CHAPTER I

Petroleum: Its Origin,

Composition and Sources
ORIGIN OF PETROLEUM
Oil and gas originate from organic matter in sedimentary
rocks. Dead vegetation in the absence of oxygen ceases to
decompose. It accumulates in the soil as humus and as
deposits of peat in bogs and swamps.
ORIGIN OF PETROLEUM
Peat buried beneath a cover of clays and sands becomes
compacted as the temperature, weight and pressure of
the cover increase, and water and gases are driven off. The
residue, ever richer in carbon, becomes coal.
ORIGIN OF PETROLEUM
In the sea, a similar process takes place. Of the marine life
that is externally falling slowly to the bottom of the sea,
vast quantities of it are eaten, some is oxidized, but a
portion of the microscopic animal and plant life escapes
destruction and is entombed in the mud on the sea floor.
A. INORGANIC THEORY
1. Deep seated terrestrial hypothesis
From as early as1877. Dmitri Mendele’ev, a Russian
who developed the periodic table, postulated an
inorganic origin when it became apparent that there
were widespread deposits of petroleum throughout the
world. He reasoned that metallic carbides deep within
Earth reacted with water at high temperatures to form
acetylene (C2H2).
A. INORGANIC THEORY
2. Extraterrestrial hypothesis
In 1890 , Sokoloff proposed a cosmic origin for
petroleum. His theory was that hydrocarbons
precipitated as rain from original nebular matter from
which the solar system was formed. The hydrocarbons
were then ejected from earth's interior onto surface
rocks.
PROBLEMS IN INORGANIC THEORY
Firstly, there is no direct evidence that will show
whether the source of the organic material in the
chondritic meteorites is the result of a truly inorganic
origin or was in an original parent material which was
organically created. Similar reasoning applies to other
celestial bodies.
PROBLEMS IN INORGANIC THEORY
Secondly, there is no field evidence that inorganic
processes have occurred in nature, yet there is
mounting evidence for an organic origin.
PROBLEMS IN INORGANIC THEORY
And thirdly, there should be large amounts of
hydrocarbons emitted from volcanoes, congealed
magma, and other igneous rocks if an inorganic origin
is the primary methodology for the creation of
hydrocarbons. Gaseous hydrocarbons have been
recorded (White and Waring, 1963) emanating from
volcanoes, with methane (CH4) the most common.
B. ORGANIC THEORY
There are a number of compelling reasons that support
an organic development hypothesis.
• First and foremost, is the carbon- hydrogen-
organic matter connection.
• Second were observations dealing with the
chemical characteristics of petroleum reservoirs.
• Third were observations dealing with the physical
characteristics.
ORGANIC HYPOTHESIS - SUMMARY
The organic theory became the accepted theory about
the turn of the century as the oil and gas industry
began to fully develop and geologists were exploring
for new deposits. Simply stated, the organic theory
holds that the carbon and hydrogen necessary fir the
formation of oil and gas were derived from early
marine life forms living on the Earth during the
geologic past -- primarily marine plankton.
KEROGEN
is an insoluble , high molecular weight, polymeric
compound which comprises about 90 percent of the
organic material in shale. The remaining 10 percent
comprises bitumen of varying composition, which,
according to some researchers, is thermally altered
kerogen. As alteration occurs, kerogen is developed by
the increasing temperature in the closed system.
TEMPERATURE
increases with depth. Normal heat flow within the
earth’s crust produces an average geothermal gradient of
approximately 1.5°F for each 100 feet of depth.
Maturation studies on various crude oil types indicate
that temperatures required to produce oil occur between
the depth of approximately 5,000 feet and 20,000 feet
under average heat-flow conditions.
PRESSURE
like temperature, is a function of depth and increases 1
psi each foot of depth. Pressure is caused by the weight
of the sedimentary overburden.

BACTERIAL ACTION
like temperature, is a function of depth and increases 1
psi each foot of depth. Pressure is caused by the weight
of the sedimentary overburden.
MATURATION OF KEROGEN
is a function of increased burial and temperature and
is accompanied by chemical changes. As kerogen
thermally matures and increases in carbon content, it
changes from an immature light greenish-yellow color to
an over mature black, which is representative of a higher
coal rank.
COMPOSITION OF PETROLEUM
Petroleum is composed of carbon and hydrogen with
minor amounts of sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen (Table
1.1). An increase in the minor elements lowers the value
of crude.
Components Oil Asphalt Kerogen

