How capillary properties control seal
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Exploring for Oil and Gas Traps | |
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Series | Treatise in Petroleum Geology |
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Part | Predicting the occurrence of oil and gas traps |
Chapter | Evaluating top and fault seal |
Author | Grant M. Skerlec |
Link | Web page |
Store | AAPG Store |
Hydrocarbons invading the pore space of a seal must displace the pore fluids. The pressure necessary to force the hydrocarbons into the seal and form a continuous filament is the displacement pressure. The pressure which forces the hydrocarbons into the seal is the buoyant pressure of the hydrocarbon phase. The trapping capacity of a top seal is the balance between the displacement pressure and the buoyant pressure. When the buoyant pressure exerted by the hydrocarbon column exceeds the displacement pressure of the seal, the seal leaks. For example, a shale top seal that could seal a 100-m column of oil might leak if the column increased to length::101 m.
See also
- Buoyancy pressure
- Top seal displacement pressure
- Hydrocarbon column: calculation of maximum height
- Capillary pressure
- Measuring displacement pressure using mercury injection
- Estimating displacement pressure from sedimentary facies and well logs
- Estimating displacement pressure from pore size