Petroleum inclusions in sedimentary basins: systematics, analytical methods and applications

Fluid dynamics in sedimentary basins is of tremendous interest, both from a scientific and an economic point of view. Integration between fluid inclus ion and present-day fluid data provides the time aspect necessary for recon struction of fluid flow paths, and can be used for mapping fluid dynamics b oth on a regional basin scale or on the more local scale of petroleum reser voirs. This paper presents a review of analytical and modelling methods for petroleum in fluid inclusions. Essentially, four types of data for petrole um inclusions can be established through analysis and modelling: (1) textur es (which give indirect information of the time aspect), (2) fluid composit ion, (3) fluid properties and (4) pressure-temperature of trapping. During the last decade, development of analytical methods for determination of inc lusion fluid compositions has taken place. Traditional correlation studies for characterisation of maturity and source facies may now therefore includ e fluid inclusion data. The development has also been directed towards an i mproved understanding of the physical properties of petroleum inclusions. A lthough these methods are in their early stages concerning precision and ac curacy, data necessary for fluid flow modelling, such as fluid densities, v iscosities, pressure and temperature, can be estimated. (C) 2001 Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.