Carbon 84.0 83 79

Hydrogen 13.0 10 6

Sulfur 2.0 4 5

Nitrogen 0.5 1 2

Oxygen 0.5 2 8

100.0 100 100

COMPOSITION OF PETROLEUM
A. Hydrocarbon Size Distribution
Drygas consist of predominantly methane. Wet gas contains
methane, ethane, propane butanes and minor amounts of
heavier hydrocarbon. Distillation separates Crude oil into
molecular group of
different sizes, such as , kerosene, gasoil, lubricating oil and
reseduum. High API gravity crudes have a high gasoline and
high in residuum. API gravities are used for classifying oils by
reference to their densities,
as defined by American Petroleum Institute.
COMPOSITION OF PETROLEUM
Composition of Typical Crude Oil
SOURCE OF PETROLEUM
Petroleum originates from a small fraction of the
organic matter deposited in sedimentary basins.
Most of the organic matter is the remains of plants
and animals that lived in the sea, and the rest is
land-delivered organic matter carried in by rivers
and continental runoff, or by the winds.
SOURCE OF PETROLEUM
Living organisms are composed of carbohydrates,
protein, and lipids and lignin in varying amounts.
these compounds are degraded by micro-
organisms into the monomer sugars, fatty
acids, etc. these immediately condense into
nitrogenous and humus complexes-progenitors of
kerogen.
SOURCE OF PETROLEUM
Some hydrocarbon are deposited in the sediments,
but most form from thermal alteration at depth.
Lipids are closet to petroleum in composition
among the major life substances. Lipids are most
concentrated in the lowest form of lifes.
SOURCE OF PETROLEUM
Petroleum contains traces of several substances that could have
come only from living organism. Example are:

* Porphyrins related to hemin and chlorophyll

* Optically active compounds
* Structure related to cholesterol, carotene and terpenes
* Predominance of odd number paraffin chains
SOURCE OF PETROLEUM
Carbon isotope data suggest that the lipids of plants are an
important source of petroleum. Coals, Kerogen, asphalts and
petroleum all originated from organic matter deposited with
sediments.differences are due to different source of materials,
dispersal and environments of deposition and diagenesis.
SOURCE OF PETROLEUM
OCCURENCE OF PETROLEUM
Only about 2% of the organic matter dispersed in
fined grained rocks becomes petroleum, and only
about 0.5 percent of it ends in a commercial
reservoir accumulation. this emphasizes the
inefficiency of the origin, migration and
accumulation processes of hydrocarbons.
OCCURENCE OF PETROLEUM
The ratio of dispersed hydrocarbons
to reservoir hydrocarbons is about 200 to 1 on a
world wide basis, partly because the
volume of potential reservoir rock is small
compared to a total sediments in the Earth's crust.
Within the prospective parts of oil-forming basins,
the ratioenerally varies between 10-100.
OCCURENCE OF PETROLEUM
MATURATION
Depth has two important acts in altering a crude oil.

Pressure, which increases with depth, causes diagenesis with

resultant clay alteration. Salinity variation affect migration
which in turn affects natural filtration.

Temperature, which increases with depth, causes several changes in oil

OCCURENCE OF PETROLEUM
DEGRADATION
Seepage may take place along unconformities, through fractures or
through continuous sand beds exposed at the surface. it results in the lost of
the light hydrocarbons to the atmosphere aation of the
natural asphalt at the seepage outlet.

Circulating meteoric waters may degrade oil by carrying

off the lighter hydrocarbons and by oxidizing portion of
the crude through contact with oxidizing substances.
FACTOR WHICH AFFECT THE
CRUDE OIL GRAVITY
Geological Age, older rocks tend to have higher gravities, but many
tertiary rocks have API of 40+. Mnay of Paleozoic rocks have API gravities
of +20.

Depth of Burial, deeper the resevoir, higher the gravity. The deepest well
tend to produced gas.

Basinal Position, gradients range from high at the center to low at the
edges
FACTOR WHICH AFFECT THE
CRUDE OIL GRAVITY
Tectonism, high gravities are more common in regions of high stress

Salinity, marines resources tend to have higher gravities than

fresh/brackish sources.

Sulfur Content, content is high in low gravity crudes. Main variations are
regional

Lithology, No apparent relationship

GENERATION OF NATURAL GAS
Methane is formed by Bacterial decay of organic material. It is
major product of the diagenesis of coal and is given off from all
form of organic matter during diagenesis. When heated kerogen
in shales from gas producing areas gives off much greater
quantities of methane as compared to the kerogen of shales from
oil producing areas.
DIFFERENT CONTIGENT
Natural Gas
Comprises biogenic gas and thermogenic gas with
different contigents upon conditions of origin
DIFFERENT CONTIGENT
Biogenic Gas
Form at low temperatures at over burden depths of less than
3,000 feet under anaerobic associated with high rates of marines
sediments accumulation. Oxygen is consumed early and before
the reduction of sulfates, methanes form after the sulfates
eliminated by hydrogen reduction of carbon dioxide. Anaerobic
oxidation of carbon dioxide produced methane.
DIFFERENT CONTIGENT
Thermogenic Gas
Forms at significantly higher temperatures and overburden
pressures. it contains methane and significantly larger amounts of
heavier hydrocarbons than biogenic gas. As time and temperature
increase, progressively lighter hydrocarbons forms as wet gas and
condensate in the latter stages of thermogenesis.