Introduction to Organic Chemistry Course

The course explains the organic geochemistry concepts, analytical techniques and interpretation approach for source rock assessment, petroleum generation, migration, entrapment and the techniques to identify and quantity hydrocarbon distribution in a basin. In this way, all hydrocarbon occurrences in a basin, either in reservoirs, in drilled wells and/or on the surface can be detected, characterized and quantified to define petroleum charge as well as the stratigraphic and geographic extent of a petroleum system in a basin. Further applications such as reservoir compartmentalization studies, surface geochemistry and unconventional resource assessment will be further explained in this course.

The course is designed for 

• Geologists, geophysicists, petrophysicists and reservoir engineers working in the oil industry.
• Postgraduate students considering joining the petroleum industry

Learning objectives 

• To understand how organic geochemical data of source rocks, oil and gas and thermal maturity modeling are used to build a charge model within a petroleum system analysis
• To identify source rock depositional environments, kerogen types, kinetics and generative potential (oil and/or gas) in the stratigraphic framework of a sedimentary basin
• To understand chemical techniques and develop cost effective analytical programs for source rock, oil and gas bulk and molecular (e.g., biomarkers, d¹³C-carbon isotopic composition) characterization.
• To understand biogenic gas generation, migration and preservation in commercial accumulations
• To understand how organic geochemistry helps defining reservoir fluid distribution and compartmentalization.
• To understand the studies, parameters and interpretation required for unconventional resource assessment

Course outline

• Organic geochemistry history and petroleum system analysis concepts

• Oil chemistry and analysis

• Source rock characterization

• Oil geochemical characterization and interpretation

• Oil-oil-source rock correlation

Gas characterization

• Natural gas
• Biogenic gas

Applied geochemistry

• Surface geochemistry
• Drilled well geochemistry
• Reservoir geochemistry

Unconventional petroleum resource assessment

• Shale gas
• Coal bed methane
• Tight oil
• Heavy oil