regresses, young deposits of sediments are exposed,
eroded, and carried once more into the sea and redeposited progressively further
from the original shore line. The arrangement of layers of sedimentary rocks is
called offlap (Figure 5.7).
5-25
Figure 5.7
5-26
Figure 5.8
5-27
5-28
The character of sedimentation depends in part upon the balance between the rate
of subsidence and the rate of filling of a basin. Contemporaneous changes in the
source areas also affect the character. Notable uplift adjacent to a basin would
supply a great bulk of coarse sediment, whereas long-continued erosion of stable
land would change the sediment to fine mud and solutions. If little water reached a
basin, evaporation would begin, causing the deposition of evaporites.
Hence, sedimentary rocks, by their composition, texture, thickness, area
distribution and other characteristics, reflect the complex interplay of a number of
factors. Perhaps the most influential of these is isostatic movement.
5-29
Figure 5.9
5.5.2 Warps
Rocks which have been warped form gently sloping structures, such as irregular
shaped basins and domes. The beds of rocks in such structures are gently tilted.
Uniformly tilted beds are homoclines. This name indicates that the strata of this
structure are inclined in the same direction. Broad downwarped structures are
called geosynclines (Figure 5.10).
5-30
5.5.3 Folds
Where beds of rock have been subjected to extreme horizontal forces, they bend
into folds with alternating crests and troughs. The principal types of folded
structures are anticlines, synclines, and domes and basins. Where the beds of rock
are arched up like the roof of a house, they form an anticline, i.e. the bed dip away
from each other. Downfolds, or troughs, where the beds dip toward one another,
are call synclines.
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Some faults are neither normal or reverse, but involve longitudinal movement
parallel to the fault plane, as in the San Andreas fault of California. Such a fault is
a rift or tear fault.
A block depressed between two faults is a graben, and a block raised between
two faults is a horst (Figure 5.11).
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5-33
The standard geologic time scale is divided into eras, periods, epochs, ages,
stages, and substages. Because many local variations in nomenclature this
presentation will be limited to a discussion of the eras, periods and epochs as we
are concerned with them as surface data loggers.
The following table represents the geologic column and time scale used by the
U.S. Geological Survey.
Table 5.4
Cenozoic
Period
Epoch
Quaternary
Recent Pleistocene
Tertiary
Pliocene
Miocene
Oligocene
Eocene
Paleocene
Mesozoic
Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic
Paleozoic
Permian
Pennsylvanian
Mississippian
Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian
Proterozoic
Keweenawan
Huronian
Timiskamingian
Archeozoic
Keewatin
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5.7 Petroleum
It is evident that each carbon atom is united with one or more additional carbon
atoms, and the remaining unsatisfied valences are united with hydrogen.
The formula for the closed-chain series is arranged in a ring as shown by the
structural formula for benzene (C6H6).
5-35
H
C
H
C
H
Figure 5.13 Structural Formula for Benzene
Olefine Series
The Olefine series members contain two less hydrogen atoms than those in the
paraffin series. The basic formula for this series is CnH2n. Some of the members
of this series are ethylene, propylene, butylene, etc. The Olefines are similar to the
paraffins in physical properties but they are different in chemical properties. The
olefines have double bonds between some of the carbon atoms, as propylene
(C3H6).
H
C
H
C
C
H
H
H
5-36
Acetylene Series
The basic formula for the acetylene series is CnH2n-2. Members of this series have
two carbons united by triple bonds. There are two less hydrogen atoms in
compounds of this series compared with corresponding members of the olefine
series.
Diolefine Series
The diolefines are unsaturated hydrocarbons having the same basic formula as the
acetylenes, CnH2n-2. However, the structural formula differs in the the diolefines
have two double-bonded carbon atoms instead of one triple-bonded carbon atom.
Cycloparaffin Series
This series is known as alacyclic because it possesses both the properties of
aliphatic and cyclic hydrocarbons. It resembles the paraffin series in chemical and
physical properties except for density, which is greater. The basic formula is
CnH2n, and the structural formula is cyclic, but the members are saturated
hydrocarbons since they have single bonds between the carbon atoms.
