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28 - Diatoms in oil and gas exploration

from Part V - Other applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

William N. Krebs
Affiliation:
Petronas Carigali SDN. BHD.
Andrey Yu. Gladenkov
Affiliation:
Russian Academy of Sciences
Gareth D. Jones
Affiliation:
Westhill, Aberdeenshire AB32 6EJ
John P. Smol
Affiliation:
Queen's University, Ontario
Eugene F. Stoermer
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
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Summary

Introduction

Diatoms constitute an important rock-forming microfossil group. They evolved rapidly during the Cenozoic, and unlike other microfossils, diatoms are found in marine, brackish, and lacustrine sediments, and are thus useful for age dating and correlating sediments that accumulated in a variety of environments. Their fossil assemblages are reflective of the environments in which they lived, and their recovery in wells and outcrops can provide information on paleochemistry and paleobathymetry. They are most useful to the oil and gas industry in age dating and correlating rocks that lack or have poor recovery of calcareous microfossils, such as “cold-water” Tertiary marine rocks, and sediments that accumulated in lacustrine basins and in brackish-water settings.

Age dating and correlation of sedimentary rocks are important for hydrocarbon exploration in order to understand the geologic history of a basin as it relates to formation of source rocks, reservoirs, structures, and seals. The timing of expulsion of oil and gas is a critical factor in determining the prospect potential of a basin for hydrocarbon, and necessitates an understanding of the geochronology of events. The ability to correlate subsurface rocks is a prerequisite to mapping the distribution of reservoir facies and the interpretation of sequence stratigraphy.

Environmental data pertaining to paleobathymetry and paleochemistry provide important information on the geologic history of a basin and predictability of reservoir distribution. For example, shales that are barren of calcareous microfossils may have accumulated in deep water, beneath the carbonate compensation depth, or in brackish or freshwater.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Diatoms
Applications for the Environmental and Earth Sciences
, pp. 523 - 533
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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