Objective
Objectives
The project seeks to understand how petroleum migrates through mudrock sequences in petroleum basins on both the basin and
reservoir seal scales. It will attempt to distinguish whether petroleum migration through mudstones takes place primarily
through fracture systems or via mudstone capillary systems.
The project will attempt to incorporate petroleum
compositional data into basin modelling petroleum migration
software and attempt quantitatively to constrain petroleum
migration scenarios in the North Sea using a case history
where vertical migration of petroleum through mudstones can be seen to occur.
Technical Approach
In this study of petroleum migration through fine grained rock sequences and caprocks we expect to be able to link, in a case history from the Jurassic through the Tertiary of the North
Sea with supporting studies elsewhere:
- structural geology and fracture definition,
- mudrock fabric definition,
-geochemical compositional variation and mechanism
dependent numerical models of petroleum migration, with
-fluid dynamic models to provide a self consistent
evaluation of petroleum flow mechanisms in fine-grained rock sequences such as seals and on spill-fill-spill migration
systems.
Expected Achievements and Exploitation
Substantial technical deliverables of the project will
include:-
1. An assessment of potential new methods and approaches to secondary migration modelling at reservoir and basin scale
dealing with capillary and fracture flow through mudstones.
2. A coupled dynamic flow and geochemical compositional model of petroleum transport through mudrocks capable of defining
the transport process (capillary versus fracture transport)
involved.
3. Development of new or revised concepts of migration into and leakage from reservoirs.
4. Software or algorithms which may be applied to migration models to assist exploration and production of reserves.
5. An integrated structural, rock fabric, geochemical and
modelled synthesis of petroleum migration and remigration in a North Sea case history.
Within 4 years we hope to provide the industry with the first commercially available migration simulator with chemical
compositional constraint on the actual path taken by the
petroleum.
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftware
- humanitieshistory and archaeologyhistory
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanicsfluid dynamics
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsfossil energypetroleum
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeology
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
NE1 7RU NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
United Kingdom