INTRODUCTION TO PETROLEUM GEOLOGY

INSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL AND EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT

SYLLABUS

2011 www.iped-uk.com

IPED UK-Learning Resource Centre Pacific House-Parkhouse-Carlisle-CA3 0LJ-England

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Unit title Unit aim

INTRODUCTION TO PETROLEUM GEOLOGY

This unit seeks to enable the learner understand the philosophy of petroleum exploration and justification of the need for the production of petroleum in commercial quantities. It aims to help the learner understand nature of oil and gas and how they are formed. Learners will understand the chemical composition, properties and measurement of crude oil and natural gas.

Credit value 30

30 credits equivalent to 300 hours of teaching and learning (10 hours is equivalent to 1 credit) Guided learning hours (GLH) = 50 hours GLH includes lectures, tutorials and supervised study. This may vary to suit the needs and requirements of the learner and the approved centre of study. Directed learning = 50 hours: This includes advance reading and preparation, group study, and undertaking research tasks. Self-managed learning = 200 hours: This includes completing assignments and working through the core and additional reading texts. It also includes personal research reading via other physical and/or electronic resources. Written examination under clocked supervised conditions. Maximum 3 hours Examination questions will be practical, application-based and be focused at an operational level. According to the nature of the subject matter, a variety of question styles and approaches will be included in the examination. Questions might be based on case study materials and require a discursive answer, a report or a series of shorter answers. Students will typically be required to explore and compare the technical aspects of an issue or topic or to apply their understanding to, for example, solve a problem or provide a recommended solution Examinations will be set, administered, assessed and internally verified by IPED UK in the United Kingdom by IPED UK assessors and internal verifiers. Lectures: Formal lectures to be provided at and by an approved centre Class discussions: which should include analysis and review of various case studies Group discussions: where students are advised to actively engage and contribute GCSE or WASSCE or closely related (with passes in English, Mathematics and General Science) The course will be monitored by internal verifiers of IPED UK. The work of the tutors/assessors will be closely monitored by IVs and the IPED UK Learning Resource Centre England. The IPED Suggestion and Feedback Policy (system) will be used to collect information from learners and users of the programme to make informed decision on quality improvement strategies

Assessment methods

Additional assessment information Methods for teaching and learning

Minimum entry requirement Course monitoring and review

Learning outcome (Learner will) 1.0 Understand the oil and gas value chain

Assessment criteria (Learner can) 1.1 Explain what is meant by the oil and gas value chain 1.2 Describe the upstream, midstream and downstream parts of the value chain 2.1 Examine the difference between the U.S oil and gas industry and other oil producing countries 2.2 Examine the various business models that exist within the smaller companies in the oil and gas industry 2.3 Analyse the duties of the people in the oil and gas industry: - Geologists (including stratigraphers and paleontologists) - Engineers (including reservoir engineers, drilling engineers, production engineers and structural engineers) - Geophysicists - Operations staff - Drilling staff (including rig managers, drillers, derrick man, roughnecks, roustabouts) - Production staff (including production foreman, pumpers/gaugers, roustabouts) - Supporting staff (including the landman, lawyer, accountants) - Suppliers 2.4 Give an account on the philosophy of petroleum exploration (with reference to Stoneley 1995)

2.0 Understand the nature of the oil and gas industry

3.0 Understand the nature of oil and gas

3.1 Examine the chemical composition by weight of a typical crude oil and natural gas 3.2 Examine the types of hydrocarbon molecules that occur in crude oil 3.3 Examine how different crude oils are compared using their APIo 3.4 Examine the various benchmark crude oils 3.5 Explain what is meant by the pour point, cloud point and viscosity of crude oil 3.6 Examine the various properties of crude oil 3.7 Describe how crude oil is measured and refined 3.8 Analyse the composition of natural gas (methane, ethane, propane and butane) 3.9 Examine the impurities that can be present in both crude oil and natural gas 3.10 Describe the following: - solution gas or oil ratio, - producing gas-oil ratio, - non-associated natural gas, - associated natural gas, condensates - Black oil 4

4.0 Understand the nature of the earths crust

Volatile oil Retrograde gas Wet and dry gases

4.1 Analyse a cross section of the earth showing the mantle, outer and inner cores, oceanic and continental crusts, and the sea level 4.2 Describe the characteristics of the core and mantle 5.1 Describe the reshaping of the earths continents from the movement of a single landmass (pangea) to the creation of todays continents: - Permian - Triassic - Jurassic - Cretaceous - Present day 5.2 Describe the sea floor spreading theory 6.1 Explain the 2 methods used for dating the formation of rocks and events - Absolute age dating (radioactive age dating) - Relative age dating 6.2 Examine the importance of fossils to relative age dating 6.3 Describe guide or index fossils, fossil assemblage and microfossils (foraminifera, radiolaria, coccoliths and diatoms) 6.4 Analyse the geologic timescale: - Phanerozoic (Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic) - Proterozoic - Archean 7.1 Explain what is meant by lithology 7.2 Describe the nature of minerals that form rocks and give examples 7.3 Examine the three types of rocks that make up the earths crust 7.3.1 Describe plutonic and volcanic igneous rocks 7.3.2 Describe the types of sedimentary rocks - Clastic sedimentary rocks - Organic sedimentary rocks - Chemical (or crystalline) sedimentary rocks 7.3.3 Explain the process of cementation and identify the common cements 7.3.4 Examine the process of lithification 7.3.5 Examine the characteristics of metamorphic rocks 8.1 Explain what is meant by porosity of a sedimentary rock 8.2 Examine the relevance of a rocks porosity to the accumulation of petroleum 5

5.0 Understand the phenomenon of plate tectonics

6.0 Understand the geologic timescale and important events in the earths history

7.0 Understand the characteristics of the various types of rocks

8.0 Understand the nature of porosity and permeability of sedimentary rocks

8.3 Describe well sorted sand grains and poorly sorted sand grains 8.4 Examine the porosity of sedimentary rocks such as clay, shale, mud, limestone, dolomite etc. including igneous and metamorphic rocks 8.5 Explain what is meant by the permeability of a sedimentary rock 8.6 Analyse the relevance of permeability to petroleum geology 8.7 Examine how the arrangement of rock particles such as well sorted and poorly sorted) influences permeability 9.0 Understand the deformation of sedimentary rocks 9.1 Explain the cause of distortion in the earth structure 9.2 Explain what is meant by folding 9.2.1 Examine the characteristics of monoclines, anticlines, synclines and domes 9.2.2 Explain why petroleum prospectors are more interested in anticlines and domes 9.3 Examine the phenomenon of faulting and describe the various types of faults: - Normal faults - Reverse faults (thrust faults) - Strike-slip faults 9.4 Explain what is meant by an unconformity and describe how it is formed 9.4.1 Examine an angular unconformity and a disconformity 9.5 Describe the evolution of sedimentary basins and explain why sedimentary basins are of relevance to the petroleum geologist 10.1 Examine the conditions that must be met for the accumulation of petroleum: - Source rock - Reservoir rock - Trap - Overburden rock 10.2 Examine the generation of the source rock 10.2.1 Explain what is meant by a kerogen and examine the types (Type 1,2,3 and 4) 10.3 Examine the following stages of petroleum maturation: - Diagenesis - Catagenesis - Metagenesis 10.4 Examine the essential features for a reservoir to be effective 10.5 Examine the characteristics of carbonate and sandstone (or clastic) reservoirs 10.6 Analyse primary and secondary migration 10.7 Examine how petroleum traps are formed 6

10.0 Understand the petroleum systems processes

10.7.1 Differentiate between structural, stratigraphic, combination and hydrodynamic traps 11.0 Understand the origins of hydrocarbons 11.1 Analyse the two contemporary theories that deal with the origin of hydrocarbons: - Biogenic - Abiogenic

Recommended learning resources

Textbooks Contact IPED for further information on learning resources/textbooks

Learning Aid

A learning resource material is provided to guide the learner/tutor and to serve as a quick reference point for contents of the programme. The student is advised not to be over reliant on the study guide but to access the relevant textbooks or other academic materials as much as possible to help him/her with the course.

Duration

The entire Level 4 diploma in Oil and Gas Management must be completed in a minimum of 24 weeks (6 months), spread over two semesters within a year with each semester consisting of 12 weeks minimum. However it can be completed in an intensive 6 month period if preferred depending on the learning abilities of the student and/or the availability of resources at the training centre. Whichever option is adopted, a minimum of 50 GLH must be used for each module.

Grading system
[All figures are expressed in percentage (%)] Grade A Grade B Grade C Grade D Grade F 70-100 60-69 50-59 40-49 39-0 Distinction Merit Pass Marginal pass Fail

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