Abstract
“Petroleum system” concept had been rapidly developed during 90's in oil industry. Magoon and Dow (1994a, b) defined “a petroleum system” as “a natural system that encompasses a pod of active source rock and all related oil and gas and which includes all the geologic elements and processes that are essential if a hydrocarbon accumulation is to exist”. Basic idea of “petroleum system” concept is to focus on fluids (oil and gas) rather than rocks. The existence of fluids (oil and gas) is essential element to have oil and gas fields in sedimentary basins, and hence accurate analysis of them is essential investigation for the increase of discovery rate in oil and gas explorations.
Development of new technologies such as biomarker and basin modeling boosted the introduction of “petroleum system” concept into oil industry. Biomarker technology enables to identify effective source rocks, which supply oil and gas to tarps. Basin modeling technology reveals dynamic process of oil and gas generation, migration and accumulation, which occurred in the past.
