Depositional facies, diagenetic clay minerals and reservoir quality of Rotliegend sediments in the Southern Permian Basin (North Sea): a review

Clay Minerals ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Seemann
Keyword(s):  
Clay Minerals ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Effective Porosity ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
Reservoir Quality ◽  
Burial Diagenesis ◽  
Permian Basin ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
The North

AbstractThe Southern Permian Basin of the North Sea represents an elongate E-W oriented depo-centre along the northern margin of the Variscan Mountains. During Rotliegend times, three roughly parallel facies belts of a Permian desert developed, these following the outline of the Variscan Mountains. These belts were, from south to north, the wadi facies, the dune and interdune facies, and the sabkha and desert lake facies. The bulk of the gas reservoirs of the Rotliegend occur in the aeolian dune sands. Their recognition, and the study of their geometry, is therefore important in hydrocarbon exploration. Equally important is the understanding of diagenesis, particularly of the diageneticaily-formed clay minerals, because they have an important influence on the reservoir quality of these sands. Clay minerals were introduced to the aeolian sands during or shortly after their deposition in the form of air-borne dust, which later formed thin clay films around the grains. During burial diagenesis, these clay films may have acted as crystallization nuclei for new clay minerals or for the transformation of existing ones. Depending on their crystallographic habit, the clay minerals can seriously affect the effective porosity and permeability of the sands.

scholarly journals The Cavendish Field, Block 43/19, UK North Sea

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Wasielka ◽  
J. G. Gluyas ◽  
H. Breese ◽  
R. Symonds
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Water Depth ◽  
Reservoir Quality ◽  
Low Permeability ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Upper Carboniferous ◽  
Northern Margin

AbstractThe Cavendish Field is located in UK Continental Shelf Block 43/19a on the northern margin of the Outer Silverpit Basin of the Southern North Sea, 87 miles (140 km) NE of the Lincolnshire coast in a water depth of 62 ft (18.9 m). The Cavendish Field is a gas field in the upper Carboniferous Namurian C (Millstone Grit Formation) and Westphalian A (Caister Coal Formation) strata. It was discovered in 1989 by Britoil-operated well 43/19-1. Production started in 2007 and ceased in 2018. Gas initially in place was 184 bcf and at end of field life 98 bcf had been produced. The field was developed by three wells drilled through the normally unmanned platform into fluvio-deltaic sandstone intervals that had sufficiently good reservoir quality to be effective reservoirs. The majority of the formation within closure comprises mudstones, siltstones and low permeability, non-reservoir-quality feldspathic sandstones. The quality of the reservoir is variable and is controlled by grain size, feldspar content and diagenesis. The field is a structural trap, sealed by a combination of intra-Carboniferous mudstones and a thick sequence of Permian mudstones and evaporites.

Significance of K-Ar ages of authigenic illitic clay minerals in sandstones and shales from the North Sea

Clay Minerals ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Matthews ◽  
B. Velde ◽  
H. Johansen
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Growth ◽  
Clay Minerals ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Depth Interval ◽  
Content Increase ◽  
Burial Diagenesis ◽  
Pore Filling ◽  
The North ◽  
Well Yield ◽  
Depth Relationship

AbstractPetrographic, X-ray diffraction, and microprobe analyses have been used to assess the significance of illite K-Ar ages from sandstones of two North Sea wells. Three closely spaced samples in one well from the upper Statfjord Formation yield similar ages (69-79 Ma) although the illites formed from different precursor minerals. Pore-filling illite in the upper Brent and the Upper Skagerrak Formations from a second well formed by replacing groundmass clays and other detrital minerals. The average layer charge and K+ content increase slightly with depth (0.69-0.80 K+) due to minor reaction and crystal growth during burial diagenesis. These K-Ar ages increase from 15 to 33 Ma within a 500 m depth interval. The K-Ar age vs. depth relationship for these samples corresponds to the burial rate during the middle Tertiary. In examples of extensive illitization of pore-filling clays in sandstones with little subsequent evolution of the clay minerals, the K-Ar ages indicate the age of diagenetic events.In contrast, illitic minerals in shales from the Skagerrak Formation in the second well yield an age (108 Ma) that is much older than the clays in the sandstones, but is still younger than stratigraphic age. The K-Ar ages from illitic clay in shales reported in the literature can get younger, older, or remain essentially unchanged with increasing depth. These age vs. depth trends reflect the complex interplay of crystal growth and dissolution during diagenesis, as well as probable contamination by non-recrystallized detrital illites. The K-Ar ages of illitic clays, therefore, evolve in a different manner in shales than in sandstones.

Strategy for Protecting the North Sea: A Chemical Industry Perspective

1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 269-276
Author(s):  
J. R. Lawrence ◽  
N. C. D. Craig
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Chemical Industry ◽  
Important Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
The North ◽  
Anthropogenic Inputs ◽  
Seven Principles ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Cost

The public has ever-rising expectations for the environmental quality of the North Sea and hence of everreducing anthropogenic inputs; by implication society must be willing to accept the cost of reduced contamination. The chemical industry accepts that it has an important part to play in meeting these expectations, but it is essential that proper scientific consideration is given to the potential transfer of contamination from one medium to another before changes are made. A strategy for North Sea protection is put forward as a set of seven principles that must govern the management decisions that are made. Some areas of uncertainty are identified as important research targets. It is concluded that although there have been many improvements over the last two decades, there is more to be done. A systematic and less emotive approach is required to continue the improvement process.

