Journal of Petroleum Geology, Vol.7, No.4, pp.381-402, 1984

©Copyright 2000 Scientific Press, Ltd.

MIGRATION IN FRACTURE NETWORKS; AN ALTERNATIVE
INTERPRETATION OF THE SUPPLY OF THE "GIANT" TAR
ACCUMULATIONS IN ALBERTA, CANADA -- I**

J. du Rouchet*

** This study is part of a Geochemical Migration Survey conducted at Canterra Energy Ltd in 1983. The author thanks the management of Canterra Energy Ltd for allowing the publication of this article.

* Present address: Elf Aquitaine, Digomal, 7 Rue Nélaton, Paris 15 ième, France.

Abstract

During secondary migration, the tendency towards a thermodynamic minimization of the hydrocarbon-water interfacial energy can result in the confinement of petroleum in open fractures and coarser pores, in spite of the repeated conversion of gravitational energy into interfacial energy. A discussion of lithological influences leads to the prediction that migration in granular porosity is likely to end in trapping or dispersal, whereas migration in brittle, compact formations, which are little fractured, can allow the petroleum to reach distant structures.