Professional Documents
Culture Documents
and
PETROLEUM GEOCHEMISTRY
of
CONTENTS
CONCEPT OF PETROLEUM SYSTEMS
SOURCE ROCKS
OIL ALTERATIONS
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PETROLEUM SYSTEMS
RECOGNISED TO DATE IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
PETROLEUM SYSTEMS
CONCEPT OF PETROLEUM SYSTEMS
PETROLEUM SYSTEMS
The Concept of Petroleum Systems
According to Magoon and Dow (1994) "a petroleum system
encompasses a pod of active source rock and all related oil
and gas and includes all the essential elements and
processes that are needed for oil and gas accumulations to
exist".
These essential elements of a petroleum system are the
source, reservoir, seal and overburdenmigration pathway.
The processes are the timing of trap formation, generation,
migration and accumulation of petroleum. Traps must have
been formed at the correct time, i.e. prior to migration. This
is defined in the petroleum systems approach as the critical
moment.
In each case the formations are given with the oldest first.
SOURCE ROCKS
Talukdar, Dow and Persad (1995) have found that:
Both the Upper Cretaceous Naparima Hill and Gautier
Formations in Trinidad contain good to excellent quality oil source
rocksthey have sourced 99.999% of all oil and gas condensate
produced to date
Deposited in relatively deep waters in outer shelf-upper slope
environments under anoxic to near anoxic condition
Kerogen quality of these oil-prone source rocks varies
considerably from type II to mixed type II/III.
These organic facies variations are observed stratigraphically
as well as regionally
The continental margin probably had a zigzag geometry
which had also influenced the regional organic facies variations
SOURCE TYPES
The Cretaceous source is marine in the north and east and
mixed in the south
1.5
2.0
3.0
2.5
OIL ALTERATIONS
THERE ARE MAINLY TWO TYPES
BIODEGRADATION
and
EVAPORATIVE FRACTIONATION
THERE MAY MULTIPLE PHASES OF ALTERATION
BIODEGRADATION
LONG KNOWN AND EASILY RECOGNISED
IT RESULTS IN:
Decrease in API Gravity, GOR and light hydrocarbons content
Increase in viscosity and sulphur content
It is caused by oils coming into contact with
meteoric water carrying aerobic microbes
NC 10
IP 11
MX
YL
PXYL
NC 9
IP 10
OX YL
NC 11
IP 9
IS TD
NC 8
4N C 4
IC
IC
NC
225DM B
P
C2M
3MP6P 23 DM B
NC
PP3T MB
DM
22
PDM
MC
24
22
Z23
B2M
P11
DM
33
C HHH
P DM CP
DM
3M
MCP
3D
1C
1T
P
3E
1T
7 MCP
NC 2D
H 3T MCP
MC11
P12
EC
MCP
4T
12
L MCP
TO 3T
G1040458.D
EVAPORATIVE FRACTIONATION
Recognizable by position in Thompson Diagram
EVAPORATIVE FRACTIONATION
Also recognizable from the HRGCs
SOUTHERN BASIN
The Gautier/Naparima Hill-Cruse/Forest/M L'Enfer (!) System
COLUMBUS BASIN
The Gautier/Naparima Hill-Lower Cruse/Gros Morne/Mayaro (!) System
SOUTHERN BASIN
The Gautier/Naparima Hill-Cruse/Forest/M L'Enfer (!) System
GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT
This system is known to exist in the Southern Basin onshore and in its extension
offshore in the Gulf of Paria. It lies within the piggy back Southern Basin, which is
sub-divided into the western Erin Syncline, which lies west of the Los Bajos Fault,
and extends westward into the Gulf of Paria, a central portion known as the Siparia
Syncline and an eastern portion termed the Ortoire Syncline.
SOUTHERN BASIN
The Gautier/Naparima Hill-Cruse/Forest/M L'Enfer (!) System
GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT
North-South Geologic Cross Section showing the Stratigraphic extent of the System
SOUTHERN BASIN
The Gautier/Naparima Hill-Cruse/Forest/M L'Enfer (!) System
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS (See previous slide)
Source
This system has as its principal source the Naparima Hill Formation and the Gautier
Formation.