Volcanogenic clays in Jurassic and Cretaceous strata of England and the North Sea Basin

Clay Minerals ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. V. Jeans ◽  
D. S. Wray ◽  
R. J. Merriman ◽  
M. J. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Clay Minerals ◽  
Clay Mineral ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Hydrothermal Fluids ◽  
Mineral Deposits ◽  
The North ◽  
Clay Deposits ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Thermal Doming

AbstractThe nature and origin of authigenic clay minerals and silicate cements in the Jurassic and Cretaceous sediments of England and the North Sea are discussed in relation to penecontemporaneous volcanism in and around the North Sea Basin. Evidence, including new REE data, suggests that the authigenic clay minerals represent the argillization of volcanic ash under varying diagenetic conditions, and that volcanic ash is a likely source for at least the early silicate cements in many sandstones. The nature and origin of smectite-rich, glauconite-rich, berthierine-rich and kaolin-rich volcanogenic clay mineral deposits are discussed. Two patterns of volcanogenic clay minerals facies are described. Pattern A is related to ash argillization in the non-marine and marine environments. Pattern B is developed by the argillization of ash concentrated in the sand and silt facies belts in the seas bordering ash-covered islands and massifs. It is associated with regression/ transgression cycles which may be related to thermal doming and associated volcanism, including the submarine release of hydrothermal fluids rich in Fe. The apparent paucity of volcanogenic clay deposits in the Jurasssic and Early Cretaceous sediments of the North Sea is discussed.

An Integrated Petrophysical Workflow for Fluid Characterization and Contacts Identification Using NMR Continuous and Stationary Measurements in a High-Porosity Sandstone Formation, Offshore Norway

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-226
Author(s):  
Maciej Kozlowski ◽  
◽  
Diptaroop Chakraborty ◽  
Venkat Jambunathan ◽  
Peyton Lowrey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Relaxation Time ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Spin Relaxation ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Column Height ◽  
Reservoir Quality ◽  
Formation Evaluation ◽  
The North ◽  
Nmr Data ◽  
Fluid Properties

The Alvheim Field in the Norwegian North Sea was discovered in 1998. Two wells were drilled in 2018 in the Gekko structure to confirm oil column height and to evaluate reservoir quality in the Heimdal Formation. A comprehensive wireline logging program, including NMR and formation testing, was optimized to reduce formation evaluation uncertainty. Evaluating fluid properties, oil column height, and reservoir quality were primary objectives. Well A was first drilled on the south of the structure, followed by Well B on the north of the structure. Reservoir quality encountered in both wells was very good, and a project to develop these resources is currently in the selection phase. Formation evaluation uncertainty encompassing pore geometry distribution, permeability, reservoir quality, and hydrocarbon identification are mitigated by studying the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) log response. NMR fluid typing has been widely used in the oil industry since the 1990s. NMR fluid typing today is a combination of the contrast of spin relaxation time T1, the spin-spin relaxation time T2 (T1T2), and the diffusivity (T2D) of formation fluids (Chen et al., 2016). NMR fluid typing can be obtained from a continuous log and/or stationary log measurements. This paper showcases excellent, textbook-quality NMR data, as well as the integration of NMR data in the petrophysical workflow. High-confidence fluid properties and fluid contacts are determined. This paper also highlights a comparison of NMR data acquired in stationary vs. continuous depth-based log modes in both wells. The continuous log data quality is equivalent to stationary data, implying continuous log data quality is sufficient for reliable NMR fluid properties evaluation without depending on time-consuming stationary NMR measurements. Reducing logging operations rig time is very advantageous in the North Sea, where drilling rig operations cost is high, and enhanced rig time management is constantly required.

The water quality of UK rivers entering the North Sea

2000 ◽  
Vol 251-252 ◽  
pp. 5-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Neal ◽  
W.A House ◽  
G.J.L Leeks ◽  
B.A Whitton ◽  
R.J Williams
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
North Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

The Carrack Field, Blocks 49/14b, 49/15a and 49/15b, UK North Sea

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Rieu ◽  
R. J. Porter
Keyword(s):  
Production Rate ◽  
North Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
Production Time ◽  
Water Contact ◽  
Southern North Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
Current Production ◽  
Main Fault

AbstractThe Carrack Field, located in the Southern North Sea Blocks 49/14b and 49/15a, has of the order or 15 bcm (530 bcf) gas initially in place and is operated by Shell UK Ltd. The field consists of a pop-up structure in the south of the field and extends to the north with a gently-dipping monoclinal structure. The reservoir comprises sandstones of the Permian Silverpit and Leman Sandstone formations, which contain c. 85% of the in-place resources. The quality of the reservoir decreases rapidly to the north. Gas is also produced from Carboniferous sandstones of late Duckmantian (Westphalian B)–Bolsovian (Westphalian C) age.Initially, the field was in pressure communication both laterally and vertically with a single gas–water contact. During production time, however, the three main fault blocks behaved independently, and decimetre-thick shale intervals acted as vertical baffles between the sandstone units.The Carrack Field has been in production since 2003 and is developed by a single platform with seven mainly deviated wells. The current production rate is c. 0.7 MMm3/day (25 MMscfgd). Until the end of field life in the 2030s, the field is expected to produce gas of the order of a few bcm. The main remaining opportunity is the undeveloped Carrack West compartment.

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