Petroleum Geology
F. K. North
Description
This comprehensive text presents petroleum geology as an integrative science, combining geological principles with geophysics, geochemistry, and reservoir studies to provide a complete understanding of how oil and gas originate, migrate, accumulate, and are explored. The book systematically guides students from foundational concepts and historical development to the nature and origin of petroleum, reservoir properties, migration mechanisms, trapping systems, basin analysis, exploration methods, reserve estimation, and global distribution of hydrocarbons. Emphasizing both theoretical understanding and practical application, it equips students with the geological insight required to analyze petroleum systems, interpret subsurface data, understand exploration risks, and connect geology with drilling and production realities, making it an essential academic and professional reference for petroleum geology studies.
Contents:
- Chapter 1: Petroleum geology as a field of study
- Chapter 2: Basic vocabulary
- Chapter 3: Basic statistics
- Chapter 4: Historical development
- Chapter 5: Composition of petroleum and natural gas
- Chapter 6: The origin of petroleum hydrocarbons
- Chapter 7: The conversion of organic matter to petroleum
- Chapter 8: Source sediments as seen by the geologist
- Chapter 9: Oilfield waters and their effects on the hydrocarbons
- Chapter 10: The variety of petroleum hydrocarbons
- Chapter 11: Porosity and permeability
- Chapter 12: Well logs
- Chapter 13: Reservoir rocks
- Chapter 14: Pressure conditions in the reservoir
- Chapter 15: Migration of oil and natural gas
- Chapter 16: Trapping mechanisms for oil and gas
- Chapter 17: Petroleum basins
- Chapter 18: Factors favoring hydrocarbon abundance
- Chapter 19: The petroleum geologist in action
- Chapter 20: Surface indications and the direct detection of hydrocarbons
- Chapter 21: Exploration seismology
- Chapter 22: The petroleum geologist's maps and cross sections
- Chapter 23: What geologists should understand about drilling costs
- Chapter 24: Estimation of reserves and resources
- Chapter 25: Geographic distribution of oil and gas
- Chapter 26: Case histories of selected fields