A2 Basins, Oil and Gas Flashcards
Fossil fuel
made from the remains of once living organisms and are coal, oil and natural gas.
Petroleum
(petra = rock and oleum = oil) includes natural gas (gas), crude oil (liquid) and asphalt (solid).
Source rock
organic-rich mudstone or shale which contained abundant plankton that formed in low-energy, anoxic, marine conditions.
Reservoir rock
highly porous and permeable rock capable of storing and yielding significant amounts of petroleum.
Caprock
the impermeable rock above the reservoir rock preventing further upwards migration of petroleum.
Hydrocarbon
includes any compound made just of hydrogen and carbon. It is often used as a general term to refer to oil and natural gas. The simplest hydrocarbon is methane (CH4), also known as natural gas, marsh gas and fire damp.
Sapropel
the unconsolidated, dark-coloured, organic-rich deposit which becomes the source rock.
Kerogen
a solid bituminous material in source rocks which forms oil when distilled.
Maturation process
converts plankton into petroleum by the effects of increasing temperature and pressure during burial.
Oil window
the narrow temperature and pressure conditions where oil can form.
Gas window
the narrow temperature and pressure conditions where gas can form.
Migration
the movement of petroleum from a source rock to a reservoir rock.
Trap
geological situations that concentrate petroleum in one place.
Synsedimentary faults
show displacement over an extended time period, usually within sediments during deposition.
Travel time
the time taken for a pulse to travel to a boundary and back again. To calculate the distance to the boundary, the travel time must first be divided by two.