Reservoir
The principal reservoir rocks are the Cruse, Forest and Morne L'Enfer and their
stratigraphic equivalents. They are marginal marine to fluvial sands of Pliocene age
and have good to very good reservoir characteristics.
The Cruse, Forest and Morne L'Enfer formations are recognised only in the western
portion of the basin.
In the central part of the basin, the oil bearing formations are the sands of the
Wilson, which is generally equivalent to the Forest Formation.
Further east the Catshill Sands are the stratigraphic equivalent of the Wilson
formation and contains oil bearing sands.
SOUTHERN BASIN
The Gautier/Naparima Hill-Cruse/Forest/M L'Enfer (!) System
EVENTS CHART
PROCESSES
Phase I
The first phase of maturation, expulsion and oil entrapment in this system occurred in
the Miocene with the onset of foreland basin deformation and fore-deep formation,
caused by the oblique collision of the Caribbean Plate with the northern margin of
South America.
Phase II
A second phase of re-migration occurred in the late Pliocene, when oil migrated
principally along the Los Bajos and other faults into the Pliocene reservoirs of Cruse,
Forest and Morne L'Enfer formations and their stratigraphic equivalents.
SOUTHERN BASIN
The Gautier/Naparima Hill-Cruse/Forest/M L'Enfer (!) System
EVENTS CHART
SOUTHERN BASIN
The Gautier/Naparima Hill-Cruse/Forest/M L'Enfer (!) System
SOUTHERN BASIN
The Gautier/Naparima Hill-Cruse/Forest/M L'Enfer (!) System
Petroleum Accumulations
The largest known contributor to oil production in the country having produced an
estimated 1,900 million barrels of oil to the end of 2010. The original oil in place in
these reservoirs/fields is estimated to be over eleven billion barrels
COLUMBUS BASIN
Gautier/Naparima Hill Lower Cruse/Gros Morne/Mayaro (!) System
GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT
found mainly offshore the south and southern part of the east coast of Trinidad. A
western onshore portion, lies to the south-east of the eastern part of the Southern
Basin, and east of the Guayaguayare sub-basin. It extends as far north as the Darien
Ridge and includes the Galeota Sub-basin. Its southern boundary extends beyond
the territorial waters into Venezuela. Its eastern boundary is perhaps best defined as
the eastern limit of the growth fault province of the Orinoco delta
COLUMBUS BASIN
Gautier/Naparima Hill Lower Cruse/Gros Morne/Mayaro (!) System
GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT
North-South Geologic Cross Section showing the Stratigraphic extent of the System
COLUMBUS BASIN
Gautier/Naparima Hill Lower Cruse/Gros Morne/Mayaro (!) System
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
Source
This system shares the Naparima Hill and the Gautier formations, with the Southern
Basin as the principal source.
There is good oil/source correlation and analyses of the oils and condensates have
shown the source to be marine mixed with terrigenous input.
The terrigenous type III material is thought, together with evaporative fractionation
to account for the presence of the condensates and gas associated with the
condensates.
As much as 50% of the dry and lean gas found in the basin is biogenic in origin and
probably sourced from the interbedded and underlying terrestrially derived shales.
COLUMBUS BASIN
Gautier/Naparima Hill Lower Cruse/Gros Morne/Mayaro (!) System
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
Reservoir
Gros Morne and Mayaro Formations of the Moruga Group lower Pliocene to upper
Pleistocene in age.
They show good to very good porosities and permeabilities and have been
interpreted to be marginal marine to shallow marine sandstones.
These rocks have contributed over 98% of the 950 plus million barrels of oil and 10
trillion cubic feet of associated and free gas that have been produced from this
system to date.
Seal
The seals are the thin, (up to 200 feet in thickness) inter-bedded marine shales.
Although thin they act as excellent seals as they are mostly condensed sections
relating to maximum flooding surfaces, or at least major flooding surfaces.
Overburden
The overburden rocks are all Plio-Pleistocene in age, with the youngest being the
Palmiste formation
COLUMBUS BASIN
Gautier/Naparima Hill Lower Cruse/Gros Morne/Mayaro (!) System
EVENTS CHART
PROCESSES
There are three distinct types of petroleum accumulations within the Columbus Basin.
