1887
Volume 32, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 1354-0793
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Abstract

Secondary migration is poorly understood and the generally favoured transport mechanisms fail to explain many of its apparent characteristics. Here, building on work originally developed in the1940s, I resurrect an old hypothesis of migration as a colloidal dispersion but in more detail than hitherto. This contribution expands on this hypothesis of migration with a focus on its theoretical mechanisms, limitations and advantages. The aim is to develop a self-consistent model to demonstrate how this transport mechanism work. A better understanding of secondary migration of petroleum has implications for conventional and unconventional plays, and for reservoir diagenesis.

© 2026 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London for GSL and EAGE. All rights, including for text and data mining (TDM), artificial intelligence (AI) training, and similar technologies, are reserved. For permissions: https://www.lyellcollection.org/publishing-hub/permissions-policy. Publishing disclaimer: https://www.lyellcollection.org/publishing-hub/publishing-ethics

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2026-04-21

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Secondary migration of petroleum as a self-adjusting colloidal flow: I. Conceptual model
Petroleum Geoscience 32, petgeo2025-069 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1144/petgeo2025-069
/content/journals/10.1144/petgeo2025-069
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