Introduction

Potential oil and gas sediments accumulate as a mixture of grains, water and organic
content. As
they are buried and compacted, fluids and or gas mature and will increase in volume and
are
squeezed out of the source rocks by the resulting forces that exist.
Migration is the process of the oil and gas moving away from the source rock. This is a
slow
process i.e. perhaps a few kilometres over a period of millions of years.

Hydrocarbon migration consists of four stages: primary, secondary,

tertiary, and remigration. The list below contains their definitions.

Primary Migrationthe process of loss of hydrocarbons from the

source rock.

Secondary MigrationMigration from source to reservoir along a

simple or complex carrier system. Includes migration within the
reservoir rock itself.

Tertiary MigrationMigration to the surface, either from a

reservoir or source rock.

RemigrationMigration from one reservoir position through an

intervening section into another reservoir position in the same or a
different reservoir.
Primary migration is the process of movement from source rock.
Secondary migration is movement to or within the reservoir entrapment.

Primary migration is the transportation of water, oil and gas out of the
compacting sediments. E.g. When source mud are first deposited they consist of
70-80% water. What is left is solids such as clay materials, carbonates particles or
fine grained silica.
The primary migration of oil from source to reservoir is as follows
1. Water flows towards the lowest potential energy
2. Clay mud often has abnormal pressure because they are slow to release water
3. Avenues of migration during basing compaction are
Sandstones
Unconformities
Fracture / Fault systems
Biothermal reefs.

Secondary Migration
In secondary migration, the oil droplets are moved about within the reservoir to from
pools.
Secondary migration can include a second step during which crustal movements of the
earth shift the position of the pool within the reservoir rock.
Factors

Hydrocarbons migrate from a position of higher potential energy to one of

lower
potential energy. The spatial location of these energy
differences defines the expected migration path. There are many sources
for this energy that causes oil and gas migration.
Three factors primarily cause hydrocarbon migration. All may be active at
the same time during the migration process. Each factor produces energy
from one or more sources.
Factors

Energy sources

Buoyancy

Chemical potential (related to

concentration differences)

Expansion due to a phase change

(related to maturation)

Volume increase due to

maturation

Sediment compaction (squeezing

the oil or gas from collapsing pore
space)

Thermal expansion

Presence of oil or gas

Indirect effects on oil or gas due

to burial

Decrease in pressure and

temperature as a result of the
upward migration of oil or gas

Water motion due to compaction

Topographically driven flow

Phase change

Gas expansion

Migration processes
Migration is caused by burial, compaction, and increase in volume and separation of the
source rock constituents. There must be space porosity within the rocks to allow for
movement. In addition, there should be permeability within the rocks to allow for flow.

Burial

As the source rock is buried deeper in the Earth, increasing pressure

(overburden) of the overlying rocks squeezes and compacts the rock to
provide the driving forces to expel water, oil and gas. The mineral grains
do not compact but their pore spaces are decreased. Any petroleum
generated is therefore squeezed out of the source rock spaces. Increase in
volume the maturation of a liquid or gas from solid, causes an enormous
increase in volume which may cause fracturing of the source rock. The
hydrocarbons generated, therefore, escape upwards through such
fractures that are created.
Compaction
Compaction of the source rock beds by the weight of the overlying rocks provides
the driving mechanism to expel the hydrocarbons causing them to move, where
they will take the easiest route i.e. ( through the most porous beds or fractures)
moving to regions of lower pressure (that normally would be at shallower
depths.)
Separation
Gravity separation of gas, oil and water takes place in reservoir rocks that are
usually water saturated. Consequently, petroleum is forever trying to rise until it
is trapped or escapes at the earths surface. Note: Water, Oil and gas will only
migrate through permeable enough zones where spaces between rock particles
deposited or generated are interconnected and large enough to allow fluid
movement to an entrapment point.
Migration pathway

Hydrocarbon migration appears to occur in spatially limited areas and in

discrete time intervals. It leaves either no trace or a trace that is
continually modified or destroyed by later events. Effective hydrocarbon
migration occurs along discrete pathways, not along broad, uniform fronts.
These pathways are determined by the pore networks, the interaction of
these networks between formations, and the stratigraphic variation within
the basin. Within the carrier/reservoir bed, the migration pathway is
controlled by the structural configuration of the contact with the overlying
seal and the continuity of both the carrier permeability network and the
overlying seal.
The general flow of petroleum from a mature source rock to a trap can be
estimated using a few simple assumptions:

The dominant force causing petroleum to move is buoyancy.

Petroleum is deflected laterally through sand-rich sections by

overlying shale-rich sections.

Where there are closed traps along this pathway, petroleum will
accumulate until the trap is full and spills, or leaks, any additional
migrating petroleum.

The exact flow paths generally require more detailed information about
stratigraphic variability, distribution of fractures, and permeability of faults
than is generally available to geologists.