Oil Drilling and Production
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Copyright, Chevron, 1996
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Copyright, Chevron, 1996
When looking for an oil field, a number of geological elements are
examined and which are deemed necessary for an oil field to exist. The
elements that are necessary are a source rock to generate hydrocarbons, a
porous reservoir rock(2) to hold the hydrocarbons, and a structural tap(3)
so that the hydrocarbons don't leak.
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Copyright, Chevron, 1996
Geologists use satellites and radar(9) to examine rocks and geological surfaces in
search of oil fields. In addition to these, they also use gravity meters(10) or
magnetometers(11) to study the earth's magnetic and gravitational fields. Any
changes in the fields may be an indicator of an oil field.
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Copyright, Chevron, 1996
In addition to this, engineers may also use seismic surveying instruments to create
a three-dimensional model of underground rocks. Devices such as a vibrator or
compressed air guns send sound waves(14) underground. Engineers measure how long it
takes for the different layers of the earth to reflect the sound back to them.
Using this data, they create their model.
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