Petroleum system naming
A unique designation or name is important to identify a person, place, item, or idea. As geologists, we name rock units, fossils, uplifts, and basins. The name for a specific petroleum system separates it from other petroleum systems and other geologic names.
Parts of a petroleum system name
The name of a petroleum system contains several parts that name the hydrocarbon fluid system:
- The source rock in the pod of active source rock
- The name of the reservoir rock that contains the largest volume of in-place petroleum
- The symbol expressing the level of certainty
Figure 1 an example of a petroleum system name and its parts.
Level of certainty
A petroleum system can be identified at three levels of certainty: known, hypothetical, and speculative. The level of certainty indicates the confidence for which a particular pod of mature source rock has generated the hydrocarbons in an accumulation. At the end of the system's name, the level of certainty is indicated by (!) for known, (.) for hypothetical, and (?) for speculative.
The table below indicates how the level of certainty is determined.
| Level of Certainty | Criteria | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| Known | A positive oil-source rock or gas-source rock correlation | (!) |
| Hypothetical | In the absence of a positive petroleum-source rock correlation, geochemical evidence | (.) |
| Speculative | Geological or geophysical evidence | (?) |
See also
External links
| find literature about Petroleum system naming |
|
|
|
|