Geology Studies

Origins of Petroleum Petroleum   is a naturally occurring substance consisting of organic compounds in the form of gas, liquid, or semisolid. Organic compounds are carbon molecules that are bound to hydrogen (e.g., hydrocarbons) and to a lesser extent sulphur, oxygen, or nitrogen. petroleum is defined as any mixture of hydrocarbons that can be recovered from a drill pipe It occurs in form of oil and gas which mainly have a chemical composition of hydrocarbons of various carbon chains. Origins By referring to different grounds from two opposing theoretical hypothesis, petroleum origin and formation still become a polarized topic of scientists’ debates. These theories are abiogenesis and biogenesis .  Abiogenesis-inorganic origin of petroleum, is an oldest theory which suggests that petroleum comes from the underneath part of the mantle very long time ago before the existence of life on earth (Mendeleev, 1877). The second hypothesis, biotic or organic origi...

HISTORY  and Development of Petroleum Petroleum has been known throughout historical time. It was used in mortar, for coating walls and boat hulls, and as a fire weapon in defensive warfare. Native Americans used it in magic and medicine and in making paints. Pioneers bought it from the Native Americans for medicinal use and called it Seneca oil and Genesee oil. In Europe it was scooped from streams or holes in the ground, and in the early 19th cent. small quantities were made from shale. In 1815 several streets in Prague were lighted with petroleum lamps. The modern petroleum industry began in 1859, when the American oil pioneer E. L. Drake   drilled a producing well on Oil Creek in Pennsylvania at a place that later became Titusville. Many wells were drilled in the region. Kerosene was the chief finished product, and kerosene lamps soon replaced whale oil lamps and candles in general use. Little use other than as lamp fuel was made of petroleum until the developme...

Traps . A trap forms when the  buoyancy  forces driving the upward migration of  hydrocarbons  through a  permeable  rock cannot overcome the  capillary forces  of a sealing medium. The timing of trap formation relative to that of petroleum generation and migration is crucial to ensuring a reservoir can form. Petroleum geologists  broadly classify traps into three categories that are based on their geological characteristics: the  structural trap , the stratigraphic trap and the far less common hydrodynamic trap. The trapping mechanisms for many petroleum reservoirs have characteristics from several categories and can be known as a combination trap. Structural traps . Fold (structural) trap Fault (structural) trap Structural traps   are formed as a result of changes in the structure of the subsurface due to processes such as folding and faulting...

                    Transform Organic Matter into Petroleum This article will explain the overall of how to transform organic matter into petroleum. Chemical processes will take place in order to transform organic matter preserved in source rocks into petroleum. This can be called a cooking process. Three phases regarding maturation of the organic matter to form petroleum are   digenesis ,   cytogenesis   and   mutagenesis . Diagenesis This occurs at shallow surfaces and begins during initial deposition. It normally takes place from a shallow depth to 1,000 m and the temperature range is less than 60 C (140 F). Non-biogenic reaction and biogenic decay aided by bacteria turns organic matter to Methane (CH4), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), water (H2O) and Kerosene. Kerosene is a precursor to the creation of petroleum. Types of kerosene depend on the original type of organic matter. Kerosene Chemistry Chemical compo...

The vibrations produced by earthquakes are detected, recorded, and measured by instruments call seismographs. The zig-zag line made by a seismograph, called a "seismogram," reflects the changing intensity of the vibrations by responding to the motion of the ground surface beneath the instrument. From the data expressed in seismograms, scientists can determine the time, the epicenter, the focal depth, and the type of faulting of an earthquake and can estimate how much energy was released. The first indication of an earthquake is often a sharp thud, signaling the arrival of compressional waves. This is followed by the shear waves and then the "ground roll" caused by the surface waves. A geologist who was at Valdez, Alaska, during the 1964 earthquake described this sequence:  The first tremors were hard enough to stop a moving person, and shock waves were immediately noticeable on the surface of the ground. These shock waves continued with a rather long frequen...

Earthquakes              Suddenly shaking and trembling of Ground/ Earth surface is known as Earthquakes. The numerous shocks which continually take place are due to sharp movements along fractures (called faults) which relieve stress in the crustal rocks. Stress accumulates locally from various causes until it exceeds the strength of the rocks, when failure and slip along fractures occur, followed usually by a smaller rebound. A small movement on a fault, perhaps a few centimeters or less, can produce a considerable shock because of the amount of energy involved and the fault may 'grow' by successive movements of this kind. Earthquakes range from slight tremors which do little damage, to severe shocks which can open fissures in the ground, initiate fault scarps and landslides, break and overthrow buildings, and sever supply mains and lines of transport.  The worst effects are produced in weak ground, especially young deposits of sand,...