Sedimentary Rocks

What are Sedimentary Rocks?

• Sedimentary rocks are formed by the
accumulation of sediments. There are
three basic types of sedimentary rocks.
• Clastic sedimentary rocks such as breccia,
conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and
shale are formed from mechanical
weathering debris
Sedimentary rocks
• Chemical sedimentary rocks, such as rock salt,
iron ore, chert, some dolomites, and some
limestones, form when dissolved materials
precipitate from solution.
• Organic sedimentary rocks such as coal, some
dolomites, and some limestones, form from the
accumulation of plant or animal debris.
Some common sedimentary rock types

• Clastic sedimentary rocks

made up of angular rock
broken parts that are
cemented together.
• The angular shape means
that the broken parts
haven’t travelled far from
their pre-existing
materials.
• Breccias are commonly
found along fault zones
and they take any color.
Conglomerate

Are clastic sedimentary rocks

composed of semi-rounded
rock fragments cemented
together.
The rounded fragments depict
that they have undergone
abrasion and travelled a
significant distant from their
pre-existing materials.
Conglomerates fragments are
commonly deposited along the
shoreline or stream channel
and they are larger.
 Sandstone

Sandstones are clastic sedimentary

rocks made up of cemented sand
grains.
Sandstones vary from fine-grained to
coarse grained are readily
distinguishable by the naked eyes.
Mature sandstones or quartz
sandstones are light-colored and
majorly consist of rounded and well-
sorted quartz grains.
Graywackes or immature sandstones
consist of angular grains of diverse
minerals.
Sandstones are generally white, red,
gray, pink, black, or brown in color.
 Shale
Shale consists of clay minerals or
clay-sized pieces that have been
compacted by the weight of the
overlying rock materials.
Shale belongs to clastic sedimentary
rocks and they tend to split into
fairly flat pieces.
Shales are of many colors including
gray, red, brown, or black depending
on their composition of iron oxides
and organic materials.
They are generally a good source of
fossils and are mostly found at the
bottom of lakes or oceans
Petroleum system
• The petroleum system is a unifying concept
that encompasses all of the disparate
elements and processes of petroleum
geology. It includes the essential elements
(source, reservoir, seal, and traps) and
processes (trap formation, generation-
migration-accumulation).
• In other words, petroleum system includes
all the geologic elements and processes that
are essential if an oil and gas accumulation
is to exist.
Petroleum System
• Source rock
• Reservoir rock
• Seal
• Trap
• Trap formation
• Generation
• Migration
• Accumulation
Source rock/Kitchen

• A sedimentary rock in
which organic material
has been converted into
petroleum.
• Examples include;
Shales rich in organic
matter deposited in
anaerobic environment.
Others may include
evaporates and
limestones.

Kaiso-Tonya Shales in Albertine Graben

Types of Source rocks
• Possible source rock- any unit of rock which by its general
lithology and depositional environment may generate hydro-
carbons.
• Potential source rock- contains adequate quantities of organic
matter to generate oil or gas but has not yet done so because
of insufficient thermal maturity.
• Effective source rock-is generating or has generated and
expelled petroleum. This is divided into;
 Active source rock- presently generating and expelling
petroleum.
 Quiescent potential source rock- previously active yet has
stopped generating and expelling petroleum because of
thermal cooling due to uplift or erosion but may become
active if rebuild.
Cont’
 Spent source rocks-has completed the process of oil or
gas generation and expulsion.
Possible Source rock

Dark
gray
Clay

Silt

Possible Source rock encountered in R. Warwire Channel, Kaiso-Tonya Area.

Photo Taken by Patrick Mugwano.
Reservoir rock
• Any rock that is capable
of possessing the
porosity and
permeability necessary
both to contain and yield
oil or gas in commercial
quantities.
• Examples include
sandstones, carbonates,
and shales
Cycling sandstone beds at Sebagoro
section taken by Patrick Mugwano in
2011
Reservoir rock