Napthalene Series
Compounds of this series have the basic formula CnH2n-12. In the structural
formula napthalene, C10H8, the nucleus is composed of two rings, which is a
typical structural formula for the series.
5-37
CH
HC
HC
CH
HC
CH
HC
CH
Inorganic Theories
Inorganic theories were the first advanced to account for the formation of
petroleum. Betheolot, in 1866, suggested that mineral oils were formed by the
action of water on metallic carbides. He based his idea on the assumption that the
interior of the Earth contained free alkaline metals with which carbon dioxide
could react at high temperatures to form carbides and acetylides. The carbides or
acetylides would then react with water to form acetylene, which when heated to
5-38
Organic Theories
The organic origin of petroleum is generally accepted by scientists. But there
remain many problems as yet unsolved. It is generally believed that petroleum
originated by a series of complex processes from plant and animal substances.
The exact nature of the original organic material is not known, although much
valuable data on this has been assembled. The biological, chemical and geological
processes necessary for the conversion of the organic matter of plants and animals
into hydrocarbons are not completely understood.
It has been reasonably established that petroleum is of organic origin because:
Some petroleums are optically active, i.e., most oils have the power of
rotating the plane of polarization of polarized light. Only matter derived from
organic origin could have this power.
2. Petroleum contains nitrogenous compounds. All such compounds found in
nature are either of plant or animal origin.
3. Some petroleum contains chlorophyll porphyrins, which are derivatives
obtained from the chlorophyll of plants or from the blood cells of animals.
4. Some petroleums contain hydrogen sulfide gas which results from bacterial
decomposition of plants and animals.
1.
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Conditions
All available evidence suggests that organic materials might have been
transformed into petroleum under the following conditions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Deposition of organic material in fine sands and silts in fairly shallow marine
water.
Rapid burial preventing destruction by bottom dwellers.
Normal decomposition with burial and the beginning of anaerobic bacterial
activity.
Conversion of material toward hydrocarbon material. The transformation
continues until the mixture becomes so foul by the accumulation of hydrogen
sulfide gas that it kills off all bacteria.
Migration and accumulation of oil as sediments are compacted.
Migration
The movement or migration of petroleum from the source beds into reservoirs can
be divided into two parts: (1) transverse migration from the source beds into a
carrier bed; and (2) longitudinal migration through the carrier bed to a suitable
trap. The movement of petroleum through rocks is apparently caused by several
types of energy, including compaction, capillarity, differential specific gravity,
hydrostatic pressure and gas pressure.
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It is believed that compaction within the source beds is the principal force causing
the movement of petroleum from source beds into carrier beds. Compaction is
also regarded as an important force in the migration of petroleum through the
carrier beds. Obviously the fluids occupying the pore space will be driven out by
the compaction of the clay, mud or ooze of the source bed. These fluids move in
the direction of least resistance into non-compacting porous formations, such as
sandstone or porous limestone. Although direct proof that compaction has been an
important factor is not to be expected, the direct association of most oil-producing
regions with structural basins is an indication that it does play an important part.
Capillarity is action, due to surface tension, by which the surface of a liquid where
in contact with a solid, is elevated or depressed. Surface tension of a liquid causes
it to act as an elastic enveloping membrane, so that it tends to compact to the
minimum area. The surface tension of water is approximately three times that of
oil. Capillary action, therefore, would tend to draw water into the finest openings,
displacing the oil and gas. In a slow transfer of liquids between shales and
sandstone, oil would be displaced from the shales into the sandstones because the
water enters fine pores three times as easily as oil and has three times as much
difficulty in leaving.
Every oil field is evidence of migration caused by the action of gravity. If present,
water occupies the lowest position in the reservoir. Oil floats on water and it
occupies the next highest position above the water. Any gas present will occur
above oil and will occupy the highest position in reservoirs. Other forces may
cause petroleum to migrate great distances, but gravity is responsible for the final
arrangement of water, oil, and gas in reservoirs.
