Diagenesis and burial history modeling of heterogeneous marginal marine to shoreface Paleocene glauconitic sandstones, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand

ABSTRACT Paleocene marginal marine to shoreface glauconitic sandstones (F-Sands) of the Farewell Formation from the Maui Field in Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, demonstrate a diagenetic evolution driven by major shifts in acidic pore-water composition, rate of burial, and clay-mineral authigenesis. Mechanical compaction is the principal porosity-reducing mechanism during the first 2500 m of burial of the F-Sands. Continued mechanical compaction with long-grain contacts, concavo-convex contacts, and deformed liable grains are common throughout the F-Sands. Late-stage flow of dissolved CO2 in the pore fluids of the Farewell Formation is thought to have been generated from thermal decarboxylation of coaly source rocks. The circulation of these CO2-rich fluids will have dissolved into undersaturated pore fluids and partially catalyzed dissolution of feldspar and quartz, producing ions for the precipitation of kaolinite and chlorite. Timing of the diagenetic reactions, as determined using paragenetic observations, fluid-inclusion analysis, and burial history modeling, suggests that the quartz cements formed at a late stage (> 100°C, corresponding to 0–7 Ma) and is consistent with the migration of hydrocarbons, and associated CO2, into the F-Sand reservoir. Significant secondary porosity is generated through the dissolution of feldspar, which is preserved due to late-stage of occurrence at close to present-day maximum burial. Dissolved solutes in the F-Sands sandstones are being preferentially precipitated in interbedded and surrounding fine-grained heterolithic siltstone to very fine-grained sandstone beds, leading to enhanced heterogeneity and preservation of secondary porosity. This study provides an improved understanding for diagenetic reconstruction of marginal marine to shoreface facies.

Three-Dimensional Facies Analysis using Object-Based Geobody Modeling: A Case Study for the Farewell Formation, Maui Gas Field, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand

The early-mid Paleocene Farewell Formation is stratigraphically distributed across the southern Taranaki Basin (STB) which is also encountered within the Maui Gas Field. Using available 3D seismic and well log data, a challenging task to delineate the spatial distribution and geobody patterns of the potential reservoir sands of the formation was performed. Object based modeling coupled with sequential indicator simulation were used to analyze the spatial distribution of facies configuration and a conceptual model was developed based on the outputs from the structurally- modeled grids. The facies modeling followed a hierarchical object-based mechanism which was set to perform with constraints like channel geometry and heterogeneity within the formation. The resultant 3D geobody model showed that the distributary channels, mainly braided geobodies flowed from northeast cutting through several regional normal-fault systems to the southwest. Overbank facies was adhered to the fringe of the channels whereas the floodplain facies was at the periphery of the model. Meandering channel-sand facies were mostly observed at the center of the model flowing in a more random manner, occupying major flow directions of northwest to southwest and southeast to northwest within the model.