Within the northwestern part of the basin, the accumulations are mainly oil
The fields to the south are predominantly gas and gas/condensate.
Some of the oil fields show evaporative fractionation while others contain only whole
oils.
These gas/condensate fields have a generally thin black oil leg below the gas condensate.
Seemingly most of these gas/condensate fields have been evaporatively fractionated.
Finally a significant portion of the gas is biogenic gas, upwards of 45%.
We are suggesting two main reasons for this complex distribution.
Firstly the oil fields to the north and west are sourced from more marine source rocks,
while the increasingly terrestrial nature of the source has resulted in the generation of
predominantly gas and condensate to the south and east.
Secondly, some of the oil fields and all of the gas/condensate fields have been subjected
to evaporative fraction which occurred during a second phase of tectonic activity
COLUMBUS BASIN
Gautier/Naparima Hill Lower Cruse/Gros Morne/Mayaro (!) System
EVENTS CHART
PROCESSES
Phase I
Within the oil prone portion of the basin, there has seemingly been a phase of midPliocene maturation, expulsion and migration. Entrapment may have occurred in
reservoirs of Mid/Lr. Pliocene and older ages.
Phase II
A later major phase of re-migration, accompanied by evaporative fractionation
probably occurred in late Pliocene to Pleistocene along the pene-contemporaneous
growth faults. This would have led to the emplacement of fractionated light aromatic oil
and gas/condensate in the Teak, Samaan and Poui fields, with residual oil being left in
the deeper reservoirs.
This phase of re-migration also affected the oil and gas/condensate fields to the south
and east which resulted in the entrapment of fractionated condensates mixed with
thermogenic (and biogenic) gas in the shallower reservoirs, leaving behind residual oils
in the deeper reservoirs.
Finally we believe that this phase of re-migration did not occur all at once, but
sequentially from the WSW to the ENE. As the Orinoco delta migrated eastward, each
successive new growth fault provided a pathway for the re-migration to occur.
COLUMBUS BASIN
Gautier/Naparima Hill Lower Cruse/Gros Morne/Mayaro (!) System
EVENTS CHART
Events Chart for the Gautier/Naparima Hill-Lower Cruse/Gros Morne/Mayaro (!) System
COLUMBUS BASIN
Gautier/Naparima Hill Lower Cruse/Gros Morne/Mayaro (!) System
Petroleum Accumulations Oilfields
This basin contains some of the largest petroleum accumulations known in the
Trinidad area to date. The fields as we indicated above are oil fields, as well as
gas/condensate fields with thinner oil legs below.
COLUMBUS BASIN
Gautier/Naparima Hill Lower Cruse/Gros Morne/Mayaro (!) System
Petroleum Accumulations Gas/Condensate Fields
Gas fields of T&T including gas fields from the Gautier/Naparima Hill-Lower
Cruse/Gros Morne/Mayaro (!) System
Cross Section showing the Essential Elements the Gautier/Naparima Hill-Cipero (!)
System.
Source
Postulated to be the Upper Cretaceous Naparima Hill and Gautier formations and
possibly also the Cuche formation. While we have not yet done oil/source correlations
we are confident that the source will be confirmed as the Gautier and Naparima Hill
formations
Reservoir
The reservoirs, of upper to lower Cretaceous age, are known to occur in the Gautier as
turbidites in the Southern Basin and in the Cuche, which has been penetrated in many
wells in onshore Trinidad as far north as the Caroni Basin, where it has found probably
also as sub-marine fans in all the areas. Sub-marine fan reservoirs of Naparima Hill age
postulated in the southern part of the Southern Basin and Columbus Shelf in those areas
where oil compositions point to a high terrigenous input.
Seals
The seals in this system are the thick, up to 10,000', deep marine shales of the Cipero,
Chaudiere, Naparima Hill, Gautier and Cuche Formations.
Overburden
The overburden rocks are the Lower Tertiary to Recent sediments.