The theory behind the action of hydraulic pressure in the migration of petroleum
suggests that moving water under hydraulic pressure has been an important agent
in the migration and accumulation of petroleum. According to this theory,
hydrocarbons are carried along by the flow of underground water. However, the
movement of petroleum through rocks is probably faster than the movement of
water through rocks. Yet, it is conceivable that oil migration could be aided or
hindered, depending on the direction of flow, by the movement of underground
water.
Differential gas pressure has been suggested as a factor in the migration and
accumulation of petroleum. However, it usually is considered only an aid to other
factors, such as capillarity, differential specific gravity, or hydraulic movement.
Transverse Migration
Migration directions are considered in terms of the stratification planes of rocks.
Oil either migrates in a longitudinal (parallel) or transverse (vertical) direction to
the stratification planes. Generally, the primary migration from source rock to
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reservoir rock is transverse, and the secondary migration through the reservoir to
the trap is longitudinal.
Transverse migration can be downward or upward. If movement is taking place
because of differences in the specific gravity of oil and water, the migration
direction of oil will be upward. But if the oil is being squeezed from a rock by
compaction it will move in a path of least resistance, whether that be upward,
downward, or sideways. The prerequisite for transverse migration is that a
receptive layer must be present to receive the flow.
Downward transverse migration is responsible for the occurrences of oil in
basement igneous rocks of buried hills. Other examples of transverse migration
are the accumulations of oil beneath unconformities, especially those occurring in
the leached upper surfaces of thick limestones.
Longitudinal Migration
Longitudinal migration is possible where a porous and permeable rock layer
occurs in the sedimentary section. Longitudinal migration is by no means
confined to widespread sandstones or regional porous limestones. Sand-filled
channels and bars in thick shale sections also may be used.
The confinement of oil accumulations to the highest levels in the reservoir rock is
presumptive evidence that oil moved through the rock until those levels were
attained. Unless it is assumed that by some strange coincidence oil entered the
reservoir where there were traps, it must be concluded that the oil migrated
laterally until trapped.
It can be concluded that petroleum has traveled by both longitudinal and
transverse migration in moving from the source to the trap.
Accumulation
Many different classifications have been proposed to include the wide range of
geologic conditions under which oil and gas pools occur. But because of the many
different types of oil and gas pools, it has been difficult to establish a classification
which covers all types. One generalization applies to all types; oil and gas
accumulate in pools because their upward or lateral migration is stopped by a trap
or closure. These traps are formed by stratigraphic conditions which were formed
at the time of deposition of the sediments, by later changes in the sediments, by
structural deformation, or by a combination of two or more of these factors.
The following is an outline classification of traps or reservoirs.
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I.
Closed Reservoirs
A. Reservoirs closed by local deformation of strata.
1. Reservoirs closed by folding
a. Reservoirs in closed anticlines and domes
b. Reservoirs in closed synclines and basins
2. Reservoirs developed through the off-setting of strata by faulting of
homoclinal structures
3.
4.
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Note the change in the dip of axis of fold (line GH). BC indicates the width of the
productive area for the upper sand; EF that of the lower sand. Axes of folds
(at A and D) lie near the left edge of the productive area. Well 1 is productive;
well 2 only a short distance away, is barren. Well 4 produces from the upper sand
only; and well 3 from both the upper and lower sands.
Figure 5.32 Asymmetric Anticlinal Fold Along the Flanks of a Major Uplift
Figure 5.33 illustrates how greater accumulations petroleum may be found on the
basinward side of an anticline. Note the difference in the level of the edge-water
lines on the opposite flanks of the anticline.
All anticlines are long narrow domes in the sense that they are closed structures.
However, domes are usually spoken of as closed structures in which the length
does not exceed three times the width.
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Figure 5.33 Dome Structure, illustrated in plane view by the structure contours and by the
vertical sections through the major and minor axes
Oil accumulates in the porous formations above and on the flanks of the salt core.
A monocline is formed when the crest of an anticlinal fold is eroded away and a
partial cross section of the rock strata is exposed as an outcrop.
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The shallow well, number 1, produces heavier, more viscous oil than number 2
owing to evaporation of the lighter constituents at the outcrop. Well 3 encounters
edge water.
