scholarly journals Pleasant Bayou Geopressured-Geothermal Reservoir Analysis—October 1991

1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 315-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Riney

Many sedimentary basins contain formations with pore fluids at pressures higher than hydrostatic value; these formations are called geopressured. The pore pressure is generally well in excess of hydrostatic and the fluids are saline, hot, and contain dissolved methane. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has drilled and tested deep wells in the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast region to evaluate the geopressured-geothermal resource. Geological information for the Pleasant Bayou geopressured resource in southeast Texas is most extensive among the reservoirs tested. Testing of the DOE well (Pleasant Bayou No. 2) was conducted during 1979–1983; testing resumed in May 1988. A numerical simulator is employed to synthesize and integrate the geological information, formation rock and fluid properties data from laboratory tests, and well data from the earlier (1979–1983) and the ongoing testing (1988–1991) of the well. A reservoir simulation model has been constructed which provides a detailed match to the well test history to date.

Clay Minerals ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. H. Nadeau

AbstractThe impact of diagenetic processes on petroleum entrapment and recovery efficiency has focused the vast majority of the world's conventional oil and gas resources into relatively narrow thermal intervals, which we call Earth's energy “Golden Zone”. Two key mineralogical research breakthroughs, mainly from the North Sea, underpinned this discovery. The first is the fundamental particle theory of clay mineralogy, which showed the importance of dissolution/precipitation mechanisms in the formation of diagenetic illitic clays with increasing depth and temperature. The second is the surface area precipitation-rate-controlled models for the formation of diagenetic cements, primarily quartz, in reservoirs. Understanding the impacts of these geological processes on permeability evolution, porosity loss, overpressure development, and fluid migration in the subsurface, lead to the realization that exploration and production risks are exponential functions of reservoir temperature. Global compilations of oil/gas reserves relative to reservoir temperature, including the US Gulf Coast, have verified the “Golden Zone” concept, as well as stimulated further research to determine in greater detail the geological/mineralogical controls on petroleum migration and entrapment efficiency within the Earth's sedimentary basins.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Schumacher ◽  
Inga Moeck

Abstract Temperature logs recorded shortly after drilling operations can be the only temperature information from deep wells. However, these measurements are still influenced by the thermal disturbance caused by drilling and therefore do not represent true rock temperatures. The magnitude of the thermal disturbance is dependent on many factors such as drilling time, logging procedure or mud temperature. However, often old well reports lack this crucial information so that conventional corrections on temperature logs cannot be performed. This impedes the re-evaluation of well data for new exploration purposes, e.g. for geothermal resources. This study presents a new method to correct log temperatures in low-enthalpy play types which only requires a knowledge of the final depth of the well as an input parameter. The method was developed and verified using existing well data from an intracratonic sedimentary basin, the eastern part of the North German Basin. It can be transferred to other basins with little or no adjustment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingxian Liu ◽  
Cunliang Chen ◽  
Hanqing Zhao ◽  
Yu Wang ◽  
Xiaodong Han

Abstract Fluid properties are key factors for predicting single well productivity, well test interpretation and oilfield recovery prediction, which directly affect the success of ODP program design. The most accurate and direct method of acquisition is underground sampling. However, not every well has samples due to technical reasons such as excessive well deviation or high cost during the exploration stage. Therefore, analogies or empirical formulas have to be adopted to carry out research in many cases. But a large number of oilfield developments have shown that the errors caused by these methods are very large. Therefore, how to quickly and accurately obtain fluid physical properties is of great significance. In recent years, with the development and improvement of artificial intelligence or machine learning algorithms, their applications in the oilfield have become more and more extensive. This paper proposed a method for predicting crude oil physical properties based on machine learning algorithms. This method uses PVT data from nearly 100 wells in Bohai Oilfield. 75% of the data is used for training and learning to obtain the prediction model, and the remaining 25% is used for testing. Practice shows that the prediction results of the machine learning algorithm are very close to the actual data, with a very small error. Finally, this method was used to apply the preliminary plan design of the BZ29 oilfield which is a new oilfield. Especially for the unsampled sand bodies, the fluid physical properties prediction was carried out. It also compares the influence of the analogy method on the scheme, which provides potential and risk analysis for scheme design. This method will be applied in more oil fields in the Bohai Sea in the future and has important promotion value.