Cross section showing the geographic extent and the essential elements
To date the only known oil accumulations are the sub-commercial discoveries made in
the Moruga East 15 well, which found heavy oil in Gautier turbidites and light
oil/condensate in Naparima Hill turbidites in the Rocky Palace 1 well. The latter was
interpreted to be sub-commercial gas and condensate
Seal
The seals are expected to be the overlying Tertiary shales.
Overburden
The overburden rocks will be the overlying Tertiary formations.
A first phase of maturation, expulsion and oil occurred around the lower
Miocene with the onset of foreland basin deformation and foredeep
formation, caused by the oblique collision of the Caribbean Plate with the
northern margin of South America. Migration is postulated to have
occurred at this time, from the more mature underthrust Naparima Hill and
Gautier shales to the less mature, fractured Naparima Hill rocks in the
overthrust areas. The migration pathways are postulated by us to be the
detached overthrust faults.
PETROLEUM ACCUMULATIONS
There is perhaps significant potential for shale oil in this reservoir
Seal
The seals in this system are the thick, up to 10,000', deep marine shales of the Cipero and
Chaudierre Formations.
Overburden
The overburden rocks are the Lower Tertiary to Recent sediments
Events Chart for the Gautier/Naparima Hill-Pointe a Pierre/ San Fernando () System
GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT
Found in the southern portion of the Caroni Basin offshore in the Gulf of
Paria. We postulate its extension into the southern portions of onshore and
eastern offshore parts of the Caroni Basin.
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
Source
Interpreted (Talukdar et al 1995) to be a mature, marine Type II source
containing principally algal-bacterial organic input. This was based analyses
of two Manzanilla oils from the North Soldado field.
It has been postulated by earlier workers (e.g. Kugler and others) that the
upper Cretaceous is missing from most of the Caroni Basin onshore.
We suggest however that the upper Cretaceous source could be present in
the southern portion of the basin and point out that the Cretaceous
penetrations were in the northern part of the basin.
In any event, the north verging overthrusting associated with the
transpressive Central Range fault system allows migration pathways from
within the Central Range, where the source is known to be present to
reservoirs in the southern part of the Caroni Basin.
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
Reservoir
The principal reservoir rocks are the Manzanilla and Springvale Formations
of Mio-Pliocene age. Reservoir quality should be good to excellent in the
southern part of the basin, but is deteriorates in a northern direction as
conglomerates of the Cunapo formation become more and more dominant.
Seal
The interbedded marine shales, generally only a few hundred feet thick,
formed at maximum flooding periods act as very good seals.
Overburden
Overburden rocks are those of the younger Pliocene to Recent sediments.
Phase 1
An earlier phase of lower and mid-Miocene maturation, expulsion, migration and
entrapment occurred in reservoirs of Oligocene to Middle Miocene and older ages, as a
result of the continuing oblique advance of the Caribbean Plate. Initially migration would
have occurred along the south verging faults which developed within the basement
detached fold and thrust belt and which trend ENE-WSW.
A good example is the Brighton Field in which deeper reservoirs of upper Oligocene Nariva
sands are overlain by younger Manzanilla reservoirs, and both contain oil.
Geochemical evidence from two oil analyses from the North Soldado field, supports this
concept. Towards the north, in the North Soldado field area, Nariva encountered oil
bearing sands beneath Manzanilla and younger oil reservoirs.
Briefly Talukdar et al (1995) interpret two phases of migration which resulted in the mixing
of an earlier migrated oil which has been biodegraded, with a later migrating unbiodegraded gas/condensate. They conclude that deeper reservoirs of gas/condensate or
original oils should exist.
PROCESSES
Phase 11
Two later major phases of re-migration are suggested. The first re-migrated
oil was biodegraded.
A second later phase of re-migration of gas/condensate then occurred
resulting in the mixing of the earlier re-migrated oil, with the later remigrating gas/condensate.
The re-migration phases would have occurred in the Pliocene along the Los
Bajos Fault and other faults bounding the North Soldado structure.
EVENTS CHART
PETROLEUM ACCUMULATIONS
This system has so far yielded commercial production from the North
Soldado oilfield which has produced over 200 million barrels of oil to date.