Oil that has migrated to the surface is lost; however, as it accumulates on the
Earths surface, the lighter fractions evaporate leaving a residue of asphaltic-like
material. This residue will plug the pore spaces in the rock and prevent further
loss. Such surface indications of a bituminous nature have resulted in the
discovery of many important oil reservoirs.
Faulting will many times place a permeable strata against a shale strata. If
conditions are favorable for petroleum accumulation, the oil would be trapped at
the fault line. Faults may also allow migration of petroleum from stratum to
stratum across fault lines where the permeable beds are adjacent.
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This figure illustrates oil accumulation on both the upthrown and downthrown
sides of a fault and show how faulting may leave barren places in an anticlinal
structure. Wells 1, 3, and 4 are productive; whereas well 2 encounters edge water;
and well 3 intersects the fault plane.
The sealing of tilted, eroded beds by deposition of new sediments form favorable
traps for oil accumulation in the older rocks against an unconformity. In other
cases, the oil might migrate across the unconformity and ultimately be trapped in
beds not related to those in which the oil was originally stored.
The impervious stratum at the base of the upper series prevents the escape of the
oil. Oil seeks out and accumulates in lenses of porous sands imbedded in dense
less porous rock strata. Most sedimentary rocks are laid down at or near the shore
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line so the channels or lenses of sand would be roughly parallel to the shore lines
of the period in which they were formed.
Lenses of coarse sand embedded oil bearing shales serve as local centers of
concentration. Such conditions are common in California fields. Well A
encounters four zones of production; whereas well B is barren.
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In some regions porous coral limestone has been formed in relatively shallow
water and subsequently covered by impermeable strata. Gravitational segregation
of the oil, gas and water results in the oil and gas migrating to the upper portion of
the reef. Local variations in porosity also determine the areas of accumulation of
oil and gas. Sediments adjacent to and above coral reefs usually dip slightly away
from the reef due to differential compaction of sediments accumulating on the
sloping surfaces.
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Sample Examination
Introduction
Chapter 6
Sample Examination
6.1 Introduction
An accurate sample description is the basic function of geologic work - the
foundation on which the entire structure of subsurface analysis rests. This manual
has been assembled in an effort to furnish a convenient reference on standard
stratigraphic procedures. Techniques of collecting, preparing, examining, and
describing well cuttings and core samples are set forth.
At one time the primary responsibility of the surface data logger was to provide
correlation for structural mapping, now it has become increasingly important for
him to also provide stratigraphic data. The source, transporting medium,
environment of deposition, and post-depositional history of the sediments all can
be determined by sample examination. There are two elements are involved: (1)
logging what is physically present in the samples, and (2) interpretation of the
geologic history from the material in the samples.
A description can become so detailed as to obscure important characteristics of
the samples; the surface data logger should learn to be selective and report only
the important details. Sample analysis should be made carefully and attentively.
The accuracy of a study is dependent upon the quality of the samples and the
proficiency of the surface data logger. Careful initial examination and description
of the samples will save time and prevent the necessity for re-examination. There
will be times when it is impossible due to well conditions for the surface data
logger to accomplish this the first time. It is more important that the samples be
caught first.
There are two general methods of sample description and logging, the interpretive
system and the percentage system. The interpretive log is preferable but its
accuracy depends in some measure on the quality of the samples, and the surface
data loggers familiarity with the local stratigraphic section of the area. Sloughed
cuttings must be disregarded, and only the lithology felt to be represent the
interval drilled is to be logged. If several different rock types are present in the
sample, all are assumed to be derived from the drilled interval, they are logged as
discrete beds, interbeds, intercalations, lenses, or nodules, rather than as
percentages. The interpretation in this case is based on the surface data loggers
knowledge of the area. On interpretive logs, lithologic contacts are drawn sharply,
and the entire width of the log column is filled with the suitable lithology plot
types. Two hazards in this form of logging are unexpected recurrence of lithologic
types and wildcat wells where there are no lithologic histories available for
comparison.
6-1