Geology

What is Geology?

Geology is a discipline within geoscience. The word geology comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and logi (study of). Geology is thus the study of the Earth — how it is built up and how it develops.

A geologist examines the properties of minerals, rocks, and fossils that make up the Earth to form knowledge about how they have been created and how they affect our Earth. They are concerned with both the liquid and solid Earth, the rocks from which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time.

Geologists use a wide range of methods to understand the Earth's structure and evolution, including fieldwork, rock description, geophysical techniques, chemical analysis, physical experiments, and numerical modeling. 

Geology can be divided into different disciplines. Here are some of them:

• Petrology (the doctrine of rocks)
• Mineralogy (the doctrine of minerals)
• Paleontology (doctrine of fossils) 

Knowledge of the structure of the Earth is central to utilizing the Earth's resources in a sustainable way. These resources can be divided into renewables and non-renewables. Renewable resources include water and wind, which are studied in meteorology. Non-renewable resources include oil and gas, which are studied in petroleum geology.  

Petroleum geology is the study of natural deposits of petroleum and how geological processes have contributed to forming, transporting, and storing petroleum in nature.  It refers to the specific set of geological disciplines used in exploration to find hydrocarbons (oil exploration). 

In order to evaluate the viability of hydrocarbons within an oil or gas field and form a strategy for recovering hydrocarbons from the reservoir, petroleum geology is concerned with seven key elements. 

7 key elements of petroleum geology:

• Source – is there a presence of viable, organic rich rock formations that are thermally mature within the area of interest?
• Reservoir – is there sufficient area/volume of highly porous/permeable rock types within the area?
• Seal – is there a cap rock above reservoir with sufficient integrity to prevent the hydrocarbon from escaping?
• Trap – do the source, reservoir and seal exist in a configuration that provides a possibility for the creation of a hydrocarbon accumulation?  
• Timing – throughout geological time, has the basin evolved to facilitate many of these elements coming together?
• Maturation – has the basin history, particularly thermal history provided the ideal conditions for the creation of hydrocarbons?
• Migration – do the hydrocarbons have a clear path from source to reservoir and is it plausible that they would have migrated to the trap in sufficient quality and quantity?   

Cegal and Geology 

At Cegal we have around 40 geologists specializing in petroleum geology. They are experienced consultants and experts in the implementation and use of software that contributes to increased efficiency and improved work processes. 

Based on our geology expertise, we have developed industry-leading technologies and software that provide our customers with insight and understanding of the seven key elements of petroleum geology. From cross-domain, contextualized data analysis through Blueback Investigator to utility tools within Blueback Toolbox to advanced mathematical modelling in Blueback Rock Physics. 

This leading software helps optimize work processes in oil and gas exploration and production. These processes place very high demands on capacity and performance from the technology used, and our solutions are designed to meet these requirements and scale access to resources so that users have the right tools with the right capacity for the right task. 

Learn more about our geoscience software >