Geologic guides to oil accumulations in metamorphic rocks

135 Pages·07.834 MB·English

by  McNaughton, Duncan A

GEOLOGIC GUIDES TO OIL ACCUMULATIONS
IN MET AMORPHIC ROCKS
A D issertatio n
Presented to
the Faculty o f the Graduate School
The U niversity of Southern C alifornia
In P a rtia l F ulfillm ent
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
by
Duncan A* McNaughton
February 1950
UMI Number: DP28521
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This dissertation, written by
Duno8.n A. j'.'icMoiiuA'ton 7 J
/
under the guidance of h.±C... Faculty Committee
on Studies, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by the Council
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fillment of requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
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J
Committee on Studies
Chairman
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
SUMMARY.................................................................................................... i
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................... v
HISTORY OF BASEMENT OIL DISCOVERIESI N CALIFORNIA . . v
OCCURRENCES OF OIL IN CRYSTALLINE ROCKS
IN CALIFORNIA............................................................................... v iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................. x iii
PART I. ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM OFM IGRATION AND
ACCUMULATION OF OIL IN BASEMENT ROCKS...................... . 1
I. Source of o il . ........................ 1
£. Openings in basement rocks............................................ E
3. T r a p s ............................................................................................ E
PART II. CLASSIFICATION OF OPENINGS IN CRYSTALLINE
ROCKS.................................................................................................... 4
1. Primary openings .................................................................. 4
S. Secondary openings .............................................. . . . 5
PART III. GEOLOGIC CONTROLS OF SECONDARY OPENINGS
DUE TO MECHANICAL DISRUPTION OF ROCKS............... 7
1. Environmental conditions of deformation • . 7
E. Dynamic h i s t o r y ................................................................. II
3. Physical properties of r o c k s .................................. IE
4. The nature of secondarys tr u c t u r e s ....................... 17
PART IV. GEOLOGIC PROCESSES THAT DESTROY SECONDARY
OPENINGS IN ROCKS...................................................................... S3
1. Com paction................................................................................. S3
5. M etamorphism.......................................................................... S3
PAGE
3. W eathering................................... 23
4. C e m e n ta tio n .................................................................................. 23
PART V. DIFFERENTIAL PERMEABILITY IN METAMORPHIC
ROCKS...................................................................................................................... 25
PART VI. THE ROLE OF DILATANCY IN THE MIGRATION OF
FLUIDS IN METAMORPHIC ROCKS.............................................................. 27
PART VII. THE "UP SLOPE" THEORY OF MIGRATION OF OIL
IN METAMORPHIC R O C K S............................................................................. 29
PART V III. PRODUCTIVE AREAS IN METAMORPHIC ROCKS IN
THE WESTERN PART OF THE LOS ANGELES BASIN.......................... 33
Playa del Rey o il f i e l d .............................................................. 39
El Segundo o il fie ld . . ................................... 47
Wilmington o il fie ld ........................................................
PART IX. SANTA MARIA VALLEY OIL F IE L D .................................... 61
PART X. THE BASEMENT COMPLEX IN THE SOUTHEASTERN PART
OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY................................................................... 72
General g e o l o g y ........................................ 72
M eta-volcanics ....................................................................................... 74
M eta-sedim ents................................................................................... . 77
Age and co rrelatio n of the meta-sediments and
m eta-volcanics .................................................................................. 78
Plutonic rocKs ....................................................................................... 81
S tr u c tu r e ................................. 82
O il-bearing p roperties of rocics in the basement
complex in the southeastern portion of the San
Joaquin Valley . . . . . . . 86
PAGE
PART XI. EDISON OIL FIELD................................................................... 88
CONCLUSIONS................................................................................... 103
BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................. . . . . . 106
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
