Heterogeneity of Fine-grained Reservoirs

Investment:

$68k (USD) per Sponsor

Status:

In Development
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Principal Investigator(s):

Value to Sponsors

  • Conceptual models of depositional patterns, architecture, and regional to nano-scale qualitative and quantitative characterization approaches and heterogenous features of extent, thickness, geomorphology, stratigraphic occurrence, lithofacies, facies architecture, geochemistry, mineralogy, structure, natural fractures, porosity, permeability, pores and pore structure, pressure, rock mechanical properties, and other properties of representative fine-grained tight to shale reservoirs.
  • Thorough understanding of the relationship between geologic variables and their heterogeneity, reservoir quality, hydrocarbon accumulation and production of unconventional plays.
  • Predictable models of heterogeneity to help companies understand the guidelines of exploration and production for marine, transitional, and lacustrine settings in different tectonic settings in the U.S., Canada, Argentina, and China at multiple scales.
  • Access to an atlas of typical fine-grained reservoirs and interdisciplinary database.

Deliverables

  1. Variation features of facies, electrofacies, geochemistry, mineralogy, petrophysics, pore system, natural fracture, geomechanical property, and other properties of fine-grained unconventional plays within sequence stratigraphic framework in marine, transitional, and lacustrine settings in different tectonic settings in the U.S., Canada, Argentina, and China.
  2. Statistical and artificial neutral network methods, 3-D geostatistical modeling, and case studies of qualitative and quantitative characterization of reservoir heterogeneity.
  3. Impacts of heterogeneity of reservoir properties on reservoir quality, hydrocarbon accumulation, and production.
  4. Database of digital results (photos of outcrops, cores, petrology, facies, porosity, permeability, and other properties) of representative unconventional plays.
  5. Meeting presentations and project report (electronic and hard copy).

Scope of Work

This project aims to provide summative, qualitative, and quantitative models of heterogeneity for key fine-grained unconventional reservoirs and their applications to exploration and production. The project will focus on the following areas:

  1. Interpret and re-interpret the outcrop and subsurface data of typical fine-grained unconventional reservoirs to investigate the distribution and trend of rock properties, e.g., lithology, grain size, texture, structures, geochemistry, mineralogy, fractures, mechanical stratigraphy, petrology, petrophysics, pore types, pore structure, pore size distribution, fluid compositions, etc., for different facies of a specific geological setting and between different geological settings.
  2. Develop a systematic approach to qualitatively describe and quantitatively characterize relationship between different property variables and their heterogeneity patterns in time and space at multi-scales.
  3. Compare the similarities and differences of the heterogeneity of fine-grained reservoirs deposited in different depositional and tectonic settings from regional scale to micro-scale.
  4. Study the external and internal controls and mechanisms of heterogeneity from source to sink and basin dynamics perspectives.
  5. Relate the heterogeneity in different depositional and tectonic settings to well log responses, reservoir quality, hydrocarbon accumulation, and production;
  6. Build database covering most reservoir properties for typical fine-grained unconventional plays for analog, modeling and simulation.
  7. Establish predictable models of deposition, facies distribution, stratigraphic architecture, and reservoir properties within sequence stratigraphic framework and suggest the potential play fairways of different fine-grained systems.

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