Geological and geometrical characteristics of reservoir fracturing throughout the Middle East

Conference · Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:7134302

Standen, E ^[1]

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1. Schlumberger Technical Services, Cairo (Egypt)

The geometry and basic characteristics (length, density/intensity, aperture, and porosity) of fractures (joints) have been defined recently for a number of Middle East reservoirs. The factors that determine the occurrence of natural, open, permeable fractures within Middle East reservoirs are nature and degree of folding and/or faulting, in-situ stresses, and changes in rock properties such as porosity, lithology, and especially shaliness. Fracture distribution and orientation within Mesozoic Arabian/Persian Gulf halo-kinetic structures is important to reservoir development and modeling, although the fractures generally only assist productivity. In the deeper Paleozoic reservoirs, fractures become increasingly important. Fractures are best developed in relatively anhydrite free, low porosity, dolomite facies, and with few exceptions their orientation is related to regional trends, only slightly modified by local tectonic features. Exploration for deep-fracture reservoirs needs to consider that the probability of uncemented fractures will be present only where the timing of hydrocarbon migration was close in timing to fracturing. Examination of fractured reservoirs in the Zagros-Bitlis orogenic belt from Turkey through Syria, Iraq, Iran and the northern Emirates demonstrates that the fracturing is dominantly related to folding, with only minor karst fracturing or fault-related fracturing, whereas the fractures in the Gulf of Suez are closely related to the faulting history with some of the most intense fracturing of the low-porosity Eocene limestones forming a fracture reservoir near fault zones. Studies of basement fracturing reveals that decreases in fracture apertures generally accompanies increases in fracture density. The distribution of fractures within the northern Sinai closely fit a wrench-tectonic model, where the greatest density and largest apertures occur in the dolomitic facies and have an orientation parallel to synthetic faulting of the wrench system.

• OSTI ID: 7134302
• Report Number(s): CONF-9310237-; CODEN: AABUD2
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 77:9; Conference: American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) mid-continent section meeting, Amarillo, TX (United States), 10-12 Oct 1993; ISSN 0149-1423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
FRACTURED RESERVOIRS
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
DISTRIBUTION
RESERVOIR ROCK
PRODUCTIVITY
DOLOMITE
EXPLORATION
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
GEOLOGIC MODELS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GULF OF SUEZ
HYDROCARBONS
IRAN
IRAQ
LIMESTONE
LITHOLOGY
MESOZOIC ERA
MIDDLE EAST
PALEOZOIC ERA
SYRIA
TURKEY
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
ARAB COUNTRIES
ASIA
CARBONATE MINERALS
CARBONATE ROCKS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC AGES
MINERALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PETROLOGY
RED SEA
ROCKS
SEAS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SURFACE WATERS
020200* - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
030200 - Natural Gas- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration