"Something in the order of 500 million
years ago there was only simple life in the seas, and these
shallow seas would be rich with organic, living organisms. |
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Plankton and algae, proteins and the life that's floating
in the sea, as it dies, falls to the bottom, and these organisms
are going to be the source of our oil and gas. |
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When they're buried with the accumulating sediment and
reach an adequate temperature, something above 50-70°
Centigrade they start to cook. This transformation, this
change, changes them into the liquid hydrocarbons that move
and migrate, will become our oil and gas reservoir."
Roy Nurmi
Schlumberger Interpretation Advisor - Geology
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Movement
of the Continents: Plate tectonics, driven by the earth's
internal heat, is the engine that moves the continents.
This movement forms valleys where sediments and decaying
organic matter can collect, ultimately becoming oil reservoirs. |
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Rise and
Fall of the North Sea: During the millions of years
that moving continents build mountains and valleys, sea
level rises and falls thousands of times, producing radical
changes in coastlines. What is now deep water was once a
shallow sea, where the organic ingredients to form oil were
deposited. |
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Evolution
of the Reservoir: Most oil reservoirs are created when
a valley sinks and is flooded by the sea. As the seafloor
plunges, it accumulates three key ingredients: a source
for oil -- organic matter -- sediments that form a reservoir
to hold oil, and denser sediments that trap oil in the reservoir. |
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Summary
of Birth of a Reservoir.
What is a Reservoir? |
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