1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Robert J. Whiteley ◽  
Barry F. Long ◽  
David A. Pratt

The magnetic method is used at many stages of a modern petroleum exploration program. Effective interpretation techniques are required to extract maximum geological information from magnetic data. Those techniques which provide the greatest flexibility and make full use of the talents of experienced interpreters are generally of a semi-automated and interactive nature.There are several practical methods for semi-automated quantitative magnetic interpretation in sedimentary basins. Initial interpretation can be achieved by automatic calculation of characteristic anomaly parameters continuously along original or processed magnetic data profiles. Detailed interpretation of more subtle magnetic features can then follow by theoretical anomaly comparison with field anomalies using interactive portfolio modelling or by direct computation.Examples of the use of these semi-automated techniques in the interpretation of basement and intra-sedimentary magnetic anomalies show that combined magnetic and seismic interpretations can provide considerable insight into the structural processes which have operated in a sedimentary basin.


Geophysics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Abbott ◽  
John N. Louie

Sedimentary basins can trap earthquake surface waves and amplify the magnitude and lengthen the duration of seismic shaking at the surface. Poor existing gravity and well‐data coverage of the basins below the rapidly growing Reno and Carson City urban areas of western Nevada prompted us to collect 200 new gravity measurements. By classifying all new and existing gravity locations as on seismic bedrock or in a basin, we separate the basins’ gravity signature from variable background bedrock gravity fields. We find an unexpected 1.2-km maximum depth trough below the western side of Reno; basin enhancement of the seismic shaking hazard would be greatest in this area. Depths throughout most of the rest of the Truckee Meadows basin below Reno are less than 0.5 km. The Eagle Valley basin below Carson City has a 0.53-km maximum depth. Basin depth estimates in Reno are consistent with depths to bedrock in the few available records of geothermal wells and in one wildcat oil well. Depths in Carson City are consistent with depths from existing seismic reflection soundings. The well and seismic correlations allow us to refine our assumed density contrasts. The basin to bedrock density contrast in Reno and Carson City may be as low as −0.33 g/cm3. The log of the oil well, on the deepest Reno subbasin, indicates that Quaternary deposits are not unusually thick there and suggests that the subbasin formed entirely before the middle Pliocene. Thickness of Quaternary fill, also of importance for determining seismic hazard below Reno and Carson City may only rarely exceed 200 m.


2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (05) ◽  
pp. 406-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maghsood Abbaszadeh ◽  
Chip Corbett ◽  
Rolf Broetz ◽  
James Wang ◽  
Fangjian Xue ◽  
...  

