Abstract

Petroleum explorationists have commonly assumed, based on the presence of volcanic and/or volcaniclastic rock, that regions such as northcentral Oregon do not hold potential as petroleum basins. The typical argument has been that volcanic flows have no effective porosity or permeability and poorly sorted volcaniclastic sediments contain a high percentage of mineralogically unstable grains which are too easily and rapidly altered into clays and zeolites for any significant or effective porosity to be retained.

The objective of this study was to determine if potential petroleum reservoir rocks do exist in north-central Oregon. Through field and laboratory study and by comparing this region with petroleum producing basins with volcanic and volcaniclastic reservoirs, I have determined that the potential volcanic and volcaniclastic reservoirs of this area cannot be entirely "judged" by the "rules" of average siliciclastic reservoirs. Secondary dissolution and fracture porosity is extremely important in these reservoirs and is the natural consequence of hydration reactions, the formation of organic acids during thermal maturation of associated organic rich source rocks, high geothermal gradients which increase the rate of dissolution of some grains, the flushing of dissolution products out of the reservoirs during diagenesis, and the development of fracture porosity in a tectonically active area. As a result of this study, I have concluded that north-central Oregon does in fact have good potential petroleum reservoir rocks.

LLU Discipline

Geology

Department

Geology

School

Graduate School

First Advisor

Lanny H. Fisk

Second Advisor

H. Paul Buchheim

Third Advisor

Ivan G. Holmes

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Degree Level

M.S.

Year Degree Awarded

1990

Date (Title Page)

8-1990

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Petroleum -- Geology -- Oregon; Petroleum -- Reserves -- Oregon; Rocks, Igneous

Type

Thesis

Page Count

xvii: 240

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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