I* Wells which penetrate the sch ist in the
western Los Angeles B a s in ............................................... 36
I I. Deep nonschist wells in the western Los
Angeles Basin • • • . . » ............................................... 36
I I I . S tratigraphic table of the Playa del Rey
o il f i e l d ....................................................................................... 41
IT. S tratigraphic table of the Edison o il fie ld . • 90
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
1. Map of Southern C alifornia showing the location
of fie ld s producing o il from fractured meta-
mo rphic rocks.............................. ix
2. H ypothetical example of possible schist accumu­
la tio n in "condemned a r e a " ............................................. 30
3. Map of western Los Angeles B a s in ............................... . 35
4. Playa del Rey o il field : stru ctu re map . . . . . 42
5* Playa del Rey o il fie ld : composite section . . . 42
6. El Segundo o il f i e l d .................................................................. 48
7. S tratigraphic v ariatio n chart: Playa del Rey,
El Segundo, Torrance and Wilmington (west)
o il fie ld s . . . . . . . .................................................... 53
8. Wilmington o il fie ld showing basement zone . . in pocket
9. Composition of top of Ranger Bank . . . . . . . 59
10. Generalized sketch section across Santa Maria
Valley o il fie ld . . . .................................................... 66
11. Producing 2D ne of the Santa Maria d is tr ic t . . . 68
12. Santa Maria Valley o il f i e l d ............................................. 69
13. Map of southeastern portion of San Joaquin Valley
showing basement lith o l o g y ................................................in pocket
14. Edison o il fie ld : schematic section ......................... 94
15. Edison field : com pilation of data re latin g to
basement production ............................................................. .in pocket
Summary
The d iffic u ltie s inherent to tne prediction of p o ten tial
reservoir conditions m basement rocks curled by a concealing
mantle of sediments are apparent to a il geologists and co n stitu te
the main cause for prejudice against basement exploration* Con­
sequently geologists have not played an important role in the
discovery of o il accumulations in basement rocks. All of the
major discoveries have been accidental and only one minor d is­
covery (Western Gulf Oil Company’s Di Giorgio No. 1 well) can be
credited to geology*
The conditionsn ecessary for tne formation of an o il pool
in basement rocks are discussed and the following conclusions are
reached:
(1) Some source of o il must be present in the sediments
capping the basement.I t is the w rite r’s opinion that eith er
source beds or " c a rrie r” beds of o il that are in contact with
basement tocks over extensive areas s a tisfy th is condition.
Marine shales cap p arts of tne productive areas in the basement
complex in Edison, Wilmington, El Segundo and Playa del Rey fie ld s .
I n itia l productions from w ells in the basement complex in Edison
fie ld are re la tiv e ly nigh in the area where the Edison shale caps
the basement. They decrease markedly in bordering areas. Thus,
there is good reason to believe tnat some of the o il in the base­
ment complex originated in contiguous source beds. Sim ilarly
oil-bearing sandstones, conglomerates, and fractured shales cap
p arts of the basement complex m the various fie ld s . Some,
ii
possibly most, of the o il in the basement complex m Wilmington
and Santa Maria Valley fie ld s, migrated downward from these
beds into fractured metamorphic tocks.
(2) Suitable openings must ex ist in the basement rocks.
These openings are tne re su lts of mechanical disruption of rocks
in geologic environments where opportunities existed for both
v e rtic a l and la te ra l expansion of deformed rock masses.
The physical properties of rocks exert an important con­
tro l on th eir response to deformation. Some competent types
fracture readily whereas other incompetent types deform by p la stic
flow. Massive rocks, such as g ran ite, quartz d io rite , and gabbro
have a tendency to lo calize failu re along widely spaced and well
defined planes of slippage, whereas anisotropic rocks, such as
metamorphosed sedimentary and metamorphosed volcanic members of
tne basement complex, tend to f a il along numerous p re-ex istin g
planes of weakness. Thus d iffe re n tia l perm eabilities are estab­
lished by deformation or tne various members of tne basement
complex. Basement exploration nas shown that deformed metamorphic
rocks may co n stitu te reserv o ir rocks but tnat plutonic rocks do
not contain appreciable q u an tities of o il.
Large fa u lts are generally p e rsiste n t features and, there­
fore, provide useful guides to secondary openings in rocks. The
role of fau ltin g in tne form ation of desirable reserv o ir char­
a c te ris tic s in basement rocks is evident in Edison fie ld where the
most productive part of the basement complex borders the Edison
fa u lt.