Summary This paper presents the development of an integrated, multidiscipline reservoir model for dynamic flow simulation and performance prediction of a geologically complex, naturally fractured volcanic reservoir in the Shang 741 Block of the Shengli field in China. A static geological model integrates lithological information, petrophysics, fracture analysis, and stochastic fracture network modeling with Formation MicroImage (FMI) log data and advanced 3D seismic interpretations. Effective fracture permeability, fracture-matrix interaction, reservoir compartmentalization, and flow transmissibility of conductive faults are obtained by matching various dynamic data. As a result of synergy and multiple iterations among various disciplines, a history-matched dynamic reservoir-simulation model capable of future performance prediction for optimum asset management is constructed. Introduction The multidisciplinary approach of closely related teamwork across the disciplines of geology, geophysics, petrophysics, and reservoir engineering is now the accepted approach in the industry for reservoir management and field development.1–6Fig. 1 shows components of integrated reservoir characterization and the contribution of each discipline to the process. The strength of integrated reservoir modeling, however, can be particularly dramatized with some reservoirs that contain extreme forms of heterogeneity and unusual structural features. The Shang 741 Block of the Shengli fractured volcanic reservoirs is one such example. The Shang 741 Block contains a series of vertically separated fractured volcanic reservoirs with different characteristics. Matrix porosity and permeability are both low in most horizons; thus, natural fractures are the main flow pathways for fluids. FMI logs delineate the orientation and density of the fracture distribution. Lithology variations, extensive compartmentalization, and looping of reservoir body units are recognized from the geologic depositional model and seismic data. Tying acoustic well data to 3D seismic data through synthetic seismograms combined with FMI information controls time and depth structure maps for a reliable geological model. Reservoir modeling (RM) software provides a platform to integrate lithology correlations with seismically based structural features and petrophysical properties to yield a framework for a dual-porosity Eclipse** reservoir flow-simulation model. Fractures delineated and characterized from well data are stochastically distributed in the reservoir for each horizon with a fractal-based, fracture-mapping algorithm.7 Simulation of effective gridblock fracture permeability and matrix-fracture transfer function parameters are upscaled into coarse-scale simulation gridblocks. These upscaled values are verified and calibrated by available pressure-transient effective permeabilities for consistency. In this paper, a dual-porosity reservoir-simulation model is constructed from a static geological and geophysical (G&G) model in a stepwise fashion through successive incorporation of dynamic information from pressure-transient tests, static reservoir pressure, water breakthrough behavior, and well-production performance data. Compartmentalization incorporates effects of multiple oil/ water contacts (OWC) for proper modeling of regional pressure-trend behavior. Fault conductivity or thin channel transmissibility, verified by seismic and well tests, is augmented for better modeling of water movement in the reservoir. As a result of synergy among various G&G disciplines and incorporation of dynamic reservoir engineering data, a representative and production-data calibrated model is constructed for this reservoir. The paper shows that this is possible only through multiple iterations across the disciplines and through integrated project teams. The model also serves as a reservoir-management tool in production monitoring, in evaluating the effects of implementing pressure-maintenance injection programs, and in better understanding the impact of various uncertainties on the ultimate recovery of the field. Database The data sources available for this study include:Geological interpretations and geological framework model, including geological markers.Three-dimensional seismic survey data with 529 lines by 583 common depth points (CDPs) at 25-m bin size that covers a 200-km2 area.Three vertical seismic profile (VSP) surveys and their detailed interpretations.Petrophysical analysis on 13 nearly vertical wells that penetrate the reservoir horizons.FMI logs and analysis for fracture delineation.Pressure/volume/temperature (PVT) samples and analyses.Conventional and special core analysis for matrix and fracture relative permeability, matrix capillary-pressure characteristics, and rock compaction.Two single-well, pressure-buildup tests.Three interference tests.Spot static-pressure measurements.Production data, including flowing bottomhole and tubing pressure, oil, water, and gas flow rates.Extensive information from 13 drilled wells in the field. Reservoir Characterization Geology. Shang 741 fractured reservoirs are located within the large Shengli field in the Bohai basin, China (Fig. 2). These volcanic reservoirs, primarily of the Oligocene Shahejie and Dongying formations, are composed of fractured basalt, extrusive tuff, and fractured diabase of intrusive origin (Fig. 3). The Shang 741 consists of a stack of separated fractured reservoirs, which communicate with each other only through drilled wellbores. These are divided into the H1, H2, H3, Lower H3, H3 1, and H4 fractured reservoir units. Fig. 4 shows the stacking order of these reservoirs along with geological markers, lithology type, and facies relationships.


