The Role Of Diagenetic Water In The Migration Of Petroleum: A Case Study Of Micaceous Shales In The Lower Benue Trough, South-eastern Nigeria

ABSTRACT The role of water in petroleum migration has hitherto been grossly underplayed because of the unsuccessful search for a model that demonstrates the movement of water and hydrocarbons combined in a single phase, It appears, however, that many of the alternative mechanisms that have been favoured also require the availability and movement of large quantities of water at great depths for their efficiency. For example in models that favour continuous oil phase during migration, excessive pore pressures required to overcome capillary pressures can be enhanced at depth in thick sedimentary …