• NB: With the recent advancement in technology, Shale is

currently regarded as a reservoir rock. I.e. U.S.A is
currently producing shale gas from shales as reservoirs.
• The fundamental property of a reservoir rock is its
porosity. For it to be an effective reservoir rock; the
fundamental property is its permeability.
• A seal/trap is also a fundamental component of a
reservoir.
Porosity and Permeability
• Porosity- is the ratio of pore volume to bulk volume of a
material. It can be expressed as a percentage.
• Porosity (ф)= ((Pore volume)/(Bulk volume))*100%
= ((Bulk volume-Grain Volume)/(Bulk volume))*100%
• Total Porosity- the ration of the volume of all the pores
to the bulk volume of a material regardless of whether or
not all of the pores are interconnected.
• Effective porosity- the ratio of the interconnected pore
volume to the bulk volume of a material.
Types of Porosity
• Primary Porosity- this develops as the sediment was
deposited and includes intergranular common in
sandstones and intraparticle.
• Secondary Porosity-this develops during diagenesis by
dissolution and dolomitization as well as through
tectonic movements producing fractures in the rock.
• Two major processes that lead to porosity reduction are;
 Cementation
 Compaction
Make notes on Permeability
Petroleum migration
• Like other formation fluids, oil and gas also migrate. In
some cases, they accumulate near where they originate,
some times within a few feet of the source rock. In other
places the migration covers many kilometres.
• Because oil is lighter than water, it does not mix readily
with it, oil tends to separate from water and floats on
top. Usually it moves as a diffuse scattering of
suspended droplets, but it may reach higher
concentrations when its movement is arrested. Gas is
usually present as well, either dissolved in the oil or as a
separate distinct accumulation.
Petroleum migration
• They are two types of migration that takes place namely;
 Primary migration
 Secondary migration
• Primary migration of petroleum- is the movement of
hydro-carbons out of the source rock to the reservoir
rock through conduits such as permeable beds,
fractures, and faults covering a distance a fraction of an
inch to several feet (rarely more).
• Secondary migration- is the subsequent movement
through porous, permeable reservoir rock by which oil
and gas become concentrated in one locality/
accumulate.
Classify this type of migration

Joints impregnated with Hydrocarbon at Kabyosi River

channel
Petroleum traps
• A tight formation may keep fluids from leaving an
underlying reservoir bed by preventing their vertical
migration. However, fluids may still migrate
horizontally beneath the sea. For an accumulation to
form, petroleum fluids must encounter a trap, a
geological combination of impermeably and structure
that stops any further migration.
• A trap-is any barrier to upward movement or
continuous migration of petroleum (oil/gas) allowing it
to accumulate.
Petroleum trap
• A trap is basically a geometry of a reservoir rock and
consists of the following features:
• Crest/culmination- Is the highest point of a trap
• Spill point- the lowest point of a trap
• Vertical Closure- Vertical distance between the crest and
the spill point.
• Pay- Is the thickness of the productive reservoir
• Gross pay- total vertical interval of a productive zone
• Net pay- is the thickness of actual productive interval
excluding intervening non-productive layers
Petroleum traps
Petroleum Traps
• Traps can be classified as;
 Structural traps
 Stratigraphic traps
 Combination traps
Structural traps

• A structural trap is a type of geological trap that

forms as a result of changes in the structure of the
subsurface. It can be due to tectonic, diapiric,
gravitational and compactional processes.
• These changes block the upward migration of
hydrocarbons and can lead to the formation of a
petroleum reservoir.
• Most common Examples of structural traps are
Fault and Anticlinal traps
Anticlinal trap
• An anticline is an area of
the subsurface where the
strata have been pushed
into forming a domed
shape.
• If there is a layer of
impermeable rock present
in this dome shape, then
hydrocarbons can
accumulate at the crest
until the anticline is filled
to the spill point - the
lowest point where
hydrocarbons can escape
the anticline
Fault Trap

• This trap is formed by the

movement of permeable and
impermeable layers of rock
along a fault line.
• The permeable reservoir
rock faults such that it is
now adjacent to an
impermeable rock,
preventing hydrocarbons
from further migration.
• In some cases, there can be
an impermeable substance
smeared along the fault line
(such as clay) that also acts
to prevent migration. This is
known as clay smear
Stratigraphic traps

• These are as a result of variations in the

deposition of sediments within a sedimentary
environment.
• Two main groups can be recognized namely
Primary and Secondary
• They include; lenses, pinchouts, bioherms, coral
reefs etc
Stratigraphic traps
Stratigraphic traps
Primary Stratigraphic trap Secondary stratigraphic trap
• These traps result • These stratigraphic traps
from variations in result from variations
facies that developed that developed after
during sedimentation. sedimentation, mainly
because of diagenesis.
• These include features
such as lenses, pinch- • These include variations
due to porosity
outs, and appropriate enhancement by
facies changes dissolution or loss by
cementation
Sandstone Lens

• A lens is a body of
rock that is thick in the
middle and thin at the
edges, resembling a
convex lens in cross-
section
Pinch out
• A type of stratigraphic
trap. The termination
by thinning or tapering
out ("pinching out") of
a reservoir against a
nonporous sealing rock
creates a favourable
geometry to trap
hydrocarbons,
particularly if the
adjacent sealing rock is
a source rock such as a
shale
Combination trap
• This is as result of
stratigraphic variation
in deposition of
sediments and tectonic
activity
Probable Seal

Thick Clay Beds at Nkondo, Kaiso-Tonya Area, Albertine Graben

Timing

• Appropriate relative timing of formation of the

above elements and the processes of
generation, migration and accumulation are
necessary for hydrocarbons to accumulate and
be preserved
A Seal

• An impermeable rock that acts as a barrier to further

migration of hydrocarbon liquids.
Rocks that forms a barrier or cap above and around
reservoir rock forming a trap such that fluids cannot
migrate beyond the reservoir.
The permeability of a seal capable of retaining fluids
through geologic time is ~ 10-6 to 10-8 darcies.
Examples may include; shale, mudstone, anhydrite
A seal is a critical component of a complete petroleum
system