Geophysics ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Tatham

Seismic surface‐wave velocities are greatly affected by crustal structure. Because there is a strong contrast in the physical properties of clastic sediments and underlying basement materials, surface‐wave dispersion provides a fast, convenient, and inexpensive means of detecting sedimentary basins and estimating their thickness. Model calculations and published reports of explosion studies indicate that sedimentary thicknesses as shallow as 500 m (∼1650 ft) should be detectable by analysis of routinely recorded earthquake seismograms. This study demonstrates the use of seismic surface‐wave dispersion to detect sedimentary basins and to estimate their thickness. The technique is used first for the Mississippi embayment region of the U.S. Gulf Coast, where the crustal structure is known and the results can be verified, and then applied to offshore Greenland, where the crustal structure is unmapped but a sedimentary basin is suspected. The data used are available seismograms of natural earthquakes and, for the Gulf Coast area, an underground nuclear explosion. Because this technique requires only existing, readily available data and may be applied to many regions of the world, it offers an attractive reconnaissance tool in petroleum exploration. In the present study, surface‐wave dispersion and the effects of shallow crustal structure are reviewed in light of this application, and the advantages and limitations of the technique are explored.


1972 ◽  
Vol 12 (03) ◽  
pp. 267-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Raghavan ◽  
J.D.T. Scorer ◽  
F.G. Miller

Abstract Well test analyses of unsteady-state liquid flow have been based primarily on the linearized diffusivity equation for idealized reservoirs. Studies of pressure behavior of heterogeneous reservoirs have been highly restricted, and no general correlations have been developed for systems in which reservoir porosity, permeability and compressibility, together with fluid density and viscosity, are treated as functions of pressure. A second-order, nonlinear, partial-differential equation results when variations of the above parameters are considered. in the present study, this equation was reduced by a change of variables to a form similar to the diffusivity equation, but with a pressure- (or potential-) dependent diffusivity. pressure- (or potential-) dependent diffusivity. By making this transformation, the solutions to the linear diffusivity equation may be used to obtain solutions to nonlinear flow equations in which reservoir and fluid properties are pressure dependent. This paper provides correlations in terms of dimensionless potential and dimensionless time for a closed radial-flow system producing at a constant rate. The solutions obtained have been correlated with the conventional van Everdingen and Hurst solutions. It also has been shown that the solutions can be correlated with the transient drainage concept introduced by Aronofsky and Jenkins, even though no theoretical basis exists whereby their validity can be proved. In fact, the latter correlation provides a better approximation to the nonlinear provides a better approximation to the nonlinear equation than the van Everdingen and Hurst solutions for large values of dimensionless time. Substitution of the potential described has many important consequences in addition to those already mentioned. Usually, the second-degree pressure gradient term is neglected by assuming that pressure gradients in the reservoir are small. in the present study, these gradients are handled rigorously. Moreover, the selection of parameters such as "average reservoir compressibility" is avoided. Introduction The concept that the porous medium is absolutely rigid and nondeformable is a valid assumption for a wide range of problems of practical interest. It has been long realized that in many problems this assumption leads to certain discrepancies, however, and that the use of "average" properties of the medium would reduce these errors. Considerable research effort has been made to study the effect of pressure-dependent rock characteristics (compressibility, pressure-dependent rock characteristics (compressibility, porosity, permeability) and fluid properties porosity, permeability) and fluid properties using analytical and /or numerical techniques. As a result, numerous methods of solution have been outlined in principle, and a larger number of particular problems have been solved by means of particular problems have been solved by means of high-speed digital computers. Rowan and Clegg give a thorough review of the basic equations governing fluid flow in porous media, showing how the form of the equation changes depending on which of the parameters are taken as functions of pressure of space variables. They also discuss the implications of linearizing the basic equations. Bixel et al. have treated problems involving a single linear and a single problems involving a single linear and a single radial discontinuity. Mueller has considered the transient response of nonhomogeneous aquifers in which permeability and other properties vary as functions of space coordinates. Carter and Closmann and Ratliff have considered the problem of composite reservoirs and studied pressure response and oil production. SPEJ p. 267


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