Fracture Characterization in Tight Carbonate Reservoirs of Kuwait through Advanced Borehole Imaging Approach

Author(s):  
B. Khan ◽  
S. K. Singh ◽  
R. Abu-Taleb ◽  
A. Abu Ghneej ◽  
S. Bader ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aishah Khalid Abdullah ◽  
Bhaskar Chakrabarti ◽  
Anas Mansor Al-Rukaibi ◽  
Talal Fahad Hadi Al-Adwani ◽  
Khushboo Havelia ◽  
...  

Abstract The State of Kuwait is currently appraising and successfully developing the tight carbonates reservoirs of Jurassic age, which have very low matrix porosity and permeability. These reservoirs are affected by several tectonic events of faulting and folding, resulting in the development of interconnected natural fractures, which provide effective permeability to the reservoirs in form of production sweet spots. The objective of the study was to characterize the natural fractures and identify high permeability sweet spots as being appraisal drilling locations in a discovered field with tight carbonate reservoirs. An integrated approach was undertaken for building a discrete fracture network model by characterizing the developed faulting- and folding-related fractures and combining all subsurface data from multiple domains. The reservoir structure has a doubly plunging anticline at the field level that is affected by several strike-slip faults. The faulting-related fractures were characterized by generating multiple structural seismic attributes, highlighting subsurface discontinuities and fracture corridors. The folding-related fractures were modelled using structural restoration techniques by computing stresses resulting from the anticlinal folding. The fracture model was built in addition to the 3D matrix property model for this tight carbonate reservoir, resulting in a dual-porosity-permeability static model. Analogue data was used to compute fracture aperture and expected fracture porosity and permeability, to identify the sweet spots. Structural seismic attributes such as Ant Tracking and Consistent Dip were successful in highlighting and identifying the fault lineaments and fracture corridors. The seismic discontinuities were validated using the fractures interpreted in the image log data from the predrilled wells before being input into the fracture model. Paleo stresses, derived from structural restoration, were combined with the reservoir facies and geomechanical properties to gain important insight into predicting fractures developed due to folding. Several fracture aperture scenarios were run to capture the uncertainty associated with the computed fracture porosity and permeability. Based on the results, several sweet spots were identified, which were ranked based on their extent and connected volumes of the various permeability cases. Identifying these sweet spots helped make informed decisions regarding well planning and drilling sequence. High-inclination wells aligned parallel to the present-day maximum stress direction were proposed, which would cut across corridors of the predicted open fractures. Through this study, comprehensive fracture characterization and fracture permeability understanding of the tight carbonates in the field under study were successfully achieved. This workflow will be useful in exploratory or appraisal fields with tight carbonate reservoirs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kangxu Ren ◽  
Junfeng Zhao ◽  
Jian Zhao ◽  
Xilong Sun

Abstract At least three very different oil-water contacts (OWC) encountered in the deepwater, huge anticline, pre-salt carbonate reservoirs of X oilfield, Santos Basin, Brazil. The boundaries identification between different OWC units was very important to help calculating the reserves in place, which was the core factor for the development campaign. Based on analysis of wells pressure interference testing data, and interpretation of tight intervals in boreholes, predicating the pre-salt distribution of igneous rocks, intrusion baked aureoles, the silicification and the high GR carbonate rocks, the viewpoint of boundaries developed between different OWC sub-units in the lower parts of this complex carbonate reservoirs had been better understood. Core samples, logging curves, including conventional logging and other special types such as NMR, UBI and ECS, as well as the multi-parameters inversion seismic data, were adopted to confirm the tight intervals in boreholes and to predicate the possible divided boundaries between wells. In the X oilfield, hundreds of meters pre-salt carbonate reservoir had been confirmed to be laterally connected, i.e., the connected intervals including almost the whole Barra Velha Formation and/or the main parts of the Itapema Formation. However, in the middle and/or the lower sections of pre-salt target layers, the situation changed because there developed many complicated tight bodies, which were formed by intrusive diabase dykes and/or sills and the tight carbonate rocks. Many pre-salt inner-layers diabases in X oilfield had very low porosity and permeability. The tight carbonate rocks mostly developed either during early sedimentary process or by latter intrusion metamorphism and/or silicification. Tight bodies were firstly identified in drilled wells with the help of core samples and logging curves. Then, the continuous boundary were discerned on inversion seismic sections marked by wells. This paper showed the idea of coupling the different OWC units in a deepwater pre-salt carbonate play with complicated tight bodies. With the marking of wells, spatial distributions of tight layers were successfully discerned and predicated on inversion seismic sections.


Geofluids ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Chunyan Qi ◽  
Yun Liu ◽  
Fengjuan Dong ◽  
Xixiang Liu ◽  
Xing Yang ◽  
...  

The carbonate reservoirs in the middle Sichuan area have undergone complicated tectonics, resulting in various types of reservoir space, large secondary changes, and multiple complexities. Taking the tight carbonate gas reservoir of the Deng-4 member in this area as an example, based on casting thin sections, scanning electron microscopy, and high-pressure mercury injection experiments, the reservoir space and microstructural characteristics of the micropore throats were studied, and the influence of the microscale heterogeneity in different types of reservoirs on the seepage capacity was analyzed by applying fractal theory. The results showed that the reservoir space in the tight carbonate rock of the Deng-4 member in the study area could be divided into 3 types: pore-hole-fracture, pore-hole, and pore types. The distribution characteristics of the pore throat diameter were multimode wide type, double-mode high and low asymmetrical type, and single-mode concentrated type. The fractal dimension and seepage capability of the pore throat increased successively in sizes from less than 0.1 μm to 0.1~1.0 μm and greater than 1.0 μm. On the one hand, the development of karst caves and fractures controlled the percolation ability of tight carbonate reservoirs; on the other hand, it enhanced the heterogeneity of the micropore throat structure. However, the development degree of dissolved pores and microfractures has a weak contribution to the connectivity and seepage capacity of the reservoir space. Acidification, fracturing, and other measures can be adopted to enhance the connectivity between pores to improve the productivity of the gas reservoir. This study provides a scientific basis for the efficient exploration and development of tight carbonate reservoirs.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Lamine ◽  
P. Richard ◽  
E. Van der Steen ◽  
C. Pattnaik ◽  
R. Narhari ◽  
...  

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