Duration - 01/10/2002 - 30/09/2004
Funding -A multi-company project brokered by ITF, Aberdeen
Co-ordinator - Fault Analysis Group, UCD
Research Partners
Basic Aims
Few constraints are available on the geometric and hydraulic properties of faults within turbidite sequences. Of particular interest is the impact of faults of different size on the geometric and hydraulic connectivity of turbidite beds and sandbodies, and the inter-relationships of lithology/lithofacies with fault system architecture and fault zone permeabilities. The classic turbidite succession of the Taranaki Basin, New Zealand is exposed along 25 km long cliffs, hosts two producing reservoirs and is mappable from seismic and well data. Quantitative analysis and modelling of a population of normal faults within this area, combined with geological and flow modelling of a representative suite of faulted turbidite reservoir architectures will provide a basis for addressing recurring issues related to fluid flow in faulted turbidite reservoirs, such as reservoir compartmentalisation on production time scales and the distribution of unswept oil in older fields.
This project will provide quantitative constraints on the geometry and hydraulic properties of faults in turbidite sequences from outcrop and seismic data. Combined with sedimentological constraints from the main study area and from a selection of classic turbidite sequences, a suite of faulted turbidite models will be constructed for a range of turbidite reservoir and fault architectures. Flow modelling of these high resolution models will provide a basis for establishing the sensitivity of flow results to different combinations of both the sedimentological and fault architectures. The combined effects of generic turbidite and fault architectures on fluid flow will be quantified by identifying links between sedimentological and fault system parameters, on the one hand, and the flow response, on the other. This methodology will identify the most important geological parameters controlling flow within a range of faulted turbidite reservoir architectures.
Contact: John Walsh
Tel: +353 1 716 2606
Email
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