Smaller accumulations are also found even further south, east of the Los
Bajos Fault in the Cluster Six area within the Trinmar acreage and the Ten
Degrees North Brighton Field and in their Pt. Ligoure Block.
Large heavy oil accumulations have been found in North East Soldado Field
(S484/S498) and in the North Marine area. Production to date from these
accumulations has been low.
Recently the Jubilee discovery has been announced . It lies between Cluster
6 and North East Soldado
PETROLEUM ACCUMULATIONS
Table showing petroleum accumulations within the System.
Production for Brighton represents our estimate of the portion of the
production from the Manzanilla only (estimated by us to have produced
10% of the fields production)
GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT
Found in the southern portion of the Gulf of Paria Pull Apart Basin. We
postulate its extension into the southern portions of onshore part of the
Caroni Basin
Very waxy light oil produced from the Couva Marine sourced from Brasso
shales
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
Seal
There are adequate interbedded marine shales which are interpreted to
have acted as the seals.
Overburden
The overburden rocks will be Upper Tertiary sands and shales of the
Manzanilla, Springvale and Talparo Formations.
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
Source
Mid-Tertiary Brasso shales of the Cipero formation...deposited in a more
restricted environment than that further south
Reservoir
Manzanilla Sands is the main known reservoirs for this petroleum system.
A second potentially more important reservoir is the Brasso sand member
of the Cipero shale which is expected to be present in the Gulf and western
onshore portions of the Caroni Basin.
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
EVENTS CHART
PETROLEUM ACCUMULATIONS
To date only one small oilfield within the Trinidad area and another further
to the west in the Eastern Venezuela onshore which are known to have
been sourced by the Brasso shales There are other relatively small
accumulations of gas and condensate further to the west, within the Gulf of
Paria Pull Apart Basin with Manzanilla sands as the main reservoir, but we
do not know whether the source is Brasso or Naparima Hill/Gautier.
Source
The minor amount of condensate being produced from the Trinidad has
now been proven to have a Tertiary source and not Cretaceous as we
originally suggested.
This was on the basis of analysis of a sample of condensate from the
Hibiscus Field.
To the present time no source rock correlation has been attempted, so the
exact age is not known. The analysis of the condensate shows however that
it was sourced from a rock rich in terrestrial organic matter.
We are suggesting a Miocene or older age.
A thick Miocene shale was penetrated in the Maracas 1 well, which was
reported to be rich in TOC which seemed to be terrestrial in origin.
This may be the source, but no analyses have yet been done on these
shales.
Reservoir
The reservoirs are the marine sands of mainly Mio-Pliocene age which
produce gas in the fields to the south along the Patao High, but also could
be older in age. The sands are thin but laterally extensive and have good
porosity and permeability. They are turbiditic in origin to the west but
become shallower to the east.
Seal
The seals are overlying and encasing marine shales, which are known to
seal the gas fields to the south.
Overburden
The overburden rocks are interbedded sands and shales of Plio-Pleistocene
and older age.
PROCESSES
The gas being produced in our NCMA is mostly biogenic gas, sourced from
interbedded shales.
The condensateis sourced from Tertiary (probably Miocen)e shales
We expect that maturation could have taken place during the oblique
collision of the Caribbean Plate with the South American plate in the
Trinidad area and that the faults and anticlinal structures formed during the
Mio-Pliocene, could act as migration pathways and pene-contemporaneous
traps.
PETROLEUM ACCUMULATIONS
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
We have provided a listing and description of all the eleven petroleum
systems that have been found to date in the Trinidad area.
The methodology used was based on that outlined by Mc Goon and Dow.
We hope to be able to do oil source correlations for those systems in which
these correlations are still outstanding, particularly the systems for the
Angostura and Hibiscus fields.
There are, needless to says lots of other geo-chemical work to be done if
we are to better understand accumulations in basins in which oil and gas
have already been found as well as predict the types and amounts of
hydrocarbons that might be found in frontier areas, like the older
formations in the Gulf of Paria Pull-apart Basin, the ultra-deep waters off
the east coast of Trinidad and the flank areas of the North Coast Marine
Area.