Secondary migration of petroleum as a self-adjusting colloidal flow: I. Conceptual model

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 might work. A better understanding of secondary migration of petroleum has implications for conventional and unconventional plays, and for reservoir diagenesis.